M1101 Troubleshooting Bearings\Brakes - Terrible MPG Towing! What should I inspect?

Hey Guys,

Picked up an M1101 and have been using it for a multipurpose adventure trailer and utility trailer. I've got smaller tires on it now (265\70\17) and run the trailer level using a tall pintle plate. The trailer is being towed by my 2011 Ford F-150 4x4 with the V8. Last weekend I took the trailer with my roof top tent installed and MAYBE 70lbs of gear to a weekend camp spot and got just GARBAGE fuel economy (10mpg). I've towed WAY more than y truck is rated for and still gotten 13-16mpg on long flat stretches of highway. The RTT is mounted pretty low, so I doubt it's causing much drag. Moreover, when I've had the RTT mounted directly to my truck (no trailer) I only lose 1-2 MPG. I live in the midwest, so it's not like I've got mountains to contend with. So I'm wondering if I might have an issue with something mechanical on the trailer.

To be fair, I know the original trailer ratings list the max speed as 55mph. I suspect that I will have to make some changes to be able to drive it at highway speed.

1) Could be some issue with the brakes - I don't have any trouble pushing the trailer around my driveway by myself so I don't suspect that the brakes are dragging, but I'm going to check the trailer out tonight and make sure the parking brakes are adjusted correctly and make sure the brakes are dragging. In theory, if I lift up the wheel, it should easily free spin, right? Any other things I should check with the brake system?

2) Wheel Bearings - Here's where I think my issue probably lies - unfortunately, I do NOT know how warm the bearings get after rolling at highway speed (never thought to check until this morning). I've read on here that some of these trailers had the hub castle nut torqued WAY too high. My understanding is the nut should be torqued hand tight and then cotter-pinned for civilian use (ie. highway speeds). I'm going to check my bearings for play and check the torque on the axle nut. If I've got time, I might re-pack the bearings with some good bearing grease...hopefully they're not trashed, I'm supposed to leave for a trip tomorrow morning, so hopefully this won't be too painful.

3) Wind Drag - the trailer does stick out a few inches on either side of my truck, but I can't believe that wind drag would tank my fuel economy THAT bad. The trailer is so light and I have so little cargo, you would think it would hardly be an issue. I'm not running the big fabric top, only a modified Vantech P3000 Topper Rack modified to fit the trailer and support my CVT RTT.

Any other thoughts? Anything else I should check?

I usually feel the hubs after driving any appreciable distance to see if they're hot; never have been any more than lukewarm.

A fast way would be to run the tongue jack all the way down, install the rear legs as long as you can get them, then run the tongue jack up until the wheels are off the ground. Or put a jack under (floor, bottle, or Hi-lift) and lift the wheels one at a time.

Spin the wheels and see if there is any drag or any places that drag when the wheel is turning.

Go from there.

Probably a combination of the following:

1. Its a Ford
2. Wind Drag
3. Driving style/terrain

Depending how hard you are pushing it, I would not consider 10 MPG out of line. I am happy if I get 13 mpg without a trailer, but I have a real truck that is made in TX.

1. Ouch!
2. I mean, this is definitely part of it, but it's so light, you would think it wouldn't make THAT big of a difference.
3. I did some digging on the truck's tow\haul settings as well as the cruise control...turns out using both of them, particularly in hilly areas leads to garbage fuel economy. Apparently I should stick to cruise control on long, flat stretches and use the good ol' skinny pedal for the rest.

Also, I checked the brakes tonight and they seemed fine. HOWEVER, the bearing grease on the passenger side was GARBAGE. The driver side was ok, strangely; it looked brand new. The bearings and races on the P-side were intact, but the grease was just gross. I cleaned everything, packed in new grease, and re-packed the bearings with new grease. Pre-load was also good on both sides and neither side had any play in them.

I'm going to be traveling with the trailer round-trip this weekend; we'll see if this makes any difference.

Inspecting the bearings/races/grease/drag should have been the first thing performed when you got it home.
The military is notorious for deferred maintenance on these.

One of mine one had brand new grease and bearings, etc on one side. The other side was bad. Grinding bearing and all.
Why they don't fix both at same.....only they know. Luckly the spindle was flawless.
Once you do a full, proper maintenance on these, it will be good to go for years. Unless you take it in deep water/mud.

Yea, cruise control and towing anything in a hilly area will trash mileage.
The wider trailer will make a big difference with drag. Can't be helped.

I can't stand ford trucks so I can't help there.

I doubt you will see much improvement from just lubing the bearings. It is good you did it though. Like others have mentioned, I too have seen some strange things when pulling hubs on these trailers.

Not using cruise will help. Using the tow haul mode is probably better for truck but will cost MPGs as well.

These trailers are like parachutes, don't weigh much but take a lot of muscle to drag behind you. Its worse the faster you go. 10MPG is my average (5.7 Tundra) when dragging a 101A3 around TX, just loaded for a weekend of camping. When you were towing a lot of weight and getting decent MPG, my guess is that you were taking it easy and you were not for this last trip with the 1101.

Enjoy your trip this weekend and let us know how it goes.

Check the tire pressure and pressure suggestion on your new tires. A lot of trailer rated tires want 50+ psi.
A lot of the fuel economy on newer vehicles is due to drag reduction. A M1101 pretty well defines not aerodynamic. That few inches extending to the sides could well be a foot or more catching the wake of your truck as it tries bend in behind the truck bed. Think of those smoke trails some of the vehicle commercials used to show how aerodynamic the car in question was.

