MPG in WA Passes

[Fire5er]

OK all you guys from WA state, what do you get for MPG when pulling Hwy 18 Tiger summit to I-90 up over Snoqualmie Pass? I pull it the first time last weekend with my F-350 (see sig) pulling the 3400RL and got 11 MPG heading East. When I got to Ellensburg I weighed the rig at the Cat scales and truck alone was 8083 lbs, truck with trailer was 10400 lbs, and trailer axle was 10520 lbs, for a total GCVW of 20920. On the way back West we had a heck of a head wind from Ellensburg to the Pass and only got 10 MPG. Is that about what you guys are getting with your diesel TVs?

[mtheo]

I don't watch it real close but my Dura max doesn't do any better pulling my 3000rk, 10 to 12 mpg

[rldriver]

We went from Ephrata to Bellingham over Snoqualmie pass and averaged 11.4 mpg in our Dodge 3500 diesel pulling our Big Sky, lots of slow traffic through Bellevue and Everett but the return trip over Stevens pass I averaged 9.9 mpg. No wind and lots of sun both ways. Stevens pass was a hard pull as it's a two lane most of the way and gets pretty steep the last few miles up the pass.

I would guess that the weight of the RV was 13,000 to 13,500 pounds gross.

[MAMalody]

I have a f350 diesel, sw, 4x4 and when towing am at 20040 pounds. I get around 10.6 pulling the pass. I don't have tow command.

[DONnANNIE]

Fire5er, we haven't been over Snoqualmie Pass yet. But, back in May, we drove down to Mt. Shasta for the Western Rally at Lake Siskiyou. We went down via Tri-Cities to Biggs Junction; south on US 97 to Weed, CA and Lake Siskiyou. We got 10.4 going down and 10.7 on the way home. At that time I had about 6,000 miles on the TV.

Last October, we went to the Oregon coast. We got 11.4.

They say mileage will get better with 20k miles. We'll see.

[Montana Sky]

Snoqualmie for me averages 12 mpg, but my truck has over 76,000 miles on it already.

[rickety]

Tigeer summit to Snoq. Pass to lookout pass to 4th of july pass averaged 11.3 going East and 10.9 going West. We pulled all the passes at between 50-55mph. I didn't want to stress anything because we only had 1150 miles shen we started W now have 3500 miles on the new Dually and that extra 2000plus mile was done on the trip. One day trip through yellowstone of about 320miles up and down and all around. What a beautiful park!!!
We faced a lot of headwinds coming home and my trip buddy was anxious to get home so he started pushing the speed up. At one point we were pushing 75 mph over in Idaho. Dear wife got on the horn and told him to back off. Down to 55 we went and the mileage per gallon picked right back up. It does cost you a lot when you push the rigs hard. I was down to 9.4mpg during that time.

Love the Duramax/Allsion combo. Had it in today for a checkup after the tow, and the oil looked great, tranny looked great, had the oil changed (fiorst one free). Ready to go to Nevada next month!!!! Yahooooooo!

[Cat320]

quote:Originally posted by Fire5er

On the way back West we had a heck of a head wind from Ellensburg to the Pass and only got 10 MPG.

That's the real killer!

[Fire5er]

Thank for all the replies. Sounds like we are getting the average MPG when towing with our rig combination as most of you. The new Monty pulls great with the F-350. We just love the two rigs. Now we just need to get out more. Can't wait for the next 5 year to go by so we can retire and get out on the road more.

Karl

[borfaloo]

Late reply but better late than never .. Last year with an f350 gasser I got 10 mpg going from Poulsbo to Snoquamie. Down the other side from Snoquamie to Tri-cities I dropped to 8.5 as I hit heavy winds.

I went out a few weeks ago with my 05 psd 350 I got between 12-13 mpg on a run from Tri cities to Mossy Rock going over White pass.

Sean

[mallardjusted]

re: " ...and only got 10 MPG ..."

Yep, sounds about right. I'm usually loaded another 1000 lbs or so more in the 5W, and my CC weighs a little more. I consistantly get between 9.8 and 10, regardless of whether I'm doing that pass (or others) or on the flat.

[sreigle]

I haven't towed that pass but wanted to say a significant headwind will knock down mileage along the lines of what you saw. You have all that frontal area fighting against that wind. If you figure you are driving 60 and the headwind is 20 and you're hitting it directly, that's like towing at 80 mph with no wind.

[BillE]

A little side note...if the winds coming off the passes, IE, I-90 are high, the bridge across the Columbia can be a tad hairy with the cross winds. Take care there.

Bill