Gas Mileage Ranger 2.3L towing 6600lb Travel Trailer

[PapaRB]

So, I read a few posts about towing TT ‘s before I bought my new Ranger 2.3L and felt like it was okay to tow my fully loaded TT that weighs 6600lbs fully loaded. I doubt mine weighs that much m, not a lot of stuff and don’t tow with much freshwater (5gals). My gas mileage has been all over the place. As low as 6mpg to as high as 10mpg. No where near the 12-13 mpg I read about on some threads. My speed is generally 60-65 and occasionally 70. Have just over 3,000 miles on the vehicle. I’ve used 87 octane and 91 with very little difference in mileage from tank to tank. My WDH is setup well and I’m level, the pitch on the Ranger is 0 in front and 0 in back. Any thoughts on improving the mpg cause I’ve taken a couple of 500 mile trips and stopping for fuel is a real bummer, as many as 6 times on a 500 mile trip, when trying to stop at a gas station that is setup for a tow rig like Love’s etc.

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[RANGER PRIDE]

I used my 2019 to tow a cargo trailer from BC to Ontario this summer.
It was around the 3500lb mark, give or take a few.
Was not impressed on the mileage either. I think it handled the weight fine, just not the aerodynamics of pulling a brick at highway speed. I went from about 600km per tank down to 300.
I dont think there is much you can do about the mileage except go downhill....

 

[stemplar]

What are you towing, and more specifically, what is the trailer’s frontal area?

 

[AugPal]

I have a 22ft Rpod travel trailer, 3400lbs. I was told years ago to never go over 65mph towing a trailer due to control issues if you have to stop quickly. I normally go 63mph. I was getting 14mpg with a V6 Jeep Grand Cherokee. I have only towed it with my Ranger once and It showed 14mpg going 63mph on a fairly flat road with a few small hills..

Make sure you check your trailer tires, a lot of trailer tires will have a maximum speed rating of 65mph printed on the tire.

I know Rangers with a towing package is rated for 7500lbs with the towing package, 6600lbs is really pushing it.

There is a fin for the top of cars or trucks that people claim gives them 2 extra mpg. I was going to get one when I was towing with a V6 Chevy Traverse, but they were sold out

 

[PapaRB]

What are you towing, and more specifically, what is the trailer’s frontal area?

2023 jayco 24RL which is 8ft wide and 11 ft high to top of AC unit so probably 9.5ft tall. 72 sq ft ?

 

[PapaRB]

I have a 22ft Rpod travel trailer, 3400lbs. I was told years ago to never go over 65mph towing a trailer due to control issues if you have to stop quickly. I normally go 63mph. I was getting 14mpg with a V6 Jeep Grand Cherokee. I have only towed it with my Ranger once and It showed 14mpg going 63mph on a fairly flat road with a few small hills..

Make sure you check your trailer tires, a lot of trailer tires will have a maximum speed rating of 65mph printed on the tire.

I know Rangers with a towing package is rated for 7500lbs with the towing package, 6600lbs is really pushing it.

There is a fin for the top of cars or trucks that people claim gives them 2 extra mpg. I was going to get one when I was towing with a V6 Chevy Traverse, but they were sold out

Thanks for your info. Yeah I’m within the limits of the GCWR and the max tow of 7500lbs and the max tongue wt. Pulls good and runs good, the wind makes the biggest difference that I can tell, traveled from OKC to Oxford MS one weekend got 9-10mpg but this weekend went from OKC to Columbia MO and got real low numbers 6 to 8 mpg

 

[stemplar]

2023 jayco 24RL which is 8ft wide and 11 ft high to top of AC unit so probably 9.5ft tall. 72 sq ft ?

If your frontal area guess is accurate you’re over by about 30% (https://www.globalowneraem.ford.com...523-Ford-2024-RVTTGuide-Ev7-NS-Remediated.pdf)

This, paired with the high speed you mentioned, has an awful lot to do with your mileage.

