plan on traveling alot what is a good fuel efficient truck to pull fith wheel

[flybouy]

Originally Posted by wiredgeorge

As one who has NEVER seen a "charging station" connected to a Walmart or any charging station anywhere, does a commercial store like Walmart meter the use of these charging stations and charge you to use it? Walmart and most service stations around where I live charge for air at an air pump.

I’ve never seen a free charger. Insert credit card and plug in. Sort of like pumping gas but instead of price per gallon it’s per watt. I would imagine Walmart is leasing space in the parking lot and not directly operating the charge station.

[JRTJH]

There are two "FREE" charging stations located on Kneeland Avenue, just off Sailing Avenue in Lewiston, MI. BOTH were installed using a federal grant by the Lewiston city council in conjunction with Presque Isle Electric and Gas Co-Op. The goal by the utility company was to increase availability of charging stations and the goal of the city council was to improve downtown shopping/utilization, and since the Federal Government was paying the bill, they both agreed to take advantage of the "free stuff"...

A "pet peeve" of quite a few of the local "tax payers" is the guy that lives across the street from the recharging stations. He saw an opportunity, so he bought an Chevy Bolt, got the "federal tax credits" for the purchase and parks his car "across from his house where recharging is free"... Sort of the best of both worlds...

I've only seen the one car ever parked there, so apparently all those "complainers" aren't "motivated enough to take advantage of the other charger".....

[dutchmensport]

The very first post after the op, hit the nail right on the head. There is no such thing as a fuel effecient "anything" when towing a fifth wheel. You can expect between 9 and 11 mpg of either diesel or gas with both a 3500 / f350 or 2500 / f250. Mountain travel may be even worse.

AND...
Here is an original statement that I created a long time ago. Feel free to REALLY think about this statement and even feel free to quote it to someone else:

“You really need to think in terms of what is the ultimate extreme usage you'll be experiencing with your tow vehicle, not what is the lightest usage and hope it's OK when the extreme happens."

[notanlines]

From Wally's news source: "June 6, 2019 — Electrify America and Walmart announced today that more than 120 plus ultra-fast electric vehicle (EV) charging stations are now operational and open to the public at Walmart stores across the U.S. Building upon the original commitment set forth in April 2018, the companies are planning to expand the relationship in the coming years with additional Electrify America charging stations located at Walmart stores across the country.

Electrify America’s continued collaboration with Walmart is expected to make the retailer one of the largest retail hosts of electric vehicle charging stations across the United States, and reinforces Walmart’s broader mission to spark collective action – alongside key partners – to drive environmental sustainability and provide customers access to sustainable options."

I am so excited....

[travelin texans]

The local Culver's restaurant has 4 charging pedestals behind the store, all have the Tesla name on them, I've never seen more than 1 vehicle there at any time. From what I can gather those are only for Tesla's & that each different EV manufacturer has their own distinctive plug, not universal.
As I mentioned my neighbor has had the Mach E Mustang ordered since Feb, delivery date still undetermined, supposedly it comes with Ford charging locations programmed in the onboard GPS, mostly found at Ford dealerships, along with a Ford card to be used at those stations with XX number of free charges at those stations.

[jasin1]

The charging station cords eventually will end up looking like air hoses at gas stations ,,missing ends…leaks in the air lines…some people abuse anything given to them. Eventually one out of four charging cables will be broken or ends burnt up..right now it’s just the hipsters and yuppies using them and they are mostly neat and tidy people…when the masses have to use them it will be a mess

[WDPatterson]

Originally Posted by hylasw

We are plan on traveling quite a bit right now I have a 2002 Ford 7.3 diesel F250 truck and a 2012 High country Cougar 5th wheel

Right now pulling my 5th wheel I only get 9-10 mile per gallon. We are plan on traveling quite a bit and wondering what is a really good fuel efficient Truck I am thinking about trading mine off and getting a different Truck. I have thought a little bit about a F150 Lighting Electric truck but not many charging stations and also we plan on doing alot of boon docking and not to sure about a electic Truck.
Want to hear peoples thought of if their is anyway of making my 2002 Ford 7.3 diesel more fuel efficient I have tried chipping it and not much change.

Given today's global economy, National economy, fuel prices, and truck prices, your best sticking with what you have. The only thing I might add would be to upgrade the turbo, and make sure all the gaskets and seals are good. Do regular oil changes, and you'll be fine. You're getting just about the right fuel mileage for just about any diesel on the market.
Enjoy your camping!!

[Flyboy]

Oddly enough, we pull our avalanche with a volvo semi (converted to a heavy duty rv hauler for looks mainly) and get almost 13mpg at 55mph. It drops to 12mpg at 60mph, and 11.5 at 65mph. The cost of the truck was much cheaper than a new pickup (we bought a 2016 for 33k) and still have almost 800k left for us to drive before any major expected work. So… cheaper to operate, cheaper to purchase… far better breaks, and far more power for the hills… and stable in the high crosswind like you’ve never felt in a pickup.

There are different gear ratios out there and even one more better than ours, that we will get next time.

