[comptiger5000]

Apparently, the Jeep gets decent mileage when towing. Yesterday, I towed a 6x12 uhaul trailer home from college (about 3000 lbs loaded). I filled up twice during the trip, but not at the end, so I only have mileage numbers for about 3/4 of the 350 mile run.

On the first leg, which was reasonably flat, with some mild hills, and about 20 minutes of very slow moving traffic, I got 12.8 mpg. However, on the second leg, with a lot more hills (mostly long, moderate hills, a few mild ones, and a few steep ones), I got 14mpg. Keep in mind, I typically get about 17 - 17.5 on those same hills without a trailer, and 18 - 20 on flat ground, and 18 - 21 on mild hills. I had the cruise set at 60 pretty much the whole time.

Looking at those numbers, I probably could have seen 14 - 15 mpg on the first leg if I had let the Jeep use 4th gear (I kept it locked down to 3rd to avoid having to downshift for every hill or to accelerate, as it could do little more than hold speed in 4th). Tranny is a 4 speed auto, and it held 3rd gear and TC lockup up all the hills no problem.

Overall, I'm quite impressed. I was expecting no more than 12 - 12.5 mpg on the run, but the Jeep beat that by a good margin. The total weight of the Jeep, passengers, trailer and cargo was in the range of 7500 - 7800 lbs.