real life mpg

[cpaharley2008]

A Sequoia is a much stronger and better tow vehicle and with 14-15 towing that is great. The Pathfinder is a smaller engine and vehicle and IMHO your towing will be about the same as it will have to work a little harder. Is it worth the $$$ outlay?

[jennykatz]

Bill I agree with you 100% The pathfinder was a 2013 with 12000 miles on it and it showed 19.6 mpg average which means nothing unless you fill up and then press average On our Sequoia it shows 15.8 mpg but then I fill it up and it was only 14.8- 15.1 or so it's always about 7-12 % off . With that said my Sequoia shows driving at 60 mph towing Lil Snoozy about 14.8-15.3 mpg an the end of trip I got about 14.6-14.8 mpg so not to far off . I do the same I measure each tank by miles driven and divide by us gallons in .

I would like to get a tow vehicle that gets 20mpg towing Lil snoozy and that can tow up to 5000 lb for me to tow my boat for maintenance .
Cars and crossovers considered
1-pathfinder 2013-2014 20-26mpg
2-highlander 2012-2014 17-24 mpg
3-jeep grand Cherokee 2014 v-6 17-25mpg
These all can tow 5000lb and are about the same $

[Pam Garlow]

Originally Posted by jennykatz

Does anyone tow with a Nissan pathfinder 2013-2014 I drove one the other day It showed 27-30 mpg at 60 mph not towing the EPA is 20-26 mpg This might be a good TV. The sticker shock is unbelievable 30k-45k for a SUV Wow . We still have 07 Toyota Sequoia but mpg is 15-19 towing about 14-15 mpg .
We could recoup about $1000 a year on gas alone but I can buy a lot of gas for that price ?

Congrats on the Snoozy!! They're so nice and roomy inside, and I love those windows!
I'm wondering if you've looked at the 'total cost' when considering either keeping the TV you now own (assuming it is capable of your towing needs) or purchasing new $40K TV?
1. Is your current TV paid off? Then the only cost you have right now is a little higher gas mileage.
2. If you are getting a loan for that new $40K TV, you'll have to add interest to that price (cha-ching).
3. For that $40,000-plus price, you are saving only $1000 a year.

If what you are looking for is purely gas mileage savings, then don't look at how much money you are spending to gain it. But it seems that if you factor in the cost of a new TV, the higher mpg doesn't actually add up to an overall cost savings. However, this is YOUR towing/driving experience, and you may have other criteria that factor into your decision.

And no matter what you decide, the best part will be looking into that rear view mirror and seeing your Snoozy following you

[Bill in Pittsburgh]

Originally Posted by jennykatz

Bill I agree with you 100% The pathfinder was a 2013 with 12000 miles on it and it showed 19.6 mpg average which means nothing unless you fill up and then press average On our Sequoia it shows 15.8 mpg but then I fill it up and it was only 14.8- 15.1 or so it's always about 7-12 % off . With that said my Sequoia shows driving at 60 mph towing Lil Snoozy about 14.8-15.3 mpg an the end of trip I got about 14.6-14.8 mpg so not to far off . I do the same I measure each tank by miles driven and divide by us gallons in .

I would like to get a tow vehicle that gets 20mpg towing Lil snoozy and that can tow up to 5000 lb for me to tow my boat for maintenance .
Cars and crossovers considered
1-pathfinder 2013-2014 20-26mpg
2-highlander 2012-2014 17-24 mpg
3-jeep grand Cherokee 2014 v-6 17-25mpg
These all can tow 5000lb and are about the same $

Perhaps the 2015 new to be released Chevy Colorado with the 2.8 liter 4 cylinder turbo diesel will provide what you are anticipating and more. My Cherokee is pretty consistent at delivering 16.0 to 17.2 while towing the Lil Snoozy. I have been waiting for something better to come along. Up to now I have been disappointed with all that has been offered in terms of improved mileage.