[Spock123]

If you want better fuel mileage buy a late model truck or a new Ford, the old trucks that don’t have all the emissions crap. There is another way and that’s slow down, 63mph max. I have a 2021 GMC Denali DRW and I get 11.5 going 63mph or 9.8 going 70mph. I wish I had brought a new Ford that way if I had a problem with the emissions I could have done a delete. It isn’t worth it to just delete the emissions just to save a mile a gallon, you want ever get your money back. I have to slow down, I have a 100gal auxiliary tank and I can get better fuel mileage just running 63mph. I have to stop about every 3 hours and me and DW and dog can use the bathroom get fuel and be down the road in 15 minutes. I have a friend that has a 2017 Ford 2500 diesel that he has deleted and he gets better fuel mileage running 70mph than I do running 63mph. I can’t delete my GMC nor do I want to

[goodellj]

I have a 2012 F-350 6.7L turbo diesel, all factory original everything, and I usually get about 12 to 12.5mpg with the 5th wheel. I can get better on a day of level interstate driving, or worse if on a highway with a lot of stoplights. I average about 18-19 without the trailer. I used to get 21mpg going back and forth to work (no stoplights, 50mph speed limit).

[CaptnJohn]

Long ago pulling 7500# with a gasser I got 7.2 mpg on the level. Looking for gas every 90 minutes. Latest 2 trucks ~~ 2017 F350 SRW about 10.5 pulling a 13.2K loaded 5er. Today, 10.2 pulling 15.7K loaded 5er. A few back a 34' Cougar was much lighter and diesel mpg about the same. Without the 5er today I'll get 16.5 to 17.9 most tank fulls. I normally run 65-68mph a bit faster passing while towing.

[Pete54401]

Not much to add but very simply, as stated, (good) fuel economy and towing are not compatible. Forget any half-ton for a 5th wheel and forget towing anything long distance with the Lightning unless you can find fast chargers every 150 miles or so. An F-150 with the 3.5 Ecoboost, while a great tow vehicle for a conventional trailer, will only get about 10-11 MPG with a 5,000 lb + trailer.

@JAVI - Curious about the sales people, lawyers, pols and bankers comment.

[Rblair6531]

Just completed an 8000 mile trip with my 2020 6.7 F350 CCSB with 3.55 gears pulling my Cougar at 10,000 lbs. I got 12.5 to 13 mpg.
This was better then my 2015 F250 6.2 SCSB with 4.3 gears, was getting 8.0 to 8.5 mpg.
So I guess I feel better.

[Spock123]

The EV are not being charged state and federal road use tax, that has to change. If a ton EV truck comes out I’ll be first in line to get one. To get more mileage I would put 2 4500 watt generators and parallel them to get 50amps. Hook a charger up and I would have a gas/electric truck

[Spock123]

Actually when men talk about fuel mileage I take it all with a grain (box) of salt. 3 things men will lie about 1 the size of fish they caught
2 fuel mileage
3 there is one other thing but it slipps my mind

[DWBinRI]

Originally Posted by xrated

I really have nothing of value to add here other than..........

Talk of fuel efficiency and towing 5th Wheel Campers really shouldn't even be in the same sentence.......kind of like.......Screen doors and submarines!

But they keep the fish out of the people tank🤣

[Kzneft]

Pretty much what everyone else said, but, pulling a trailer with my 99 7.3 vs my 2017 F350 is night and day. Mileage is about the same, but noise is a lot less, you can pull up a steep grade with no problem, the diesel automatic braking downhill is wonderful. Built in brake control is wonderful. I only missed my 7.3 for about 10 minutes.

[Jim2366]

If you are getting 10 miles a gallon that is pretty good, for any truck. I have found a way to save money on fuel. I have a 33 gallon fuel tank, and I had a 60 gallon auxiliary tank put in the bed of the truck, with a lot of advice from people here on the forum.

So here is how I Save money. I use an app called gas buddy to get fuel at the lowest cost. Most stations the charge here $2.87 but checkout where I fill up and save.

https://www.gasbuddy.com/home?search...e=0&method=all

$2.41 is a big savings. On our last trip a month ago we drove 2400 miles and I was able to purchase fuel for $2.68 on the second fill up. Sometimes I pay the normal price but when convenient it pays to use the app.

[LERD]

Originally Posted by Pete54401

Not much to add but very simply, as stated, (good) fuel economy and towing are not compatible. Forget any half-ton for a 5th wheel and forget towing anything long distance with the Lightning unless you can find fast chargers every 150 miles or so. An F-150 with the 3.5 Ecoboost, while a great tow vehicle for a conventional trailer, will only get about 10-11 MPG with a 5,000 lb + trailer.

@JAVI - Curious about the sales people, lawyers, pols and bankers comment.

Well even though my next truck will be a F-350, I am currently towing an '07 Copper Canyon 5th wheel with a 2013 3.5l ecoboost. I ran it across the scales one trip. Fully loaded to our level of camping, full fresh tank and I just topped off the fuel. I was right at 14800. Under my GVWR, but over paylaod by 750lbs. I thought, not too bad. But my fuel economy was no where near 10-11 mpg going into Tennessee. More like 8-9 mpg. That engine is fantastic, but it's not eco! BTW, I have made adjustments like Timbrens and 10ply tires till I can get a newer TV to help with the added weight.

[JRTJH]

As Lane said, an Eco-Boost is not very Eco when towing.

With any gas engine that I've ever owned, it takes a certain amount of energy to pull the truck and when you strap a trailer behind it, that fuel mileage goes way, WAY down.

The Eco-Boost is, like any other gas engine, going to use a LOT of gas when towing. I don't know of any engine, gas or diesel, that gets close to the same mileage solo and towing an RV. Most share about a 40-50% reduction in fuel mileage. Where diesels "shine" is the ability to maintain the torque required to climb hills without the high RPM's typically needed with a gas engine. The Eco-Boost has a much flatter torque curve, but keeping the engine speed up on hills requires a lot of "foot pressure" which makes that "lie-o-meter" sweat like a long tail cat in a room full of rocking chairs.....