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Old 05-07-2012, 08:37 PM   #41
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Name: Jesse
Trailer: 1984 Scamp 13'
Maryland
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Rene
There are not many trailers lighter than a 1300 and wind resistance is not any greater than most other trailers either. I think your fuel economy is rather normal. I have a 1700 and tow with a V6 1/2 ton pickup that normally gets 25 mpg highway cruising at 60 when not towing. Towing mileage at 55-60 drops to a measly 12-15 mpg. I am a cheepskate and I FEEL every drop of gas I burn. I am a weekend camper with a two week holiday thrown in as well so I have accepted the costs in the short term. I would like to do some longer trips someday so I am saving for a new (to me) tow vehicle with a diesel engine. This could save me some money on fuel over the long haul. The economics of diesel would not be so good with a new vehicle on relatively short trips. I think the reason I get such poor mileage is that the towing weight is right at towing capacity of the pickup. Also the small block V6 4.3l has only 260 foot pounds of torque and to get that the engine needs to be at 2800 rpm. I have to tow in 4th gear because overdrive will not allow the engine to turn over any faster than 2000 rpm. There is little torque at 2000rpm. In 4th gear I have to get the engine up to 3000 rpm in order to cruise at 60 mph. Not a very efficient setup but it will do for now.
This really surprises me. My previous TV was a Toyota/Scion xD, which is a SUBcompact with a 1.8 liter 128 horsepower engine. The following picture is from our trip to the Poconos (PA), where highway speeds were 60-62 MPH. Even with the bikes on the roof and the Scamp on the back, we averaged 24 MPG. That was 100% towing. In 5th gear (top gear) all the time, except where I had to downshift to 4th to maintain highway speed on hills. Non-towing mileage was usually about 35 MPG on the highway. Oh, and that's with the recommended 20 PSI in the trailer tires (okay, Scamp actually recommends 15 PSI).


I have only towed the scamp a few times with the Outback, but it seems to run around 23 MPG.
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Old 05-07-2012, 08:47 PM   #42
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Name: Logan
Trailer: 1976 Scamp 13'
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Also the small block V6 4.3l has only 260 foot pounds of torque and to get that the engine needs to be at 2800 rpm. I have to tow in 4th gear because overdrive will not allow the engine to turn over any faster than 2000 rpm. There is little torque at 2000rpm. In 4th gear I have to get the engine up to 3000 rpm in order to cruise at 60 mph. Not a very efficient setup but it will do for now.
I'm guessing you have a multiport injected model and not the old TBI.

The emissions controls on the MPI model killed their fuel economy.
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Old 05-07-2012, 08:49 PM   #43
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This really surprises me. My previous TV was a Toyota/Scion xD, which is a SUBcompact with a 1.8 liter 128 horsepower engine. The following picture is from our trip to the Poconos (PA), where highway speeds were 60-62 MPH. Even with the bikes on the roof and the Scamp on the back, we averaged 24 MPG. That was 100% towing. In 5th gear (top gear) all the time, except where I had to downshift to 4th to maintain highway speed on hills. Non-towing mileage was usually about 35 MPG on the highway. Oh, and that's with the recommended 20 PSI in the trailer tires (okay, Scamp actually recommends 15 PSI).


I have only towed the scamp a few times with the Outback, but it seems to run around 23 MPG.
Do you have any idea how things have changed 20 years. My Scamp recommend 35 psi for load "B" ST tires. The news one recommend 50 psi for load "C" tires. The running gear, weight maybe some, etc. has not changed much (The weight is probably close to same as the new ones). So what's changed in 20 years to make tire pressure recommendations increase. I would say tires and knowledge of how tire pressure effects towing.
Give Scamp a call and see what they say...
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Old 05-07-2012, 09:56 PM   #44
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Name: Jesse
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Originally Posted by Byron Kinnaman

Do you have any idea how things have changed 20 years. My Scamp recommend 35 psi for load "B" ST tires. The news one recommend 50 psi for load "C" tires. The running gear, weight maybe some, etc. has not changed much (The weight is probably close to same as the new ones). So what's changed in 20 years to make tire pressure recommendations increase. I would say tires and knowledge of how tire pressure effects towing.
Give Scamp a call and see what they say...
I already got the lowdown from the tire manufacturer, who is recommending 15-20 PSI, depending on how I have it loaded.
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Old 05-08-2012, 09:47 AM   #45
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Interesting discussion. My 2 cents:

We had a 13' Boler which we towed with a VW Eurovan and then a 07 Honda Odyssey. It didn't have a huge impact on fuel economy (don't have the numbers at hand, but could check my spreadsheet at home). Maybe a couple of l/100 km.