I tow an M101A3 behind a Lexus "Land Cruiser", (LX470). The Lexus isn't getting anywhere near good fuel economy by itself, but adding the M101 behind it seems to simulate towing a Conestoga wagon. However, if I tow with the trailer cover off, my MPG increases by 3-4 MPG compared with towing with the cover on. Towing the trailer with the cover on several weeks ago on a 240 mile round-trip to pick up son #1 and his two-year collection of furniture from college, I averaged around 11-12 MPG loaded, driving somewhat carefully; all interstate miles.

The Lexus seems to block a lot of the wind drag without the cover. Adding the cover doesn't seem like it would increase drag that much, but it does. I'm betting your problem is the same with just the sides extending out a bit past the truck width.

Ford chevy dodge whatever there all rated about the same don't listen to the gripe if the bearings are good and brakes off it's all about the drag it is a tall wide trailer and whoa don't use cruise it will slam the pedal down on a hill to keep speed instead of a steady foot and loosing a few mph on the hill


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I notice you left Toyota off the list

Bravo1782 said:

Last weekend I took the trailer with my roof top tent installed and MAYBE 70lbs of gear to a weekend camp spot and got just GARBAGE fuel economy (10mpg).

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You might get better mileage if you put the roof top tent on the roof.

All of the places we go to camp would not work with a trailer, unless you are adept at backing a trailer several miles down a twisting road only about two feet wider than the truck.

These trailers just catch all the wind they can. I have pulled mine cross country on Interstate highways from Delaware to Wyoming and it felt like I was pulling a 5th wheel trailer because of the wind drag. When I have it full with things we don't need anymore to haul to the dump the truck says it is getting less than 10 MPG which is about what it got on any of my 3/4 or 1 ton pickups.

If the bearings or brakes were contributing any significant amount of drag at all they would have burned up by now.

Slow down if MPG concerns you. A lot of surface area to contend with.

WSTEPHENS said:

These trailers just catch all the wind they can. I have pulled mine cross country on Interstate highways from Delaware to Wyoming and it felt like I was pulling a 5th wheel trailer because of the wind drag. When I have it full with things we don't need anymore to haul to the dump the truck says it is getting less than 10 MPG which is about what it got on any of my 3/4 or 1 ton pickups.

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Wind drag, same here. I pull behind my F350, and when the RTT is set high, mileage suffers. When I run no sides or RTT, back to 15mpg at highway speeds.

Sorry for being late to the party. I have the m1102 trailer built for off road camping and doing quite a bit of traveling with the trailer pulled behind a Toyota Tundra 4x4. On a good day with neutral wind, I get 11 MPG. With a slight head wind, I get about 9-10 MPG. With strong head wind at approximately 20-25 mile/hour, I get as low as 7 MPG. The trailer is a major drag.

The trailer is in its original configuration and original tires. I don’t think lowering or doing anything to it will help. This is the fact of life unless one wants to do some streamlining on the front and rear to cut down the wind drag. I am considering doing that. So far, I have been traveling from San Diego to the North Rim, Escalante, and Brice Canyon. On average, 11 MPG is all you are going to get no matter how much cargo you are pulling, be it 100lbs or 2000lbs.

I will update about the streamlining efforts.

You have a really wide trailer behind a narrower vehicle. Weight isn’t a huge factor, it’s that giant wall you are pulling. If you have a RTT, then more flat surface area and some wind drag as well.

if it’s that much if an issue, you might look at a 101A2.It’s narrower and a couple hundred pounds lighter ... but no where near as cool as the 1101/1102’s are.

Next time you take it out, try going no faster than 55 MPH. Do not use cruise control and be sure to turn off overdrive ( trailer mode). This will give you your true MPG. There is a huge difference between 55 and 70 MPH. It’s also a lot safer.

There is an exponential increase in fuel consumption as you get above a certain speed. Trailer or not. The wide flat overhanging edges of the trailer exasperate the issue.

I was pulling an S-280 on a gooseneck last year. It was square with the trailer. Fuel consumption was poor, but as expected. Something happened and it shifted, it was crooked now. Back end was a few inches to the left.

This shift cut the mileage almost in half because of the buffering and turbulence created on one side.

Do you have a RTT on top? Is it elevated? These things have a big effect on drag. A wrinkled or flapping tarp also has an effect.

Bill Nutting said:

Next time you take it out, try going no faster than 55 MPH. Do not use cruise control and be sure to turn off overdrive ( trailer mode). This will give you your true MPG. There is a huge difference between 55 and 70 MPH. It’s also a lot safer.

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Good point. Not trying to maintain your speed going uphill is a fuel sucker.

I know this is an old thread at this point, but had something interesting pop up last summer that could be a factor.

Since the M1101's are a surge brake, and the mechanism that supports the brake damper and pins is typically greased (and sort of open to road dust) they can bind up and not release the brakes as expected if they get "gunked up" with dust.

This happened on mine after a camping trip thru Usal Beach and Mendocino national forest. Brakes were nuclear melt down hot and gas mileage was terrible. I took the surge actuator all apart, cleaned everything, replaced the damper with the unit eTrailer recommended, and it's been good to go since for about the last 5k miles.

Food for thought.