Why is 10 mpg important?
We purchased our long-term 2020 Chevrolet Silverado 1500 Trail Boss with the 5.3-liter V8 to put it to the test. Our 5.3-liter V8 makes 355 horsepower and 383 lbs-feet of torque. It’s hooked up to a 10-speed automatic transmission. Being that this is a “Trail Boss” – it has a beefed up suspension, larger tires and some underside armor. That also means GM/Chevrolet give it a lower mpg rating than the non Trail Boss 1500 Silverado.
It’s rated at 16 mpg city, 21 mpg highway and 18 mpg combined.
All of these thing impact economy and hauling. We wanted to see if we could maintain over 10 mpg. In our experience, that type of mileage is pretty good given the type of hike this drive it.
Heading back from Moab, Utah, we thought it would be a great opportunity to see how frugal our Chevy was when towing. Pulling in to Fruita, Colorado (which is very close to the border to Utah), we stopped for fuel. After filling up, we reset our onboard trip computer and headed out.
Our route
This is no easy route, the drive from Fruita, Co to Denver covers around 254-miles. Many of those miles are up extremely steep hills and at high speed. We do not hypermile.
Roman and Tommy towed a 2020 Polaris RZR Pro XP which they tested in Moab as well. The combined weight with our trailer is a bit under 5,000-lbs. No problem for any half-ton truck, but getting good mileage may be an issue.
Roman has a question
During the video, Roman asks you, the viewer your opinion about efficiency. With gas prices so low, and looking like they will drop even more, how important is mpg now? In some places, it’s nearly half of what it was just a year ago and low octane could drop under $2.00 nationwide.
He’s curious about your perspective.
Check out this real-world mpg towing test and tell u what you think!
