Tow Speed

[Kurt G]

Originally Posted by cyndi b.

hey, you are pulling a trailer.

ok?

[floyd]

Originally Posted by Byron Kinnaman

When I read the whole article it repeated what I had said earlier. You're better off with the A/C than with windows open.

At low speeds, "windows down" has considerably less impact.

THAT ASIDE, What I said earlier did not even imply rolling the windows down.

Quote...
""Many TVs are designed to run the air conditioner in several settings, including those which involve "defrost". The air conditioner can adversely affect fuel econmomy, to varying degrees, If you don't need it on don't run it.""


I have a flip open air roof, which does an remarkable job of venting the cab on my truck while actually improving the fuel economy by a measurable amount when towing.

BTW; "Mythbusters" did a show on this issue and declared it "Busted"
They are probably as credible as most internet sources

[Chester Taje]

Originally Posted by floyd

At low speeds, "windows down" has considerably less impact.

THAT ASIDE, What I said earlier did not even imply rolling the windows down.

Quote...
""Many TVs are designed to run the air conditioner in several settings, including those which involve "defrost". The air conditioner can adversely affect fuel econmomy, to varying degrees, If you don't need it on don't run it.""


I have a flip open air roof, which does an remarkable job of venting the cab on my truck while actually improving the fuel economy by a measurable amount when towing.

BTW; "Mythbusters" did a show on this issue and declared it "Busted"
They are probably as credible as most internet sources

Maybe read this article.
Mythbusters' mistakes in AC vs windows down episode — Autoblog Green

[floyd]

Originally Posted by Chester Taje

Maybe read this article.
Mythbusters' mistakes in AC vs windows down episode — Autoblog Green

No need...
I was making the point that they were only as credible as the articles found on the internet, I know for a fact that automotive air conditioners consume enough energy to affect fuel economy and I never advocated driving with the windows down. So I could not care less about driving with the windows down,since the only time I would do such a thing is when cruising the boulevard at 20MPH.
As I stated before "If you don't need it don't use it".

Not.... don't use it and roll the windows down

[mcbrew]

Whether or not to use A/C is a personal choice... so I'm not going to tell someone what to do one way or the other. Around these parts, not many people would go without A/C for long. It get HOT and HUMID in Maryland in the summer. We had a lot of 100+ degree days this year, and <90 degree days were few and far between. The humidity is so high that it feels uncomfortable no matter what.

The good thing is that modern automotive A/C compressors are variable displacement units (at least all the ones I deal with are). They are much more efficient than the older style compressors which would kick on and off as needed. My car is one of those that runs the A/C automatically in either of the defrost modes, too. I am something of a "hyper miler" at heart, so I try not to use the A/C if I can stand it... but there are times when it is downright awful without it. I have not noticed much of a hit with the A/C on, though.

As a side note, Mercedes cars from the 1980s would run the A/C 100% of the time as long as the outside temperature was above 35 degrees. The only way to turn it off was to turn the climate control completely off or press the "ECONOMY" button. A lot of people never realized this and would drive around with the A/C on and the windows down!

[Alistair Camelford]

An old friend of mine who owned a gas station told me that "gas is the least of your costs in owning a car". I kidded him that driving a big old Buick was fine if you owned a gas station...then he totalled up the other costs...depreciation, insurance for the sporty but economical models, repair parts that could be obtained from NAPA or the wrecker vs those that had to be air-shipped from Europe or Japan. I learned those lessons the hard way over the years. Now I just want my tow-bus to last at least a decade (more would be nice!) and start in the mornings and stop when I push the big pedal.

Mileage...well I always check mpg's even when towing...usually 16 mpg on the interstate with the air on and rolling with the traffic in the right lane. I know I could squeeze a couple more mpgs on the secondary roads at 50mph, but when you're headed on a 2000 mile road trip such as we do en-route to Florida from Canada in the middle of winter, the gas saved has to be compared to the cost of an extra day on the road (campgrounds/ motels, meals, etc) and the convenience of staying on the safer controlled-access roads... as opposed to the two lane roads with the logging trucks, school busses,and the occasional unmarked train-crossings.
Cost of doing business when you travel I guess. Me, I just stick an audio book on the i-pod and relax and go with the traffic. As Donna says" YMMV"

Cheers from the Road Toad (heading back to Florida for 3 months in Jan '11) and Alistair & Inge in the '06 Sienna pulling the whole kit & kaboodle at 70 mph.

[mcbrew]

You're right about the total cost of ownership. I added it up on my last car, and fuel (diesel) was only about 20% of the cost of ownership. That was six years and about 150,000 miles. to be fair, that car got an average of 47 MPG. The gasoline version of that car could have cost more in fuel, but still a low percentage of the total cost of ownership.

Having said that, keeping my fuel usage low is somewhat important to me. I know and understand that it is not a high priority for a lot of people. I am fine with the balance that I have struck with my current car -- above 35 MPG in normal driving (above 40 MPG if I really try), and lower maintenance costs than my previous car. Sometimes I wish I had the great fuel economy and gobs of low-end torque that my previous car had... but then I remember working on it... ugh!

No matter what, it is cheaper to tow the Scamp around than to drive my class A RV, which gets 10 MPG on a good day and needs a few hundred dollars worth of work every year.

