Gas mpg

[Raspy]

Originally Posted by Franswa

Life's too short to spend time worrying about MPGs.... while towing my hotel suite on wheels (with kitchen!) from place to place...whatever it costs...it costs.


I could always "go back in time" and travel by motorcycle with a pup tent strapped on the back of it... stellar MPG numbers there.....but that ain't happening!

Well, maybe. But what if you are trying to decide whether to by a Ram Hemi or a Ram Ecodiesel. A Honda Ridgeline or a Chevy 1500, with the 5.3.

Knowing the general mileage difference would certainly factor in for me as the price of gas slowly rises to an unpredictable number.

What if you are planning a trip across the country and have no idea of the mileage your truck gets. How do you budget for the trip?

What if your friendly Ford salesman tells you a new truck will get 30 MPG while towing and you are wondering if that's true?

If someone has absolutely no concern for mileage, they should get the biggest gas V8 they can find, preferably a 460 cubic inch model from the 1970s, and tow a 30' square front sticky. Then hook on a jet drive ski boat behind the trailer and cruise at 75 MPH on the highway.

It will be the difference between 2 MPG and 16 MPG with a Casita behind a Modern TV, in other words eight times as much fuel. To me, that is a big difference worth considering when assembling your rig and planning trips.

Once you make the overall rig decision, then it's time to just get on with life and quit fretting about it. But you will at least know where you stand and how to budget.

[Raspy]

Originally Posted by Glenn Baglo

How do you know this?

GPS is your friend. Once you work out an error factor, you can adjust the odometer numbers as needed. But you have to make sure not to make the mistake of thinking the speedometer error equates to any possible odometer error.

Automotive speedometers generally error on the side of being a bit fast.

Another common mistake is, after tuning a diesel engine, the mileage appears to go up. Part of that indicated increase is caused by a tuning induced error in the mileage computer. Larger tires are another problem. They roll farther each revolution, but it's harder to make them roll.

[steve dunham]

Originally Posted by Raspy

If someone has absolutely no concern for mileage, they should get the biggest gas V8 they can find, preferably a 460 cubic inch model from the 1970s, and tow a 30' square front sticky. Then hook on a jet drive ski boat behind the trailer and cruise at 75 MPH on the highway. .

The logic of your statement evades me
Fuel mileage is far down my list of criteria for choosing a tow vehicle yet that does not equate to me buying a one ton dually or a buying a 40 ft 5th wheeler or driving at 75 MPH
If the choice is an inadequate tow vehicle with good mileage or an adequate tow vehicle that gets a few less miles per gallon then I choose the later
Taking an argument to some extreme to prove a point doesn’t make sense either .
There is a lot of middle ground between a Mini Cooper and a semi tractor

[Raspy]

Steve,

Good point.

A lot of times when someone discovered I had a sailboat, They'd ask me if I was some kind of an environmentalist. "Is that why you didn't get a power boat?" "no, I like to sail".

As you pointed out, not everyone wants a one ton dually and a fifth wheel, for reasons other than fuel usage. The better example would be deciding between a Ram Ecodiesel and a Hemi. But at some point, don't we all care about mileage? For example, I know when I venture into Death Valley, it can easily be 180 more miles before I can get fuel again. When droning across the Country, I'd rather put 80 bux in the tank once a day, than twice a day. And you're right, a much better truck that uses a little more fuel is a good choice.

[Fred762]

We just never worry about it...We're towing our Casita Indy 17' w the V6 Frontier 2wd CrewCab long-bed truck.. When she gets to 1/4 tank we begin looking for a station with "turning space" for the rig. Of course that 5 gal tank [for the generator] in he truck bed allows us some cheating room. ;-)

BTW we occasionally get asked why we only have a small FG TT. I usually reply that there are only 2 of us, we are good friends AWA married and we HAVE a house already ;-)

[mcmars]

I just got 10.3 MPG in my 98 4x4 suburban for a 10 day trip in colorado towing the 17 ft bigfoot camper. Normally I get 14-16mpg. Not the best carbon footprint, but I offset it by getting 30mpg in my 96 subby wagon the rest of the time. I like older vehicles I can understand and work on and are cheap to buy and maintain.

[redbarron55]

When I was towing my heavy 16' Scamp with my VW 2.0 TDI we got 25 mpg towing and around 40 driving
I calculated at the time that with the higher cost of Diesel at the time a gas mileage of 16 mpg would be the same cost (Diesel was 1/3 higher at the time. ) and the cost to operate the diesel was higher (VW maintenance is expensive and I calculated the $/M and found that any savings was mostly imaginary)
The 2016 Town & Country get 16 - 17 MPG towing and 23- 28 mpg driving.
The cost of operation is lower than the VW Diesel and is easier to get done.
There is no 140K mile required timing belt change at $$ and no 40K transmission service $$ either.
What matters is safety, comfort, and operating cost per mile towing and driving around town etc.
I think the Minivan is a better tow vehicle as it is heavier and most importantly has a hitch that will accommodate a WDH. The VW had no way to install a heavy duty receiver hitch, although it was rated 1800 KG.
MPG makes no difference as long as you have the required range.
What matters is the total cost of ownership with the added cost of towing.