Scamp 13 Towing with 2016 Prius

[lisantica]

I was reading about the new towing capabilities of the 2016 and newer Prius here:
https://www.digitaltrends.com/cars/t...ng-capability/

I have a 2016 and I'm thinking I might try it. I have the 13' Scamp without bathroom. If I take off the propane tank and drain the clean water tank I should easily be under the maximum towing load of 1598 pounds.

I'm thinking that I'd get approx. 50 miles per gallon allowing a 4 MPH decrease for hauling the trailer (maybe more/maybe less), but it's sure tempting.

I know it's a risk putting a strain on vehicles that aren't designed for towing, so I will have to give it some serious consideration.

Until then I'm towing with my Sprinter diesel van (20 MPG on my first trip with it):

[Jon in AZ]

I'd expect more of a drop than 4mpg. My Pilot drops about 7mpg. Generally the smaller the engine, the greater the drop.

Diesels change the game. Small displacement gas-electric hybrids are uncharted territory. We do have a few members towing with larger hybrids, such as the Highlander. Perhaps they'll chime in.

I'll look forward to your reports!

[Paul O.]

My Tacoma goes from about 20mpg to 16mpg towing, but I would also think that the penalty for towing a trailer is some sort of a ratio, not a difference, so with a high mileage vehicle the number would also be higher. An interesting question.

[lisantica]

Thank you both for the input.

I think I will not try it. I just got over-enthusiastic thinking my Prius could tow 1600 pounds.

[floyd]

Originally Posted by Paul O.

My Tacoma goes from about 20mpg to 16mpg towing, but I would also think that the penalty for towing a trailer is some sort of a ratio, not a difference, so with a high mileage vehicle the number would also be higher. An interesting question.

I had a carpool friend years ago with a Honda Civic, He consistently lost 4MPG with only one passenger! (34MPG and 30)
My turn with the Fairmont 4dr (4CYL STICK) lost nothing measurable but got about 25MPG with or without a passenger. (much bigger car)

[Mike Magee]

Frontal area is a relevant consideration. I think if the Scamp were a couple feet shorter, the Prius might do tolerably well. As it is, you'd probably want to keep it under 50 mph... maybe under 45.

Now, if you had one of these....
Little Guy Worldwide

[David B.]

Lisa, there was a lady from Florida that had been towing her 13' Scamp with her Prius, and had no problems doing so in flat Florida. You could try an archive search for towing with a Prius, then send her a PM.
Dave & Paula

[lisantica]

I enjoyed reading the additional posts.
That Little Guy Trailer would surely tow well, too bad I love the height of the Scamp more.
Time to go search for that woman in Florida, thanks for the tip on that.

[Mike Magee]

Originally Posted by David B.

Lisa, there was a lady from Florida that had been towing her 13' Scamp with her Prius, and had no problems doing so in flat Florida. You could try an archive search for towing with a Prius, then send her a PM.
Dave & Paula

I haven't found the lady from FL yet, but I did locate a couple of Prius users' posts just now:
http://www.fiberglassrv.com/forums/f...amp-58142.html
(see post #4 in this thread: ) http://www.fiberglassrv.com/forums/f...age-51247.html

I didn't recall these, so it was a bit surprising to me. Maybe the Prius would do fine with a 13' Scamp after all. But the fuel economy advantage would be minimal.

[lisantica]

Thanks Mike for those links.
I was thinking the Prius would have been a nice comfy ride compared to the Cargo van I am using. Gas mileage is a bonus.
Right now I'm having coffee in the Scamp in my driveway.

[Wayne Collins]

It would be up to Toyota to say if you can tow anything, or how much.
I did see a Prius with a trailer hitch, but it was just pulling a small untility trailer.
The rear end is low to the ground, so any hitch you put on needs to fit up tight to the bumper with a high rise bll mount.

[Tom 72]

Interesting thread. The Prius has earned and deserves respect from the automotive industry. I was more of a skeptic when they were introduced. But they are one of the most viable alternatives for daily driving.

