Why does the towing mpg seem so terrible?

[bigumbrella]

Coming from a v6 with a 2,000lb camper I get 17-18mpg hwy towing and that’s at 75-80mph.

from real world reports it seems the maverick 2.0t gets sub 15mpg for a similar haul and the hybrid like 20-23 at 60 mph.

was seriously considering a maverick for improved mpg but that just doesn’t seem to be the case.

can other folks report in with real world towing mpg #s?

thanks!

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[TedTX]

Wow, you must have found the sweet spot for that setup. That’s not typical.

 

[Sneezy]

What is it that you are towing? If it has a large surface area, like a camping trailer, it will create a lot of drag, thus you will be on the turbo (assuming it’s an EcoBoost) constantly. This problem is exasperated if it’s a hilly area. There were lots of cases with the 3.5 EcoBoost where people were getting better economy with their v8’s. Manufacturers are more concerned with tailpipe emissions than anything else these days, you could get 30 mpg in the 80’s with an F150. It only made like 100hp though.

If you have a hybrid though, that is really poor mpg though

 

[commadorebob]

A V6 towing a camper will be more efficient because the engine does not have to work as hard. But it would burn more fuel when not towing. Trade offs.

 

[Xbbqpitmaster]

Things to consider when towing:
1) hp
2) torque
3) gearing ratio (transmission as well as rear axle)
4) weight
5) speed

BTW - trailer tires I have seen have a rating of 65 mph MAXIMUM.

 

[AutobahnSHO]

Coming from a v6 with a 2,000lb camper I get 17-18mpg hwy towing and that’s at 75-80mph.

!!! ?? Are you sure? What is the non-towing mpg for that truck?

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Maverick is optimized for gas mileage numbers with no load, at the cheapest way possible. (Manufacturers play lots of games to get that overall number for their entire fleet as low as possible- on EPA testing, which does not care about towing).

Any changes to the Mav (loads, towing, etc...) will of course not be optimized for MPGs. For someone who tows 2000lbs once per year, Mav may be a great fit. For someone who tows every week, might be better with a different truck.

 

[bigumbrella]

!!! ?? Are you sure? What is the non-towing mpg for that truck?

---- ---------- -----------

Maverick is optimized for gas mileage numbers with no load, at the cheapest way possible. (Manufacturers play lots of games to get that overall number for their entire fleet as low as possible- on EPA testing, which does not care about towing).

Any changes to the Mav (loads, towing, etc...) will of course not be optimized for MPGs. For someone who tows 2000lbs once per year, Mav may be a great fit. For someone who tows every week, might be better with a different truck.

yeah it’s a 3.6 pentastar, can do 25mpg highway not towing. City mpg is not great though. To get 5,000lbs moving burns a lot of gas lol. It’s an a-frame camper so not very tall folded up so not a lot of drag.

 

[commadorebob]

yeah it’s a 3.6 pentastar, can do 25mpg highway not towing. City mpg is not great though. To get 5,000lbs moving burns a lot of gas lol. It’s an a-frame camper so not very tall folded up so not a lot of drag.

Some of that may have to do with the camper's weight distribution as well. I had a pop-up I could push around by hand and I towed it was a V6 Saturn Vue. Only when getting up to speed or slowing down did I really feel it behind me.

 

[RockHoundTX]

As others have mentioned, you are already getting great gas mileage with your current setup. With my '97 F350 Diesel, I get 21-22MPG empty and 13-15MPG when towing a 2400 pound camping trailer. I am about as granny driver as you can get so pretty much max out at about 62MPH. Try to keep the RPMs between 1800-2000 since that is the sweet-spot for this truck. Anything above 2100 and the turbo kicks in and I can see the gas gage move.

The Maverick weighs what, maybe 1/3 what my truck does? With the Maverick you are basically towing its own weight behind you not to mention air resistance. I am not at all surprised as to the mileage drop. Most people don't realize how much MPG drop they get with just slight modification: put a bicicyle on your roof and that is about 5%, go 75 instead of 70 on the highway and that is probably 10% (there is a great YouTube video of someone in a Maverick testing this out), etc.

 

[Bad Actor]

It's all physics. It takes a certain amount of horsepower/torque (and therefore gasoline) for a given towing weight and wind resistance, regardless of engine size. Towing same load with a larger truck will yield similar results. A Maverick towing 4000 lbs may only get 16 MPG instead of the EPA 29, but an F150 will get about the same 16 MPG instead of its 21 MPG EPA rating. There are exceptions, but this is generally true.

 

[RonRythm]

my mileage towing with my hybrid has been 27 to 32 mpg, depending on the trailer, much better than you quote. So some do get better.

 

[bigumbrella]

my mileage towing with my hybrid has been 27 to 32 mpg, depending on the trailer, much better than you quote. So some do get better.

do you mind sharing what you’re towing? Thx!

and any other details like trip distance, hwy or city, etc

if I can get this mpg with my set up I’ll make sure to get in an order on a hybrid the next time that’s possible

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