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Old 05-04-2018, 05:20 PM   #1
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Our experience towing a 5.0A with a GMC Canyon V6

First, thanks to all the folks on this forum who help us get to this point. We just got back to Dallas from picking up our 5.0TA and taking the "long" way back, so I thought I'd share my experience towing it with our 2017 GMC Canyon V6 short bed. This is my first time towing an RV, although I've towed flatbeds with cars before. The attachment shows us picking it up.

We got about 25 mpg w/out the trailer driving up through Amarillo, through central CO, across southern WY (really desolate and windy), cutting the SW corner of ID, then the NE corner of OR, etc. On the way back, we got about 15.5 mpg towing the 5.0TA south on Hwy 5 to Grants Pass, OR, to Mount Shasta CA, then 89/44 to Susanville, then 395 to Reno, then 395/49 to Vegas, and then east to Albuquerque, Amarillo, and back to Big D. The truck towed the trailer very well. On relatively flat ground, it would get 18 mpg and could easily go 65 mph with the rpms at 2500 or less. Up steep grades (6% or so), the mpg would drop quite a bit. The truck could still tow at 65 mph, but would require lower gears and rpms to 4000, so I purposely backed off to 55 mph or so and kept the rpms to 3000. The transmission temperature usually stayed in the 145 to 155 F range, but one of the steep grades in NV caused it to climb to 170 F - still well in the safe range. Engine temp stayed at about 195 continuously. I did notice that switching from 87 to 89 octane caused the truck to run slightly better and result in lower rpms and slightly better mileage. So my conclusion is that the gas V6 is adequate for towing the 5.0TA.

We had our Andersen Ultimate hitch installed at Trademasters. I asked that it be set back about 4" from the axle centerline so we'd have enough turning clearance with the cab on our short bed, but when I picked it up, it wasn't set back that far (although the hitch was installed on the rails so the ball was biased to the tailgate). In addition, ETI installed the pin adapter on the trailer with the ball hole pointing to the rear of the trailer, which was backwards from what I wanted (for more clearance). I was worried I wouldn't have enough clearance, but I never had any problems. Making 90 degree turns going forward is easy because the trailer follows the truck in a curve and never gets close to actually being 90 degrees to the truck. My worry was in backing up. But I found that although the trailer would hit the cab before the truck got 90 degrees to the trailer, I never needed to get close to that situation. If in the future if proves to be an issue, I can always reverse the pin adapter and set the trailer back a bit.

On a side note to towing, we ordered our 5.0TA without a toilet, although we kept the black tank. While in Anacortes, WA I installed a urine-diverting composting toilet from Airhead. It worked out great and I'll post a separate post on it later.
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Old 05-08-2018, 01:15 PM   #2
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Thanks for relating your towing experience with your Canyon and 5.0TA. I'm interested in more information about your composting toilet.

Rick
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Old 05-08-2018, 01:32 PM   #3
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across southern WY (really desolate and windy),
Hey! I respect that opinion!

We lived in Rawlins WY for 5 years back in the early to late 80's. Trust me, all the local jokes were about the wind!

Sounds like you did good with that truck.

Frank
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Old 05-09-2018, 10:29 AM   #4
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It looks like a Cayon V6 is quite well suited to a 5.0 TA. What is axle ratio on your truck?
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Old 05-16-2018, 04:28 PM   #5
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It looks like a Cayon V6 is quite well suited to a 5.0 TA. What is axle ratio on your truck?
Well, the rear axle ratio is 3.42, but 7th and 8th speeds in the auto trans are underdrive, being 0.85 and 0.65, respectively. So for instance in 8th gear, the final drive ratio is 0.65 X 3.42, or 2.22. Of course, tire diameter also enters into this if you want to calculate the rpms for a given speed or vice versa.
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Old 07-15-2018, 09:44 AM   #6
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Hi ,
My wife and I live in Keller and are considering purchasing a 5.0T. We would love to have a look at your trailer if possible.. So hard to actually find any in this area.

Thanks
Charles and Patti Phoenix
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Old 05-11-2019, 11:40 AM   #7
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As an update, we recently towed our 5.0TA from Dallas to Sequim, WA stayed a month and then came back. We averaged over 15 mpg towing. Often it will tow at 17 MPG or higher on fairly level ground. I typically tow at 70 mph on level ground and can keep it in cruise control. The GMC Canyon has a tow/haul mode that keeps it in a lower gear longer. I don't use it unless I'm going up a steep grade because it lowers gas mileage. Instead, when going up a slight grade I typically just slow down from 70 a bit so it doesn't downshift to maintain speed. Very happy with our 2017 GMC Canyon.
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Old 05-11-2019, 12:40 PM   #8
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Are you using the MPG indicator in your truck, or miles driven divided by gallons pumped?

