real life mpg

[Ice-breaker]

It's a marketing decision.

[MC1]

Originally Posted by Ice-breaker

It's a marketing decision.

Yup!

[honda03842]

Back to real mileage...

Since our trip to Newfoundland where our average speed for all driving was 37 mph, I/ve been paying attention to our average driving about speed. It's amazingly low, recently it's been 27 mph.

Possibly we drive a lot slower than I imagine.

[ThomasE]

Originally Posted by jennykatz

Now i'm wondering if my Sequoia would get about 15mpg? with it's 4.7 litre v-8 I tow a 5000lb boat and trailer and get about 10-12mpg I remember towing just the boat trailer with a TEDS shack on top and I got around 14-15 mpg and that weighed in at over 2000lb? So maybe just keep the Sequoia and be happy until a Subaru or VW diesel comes along ? I rented a tiquan (gas 2litre) and it ran good so diesel should be better ? Now to zoom in on a trailer Casita, Scamp, Escape,Lil snoozy, egg, so many choices so little time Jim

I would guess you will get 14-15mpg towing a 17 foot fiberglass trailer with your Sequoia. Since you say you have the 4.7 V8, I am guessing it's a 2000 through mid-2000's model. I have a 2001 Tundra with 4.7 v8 on which the Sequoia is based. Best mileage I ever got towing was 15.5mpg over an entire tank. Typically I get 14.x towing, driving around 64 mph.

[emers382]

Originally Posted by honda03842

Back to real mileage...

Since our trip to Newfoundland where our average speed for all driving was 37 mph, I/ve been paying attention to our average driving about speed. It's amazingly low, recently it's been 27 mph.

Possibly we drive a lot slower than I imagine.

Norm,

Likely because you haven't been on any trips? Just around town? I watch the average speed because I have that on the car computer with fuel consumption etc. and kms to empty, and despite doing a lot of highway driving my average is usually only in the low 60's kph.

Adrian

[Thomas G.]

Originally Posted by David Tilston

I blame lawyers, (law suits) and marketing. They just want you to buy a bigger vehicle, which they know they can't sell in Europe.

Shhhh! That is supposed to be a secret.

[honda03842]

Adrian, Average speed's on our Ultragauge, I just never paid much attention to the average speed reading. What really surprised me about the Newfie average was 2000 of the 6000 miles driven were highway miles.

[MCDenny]

Originally Posted by steve dunham

The Ram 1500 diesel mileage ratings are based on the truck being equipped with the 8 speed automatic transmission. The trouble is from what I am reading is that the 8 speed transmission is only rated for 350 lbs of torque. The new small diesel engine in the 1500 puts out over 400 lbs of torque more than the transmission is rated for , causing transmission problems.
They are also experiencing problems when coupling the 8 speed transmission with the 5.7 Ltr Hemi gas engine again too much torque. They are working on a beefed up 8 speed transmission so it may be wise to wait until they get the problem solved

The V8 and diesel vehicles have had, from day one, a different 8 speed trans. V6 gets one built by Chrysler in Kokomo, v8 and diesel gets a German built higher capacity unit. Same ZF trans goes into BMW, Range Rover, etc.

There are tens of thousands of Jeep Grand Cherokees with V8 and 8 speed out there. On the Jeep Garage forum the V8 owners are much happier with the 8 spd than the V6 guys.

I have a V6 8 spd with 5000 miles and it's perfect. Great mileage for a 290 hp, 5000# 4 whl drive truck. Easy to get 25 mpg driving 70 mph. First towing trip will be 500 miles next week. I'll report the towing mileage when I get back.

[Westcliffe01]

I'm late to this conversation and have not read every entry. I'm on the market for a fiberglass RV primarily for better weather resistance in a high altitude mountain environment.

I have towed full size bumper tow RV's and my own HiLo trailer with a 3.7l Dodge Ram 1500 2wd (very anemic) and with my Ford F250 with its 6.7l V8 diesel.

One of the factors many don't mention is altitude. If you spend a lot of time at or above 7000ft your fuel milage improves since wind resistance is reduced and the naturally aspirated gas engines make less power in the first place. So for instance, my Dodge Ram with the 3.7 V6 (probably one of the most underpowered trucks on the market) will average 14-15mpg towing the 5000lb HiLo which is lower in the tow position than the truck at midwest altitudes (1000ft). The same truck/trailer will get 18mpg when driven over an extended distance at 7000ft or higher. At 10 000 ft simple things like backing up into a campsite can become a pain since the engine power is so low...

My 2008 Ford F250 got an average mileage of 17mpg when I drove it from Texas (where I bought it) back to Michigan. Since I have owned it, the dealership has reflashed the PCM on every service and unloaded in town milage has now dropped to 14mpg. Towing the HiLo trailer, it gets 12mpg at similar speeds to the Dodge Ram, although it does not slow down near as much on inclines.