[MC1]

Agree with many of the others. It costs $1,000's of dollars to go through the process of trading vehicles. I'm no fan of large SUV's but if the big Sequoia is working fine then keep it. It is after all a quality vehicle and should give you many more years of trouble free driving.

[honda03842]

For most people towing trailers it rarely makes a difference to upgrade a tow vehicle for a few more mpgs. The cost of a new vehicle is just too high.

Our tow vehicle is 10 years old with over 200,000 miles. It's paid for so most of our yearly cost is simply gas, insurance and taxes. Usually as a vehicle ages insurance and taxes are less than for a new vehicle.

Another significant yearly vehicle cost is maintenance and repairs. For us this mostly amounts to oil changes and tires, a new vehicle would not reduce these.

To me the way to improve your tow vehicle mileage is to make the best decision you can when you 'need' to purchase a new tow vehicle. The reality is that most people on this site do not tow enough where gas savings would be significant.

[MCDenny]

Originally Posted by jennykatz

Does anyone tow with a Nissan pathfinder 2013-2014 I drove one the other day It showed 27-30 mpg at 60 mph not towing the EPA is 20-26 mpg This might be a good TV. The sticker shock is unbelievable 30k-45k for a SUV Wow . We still have 07 Toyota Sequoia but mpg is 15-19 towing about 14-15 mpg .
We could recoup about $1000 a year on gas alone but I can buy a lot of gas for that price ?

Our 2014 Jeep GC is similar size, similar power, a bit lower EPA mileage and also can get 27-30 mpg driving carefully at 60. We actually get 22-23 on real life freeway trips, gage shows between 0 and 2 mpg more than actual.

Towing the snoozy we actually get 17.

[jennykatz]

The jeep GC sounds good I thought it might get a little better towing snoozy I do like the 22-30 mpg for road trips without towing . and it could be my regular driver ? I did more research on pathfinder lots of transmission problems ? So $15k-16k plus my Sequoia we do about 10,000miles a year on it The payback in fuel savings would not be there ? If you figure 15k in stocks ,bonds etc. making 5% maybe about $ 750 yr ?that could offset some of the gas at $3.50 gallon ? about 215 gallons paid for by not buying new car ?about 18 gallons a month

I think I'm over thinking this but I like research maybe wait until small diesel something comes out and buy next year ? Still in research mode .
We love Lil snoozy tows so nice no buffeting at all at 60 mph on interstate

[honda03842]

Jim,"We love Lil snoozy tows so nice no buffeting at all at 60 mph on interstate".



That statement applies to virtually all fiberglass trailers, we've towed both a Scamp and Casita and they tracked beautifully on the Interstate at 60 mph.

I'm with you on a small diesel.

[Carol H]

Originally Posted by MC1

Agree with many of the others. It costs $1,000's of dollars to go through the process of trading vehicles. I'm no fan of large SUV's but if the big Sequoia is working fine then keep it. It is after all a quality vehicle and should give you many more years of trouble free driving.

There is a lot to consider when changing vehicles besides the higher MPG's that are showing up on some of the stickers of new vehicles along with their higher price tags.

Another factor to consider is the cost of yearly insurance. A newer vehicle will cost more to insure and the cost of insurance is impacted as to how expensive the vehicle is to repair not just the total replacement cost - makes and models vary greatly on that front. It doesnt need to be an expensive German import to be on the expensive to fix list either. Recently changed vehicles and the insurance cost per year went up by $600/year (over a car that was 8 years older) the same as the cost of 8 tanks of gas a year in my current vehicle here in Canada.

[MCDenny]

I did the math on the JGC V6 gas vs diesel. Diesel gets about 20% better mileage but diesel fuel has been running 15-25% more $. Diesel feels more powerful and tows 1000# more but it isn't cheaper, especially in view of $4000 price premium and higher maintenance costs.

[honda03842]

If you tow 5000 miles a year, a typical RV average, the difference between 20 mpg and 15 mpg towing is 83 gallons a year or about $20 a month. Hardly reason to change tow vehicles based solely upon mileage.

