Comprehensive Guide: Which is the Most Efficient Truck for Towing? Here They Are!

Which is the most efficient truck for towing? Is it a diesel or gas? Is it a light duty or heavy duty?

We cover all of the pickup trucks. We do real world testing to bring you all of the results. Where else can you get a comprehensive list of real-world towing efficiency results? Here are the trucks we have tested over the years. [Note: we will be updating these tables as more trucks and data become available.]

What is the MPG Challenge all about?

It’s a 98-mile highway run on I-76 (east of Hudson, CO). It’s as flat of a highway stretch as we can find in Colorado. We run all trucks and big SUVs in 2WD with tow/haul mode enabled at a constant 70 MPH as set by cruise control and checked by GPS.

All Half-Ton Trucks

All half-ton trucks listed here are towing a CM Trailers Cargo Mate or a Cimarron Norstar with a total trailer weight of 7,000 lbs. It’s a box trailer and a weight that simulates an RV camper trailer or a large boat that you might be towing.

• The 2017 Ram 1500 EcoDiesel result is no longer counted because it was done with a EcoDiesel V6 truck with a before-emissions-scandal calibration.
• Where are some of the other trucks, such as the Toyota Tundra and midsize trucks? Those towed a different trailer with less weight.  We will add the additional data soon.

Here is how the new 2018 Ford F-150 Diesel did on our 98 mile highway MPG loop with and without a trailer.

All Midsize Trucks

Which power plant is best for a midsize truck? Is a small four-cylinder diesel or a gas V6? We tested these two GM midsize trucks together. We towed a CM Trailers Stocker (6×14 feet) loaded to 6,100 lbs of total trailer weight.

The 2017 Toyota Tacoma TRD Off-Road towed a Logan Coach trailer with a total trailer weight was 5,600 lbs.

The 2017 Honda Ridgeline towed the same CM Trailers Stocker, but the total trailer weight was 4,800 lbs (maximum capacity for the Ridgeline).

All Heavy Duty Trucks

Here is how the newest HD trucks perform on our highway loop empty and towing a heavy 16,000 lbs truck.

Gas Trucks

Diesels

What about heavy 3/4 ton trucks that are towing a CM Trailers Cargo Mate loaded to 12,500 lbs? Here is your latest data for both diesel and gas powered HD trucks.

All Diesel Duallies

What about the biggest and the heaviest pickup trucks out there? We tested all three one-ton dually trucks with a BigTex Trailers 3xGN trailer loaded to 22,800 lbs. That’s a lot of weight to pull at 70 MPH on the highway.