3 years ago we bought a 17' Bigfoot and the frontal area on that thing is huge compared to the Boler. It destroyed our fuel economy, going from about 15 l/100 km in city driving with no trailer to near 25-30 l/100 km with the Bigfoot. I have since been working on my driving style when towing - 95 km/hr is max (which is really annoying to myself and other drivers on the very busy major highways here when the speed limit is 110 km/hr). However, any faster than that and the wind resistance forces the transmission to kick down and stay down. Just not enough torque from Honda's 3.5 V6 for the heavy van + trailer. It is supremely frustrating when heading to B.C. and over the mountains where 80 km/hr is about all we can hit economically in the mountains.

We really want to replace the van with a diesel SUV, however since SUV + 7 passenger + diesel = Mercedes or Audi, it just isn't in the budget.
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Old 05-08-2012, 11:29 AM   #46
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Actually there are domestic 7 pass SUV's with disease-el engines. Ford has a "disease-el" excursion, and there are GM suburbans and etc with a Duramax
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Old 05-09-2012, 06:16 AM   #47
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Actually there are domestic 7 pass SUV's with disease-el engines. Ford has a "disease-el" excursion, and there are GM suburbans and etc with a Duramax
The Duramax was never in an SUV. There are a few companies that swap them in. Sadly, GM and Ford no longer manufacture diesel SUVs.

The Suburban's diesels were the 6.2, 6.5 and the last models had the 6.5 turbo.
The Excursions had the 7.3 and the 6.0.
Both the diesel Excursion and Suburban were known to pull 18-20mpg highway.
There was also a custom Ford full size SUV called the Centurion. They came with the best version of the 7.3. (Think a Bronco and F250 CC grafted together)

The best part- a 3-400,000 mile engine life. Longer if you're a real stickler for maintenance.
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Old 05-09-2012, 04:01 PM   #48
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Actually there are domestic 7 pass SUV's with disease-el engines. Ford has a "disease-el" excursion, and there are GM suburbans and etc with a Duramax
Poor old Rudolf D. must be rolling over in his grave...
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Old 05-16-2012, 07:48 PM   #49
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I already got the lowdown from the tire manufacturer, who is recommending 15-20 PSI, depending on how I have it loaded.
Wow. That's something. I honestly did not know there was ANY street use tire on the market that recommends 15 to 20 psi. What kind of tires are they ?
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Old 05-16-2012, 08:03 PM   #50
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The 1963 Chevy Corvair manual called for tire pressure of 15 front and 26 rear. They had traditional car tires (bias).
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Old 05-16-2012, 08:07 PM   #51
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The 1963 Chevy Corvair manual called for tire pressure of 15 front and 26 rear. They had traditional car tires (bias).
Ha ! Ha ! ....that's cheating though ! That was almost 50 years ago ! And besides....Chevy didn't know quite yet.....but they were trying to head off Ralph ( and his sidekick Joan ).
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Old 05-17-2012, 10:01 AM   #52
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Trailer: 1984 Scamp 13'
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Originally Posted by gmw photos

Wow. That's something. I honestly did not know there was ANY street use tire on the market that recommends 15 to 20 psi. What kind of tires are they ?
These are the original Goodyear tires that came on the Scamp. I believe they are still the ones that they use on then13 footers. The max pressure is 50 PSI, but that should only be used when the carrying the max LOAD on the tires... According to Goodyear (standard practice on trailer tires). Many people pump the tires up to the max and keep it there. However, there will be more bounce in the trailer than the should be. I apologize in advance, because this is going to start a flame war between those of us who follow the tire manufacturer's advice and those who follow their uncle's cousin's neighbor's advice.
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Old 05-17-2012, 10:16 AM   #53
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I honestly did not know there was ANY street use tire on the market that recommends 15 to 20 psi. What kind of tires are they ?
Goodyear show tire pressures down to 15 psi for their ST tires in this load/inflation table (which I believe is actually an industry-standard document and not Goodyear-specific):

http://www.goodyearrvtires.com/pdfs/rv_inflation.pdf

A pair of ST175/80R13 tires are rated to carry 1340 lbs at 15 psi (though only up to 65 mph).
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Old 05-17-2012, 12:07 PM   #54
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And here's what Carlisle has to say.

