awful gas mileage

[MikeKz]

Brother has a Toyota Highlander that he just towed to western KY from Dayton OH. He hand-calculated and said he got 7.8 mpg doing about 65-70 mph. His boat is an 18' deep-V Tracker model with high windshield, about 7 years old...I figure it weighs about 3800# total. Highlander is the high-end model with 3.5L V6 and of course auto trans, rated at 5000# towing.

Anyone else chime in, either confirm or offer opinion? Just seems lousy to me. Heck I get 14 mpg in a Sequoia with 5.7L and not very fond of that, can't imagine getting <10.

[DaveBrabec]

The 4 and 6 cylinders get great mpg till you hook up something to tow.Get a bigger truck

[XingEyeballs]

Seems about right actually, like Dave said, although they have the tow rating the gears are based more on daily driving and the motor works harder to pull anything. Also, although not a heavy boat, that full windshield catches a lot more wind.

[MikeKz]

Huh OK I will let him know.

[James 10]

Buy american

[Johnnyred]

Jeep GC 3.6L V6 pulling 20' aluminum bass boat dual axle trailer prolly weighs about the same as your brothers boat package I get 17.x MPG on long highway trips. V6 is perfect for towing a boat in that class. His boat is certainly less aerodynamic than my rig and would account for some if not a lot of the MPG difference. My Jeep has an 8-speed transmission too. If your brother has a 6- or 5-speed transmission that would prolly account for another chunk of the difference.

[wmitch2]

If there is a "Tow Mode" switch/button, be sure to use it. Also, SLOW DOWN to 60-62 mph. Even 58-60 is even better !! It won't add much to your time, but will add to your MPG. I get 14-15 MPG with out the boat, and 12-13 with the boat. 2009 Navigator 351 with tow package. I mostly run 60-62 with the boat. I'll go down to 10-11 running 65-70.

[ECobb91]

That seems about right. I tow with a v6 Durango and get 16–18mpg towing. Even some others have reported similar fuel economy with highlanders in other threads. The difference is probably due to wind resistance.. a 3500# bass boat tows much easier than a 3500# pontoon boat

[CJ1]

Buy american

That really helps. And he did, Toyota is one of the more USA sourced parts and assembled than alot of the big 3. The highlander is built in Princeton Indiana. Last time I looked that is in the USA? NO?

As far as the OP, yea when you work a vehicle especially a smaller displacement engine they don't do too good with MPG's. So I'd say he maybe a bit on the low side but towing into a headwind, loaded heavy ect all has a effect on mileage. CJ

[n2ratfishin]

With a rig like that he is fighting weight AND wind resistance. I bet that dee V and full windshield stick up higher than the tow vehicle. I've pulled all sorts of stuff all over with two different AWD 4 Runners and my wife's current GX460. They all get about 12 MPG pulling at those speeds. My Tundra gets about 13 pulling my RT188 and 11 or 12 pulling a big glass bass rig. I tow back and forth to Florida at least once a year. I normally set the cruise about 75 MPH. In addition there are some pretty good rolling hills in the area he was towing.

[Cover Dog]

I tow the boat in my signature with the Chevy Colorado in my signature. 25mpg without the boat, 15mpg towing. 7mpg using the Motor Home.

[JTN]

The only thing that pulls harder the a Deep V with a full windshield is a load of round bales 2 wide stacked 2 high;) When I'm pulling my 20 foot Lund fisherman the only thing that goes fast is the gas gauge needle towards empty.

[tcesni]

Brother has a Toyota Highlander that he just towed to western KY from Dayton OH. He hand-calculated and said he got 7.8 mpg doing about 65-70 mph. His boat is an 18' deep-V Tracker model with high windshield, about 7 years old...I figure it weighs about 3800# total. Highlander is the high-end model with 3.5L V6 and of course auto trans, rated at 5000# towing.

Anyone else chime in, either confirm or offer opinion? Just seems lousy to me. Heck I get 14 mpg in a Sequoia with 5.7L and not very fond of that, can't imagine getting <10.

I tow a RT188 with a 3.5L V6 Edge at those speeds and get 15-16 mpg. I would expect your brother to get similar, maybe a bit less from the poor aerodynamics.

[CJ1]

A pontoon over 65 or so. Like pulling a parachute! CJ

[Coastal Mountaineer]

Your brothers calculation of 7.8 mpg seems awfully low to me but entirely possible. The high windshield, total rig weighing close to 4,000 pound not loaded, and interstate speeds sucks the fuel. Still, I'd have thought 11-12 mpg would have been expected.

[Fx20 2011]

Skeeter FX 20.

Jeep Grand Cherokee 6cyl Between 15 & 16 mph with a lot of power to spare.

RAM 1500 8cyl Regular Gas I get 11mph. Medium Grade Gas I get 13mph. @ if I'm heavy on the pedal it can drop below 10 for both.

[muddogs]

2018 Ram 1500 eco diesel pulling 20ft Basscat puma 70 mph 19 mpg plenty of power

[61Woody]

My guess is wind drag is most of the issue. a larger full profile tow vehicle will get worse day to day mileage but probably better at towing as it will block more of the wind than a mid sized vehicle. I tow an 18 Lund with a walk through windshield with 21 Silverado 5.3 and get anywhere from 12.5-14 mpg depending on speed and terrain.

[Meleagris1]

The recent price surge aside - this is really where you see a big benefit to diesel. I get 16-17 on trips.

[davidsa]

not sure what year Highlander is being talked but something is a major miss. I can't imagine what the issue is. maybe extreme wind day and tall boat???

Towed my 3500# phoenix back from south florida last May with my fathers 14 Hylander v6 awd and got roughly 16mph on the trip. This is very close to what i get with my v6 Durango. the gas tank on the highlander is not real big so one has to stop more then the Durango which holds 6 gallons more fuel.

I've got a 22 highlander awd v6 now and have towed with it but only on short distance trips to the ramp. I'm seeing that 17-18mpg number on the short trips which rarely get over 65mph. I'm getting 26-27 at 76mph on the interstate and am sure my boat will pull me down to 16ish. Wind and terraine can make a 2mpg impact.