[Darwin Maring]

During the fuel crisis of the 70s, the VW Beatle was re-geared so it would run right at the 55 Mile Per Hour speed.

It was originally geared for a faster speed so they had to have the engine at a higher RPM at 55MPH.

On our tow vehicles today, we can change the differential on rear drive vehicles to optimize MPG for a given circumstances but most don't do it.

If you order a new truck, you have the option of a couple of differential gear selections.

They do sell after market Over and Under drive units for the very serious ((Big Rig) campers however that would be a most unnecessary expense for small campers to consider.

[mcbrew]

Well... you can change the final drive in a truck... but who tows a fiberglass camper with a truck? That's what cars are for! ;-)

[Alf S.]

Hi: mcbrew...Well I do for one!!!
Alf S. North shore of Lake Erie

[mcbrew]

Of course I was kidding... But I am surprised that there aren't more people towing FGRVs with cars rather than trucks. Gasoline is still relatively cheap, I guess... Corrected for inflation, we are paying about the same per gallon as we were right after WWII. Gas was much higher in 1980, and we all know that car buying habits changed quite a bit back then.

I was in the Czech Republic last year, and has was about $6 a gallon (about 29 Corunas per liter). You better believe that people were driving SMALL cars... Many of them had 1.2 liter or smaller engines, most of them turbo diesel. Of course, their public transportation is light years ahead of ours... So many people don't have cars at all. I did see a few small cars towing ~20 foot camping trailers. I'd love to have more options for super-light campers here in the US... But we are still the land of pickup trucks and SUVs... And car companies who artificially lower their tow ratings.

[Cyndi B.]

I like my Tundra. It scares people.

[mcbrew]

Originally Posted by Cyndi B.

I like my Tundra. It scares people.

I understand that Halloween is coming up soon... but I'm not sure why you'd want to scare people with your truck... are you sure it's not just your driving?

[floyd]

Originally Posted by mcbrew

Of course I was kidding... But I am surprised that there aren't more people towing FGRVs with cars rather than trucks. Gasoline is still relatively cheap, I guess... Corrected for inflation, we are paying about the same per gallon as we were right after WWII. Gas was much higher in 1980, and we all know that car buying habits changed quite a bit back then.

I was in the Czech Republic last year, and has was about $6 a gallon (about 29 Corunas per liter). You better believe that people were driving SMALL cars... Many of them had 1.2 liter or smaller engines, most of them turbo diesel. Of course, their public transportation is light years ahead of ours... So many people don't have cars at all. I did see a few small cars towing ~20 foot camping trailers. I'd love to have more options for super-light campers here in the US... But we are still the land of pickup trucks and SUVs... And car companies who artificially lower their tow ratings.

The cost to get lightyears ahead must be astronomical! Even if a train could run rings around a Saturn, the tracks would likely damage a Scamp when towing.
Of course, who could afford a camper with the meteoric rise in taxes?
I would rather drive a Mercury Comet and enjoy my freedom and my trailer.

BTW... We are getting there, here in the U.S., we just announced a 55% rise in federal gasoline tax.

[floyd]

Originally Posted by Cyndi B.

I like my Tundra. It scares people.

One look at that grill aught to do it , if they keep up that styling they're likely to drive Studebaker clean out of business!

[mcbrew]

[/QUOTE]
I would rather drive a Mercury Comet and enjoy my freedom and my trailer.[/QUOTE]
You did hear that they aren't communists any more, right? A little too socialist for many Americans' taste... but there are benefits, too.

BTW... We are getting there, here in the U.S., we just announced a 55% rise in federal gasoline tax.

Well, it is only going up 8.8 cents per gallon... that still leaves room to grow before we see $6/gal. If it starts moving up as fast as the postage stamp, then we'll have something to worry about (or celebrate, depending on your view of the situation).

As much as I hate paying more for gas, I do believe that the only thing that will convince people to drive more sensible vehicles is higher fuel prices. History has proven that... but we tend to forget too soon.

[Cyndi B.]

I think people fear it will get away and run loose. We had that supposed problem fixed when they "ground off" the accelorator then told us we needed a front end differential. Waiting for that recall.

[floyd]

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
Taxes should be levied for infrastructure, not to meet political agendas....
Tell me what would make a more sensible TV for my Scamp than 4CYL manual trans Escape? What do you tow with? Do they need to punish you to get you to act sensibly?
Can you name a single politician who has shown half the restraint of those who earn their keep? Should we limit the thousands of gallons of diesel fuel wasted daily to fly all those politicians all over the place, out campaigning for conservation?
Don't forget that most fuel tax is state tax, and that they got a ten cent increase while pushing for forty cents.

As you know, a joke isn't much good if you must explain it, go back and reread the post to which you responded.
BTW... Do you suppose they should make you increase the tire pressure on your Scamp to increase your fuel economy?
Afterall Big Brother is smarter than you... right?

[Chester Taje]

This thread is getting political and is also way off topic.

[Matt in SV]

Originally Posted by Chester Taje

This thread is getting political and is also way off topic.

Agreed, let's keep this discussion topical, or it will need to be closed:

Originally Posted by Tezha

Is there a speed that gives the best MPG or does it depend on the TV.