Ventura & Chevy HHR/ Never Again

[AndyGee]

OK I did a search and yes there's alot of "don't do its" out there but no one with actual towing with the HHR story (except one pulling a Buro). That's why I'm starting this thread we tried it. We just picked up our "new" 1979 Ventura this weekend about 300 miles from home and we decided to try using our '08 Chevy HHR as we had already used it to pull a UHaul cargo trailer 4000km from Ontario to Alberta when we moved here and had no issues. Now some of you may have noticed the "never again" in the tittle and be wondering what happened. Yes I know the Ventura is over wheight. It actually pulled very nicely even though we encountered some very strong crosswinds. No sway or wiggle. The real issue is gas milage or lack of, we went from 30+ mpg to about 15mpg, yes 15mpg.I think the flat boxy Ventura acted like a parachute. I know that my GMC 1/2 ton gets 18mpg towing a loaded car trailer. So ya we'll be towing with the truck and prob get 20mpg.

[Mike Magee]

For your sake I hope you're right about the 20 mpg. But my offhand guess is, you'll probably be closer to the 15 than the 20. Please let us know how it turns out!

[AndyGee]

I've towed a much heavier car trailer with it and got 18mpg so I should be the same or better I just couldn't believe the effect on the HHR even considering the headwinds and crosswinds. We are planning a trip to Ontario in August and we'd be fighting prairie winds most of the way. I believe we got better milage with the UHual cargo trailer because of the lower profile and no it wasn't the small fg one it was the midsize steel & aluminum one (4X8?) and it was the largest UHaul said we could haul with the HHR. The truck simply being more powerful will make the difference in millage. I've run into this before towing a stock car trailer with 2 identicle Suburbans one with a fresh 350 built specifically for towing and one with a tired 350. I got 14-15mpg with the fresh one and about 7-8mpg with the tired one.

[Barbara Gardin]

I could be wrong but doesn't the HHR have a 1000 lb towing capacity.

[Donna D.]

Too bad, I think the combination would look cool going down the road. I just have to ask, what speed where you going? The sweet spot for my Ford F-150 pulling my 16' Scamp is 57 mph on the flats. The mpg TANKS much above that. But, that's okay. I'm going to enjoy the scenery!

[Brian Bran]

Has anybody seen a PT Cruiser pulling an egg?We have 2 PT's and I think that would make a cool combo but I dont know how a PT would handle it.I guess I should just stick with my Yukon.

[Donna D.]

Originally Posted by Brian Bran

Has anybody seen a PT Cruiser pulling an egg?

Cory Hilby tows her 1972 Compact Jr with a PT Cruiser. But I have NO idea what's under the hood. If you click on the link I provided to her name, you could ask her through a PM.

[AndyGee]

Originally Posted by Donna D.

Too bad, I think the combination would look cool going down the road. I just have to ask, what speed where you going? The sweet spot for my Ford F-150 pulling my 16' Scamp is 57 mph on the flats. The mpg TANKS much above that. But, that's okay. I'm going to enjoy the scenery!

Yep looks neat but that flat ole Ventura's just makin' her work too hard. We were goin' 55-60 mph most of the time. Yes even if the milage with the trucks the same it still won't be workin as hard.

[AndyGee]

Originally Posted by Brian Bran

Has anybody seen a PT Cruiser pulling an egg?We have 2 PT's and I think that would make a cool combo but I dont know how a PT would handle it.I guess I should just stick with my Yukon.

I looked up towing capacity for a PT and it's even more confusing than answers you get for the HHR. It seems to depend on the year (I thought they were all pretty much the same) any where from 1000 to 3500 ?!?! '06 being 3500lb. HowStuffWorks "Chrysler Towing Capacity Chart"

RV Lifestyle - Hitch Hints

GT Towing Capacity??? - PT Cruiser Forum

[Glen G]

Theres nothing confusing about the PT Cruisers Tow Capacity its 1000#, 100# on the tongue.

How stuff works made a boo boo.

RV life style was one mans opinion, also a boo boo.

GT Towing got it right.

When all else fails check to owners manual.

That said, I was forced to haul my car trailer that my PT was riding on behind our Tahoe when the Tahoe's fuel pump failed and it had to be towed by AAA.