Always keep the tire manufacturer’s maximum recommended air pressure in all your tires, including the spare. This is an important requirement for tire safety and mileage. Tire sidewall stamping information will tell you the recommended cold air pressure.
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Old 05-17-2012, 12:15 PM   #55
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Originally Posted by Byron Kinnaman
And here's what Carlisle has to say.

Always keep the tire manufacturer’s maximum recommended air pressure in all your tires, including the spare. This is an important requirement for tire safety and mileage. Tire sidewall stamping information will tell you the recommended cold air pressure.
Yes, and always take elevators to the very top floor.

Why would it be called "maximum" and not "normal tire pressure"? I hope they don't recommend that you do the same with your car or truck tires.

I know you like their answer, but all other information from tire manufacturers seems to point to the fact that Carlisle is wrong.
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Old 05-17-2012, 01:06 PM   #56
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Yes, and always take elevators to the very top floor.

Why would it be called "maximum" and not "normal tire pressure"? I hope they don't recommend that you do the same with your car or truck tires.

I know you like their answer, but all other information from tire manufacturers seems to point to the fact that Carlisle is wrong.
Well, I guess you're smarter than the Carlisle Engineers.
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Old 05-17-2012, 01:43 PM   #57
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Originally Posted by Andrew Gibbens View Post
Goodyear show tire pressures down to 15 psi for their ST tires in this load/inflation table (which I believe is actually an industry-standard document and not Goodyear-specific):

http://www.goodyearrvtires.com/pdfs/rv_inflation.pdf

A pair of ST175/80R13 tires are rated to carry 1340 lbs at 15 psi (though only up to 65 mph).

So this is yet another reason to know your trailer's ACTUAL weight, so you can then look it up in the inflation pressures table.

Then you can choose to follow or ignore the recommendation in the table.

I am not gonna vote pro or con on this one! I have grenaded trailer tires that were at "moderate" pressures and I have grenaded trailer tires that were at recommended max pressure. The only common factors were age (less than 2 years old) and the name on the sidewall (Goodyear)

When I put on new tires (different brand now- and ALL tires including spare are now replaced), the dealer automatically inflated them to max, but I have no idea if that is the "correct thing to do" or if it is "their habitual practice".
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Old 05-17-2012, 02:08 PM   #58
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Well, I guess you're smarter than the Carlisle Engineers.
Not me... The guys as Goodyear.
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Old 05-17-2012, 03:17 PM   #59
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I think most small trailer owners have the same issue.

Most of them use ST trailer tires that are...

a. at or close to their max load ratings,
b. running high pressures,
c. turning at close or to their max speed rating, and
d. are of poor quality to start with.

So many negatives here it is no wonder folks have so many problems with them.
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Old 05-17-2012, 03:25 PM   #60
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Trailer: 2010 Scamp 16
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Goodyear show tire pressures down to 15 psi for their ST tires in this load/inflation table (which I believe is actually an industry-standard document and not Goodyear-specific):

http://www.goodyearrvtires.com/pdfs/rv_inflation.pdf

A pair of ST175/80R13 tires are rated to carry 1340 lbs at 15 psi (though only up to 65 mph).
According to the weights collected in the real world at a FGRV rally (available on this site) a 13 ft Scamp is pretty close to 2000 lbs. Using that chart 13 inch tires really should be at least 30 psi. to be rated for that load.

Legally in Michigan trailer under 26 ft can be towed at posted speed limit. Typically 70 mph on interstates. I'm not in that much of a hurry but have seen it done when the TV was big and pulling a pop up or small trailer.

On the side of my scamp is a plate reminding me to not inflate over 20 psi. Think I would go with what the tire manufacturer states.
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