Power loss

[ProKubinator]

I know this is going to sound really strange but trust me, I have years of towing experience on a variety of trailers.

I have a 19 ft tracker targa deep V boat I pulled for the last 2 years. I was always able to pull in 7th / 8th gear on the highway. Last few times I towed the truck doesn't want to stay in 7th, and in 6th most of the time. Drops down to 5th on a normal highway grade. Checked my trailer and no brakes are dragging. Tires on truck / trailer are aired up properly. Same load on the boat / truck

My MPG also went down from about 12 to 8.

Any idea what could give? I have a 2019 1500, crew cab, 5.7, with the 3.21 gears. Off road package / air ride. Always maintained well and has 40k miles.

Thanks in advance I know this is such an open ended post but wondering if anyone else has experienced same thing

 

[Konrad]

Gas quality. We live and travel in our 23ft 6500 lbs travel trailer full time, almost 45k miles of towing so far. Quite often we experience extreme and immediate performance and mpg changes after fill-ups (we usually drive F to E, fill-up,F to E in one day).
Also, wind / aerodynamic drag. 3.21s are quite sensitive to that, especially in higher gears.

Sent from my Pixel 2 XL using Tapatalk

 

[Rick3478]

Fuel? Filters? Catalytic converter?

 

[KMach]

With the age and miles I’d personally look into the truck having drag. Wouldn’t surprise me if a brake caliper pin was seized causing extra drag, or the brake pads frozen in the caliper supports. As noted above, fuel quality can play a roll in this as well as weather.

Also, might not be a bad time to inspect the exhaust manifolds for leaks. Typically this will cause a lean bank condition over time but the truck will add fuel to correct until out of spec.

 

[monza2t]

There are lots gas stations have a 10-15% ethanol content in the gas. Ethanol has a lower energy density than pure gasoline. Maybe try pure gasoline and see if that changes anything.

Also, check your brakes, jack up the back, and make sure they freely spin, same with front. Calipers can rust internally and cause the brakes to drag.

Atleast a couple easy checks to do there.

 

[HSKR R/T]

Ever run fuel injector cleaner through the gas? I like the Lucas Oil stuff. Could be a brake dragging. Easy way to check is to check rotor temperature, after driving, with a temp if you have one. They should all be around the same temperature. As mentioned fuel quality could play a part. Air filter, egr valve. Check for exhaust leaks which can throw off the O2 sensor readings.

Could also try just resetting PCM. Unhook battery for a few minutes. You will lose some features like back up camera for an hour or so while the system reboots and figures things out again, but they will all come back.