[jennykatz]

I think for now my wife and I decided to keep the Sequoia and drive under 60mph towing and be happy . The Sequoia is paid for and only has 70k on it so gas and oil changes twice a year are the big expenses . Thanks for all the insight . if I had places to put vehicles and win the Lottery I'd own a small TV for Snoozy and leave the Sequoia for towing the boat a few times a year

I still would like a small crossover or SUV for towing maybe next year when's the next Lottery ?

[carlkeigley]

Congratulations Jim.
Think you and wife made a very wise decision.

Hopefully I'll follow suit..............lol

[Mike Magee]

I am eyeing the Jeep diesel. It should get good mpg both towing and not towing. The Highlander has been springing leaks like an old garden hose, and I am losing confidence in it.

[honda03842]

Denny,

The Honda 1.6 L diesel gets 64% better miles per gallom than the 2 L Honda in the UK, theoretically moving us from 22 to 36 mpg. Considering AZ prices this represents a difference of 40% in fuel costs per mile. In the UK the difference in vehicle costs is less than $100.

It shows what's possible. Driving our typical 25,000 miles per year it would save us over $1000 a year. Though not world shattering, it is significant to those on fixed income.

It would be better gas mileage from a more powerful (in the sense of torque) and in towing capacity.

Fuel costs (and other costs) seem to be an issue on the road. So far we've been on the road about 3 months and have been in only one full campground. Very different from when we first started RVing.

[Timber Wolf]

Sorry to dredge up an old thread but I finally have some real world information to report and did not see a point starting another thread to do so. I had taken a few short trips with my new (old) Scamp but had not been keeping any mileage figures until a week-long, tri-state, last week before school starts, adventure a couple of weeks ago. My old (long since paid for) 2003 F-150 with 4.6 V-8 and 135,000 miles averaged an honest 13.7 mpg for the 700 mile trip. I was hoping for around 14 so am only slightly disappointed but do think I could have improved my mpg by NOT using the cruise control. On the hilly terrain we were going over much of the trip the cruise control kept dropping down a gear or even kicking in the passing gear and running the revs WAY up trying to keep the truck at the same mph while hill climbing. I don’t know how much difference an easy foot would have made but suspect I would have been closer to my pre-trip 14 mpg prediction.

As indicated in other threads, it is not worth trading to gain mpg in my tow vehicle. Honestly, I don’t plan on going a lot smaller even when I do trade as I like the truck and feel safe and secure towing with it. YMMV.

[honda03842]

Tim,

We're learning about improving MPG all over again now that we have the Odyssey. I have often read how the driver can make a difference.

With our new Odyssey and it's live MPG, accumulated and instantaneous, I can see the difference between Ginny and I as drivers. In around town driving the difference is about 2 MPG. Another property that is very interesting is the effect of stepping on it. It's amazing how quickly it can drop the accumulated MPG. Certainly dropping down and increasing the revs while under cruise must do the same.

I'm not complaining about her driving but do notice. One interesting part of the Odyssey's displays is that they reset every time you fill up.

The fun of life, learning something every day.

[John Linck]

For whatever reason (warmer weather?) our last two trips with a 4 cyl outback and a Scamp 13 resulted in better mileage than our Winter trip. Two Wisconsin only trips of 300 miles saw mileage of 19-20 mpg. Not great, but far better than our Winter trip. Hope it keeps getting better.

John

[TomK]

On our trip from Chicagoland to Backus, MN (about 560 miles) we averaged 27.4 MPG in our AWD 2011 Subaru Forester with automatic xmsn. (No trailer) I used the cruise control set to 72 mph.

On the return trip pulling the Scamp 13, we averaged 18.3 mpg without the cruise control, driving at 60 mph. The second half of the trip was with the cruise set to 60, and we averaged 17.1 mpg. The second half had some decent hills, and the cruise control down shifted to maintain 60 a couple times.

Tom