So my conclusion is that no "real" RV is going to allow the kinds of mileage the OP is expecting. Take a Toyota Prius and tow a parachute behind it and see what kind of milage it gets. The same goes for the Golf / Jetta Tdi. I also note that VW USA does not allow for towing with these vehicles AT ALL in the US. If one found a way around this I'm pretty sure it would instantly void your warranty and your insurance may also not pay out if you had an accident. Its a total farce, since these are very popular towing vehicles in the rest of the world, several million Dutch campers can't be wrong...

[MCDenny]

Doing a lot of internet time wasting... err research, it seems almost any v6 or v8 tow vehicle will get around 14-16 mpg towing a 17' FG trailer. A half ton pickup will get the same towing mileage as my old RAV4. Obviously, the non-towing mileage can vary greatly.

[Borden]

Originally Posted by honda03842

We tow with a 2004, 2.4L 4 cylinder, manual transmission, on demand 4 wheel drive, Honda CRV. We now have 200,000 miles on the CRV. We have been towing for 6 years and have towed three trailers, a 1982 Sunline 1550, a 1995 Casita 16 and a 1991 Scamp 16 before that we towed the Honda behind our motorhome. Presently we are towing the Scamp 16 weighing 2400 lbs and with a tongue weight of 200 lbs.

We are on the road for almost 8 months a year and have been all over the United States and Canada. The Scamp has been the easiest to tow because it's lighter than the Casita and more aerodynamic than the Sunline. Our trips have include the Trans Labrador highway, virtually a 1000 mile dirt road with more 10% grades than we've ever seen.

We average 20-23 mpg with t towing the Sunline, the lightest trailer getting 20 mpg, I assume due to its box shape and the Scamp the best. Over our long trips, loops of the USA, the Honda averages between 22 and 23 mpg towing the Scamp. The short trip mileage varies due to road conditions, traffic, wind, rain, .... Non-towing on the interstate the CRv gets 30 mpg.

We tow in the 3,000 to 3,500 RPM range and typically drive in 4th gear when towing. We don't drive over 62 mph and typically avoid Interstates and tow at 55 mph on non interstate highways.

We bought the Honda new and so far the only repairs have been a thermostat and an engine fan, both this summer.

The Honda CRV has performed marvelously and has low cost of ownership.

We choose to tow a Scamp 16 over the Casita 16 or Casita 17. Over the Casita 16 because the Scamp 16 is taller inside and the Casita 17 because the tongue weight of the Casita 17 has too high a tongue weight.

The disclaimer is that in the United States, even though the American CRV has a larger engine than the typical European Honda, it is only rated for towing 1500 lbs. In Europe it is rated for about 3000 lbs and 220 lbs tongue weight.

Happy to answer any questions about our tow vehicles setup for towing.

The 2.4L Corolla has about the same mileage in US gallons.
as such we get 20 to 23 mpg (US gallons)

[jennykatz]

Well we ended up buying a LiL Snoozy pulling with our 07 Toyota Sequoia with a 4.7 v-8 .We got 18.8 mpg coming up to pick up the camper in Crystal river fl doing 60-65 mph On the way home it was showing 15-16mpg on computer with the engine running at 2000 rpm and 60mph I will check real life mpg when I fill it up .We love the Snoozy we got the twin bed model it actually works out really well for us .

[MCDenny]

Jenny, congratulations on your new trailer. Be sure to post some pictures when you have it 'personalized'.

[jennykatz]

Hi Denny we will try to as soon as we start making some mods Its the twin bed model so far so good .It Tows like a dream Jim and Loree

[carlkeigley]

Originally Posted by jennykatz

Well we ended up buying a LiL Snoozy pulling with our 07 Toyota Sequoia with a 4.7 v-8 .We got 18.8 mpg coming up to pick up the camper in Crystal river fl doing 60-65 mph On the way home it was showing 15-16mpg on computer with the engine running at 2000 rpm and 60mph I will check real life mpg when I fill it up .We love the Snoozy we got the twin bed model it actually works out really well for us .

Congratulations. That is great.
I pull with a 2010 Tacoma V-6.
Normally 18 - 20 mpg. About 16 mpg with Snoozy in drag.

[Mike Magee]

Originally Posted by carlkeigley

Congratulations. That is great.
I pull with a 2010 Tacoma V-6.
Normally 18 - 20 mpg. About 16 mpg with Snoozy in drag.

Ooh, the Snoozy cross-dresses? Or you do, Carl? "... in drag." Kinky!

[giro53]

We are towing a 21 foot Bigfoot, apron 5000lbs with a 2008 Jeep Grand Cherokee 3l diesel. We get aprox 17mpg towing and just under 30 without. Love it. Towed through the BC mountains this summer and was very impressed.

[jennykatz]

Well we filled the Sequia up and we got 14.8 mpg towing Lil snoozy at 60 mph at 2000rpm I still would like to get a little better but for a 5000lb vehicle I guess it's the best i can do .

[carlkeigley]

I burn 100% gasoline.
I use ethynol only when nothing else is available.
I find it makes a little bit of difference.
And 50 mph may get you better mpg.

[jennykatz]

I wonder how the new jeep cherokee will work with the italian diesel?