I am in the process of looking at trucks to pull a Big Country 5th wheel and am woundering what kind of mileage I can expect. What is the difference between a dually and a single wheel truck and is there any difference between ford and chevy? What mileage can I expect when not towing?
Thanks
Thumper
Terry and Jo said
09:14 PM Apr 10, 2012
This question will be like opening a can of worms because there are always those that may prefer one brand over another. So, I will simply mention that we have a fifth wheel that has a GVWR of 18,500 lbs. To be sure that we had a truck capable of handling that size of a trailer, we chose a Ford F450, which is bigger than the majority of trucks being used today.
That said, I get about 9 mpg while towing and I can honestly say that I have not checked my mileage whlle driving it without the trailer. That is because we bought that truck with the sole intent of being able to handle a heavy trailer. Miles per gallon means little to me because of that.
As for dually or single wheeled trucks, the ones with only one tire on each side of the rear axle is an SRW while one with two tires on each side is called the dually, or DRW. The DRW will give you better stability in turning and handling cross winds, will let you handle heavier weights, and will provide a bit of leeway in that if one tire goes flat, you won't be sitting on the ground.
With a trailer weighing as much as you described in another thread, I seriously suggest a DRW truck.
As for choosing brands, a lot of that depends on your criteria. Some prefer the engines and transmissions of the Dodges and GM's over the Fords. Others claim that the body and cab of the Ford is more roomy. With regards to your current choice of trailer, any in the 350/3500 class of trucks should be sufficient.
One other thing. I mentioned above about the trucks "handling" a trailer. That means that the truck is big enough to safely tow and stop the trailer, as well as handle the trailer in crosswinds.
Terry
The Bear II said
09:38 PM Apr 10, 2012
Thumper
You can expect an MPG between 6 and 15 depending on the tow vehicle, weight, road and weather conditions. You won't see much difference in MPG between a DRW or SRW, Dodge, Chevy or Ford provided you are doing an apples to apples comparison.
Here's the way most RVers look at it..... I don't care what my MPG is. I'm out to have fun.
Now for those that are environmentally concerned....if you look at the over all carbon use between staying home or going out in an RV. Again there won't be that much difference.
You'll discover travelling in an RV is such a great experience, everything else just doesn't really matter. It's like a drug...you'll need to be out in the RV more and more.
dewwood said
10:12 PM Apr 10, 2012
Like a previous poster stated 6 to 15 is about right. I have gotten mileage in the whole range, it depends on where you are and what conditions. For planning purposes I use 10mpg and that will get me right in the ball park at the end of a trip.
Racerguy said
10:31 PM Apr 10, 2012
We had an 08 Dodge Ram 6.7 Diesel DRW pulling 23,000 total weight( truck and trailer) for 17months.Depending on terrain we averaged 9 to 11 pulling and 15 to 17 empty depending if it was around town or going a decent distance on day trips.We towed at 62 miles per hour to obtain these numbers.Remember as speed goes up mileage goes down.Many don't like dually's but they are much more stable when towing.As far as the Chevy..Ford thing it all depends on the year and, as stated personel preference.Happy hunting:)
Bill and Linda said
10:41 PM Apr 10, 2012
I couldn’t agree more with others comments. You need a 350/3500 dual rear wheel truck to handle that trailer – I use “handle” to mean control and that also means braking with the truck doing its share along with the trailer brakes as designed.
As to MPG – I had interesting opportunities with my last two Chevy trucks.I was able to take them both on long trips, when they were both brand new, without the trailer.My 2006 Chevy 3500 DRW, diesel got just short of 18 MPG.My 2012 Chevy 3500HD got - just short of 18 MPG.However the 2012 with the hauler bed does weigh more than the 2006.(Both trucks have identical gearing and rear end ratios.)
Interestingly the towing mileage is right about the same for both trucks in spite of the fact the 2012 is moving more weight – 10.5MPG most of the time – long average for the 2006.I’ve seen 11+ MPG from the 2012 on flat road (Florida / George) running in 6th gear at the peak torque point of the engine which is where I usually tow.The 2006 Chevy was the same on the same roads.I seen the same numbers for the last 5 years with the 2006 truck.That’s not surprising for a lot of reasons – mostly the laws of physics.
All that said, MPG can really vary and almost anything anyone tells you is applicable only to their specific truck and trailer set up.A lot depends on the truck gearing and trailer weight; but also the frontal area of the trailer not to mention a head, or quartering, or side, head wind.In the mountains – the numbers are all over the place.
All good campfire discussions – kind of like how big a fish have you caught.
Bill
Rosie RV Thumper and Dog Dog said
10:42 PM Apr 10, 2012
Thanks everyone for the quick replies.. This will help me make my choice of DRW or SRW.
The Bear II said
08:53 PM Apr 11, 2012
Couple of add ons.... I prefer DRW. I've towed two different 5th wheels each with a couple of SRW and both with two different DRWs. The stability of the DRW is very noticeable vs the SRW.
I would only choose a DRW.
I once got 3MPG fighting a headwind. I literally watched the gas gauge move from full to empty within 100 miles on a 40 gallon tank. We ended that day at Mt Rushmore, so it was well worth the fight and fuel cost.