I unloaded the PT from the trailer while waiting for the tow truck to arrive. Then when they hooked up the Tahoe, I hooked up the PT to the now empty flatbed 1800# car trailer and headed home 130 miles including a 4 mile long 6 percent down grade without trailer brakes.
The PT towed it without a problem, downshifted to 3rd using the engine braking to maintain speed down the grade and the occasional dab of the 4 wheel disc brakes used to keep things in check.

I do NOT recommend towing over the factory tow rating !

Also when checking tow ratings note if there are any footnotes about tongue weight, engines, transmissions, tow packages, cooling systems, gear ratios & frontal area of the trailer.
Be safe and use trailer brakes when towing over 1500#, some states require that, others at 2000#.

[Victor Benz]

Originally Posted by Mike Magee

For your sake I hope you're right about the 20 mpg. But my offhand guess is, you'll probably be closer to the 15 than the 20. Please let us know how it turns out!

Even though we are officially metric up here, us old-timers still prefer the mpg calculation.

Just a note on the actual calculation. A US gallon is 80% of a Canadian (Imperial) gallon. The mile is the same in both places. When we up north calculate the mpg, we always get 25% more (100/80) than our cousins to the south do for the same vehicle!

Vic

[AndyGee]

Originally Posted by Victor Benz

Even though we are officially metric up here, us old-timers still prefer the mpg calculation.

Just a note on the actual calculation. A US gallon is 80% of a Canadian (Imperial) gallon. The mile is the same in both places. When we up north calculate the mpg, we always get 25% more (100/80) than our cousins to the south do for the same vehicle!

Vic

Ha ha that's true. I always forget about their mini gallons.

[Alf S.]

Originally Posted by Victor Benz

Even though we are officially metric up here, us old-timers still prefer the mpg calculation.

Just a note on the actual calculation. A US gallon is 80% of a Canadian (Imperial) gallon. The mile is the same in both places. When we up north calculate the mpg, we always get 25% more (100/80) than our cousins to the south do for the same vehicle!

Vic

Hi: Victor Benz... IMP's and US G's are confusing...but what about L's per 100 KIL's... Guess I'm old fashioned but I still convert to MPG's and use Imperial measure to boot... I like 25% more!!!
Alf S. North shore of Lake Erie

[Susi M]

Hi, we are the HHR/Burro combo. The HHR pulls the trailer with ease. Cruised at highway speeds and blue highways. Went from Iowa to Ohio, up to Madison, WI, over to the Black Hills then down to Colorado, without a problem. Our gas mileage went from 29 to 26 mpg! Since then we've just done weekend hops around Colorado and up in the mountains with mileage dropping to 24 going uphill. I'm sorry you's was so bad, but the Burro is more aerodynamic. BTW, right now we are right at the weight cap but are planning to install brakes and hopefully stay frugal with our stuff...hahaha. We can trade off with my Element but the HHR/Burro combo looks too cool.

[AndyGee]

Originally Posted by Glen G

Theres nothing confusing about the PT Cruisers Tow Capacity its 1000#, 100# on the tongue.

How stuff works made a boo boo.

RV life style was one mans opinion, also a boo boo.

GT Towing got it right.

When all else fails check to owners manual.

That said, I was forced to haul my car trailer that my PT was riding on behind our Tahoe when the Tahoe's fuel pump failed and it had to be towed by AAA.

I unloaded the PT from the trailer while waiting for the tow truck to arrive. Then when they hooked up the Tahoe, I hooked up the PT to the now empty flatbed 1800# car trailer and headed home 130 miles including a 4 mile long 6 percent down grade without trailer brakes.
The PT towed it without a problem, downshifted to 3rd using the engine braking to maintain speed down the grade and the occasional dab of the 4 wheel disc brakes used to keep things in check.

I do NOT recommend towing over the factory tow rating !

Also when checking tow ratings note if there are any footnotes about tongue weight, engines, transmissions, tow packages, cooling systems, gear ratios & frontal area of the trailer.
Be safe and use trailer brakes when towing over 1500#, some states require that, others at 2000#.

Yep, Alberta requires trailer brakes over 2000 lbs.

