Yesterday, my husband and I towed our 2-horse BP Merhow w/ one horse approx. 350 miles, then towed the empty trailer back home, another 350 miles. The trailer weighs 1900 lbs. empty, the horse was a small QH, probably weighing 900 lbs. We had no hay, saddles, etc. to add weight

Our gas mileage averaged 8.9-9.1 mpg. which is exactly half of what we get when we are not pulling the trailer.

My husband was not happy to say the least, and was wondering how to get better gas mileage while towing. He thought that because the Merhow has a strait, flat front it caused more drag and would lower the gas mileage.

Would a trailer w/ a more rounded or v-nose (like a 4 Star) help w/ gas mileage? Or do you just expect to get crummy mileage when towing horses?

Thanks for the help!

what are you towing it with?  how fast are you driving?  hand calculated mpg or computer?

yes you should just expect low mpg when towing.  a v-nose would likely not help enough to warrant a different trailer (unless you wanted one anyway), weight also has little to do with mpg, wind resistance is the problem.

both the trucks in my sig pulling the same trailer got ~13 mpg towing at 65 mph.  w/o the trailer at 65 mph the 2500hd gets ~20 mpg and the trailblazer ~22 mpg.

I don't care if we get a different trailer but if there is a shape of trailer that would help increase gas mileage it would be worth it to us to purchase that trailer.

The mileage was calculated by the computer in the car, we had the readout set on mpg and it kept constant track of it as we drove.

Thanks!

Deirdre

Best way to improve your fuel mileage is slow down. Personally I don't like to go over 65 and usually set my cruise around 60/62, regardless if the speed limit says I can go faster. When I haul horses I'm just not in that big of a hurry to get anywhere. And if I am, that's my fault not my horses, so I still keep it on the slower side. I'm pretty sure my horses appreciate it too.

Unless you plan to haul those kind of distances regularly, I wouldn't sweat it too much or spend to much trying to fix it. Hmmm, an extra $35-$75 or so dollars for fuel occasionally or monthly payments on a new trailer or truck. Hmmm.

If we slowed down (esp. going LESS than the speed limit). We would likely be road-kill, cause we'd be run over by one of the thousand's of Semis going across Texas!

Thanks for your input but I wouldn't purchase a 'new' trailer, I would purchase used and there wouldn't be a huge extra outlay in $$$. If the gas savings were noticeable the "new, used" trailer would be worth it. And I don't see why we would get a new truck, we just purchased this one.

You are right, we don't normally drive 700 miles in one day towing our trailer but that's not to say that we won't be doing it again and I couldn't say how often we'll be doing it. I hadn't planned on driving that far yesterday and if you'd told me on Friday that we'd be hauling that far I'd have said you were crazy! ;o)

If the speed limit is 55, he'll go 60.

If the speed limit is 60, he'll go 65.

We DON'T drive 75mph towing our horse trailer!!

Deirdrehttp://www.gspca.org/

I find I get the best mileage towing at about 60.  Any faster and my truck really starts sucking down the fuel.  I haul about 120 miles a week and if I'm going faster than 65 and leave the cruise on up hills (it kicks down and revs the engine) it takes 3/4 tank.  If I stay at 60 and take the cruise off going up hill I only use 1/2 a tank.   That is about a 9 gallon & $25 difference.  So by just slowing down I save $100 a month

I dont' know if the horses notice the different speeds, but I notice the difference when I drive with the window down and wouldn't like the strong wind in my face.

It's probably not the shape of your trailer, just the extra weight and resistance to the axles turning.

I frequently tow an empty 7x14 trailer over to eastern Utah to pick up a load of rock to build homes with. The trailer does not stick up higher than my Ford F-350 Pickup. Towing empty trailer over or trailer with  8000lbs of rock coming home I get almost the same mileage. 12.5 to 12.8mpg. Which is pretty much the same as when I hook up to 16,000lb 4 horse LQ.  So the weight doesn't seem to make much difference. My truck empty gets 19mpg running 70mph down the hiway with out a trailer.

So hooking up a trailer regardless of whether it is a tall gooseneck LQ with A/C, awning and racks on top that weighs 16,000lbs or a flat bed with 2 foot tall sides that weighs 4,000lbs empty cuts my mpg by about a third. I don't think changing the shape will make much of a difference.

I have a 97 Dodge 2500 2WD Auto Diesel

 My truck is a 02 Dodge 2500 2WD auto diesel and I only get about 11-12 mph towing and about 15-16 empty.   We traded my 1/2 ton dodge because the bed rails were to high.  I guess I should have kept looking for an older truck to get that higher fuel mileage.

Just out of curiosity...WHAT is your trailer tires' speed rating???

Unless you have top of the line Goodyears...I'm willing to bet you have exceeded your trailer tires' speed rating...

Just a thought, because I don't want to read your next posting here to be in reference to a trailer tire failure...

Slowdown...save fuel...and your tires...

And you give yourself more time to react to events that can occur in front of you...

Some examples of Pickup truck braking distances and bad outcomes...

At 55 mph your reaction time is 60 feet. Now add in 160 feet for braking distance. That’s 220 feet. You just rear ended a 560 SEC Mercedes and doubled your insurance. The passenger is faking a sore neck and has a brother in Century City who is an attorney specializing in personal injury.