Neil and Connie said
12:50 AM Apr 12, 2012
The Bear II wrote:
We ended that day at Mt Rushmore, so it was well worth the fight and fuel cost.
We stopped by Mt. Rushmore when we were out in Rapid City doing our residency change…and neither Connie or I were all that impressed. It wasn't the carvings; they are actually pretty decent…but rather the size. The carvings were way smaller than you think they are from looking at pictures.
Badlands National Park on the other hand was really cool; one of the better parks we've seen in the past couple of years. Not as huge as Grand Canyon and different from the scenery in NPs in other areas of the US but quite cool nonetheless and almost deserted the first week in Feb when we were there. We wandered around most of the trip in short sleeves; weather was really outstanding for Feb in SD.
Hi All,
I am in the process of looking at trucks to pull a Big Country 5th wheel and am woundering what kind of mileage I can expect. What is the difference between a dually and a single wheel truck and is there any difference between ford and chevy? What mileage can I expect when not towing?
Thanks
Thumper
This question will be like opening a can of worms because there are always those that may prefer one brand over another. So, I will simply mention that we have a fifth wheel that has a GVWR of 18,500 lbs. To be sure that we had a truck capable of handling that size of a trailer, we chose a Ford F450, which is bigger than the majority of trucks being used today.
That said, I get about 9 mpg while towing and I can honestly say that I have not checked my mileage whlle driving it without the trailer. That is because we bought that truck with the sole intent of being able to handle a heavy trailer. Miles per gallon means little to me because of that.
As for dually or single wheeled trucks, the ones with only one tire on each side of the rear axle is an SRW while one with two tires on each side is called the dually, or DRW. The DRW will give you better stability in turning and handling cross winds, will let you handle heavier weights, and will provide a bit of leeway in that if one tire goes flat, you won't be sitting on the ground.
With a trailer weighing as much as you described in another thread, I seriously suggest a DRW truck.
As for choosing brands, a lot of that depends on your criteria. Some prefer the engines and transmissions of the Dodges and GM's over the Fords. Others claim that the body and cab of the Ford is more roomy. With regards to your current choice of trailer, any in the 350/3500 class of trucks should be sufficient.
One other thing. I mentioned above about the trucks "handling" a trailer. That means that the truck is big enough to safely tow and stop the trailer, as well as handle the trailer in crosswinds.
Terry
You can expect an MPG between 6 and 15 depending on the tow vehicle, weight, road and weather conditions. You won't see much difference in MPG between a DRW or SRW, Dodge, Chevy or Ford provided you are doing an apples to apples comparison.
Here's the way most RVers look at it..... I don't care what my MPG is. I'm out to have fun.
Now for those that are environmentally concerned....if you look at the over all carbon use between staying home or going out in an RV. Again there won't be that much difference.
You'll discover travelling in an RV is such a great experience, everything else just doesn't really matter. It's like a drug...you'll need to be out in the RV more and more.
Like a previous poster stated 6 to 15 is about right. I have gotten mileage in the whole range, it depends on where you are and what conditions. For planning purposes I use 10mpg and that will get me right in the ball park at the end of a trip.
I couldn’t agree more with others comments. You need a 350/3500 dual rear wheel truck to handle that trailer – I use “handle” to mean control and that also means braking with the truck doing its share along with the trailer brakes as designed.
As to MPG – I had interesting opportunities with my last two Chevy trucks. I was able to take them both on long trips, when they were both brand new, without the trailer. My 2006 Chevy 3500 DRW, diesel got just short of 18 MPG. My 2012 Chevy 3500HD got - just short of 18 MPG. However the 2012 with the hauler bed does weigh more than the 2006. (Both trucks have identical gearing and rear end ratios.)
Interestingly the towing mileage is right about the same for both trucks in spite of the fact the 2012 is moving more weight – 10.5MPG most of the time – long average for the 2006. I’ve seen 11+ MPG from the 2012 on flat road (Florida / George) running in 6th gear at the peak torque point of the engine which is where I usually tow. The 2006 Chevy was the same on the same roads. I seen the same numbers for the last 5 years with the 2006 truck. That’s not surprising for a lot of reasons – mostly the laws of physics.
All that said, MPG can really vary and almost anything anyone tells you is applicable only to their specific truck and trailer set up. A lot depends on the truck gearing and trailer weight; but also the frontal area of the trailer not to mention a head, or quartering, or side, head wind. In the mountains – the numbers are all over the place.
All good campfire discussions – kind of like how big a fish have you caught.
Bill
I would only choose a DRW.
I once got 3MPG fighting a headwind. I literally watched the gas gauge move from full to empty within 100 miles on a 40 gallon tank. We ended that day at Mt Rushmore, so it was well worth the fight and fuel cost.
We stopped by Mt. Rushmore when we were out in Rapid City doing our residency change…and neither Connie or I were all that impressed. It wasn't the carvings; they are actually pretty decent…but rather the size. The carvings were way smaller than you think they are from looking at pictures.
Badlands National Park on the other hand was really cool; one of the better parks we've seen in the past couple of years. Not as huge as Grand Canyon and different from the scenery in NPs in other areas of the US but quite cool nonetheless and almost deserted the first week in Feb when we were there. We wandered around most of the trip in short sleeves; weather was really outstanding for Feb in SD.