[AndyGee]

Originally Posted by Susi M

Hi, we are the HHR/Burro combo. The HHR pulls the trailer with ease. Cruised at highway speeds and blue highways. Went from Iowa to Ohio, up to Madison, WI, over to the Black Hills then down to Colorado, without a problem. Our gas mileage went from 29 to 26 mpg! Since then we've just done weekend hops around Colorado and up in the mountains with mileage dropping to 24 going uphill. I'm sorry you's was so bad, but the Burro is more aerodynamic. BTW, right now we are right at the weight cap but are planning to install brakes and hopefully stay frugal with our stuff...hahaha. We can trade off with my Element but the HHR/Burro combo looks too cool.

Yes the HHR towed a Uhaul cargo trailer ( mid sized) no prob. I think it was the aerodynamics of the Ventura we just did an 250 miler this past week end with the Ventura and my pick up and got 18-20 mpg.

[Linda in Washingto]

Originally Posted by Susi M

Hi, we are the HHR/Burro combo. The HHR pulls the trailer with ease. Cruised at highway speeds and blue highways. Went from Iowa to Ohio, up to Madison, WI, over to the Black Hills then down to Colorado, without a problem. Our gas mileage went from 29 to 26 mpg! Since then we've just done weekend hops around Colorado and up in the mountains with mileage dropping to 24 going uphill. I'm sorry you's was so bad, but the Burro is more aerodynamic. BTW, right now we are right at the weight cap but are planning to install brakes and hopefully stay frugal with our stuff...hahaha. We can trade off with my Element but the HHR/Burro combo looks too cool.

Just got back from the Oregon Gathering with my 2001 PT Cruiser pulling my 1985 U-haul. I drove from Bellingham WA to the gathering and then on to northern California. I never had any problems, I stayed at 55 MPH or lower and never pushed it up hill watching the RPMs never going over 3.
I got 20 MPG, I thought that was good. I do have a standard transmission and not afraid to down shift when going down hill so never had over heated breaks. The only thing I did macanicaley was an over hall on the cooling system back in January, cost allot but sure glad I did it.

[Bruce Thomas]

Originally Posted by Susi M

Hi, we are the HHR/Burro combo. The HHR pulls the trailer with ease. Cruised at highway speeds and blue highways. Went from Iowa to Ohio, up to Madison, WI, over to the Black Hills then down to Colorado, without a problem. Our gas mileage went from 29 to 26 mpg! Since then we've just done weekend hops around Colorado and up in the mountains with mileage dropping to 24 going uphill. I'm sorry you's was so bad, but the Burro is more aerodynamic. BTW, right now we are right at the weight cap but are planning to install brakes and hopefully stay frugal with our stuff...hahaha. We can trade off with my Element but the HHR/Burro combo looks too cool.

the hhr with the bigger engine gets better gas mileage than the smaller engine one anyway doesnt it? So it would be working less to move the car etc...maybe thats why theres 2 radically different mileage ratings while towing.....so which of you has the smaller engine?

[Dudley]

Yes towing a Futura is a tough one. It has a very square front end(about as streamlined as a brick). I found that 95km/h is about right for my Subaru Legacy. Make sure the brakes work as well(if not then City Spring in Edmonton sell the whole brake assemblies, without drums, for $38 a side). I don't go far with it but ya it hurts the mileage bad. Also if you want my old brake assemblies for parts, give me a shout. FREE

[Roger C H]

Originally Posted by Susi M

Hi, we are the HHR/Burro combo. The HHR pulls the trailer with ease. Cruised at highway speeds and blue highways. Went from Iowa to Ohio, up to Madison, WI, over to the Black Hills then down to Colorado, without a problem. Our gas mileage went from 29 to 26 mpg! Since then we've just done weekend hops around Colorado and up in the mountains with mileage dropping to 24 going uphill. I'm sorry you's was so bad, but the Burro is more aerodynamic. BTW, right now we are right at the weight cap but are planning to install brakes and hopefully stay frugal with our stuff...hahaha. We can trade off with my Element but the HHR/Burro combo looks too cool.

Hey, Susi, if it looks so cool, why are there no pictures? Hmm?

And you Ventura owners, I looked at the Ventura link and guess what? No pictures.

Let's get with it people.