At 65 mph your reaction time is 71 feet plus 240 feet to stop. This time you rear-ended a ‘Vons Is Value’ truck. Luckily your work truck has one and the airbag deployed, but it broke your nose. Your truck is totaled and it takes twenty days to build a new one providing your insurance company gives you a check first for your old one.

Then we add a REAL BIG TRAILER and now the numbers get real interesting...

I don't recall saying slow down because the horses prefer it. I'm sure they do appreciate me not zig zagging in traffic not trying to race to my destination. I said slow down because it will improve your fuel economy. OK and I prefer it. Deep dark secret that 55mph limit that we had for so many years actually conserved quite a bit of fuel. Sadly we are in such a hurry to get anywhere, we have forsaken it. And yes I keep up with the other traffic too, but sometimes wonder what our hurry really is. I don't know about Texas but most states limit the truckers to between 55 and 65 mph, so if you were doing 62, should not be a big deal. The other reason for going slower is it allows more reaction time should you need to react to some unforeseen hazard in the road. Especially critical when towing a trailer.

Anyway, good luck finding a solution to your dilemma, be it a used trailer or a diesel truck or just figuring you don't tow enough to worry about it.

Happy trails.

As much as I hate being slow, especially on long trips, I try to keep the speedometer pegged at 62mph. I have an 02 Duramax 3/4 ton and pulling a fully loaded Jamco 4H with lots of tack and show stuff, I can manage 13-16mpg depending on the terrain. If it is mostly flat hi-way driving I can get 16mpg. If I am hauling to Reno over the hills then I get about 13mpg on the trip up. This same truck with no trailer will get 19mpg on a run from Sacramento, CA to Seattle Washington with the speedo between 70-80mph.

Keeping the speed at 62 with the trailer also avoids alot of suspicion from the hi-way patrol. Trucks with horse trailers are supposed to be driving the same posted speed as the tractor-trailers.

Well, with that rig, your trailer can take over your tow vehicle in an emergency stop; speed on a straight line with completely clear highway, no traffic, no deer, no dogs, and no blowouts, is marvelous, however, these things can happen....in view of the light tow vehicle, it's undoubtedly high speed gear ratio in the rear, fuel economy, and stopping ability, other than getting a different vehicle, reducing speed is your best bet.  The safety issues will be in effect with a v-nosed trailer as well.  Having worked wrecks with the type of arrangement you have, the best friendly advice will be to take much more time in transit.  Good luck to your family and horse(s) in whichever solution you find, ...all the best....

reference:

http://www.horsewheels.net/v1%20I1%20Pulling%20Power%20and%20Stopping%20Ability.pdf

I agree w/ everyone about slowing down. I used to show horses most every weekend years and years ago. I drove my own rig and I drove much more conservatively then my husband does now.

I got married (to a non-horseperson) and of course he has no idea how to drive when towing live cargo! The first time we went someplace w/ our trailer and a horse he started out driving like you'd drive a car! I told him (very nicely) that he needed to take it easy for the sake of the horse and I explained why. Well I guess I bruised his male ego because it led to a big ol' fight!

I always say "I'll drive" when hauling horses but he refuses. Luckily after he cooled down he has listened to my advice, plus he's read articles that I've printed out for him (I think it helps if advice comes from a 3rd party!). He's better now but when it gets towards the end of a long day and he's ready to get home, he starts getting a little lax w/ his driving.

Recently when I offered (for the thousandth time) to drive, and was turned down I finally asked hubby why he never let me drive. His answer? Because "I drive too slow!" LOL

I guess I can't win. BUT, my husband really is great, and he tries to understand the horses and my love of them. And he participates with attending clinics, shows, etc. Like on Sat., when he would have rather been playing Golf, he cancelled his plans to take my horse (at the last minute) 700 miles to a trainer.

Deirdre

No one yelled at them to SLOW DOWN. I agree my husband should SLOW DOWN. But what was a simple post asking about aerodynamics and gas mileage has turned into a criticism of our driving.

I have tried to get my husband to ride in the back. Believe me, I'm doing all I can to make our horse trailering experiences safe and positive for all involved. I feel lucky that we have the V8 4Runner to tow w/. Before we were using a V6 BMW X5. At least I talked hubby into a V8.

We can't all have huge HD PU trucks w/ super duty this and the perfect axle ratio, etc. etc. In a perfect world, yes. But not in MY world ;o)

I do a lot of research, most of it on this site and I know what it takes to be safe, I know it is not ideal to tow w/ an SUV, etc., etc.

But hubby thinks if the auto manufacturer says the vehicle can do it (tow that much) then we are going to do it!

I just want the friendly advice that I think this forum is known for. It's hard not to react when you think people are being judgemental.

Deirdre

I agree, and hope you don't feel hurt at my input. If so, please accept my apologies....  While addressing the fuel mileage issue, I also hoped to give you some info to help you with the hubby....

And I did pull a flat faced 2 h BP TB trailer with a Dodge Ramcharger!  Never wrecked but learned about that fuel thing, tooo....am lucky now to have the big truck for the big trailer, and still have a standard V-nosed BP 2h that I can pull with the Suburban for little runs to the vet etc...  I truly do wish you luck, and perhaps a V-nose will help a bit on fuel, at least on flat roads....(My husband is somewhat the opposite.. always bigger truck "just in case", and drive like there is an open cup of scalding coffee sittin in your lap!)  there's an idea!