I have a 2020 Ranger I just bought barely used (1,000 miles on it) and hitched it to our 18-foot Jayco camper trailer (~3,800 lbs). I knew my mileage would take a hit, but did not expect to only get 7 mpg over a relatively flat trip. I was mostly doing highway speeds between 60-70 mph, RPMs ~2500-3000. I don't have a bed cover yet and I know that will help a little, it was a little breezy but still 7 mpg!

I'm new to the towing world, help me out. What am I doing wrong? On other forums I've seen guys with a similar setup to what I'm towing up around 11=14 mpg.

 

What motor do u have in that Ranger?

 

For a 2020, there's only 1 motor available, just like there's only 1 transmission available

2.3 Ecoboost and a 10 speed automatic.


How did you measure your mileage ?

Miles / gallons or the dash display ?

 

Slow down to 50 in a tail wind, and try again.
With such a small motor, working to it's max, I'm surprised the other guy gets his MPG.

 

Correct. 2.3 Ecoboost - I average. 21 mpgs with city driving and no load.

I typically use the gas pump and trip meter to calculate mpgs, but this time around I used the in-dash display.

 

I think there is some math errors on that 7MPG, computer or not

Worst case with 5,000lbs, and up, trailer should be about 35% drop, so if it was 21mpg then it would drop to 13 or 14mpg
And that's worst case

I would expect less of a drop than that with your trailer, say 25% so 16mpg

 

In-dash calculators are notorious for being inaccurate. Use your odometer and fuel receipts to get the real poop.

 

i just pulled my 3200 lb TT over 350 miles, mostly at 65 mph, up, down and flat highways. 12 or 13 mph each time I filled up. Something is wrong with the math or really wrong with your truck.

 

Curious, what sort of RPMs were you seeing around those speeds?

 

Just did the rough calculation - 113 miles / 13.5 gallons ... better, but still not great ` 8.3 mpg.

We're going to take the trailer out again soon ... more hills so we'll see how it does.

 

I did watch that the RPM’S didn’t get to high but can’t remember exactly what they were. Making same trip in reverse order next week and will report back if the thread is still around.

11.3 /13.5 puts you at about what you should expect..

 

Just an update ... I towed the trailer again a little over 200 miles each way. Kept my speed under 65 ... low winds on the way north ~11-12 mpg ... higher winds on the return home ~10-11 mpg. Definitely more in line with what I thought it would be. Also found I was getting about 14 mpg in the city between 40-50 mph. Moral of the story, I seem to lose about 1-2 mpg for every 3-5 mph and wind obviously plays a role.

Thanks for the moral support with I learn more about this new world of towing I've entered. :)

 

Yes, driving with a large frontal area really drops the MPG down, that's one reason pickup trucks are never great on MPG, aerodynamics of a brick
Throw a tall trailer behind it........................aerodynamics of a STACK of bricks, lol

 

Or, as my dad used to say..... the aerodynamics of a 2-car garage.

 

+1.............and with BOTH doors closed