I never considered the Prius a tow vehicle. Do you have a Harley Davidson?

Never mind, I suspect plenty of us would enjoy hearing about your results with your Prius. But most of us wouldn't try it, if we owned a Prius.

I also suspect the drop in mileage might exceed 4 mpg. First, most do not buy RVs for primarily city driving. My understanding is that the Prius does best in city driving, where it operates as an electric for a higher percentage of the time.

On a highway, I understand the small gasoline engine plays a bigger role. In that case, I would expect a bigger mpg drop. Perhaps 1/4th to 1/3rd.

Like I said, "Let us know."

Signed,
Tom, A fellow Sprinter owner.

[lisantica]

I did buy the hitch and wire kit, and will have it installed to support some mountain bikes, but I bet I'll hook the Scamp up even if only to drive it around the block.

I noticed on YouTube that a young couple tow their Scamp (same layout as mine), with a Mini Cooper manual shift.

[Wayne Collins]

We are on our third Prius, this last one is a Prius V. It makes less mileage than the regular ones, but still good.
We do get higher MPG on the highway than in town, but that is because we live in a hilly place. We've learned that using the "goose-it-and-coast" method gets better mpg.

[revrblue]

I have a Scamp 13 with a front bath and I have towed it with a 2006 Vibe and a 2012 Corolla. I have had no problems with the weight. The two cars get 37 and 39 mpg highway but when towing the Scamp the Corolla mpg goes down to 24 mpg due to the added weight. So if you tow with your Pruis you will probably see the same reduced mph.

[lisantica]

I also have a 2007 Prius I bought new and it now has almost 200K on it.
I decided I wouldn't get much trade in, so I kept it. Maybe I should be hooking up the Scamp to it since I don't mind if it wears out that motor and/or CVT....I'd just want to be sure I'm not endangering anyone on the highway using the older Prius.
Lots to consider.

[lisantica]

Originally Posted by revrblue

I have a Scamp 13 with a front bath and I have towed it with a 2006 Vibe and a 2012 Corolla.

When I bought the Scamp a few weeks ago, the gal said her dad towed it with, I think she said, Corolla, something along those lines anyway.

[Tom 72]

Some quick trivia. For those unfamiliar, the Pontiac (for some other time) Vibe was a sister/cousin to the Toyota Matrix, two similar cars produced by NUMMI, a joint venture of GM and Toyota in Pleasanton, CA. outside San Francisco. Prior to those models, they produced the Chevy/GEO Prism there and a version of the Corolla. I believe the drive trains and designs were mostly Toyota. In my opinion, that factory produced some great sub compacts.

I am pretty sure they now produce Teslas there. No relation.

The cost of developing new vehicles means it makes sense to put more than one car on the same platform. I think the Highlander, Camry, and some Lexus (?) share the same platform. Until very recently VW sold a vehicle in Europe that shared the Sprinter body, but used a VW engine. I've heard VW builds 5 vehicles on the VW Beetle platform. The Audi TT, and a small Audi sedan (A4?) are several. The Golf and Jetta? maybe the others. I've heard Mercedes shares an SUV platform with Nissan, I think. Obviously Sprinters were thinly disguised as Dodges and still Freightliners, a Mercedes subsidiary. The newest Dodge vans are a Fiat product. I don't know where they are made.

No doubt I am mistaken here somewhere. I welcome corrections and additions.

[Lynn Eberhardt]

I can count on 24 MPG with my '08 Highlander Hybrid. While towing our 2400 lb (really loaded) Scamp 16, it drops to 16 MPG.

[lisantica]

I usually get around 54 MPG on the 2016 Prius depending on conditions and I wouldn't even mind getting 30 MPG towing as that's more than my Sprinter gets, I just don't think it will be realistic to do without potentially harming the vehicle.
In addition, there isn't much flat land that I would be traveling to. Places like Sedona, Flagstaff, Colorado, Vegas, all steep grades.