Is slower better??

Good Day folks, new to this forum & RVing

Towing a Octane T26y travel trailer, toy hauler.  31'7 long and just over 12' high with AC. 6400 lbs dry.
Purchased new in April
When I towed her home, truck was stock & stayed in 5th dropping to 4th on every hill.  I live in Ont and our hills are relatively small.
Tow vehicle is a F150 SC 4x4 6.5' box, Ecoboost & 3.73 axle.
She is now equipped with a K&N CAI, a Magnaflo high flow dual cat back & SCT livewire TS+ tuner with tunes from 5 star tuning

I had to take the trailer back to the dealer due to an issue with the 500 watt solar pkg that was installed
With the improvements she ran much easier even occasionally, on straights kicking into 6th and rarely dropping to 4th.  Went from approx. half a tank used towing home to just over a quarter.
Home is only 120km approx from the dealer

Now the questions??  Is slower better

At 80 - 90 Km/h she stays in 5th, if I speed up to approx 103 km/h on straights she will up shift to 6th.
I've always understood the higher gear is more fuel efficient. But Everything I'm reading says slower is better but doesn't give the gear the vehicle is using.
2nd ? Is using cruise when towing ok.  Yes, No, only on straights???  I like using my cruise on the highway but have not used it towing.
I've also read about ppl using the manual option to select gears.  Is this adviseable, manually select 6th at 90 km/h ???

Heading to Montana in a bit, over 3K km for me & that's going to be a lot of fuel and long days
With a 1000 lb bike, water, fuel etc I'm estimating close to 10000 lbs loaded.


Any advise be greatly appreciated

Thanx in advance

Wolf

Truck has Max Tow. Told by dealership 11,200 lb tow capacity
Weighed trailer at county dump dry. Have not had opportunity to do it loaded yet
Thnx for the responses, will be checking back often

For those who feel like Donn, NO this is not a Joke.  Trailer is within my tow capacity & I am using a Equalizer 1400 weight distributing hitch & have also had an air lift suspension installed. She rides level
The trucks paid for & Im not ready to drop $70K on 350 or 450 HD diesel

Because this question is bound to come up in this conversation, any chance you get your rig on a scale and see what you look like loaded as you will travel?

That's going to be important to you in the long run, especially if you are pushing your weight limits. It's really a good idea to have those numbers!

Depends on the gear ratio of the transmission. Like my Dodge Diesel gets better power and economy running 53-55 MPH in direct 1:1 (4th gear) vs. 55-60 MPH in overdrive 0.75:1 (5th). But I run a lot of mountain roads of Idaho. This is because like for my engine maximum torque is at 2,100 RPM so climbing grades is more efficient in 4th gear. So not knowing the dyno graph for the Ford I would have to say that higher RPM's for a gasser is going to produce better torque numbers. also the slower speeds is going to reduce wind drag.

http://articles.mopar1973man.com/members-rides/17-mopar1973man/145-2002-dodge-ram-dyno-results

Wolf,
Do you have the max tow package on your 150? If so it is rated for 11,300 lbs. and at 10,000 lbs. you are at 90% capacity. If no max tow Pkg. 9,800 lbs. rated and you would be exceeding. The rating for your truck should be listed on the drivers side door panel to be sure. Be careful either way as you are close to the limits of your truck. Also your Toy hauler is rated at 10,900 lbs. GVWR

ps. slower is almost always better and cruise control I very rarely use it only straight away flat ground to give the leg an occasional rest.

I also installed a K&N filter on my 150 and saw immediate results in power and MPG.

No simple answer to that. In any given gear, slower will yield better fuel economy because of reduced wind resistance. But when you change gears, you introduce a second factor that might outweigh the first. As a practical matter, it is most likely that you should travel at the lowest speed possible in the highest gear that is usable in that terrain, but "your mileage may vary".

You have to be kidding right?  This has to be a joke post?
No one in their right mind is going to attempt to tow a 31 foot toy hauler with a Screw are they?
At absolute minimum you need a 2500 series truck  loades with stuff and a basic toy your going to be dragging the trucks rear bumper.  I suspect your already exceeding your RAWR not to mention tire ratings.  Just plane foolish.  If you insist on keeping this combination plan on a lot of time sitting on the side of the road waiting for a tow truck.

The best way to really find out what the best speed is for your specific combination is to get out and drive it. Drive a couple tanks at the lower speed, then a couple at the higher speed. Compare the numbers. Then you'll know how your rig runs best. Nobody else in the world has exactly the same combination of truck, trailer, and loading as you'll have. Take good notes of how it pulls hills, which speed works best and when the fuel mileage is highest.

Ken

Each truck/trailer consist has a "Sweet Spot" and to be honest the only way to find it is expierement..And it also is affected by wind speed and direction.

I sort of suspect an F-150 is a bit on the small side for your trailer.  But I've not run the numbers.

As someone suggsted.. Scale it both truck and trailer axle by axle. and compare to your Maximum Vehicle Weight,, Maxium Axle Weight and Maximum Combined Vehicle Weight ratings for that truck (And trailer as well)

If you are heavy see if you can find Trail-Hauler.. Those trucks are BIG ENOUGH (and yes this one sentence is part humor.. They sell Semi tractors rigged for RV use).

bucks2 said:

The best way to really find out what the best speed is for your specific combination is to get out and drive it. Drive a couple tanks at the lower speed, then a couple at the higher speed. Compare the numbers. Then you'll know how your rig runs best. Nobody else in the world has exactly the same combination of truck, trailer, and loading as you'll have. Take good notes of how it pulls hills, which speed works best and when the fuel mileage is highest.

Ken

Click to expand...

Another way is to use a ScanGauge II that is calibrated to the truck then you can see instant MPG numbers and govern your speed to hit the numbers you want. Don't use a on board computer supplied with the vehicle rarely do that actually hit an accurate number.

This is empty truck running the local highways...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SRQdoPs_tLo

Truck and the list of mods...
http://articles.mopar1973man.com/members-rides/17-mopar1973man/25-2002-dodge-ram-2500

I have vehicles with both instant and longer term MPG readouts. I find the long term readout much more useful for determining how to drive. In the MH I set the cruise control and watch the world go by. The instant numbers change every few seconds from 1.2 mpg to 99.9 mpg. That gives me no real number to understand what speed is best. When I drive all day at 65 and get my average MPG, then compare it to driving all day at 55 or 58 or 62, I know which speed is best. This is exactly how I determined that 65 was better for my rig that the commonly stated 60 or 62. My rig won't stay in 6th gear at the lower speeds and my mileage suffers.

For me, it is much better to find the speed that gives me the best long term average and stay at that speed. It's also, I feel, easier for other drivers to have me drive at a constant speed rather than going fast downhill, slow up steep hills and somewhere in between on other hills. (accomodating of course limitations of the vehicle itself. Sometimes you just can't stay at speed going up hill) If I was watching instant MPG numbers and trying to adjust my speed accordingly I think it would drive the other drivers crazy. I know it annoys me when I'm trapped behind another driver who varies their speed constantly.

Ken