Damn trailers

So I beefed up the rear springs to be 3/4 ton. Simple $300 upgrade. I own a floor cleaning company (I'm polish so go figure). 07 double cab trd off road with the towing package. K&n system along with flow master series 40. I pull a duel axle 7x12 v-nose trailer and I'm getting only 12mpg highway. How can I get this truck to burn 14mpg or more? Also I heard that the towing package has a transmission cooling system. Is that true? I ended up in a ditch almost killing two state cops feet away due to a icy bridge close to Indianapolis. My truck was sliding sideways at 65mph down with a semi right behind me. My original trailer was trashed. So I got this one with the braking system. I feel more comfortable with the trailer packed with all my equipment. I need to figure out how to increase mpg without getting the almighty tundra. If I have to I will. But I have faith in my taco. On the side note, I heard that the new Tacoma looks like garbage. Is it true?

 

I haul a utility trailer with my Tacoma and get a lot better than 14 mpg but I probably never have more than a half ton of stuff on it at any one time. If you tow anything real then 14 mpg is probably what you are going to get, no matter what you use. My sister has a Ford 250 turbo diesel that tows like a beast but it gets about 14 mpg all of the time. My brother has a Tundra that isn't quite the tower as the 250 but handles his 22 ft boat with no problems; it doesn't get the greatest mileage though -- maybe 18 at best and 14-15 when towing.

 

the tundras window sticker says 10 to 13 mpg,i have a buddy who has one and he said he maxed out at 14 empty.

 

I say congrats on squeaking 13 while dragging that loaded V-Nose.
I towed an enclosed snowmobile clamshell trailer 5 yrs many miles with a stock 2006 Tacoma V6 DC 4x4 and never saw better than 11.

It basically is a big box back there, lots of drag not like an open trailer whatsoever.

Also I did trade for a 2011 tundra and my mileage is very comparable to my tacoma ownership with my towing numbers better fwiw. Much easier to tow.

 

Yes it has a trans cooler and an oil cooler and no you'll most likely never do better then 12-14 towing a 7X12 loaded trailer. Only thing that will help is slowing down. Nothing does well towing talked to a guy the other day with an Eco Boost 150 he's getting 9 MPG towing.

 

If you want better MPG while towing, get a diesel. The Tundra won't do any better with an enclosed trailer in tow. Also, what K&N system do you have, is it just a drop in filter or a 'cold air intake' system? If you have the whole cold air intake, go back to stock with a good drop in filter. That K&N is hurting more than helping.

 

Along with slowing down there are a couple of other things you can do to increase mileage.
Accelerate slowly. this will increase mileage and also extend the life of the trucks drivetrain. I'm not saying drive like a granny but an even acceleration up to cruising speed will help.
Have a look in your trailer for anything you can remove to decrease weight. You can probably find some stuff or equipment that you will never use and is just taking up space and adding weight.

 

yea 10-13mpg towing is good.
before we got 2 98 superduties we used gas trucks for delv. trailers.
2 chevy 454's and one ford 460. and you could go up fancy gap va. and watch the fuel hand go down.
same load with the superduty, did not even break a sweat.
when it comes to towing there is no substitution for for the low end power.
but you have to balance here also, is it worth the 5-6 thousand dollars for a diesel over standard truck. do you drive so much that it will pay for its self, and a diesel has more expensive up keep.