Enjoy,

Perry
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Old 05-11-2019, 01:18 PM   #9
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Originally Posted by Perryb67 View Post
Are you using the MPG indicator in your truck, or miles driven divided by gallons pumped?

Enjoy,

Perry
I don't know about the GM trucks but I've seen some performance reviews of the RAM trucks and the results from the computer versus the dividing actual miles by the actual gallons was within a tenth of a percent. I suspect the GM truck computer is pretty accurate also.
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Old 05-11-2019, 01:57 PM   #10
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I don't know about the GM trucks but I've seen some performance reviews of the RAM trucks and the results from the computer versus the dividing actual miles by the actual gallons was within a tenth of a percent. I suspect the GM truck computer is pretty accurate also.
Well Ford certainly isn't at least in our case. On our 2015 F-150 the computer does not properly register the number of litres used (too low) so that affects the calculation of mileage making it appear better than it is.
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Old 05-11-2019, 02:18 PM   #11
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Well Ford certainly isn't at least in our case. On our 2015 F-150 the computer does not properly register the number of litres used (too low) so that affects the calculation of mileage making it appear better than it is.
Hey Adrian I'm a Ram guy! Last two were Cummins 2500s. This one is an EcoDiesel. One of the test I saw about fuel mileage on the EcoDiesel they used the truck trip computer calculation then odometer mileage over actual gallons and also Google Map distance . The results for the three different calculations were within .3 of each other. On the trip I took to Athens GA to see an Escape 5.0TA roughly 200 miles roundtrip, the trip computer averaged 29.2 mpg. I'm not a fast driver.
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Old 05-11-2019, 02:46 PM   #12
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I don't know about the GM trucks but I've seen some performance reviews of the RAM trucks and the results from the computer versus the dividing actual miles by the actual gallons was within a tenth of a percent. I suspect the GM 1/2 ton truck computer is pretty accurate also.
I know of someone with a 2018 RAM 1/2 ton truck that has the same inaccuracy as others (our F150 for instance). While the meters can handle the consumption uphill it's the downhill where these cheap meters fail. If they don't divide miles by gallons pumped I take it with a grain of salt.

Enjoy,

Perry
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Old 05-11-2019, 02:54 PM   #13
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I've done it both ways and it's pretty close in both cases.



Quote:
Originally Posted by Perryb67 View Post
Are you using the MPG indicator in your truck, or miles driven divided by gallons pumped?

Enjoy,

Perry
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Old 05-11-2019, 04:40 PM   #14
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Many fuel economy/consumption displays are incorrect because the measurement of fuel flow can be off significantly. There is not usually a flow meter anywhere in the vehicle; they are counting fuel injector pulses and assuming a volume per pulse based on pulse duration. The error may vary between individual vehicles of the same make and model, even with the same engine.
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Old 05-11-2019, 06:19 PM   #15
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Many fuel economy/consumption displays are incorrect because the measurement of fuel flow can be off significantly. There is not usually a flow meter anywhere in the vehicle; they are counting fuel injector pulses and assuming a volume per pulse based on pulse duration. The error may vary between individual vehicles of the same make and model, even with the same engine.
I stand corrected, but still verified as far as accuracy.

Enjoy,

Perry
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Old 05-11-2019, 06:29 PM   #16
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I will do a comparison check of mine but I so seldom have to fill up the EcoDiesel that it will probably not be before I leave to pick up the trailer in 6 weeks and 2 days.
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Old 05-24-2019, 10:08 AM   #17
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My 2019 Honda Ridgeline is about 1-1.5 mpg optimistic which seems to be the case with most owners experience that care to check.
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Old 05-24-2019, 11:34 PM   #18
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Good to know. I always assumed my Tacoma’s mpg meter was accurate. Just for good measure I will compute “the old way” from now on. -Tom
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Old 05-25-2019, 09:24 AM   #19
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I always assumed my Tacoma’s mpg meter was accurate. Just for good measure I will compute “the old way” from now on. -Tom
Or just do it manually once or twice and compare to the meter... then if they agree, don't bother with the manual calculation. You might find that even if the meter is wrong, it is out by a consistent ratio (percentage high or low), so you can just use the meter and apply a correction factor.
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Old 06-13-2019, 08:41 PM   #20
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I have almost the same vehicle, 2016 Chevy Colorado, short-bed. I found the Anderson ultimate Hitch on line and its looks good. However, it says not recommended for beds under 6". Also, do you know the type of rails you used? I am having difficulty finding rails for a short bed Colorado. Any info would be appreciated.
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