 

[LLCCPA]

I tow a travel trailer weighing in about 5,000 lb loaded. I average 11-13 mpg. I try to keep my speed around 62 on the highway. Honestly, I don't think I would feel comfortable pulling something much heavier than this with my Ranger.

 

[PapaRB]

SOONER !

 

[Rangerjimm]

I read this and think that the fact that you can tow 6600lbs at 70 mph at all with a 2.3L 4 cylinder is amazing.

 

[Wayfaring Ranger]

Most towing resources tell you to stay under 75% of the vehicle's max tow which would be 5625lb for the ranger. I think between your trailer's frontal area being 30% larger than the maximum for the ranger (max 55 sqft) and being at 90% of the max towing weight are two significant factors in why your mpgs are suffering so badly. You may want to consider upgrading to a fullsize or downgrading your camper.

 

[Dpowhatan]

I have a 22ft Rpod travel trailer, 3400lbs. I was told years ago to never go over 65mph towing a trailer due to control issues if you have to stop quickly. I normally go 63mph. I was getting 14mpg with a V6 Jeep Grand Cherokee. I have only towed it with my Ranger once and It showed 14mpg going 63mph on a fairly flat road with a few small hills..

Make sure you check your trailer tires, a lot of trailer tires will have a maximum speed rating of 65mph printed on the tire.

I know Rangers with a towing package is rated for 7500lbs with the towing package, 6600lbs is really pushing it.

There is a fin for the top of cars or trucks that people claim gives them 2 extra mpg. I was going to get one when I was towing with a V6 Chevy Traverse, but they were sold out

I also tow an RPod with my Ranger. Like you, I don’t exceed 65 mph even though my trailer tires are rated to 82 mph. I’ve found my mileage to be about 14 as well.

 

[PapaRB]

I tow a travel trailer weighing in about 5,000 lb loaded. I average 11-13 mpg. I try to keep my speed around 62 on the highway. Honestly, I don't think I would feel comfortable pulling something much heavier than this with my Ranger.

Thanks for your response. I think there is a poster named Grumpaw on this forum and he has the same Jayco 24RL TT. He hasn’t had problems towing either. As I recall from some of his posts he gets pretty good gas mileage but don’t recall any comments about his speed.

I read this and think that the fact that you can tow 6600lbs at 70 mph at all with a 2.3L 4 cylinder is amazing.

I suspect I’m considerably less than the 6600, dry weight is about 5,300. My Eaz-Lift recurve R3 WDH helps quite a bit. If your on level ground in tow mode and don’t have cruise control on you can creep up above 70 without knowing it so I always use cruise. Don’t want to be a run away mine train. So far stopping has not been a problem but I have not had to “throw on the brakes” at highway speeds as yet. I know where the brake controller squeeze pins are and practice that scenario for good measure.
Happy Trails !

 

[PapaRB]

Most towing resources tell you to stay under 75% of the vehicle's max tow which would be 5625lb for the ranger. I think between your trailer's frontal area being 30% larger than the maximum for the ranger (max 55 sqft) and being at 90% of the max towing weight are two significant factors in why your mpgs are suffering so badly. You may want to consider upgrading to a fullsize or downgrading your camper.

Thanks for the info, I’ll try to figure out the frontal area of the TT.

 

[PapaRB]

Most towing resources tell you to stay under 75% of the vehicle's max tow which would be 5625lb for the ranger. I think between your trailer's frontal area being 30% larger than the maximum for the ranger (max 55 sqft) and being at 90% of the max towing weight are two significant factors in why your mpgs are suffering so badly. You may want to consider upgrading to a fullsize or downgrading your camper.

I measured the front of the jayco 24RL this morning. It is 8’ wide and 7’ tall so comes in at 56 sq ft. The dry weight is 5,235 so with propane full and supplies I’m close to 6,000. I really appreciate your advice.

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