Economical Tow Vehicles?

[alexgray104]

We're feeling the pain in the UK too with all these rising prices, diesel is now £5 ($10) / US Gallon.

Everyone seems to be selling their big 4x4 at the moment, too expensive to run, which means they can be got for a bargain. Most people seem to be going for the compact 2 wheel drive jeeps, such as the Honda CRV, Nissan X-Trail or the new Volkswagen Tiguan - I don't know whether any of these are available in the US?

[mikeschn]

There is a Tiguan just a few house down the street from us. I was surprised that it was larger than our Forester.

I was hoping to see a diesel version of that, but after seeing the larger size, I've lost interest.

Mike...

[brian_bp]

...But those are European tow ratings and they are much higher than the same vehicle gets in the US.

For example, the Focus here is rated up to 1500kg for a braked trailer - that's 3300 pounds and I bet Ford US wouldn't let you tow that with a Focus!

Andrew

Absolutely valid point. The Focus here has a 1000 lb towing limit, according to my owner's manual.

[brian_bp]

...Most people seem to be going for the compact 2 wheel drive jeeps, such as the Honda CRV, Nissan X-Trail or the new Volkswagen Tiguan - I don't know whether any of these are available in the US?

Most models of this type are available here, specifically including all of the CR-V, X-Trail (now replaced by the Rogue), and the Tiguan. I think that these are often suitable tow vehicles for small trailers - more suitable than sedans because they usually have features such as higher rear axle capacity and available AWD.

[Senior Ninja]

Here's my two cents. Last trip I drove from Bakersfield to Ripon CA and got twenty six miles per gallon using my 2002 Saturn L200, that's the one with the four cyl engine! For a picture look me up on the January fifteenth General Discussion Page.
Steve

[John Foote]

A Toyota Tacoma can tow a staggering (to me, anyway) 3500 lbs. My 1998 4-cyl 5-speed towed roughly 2500 lbs in an unbraked U-haul from Seattle to Atlanta. The mileage dropped from 25mpg down to 18mpg (lighter is definitely better!), but other than that, it was entirely painless. I was amazed at how well the engine controlled speed on steep decents. Pick the right gear, and let it coast on down, no brakes at all. Another positive for the Taco is quality aftermarket hitches that are (or were two years ago) readily available for $125 that you can bolt on in half an hour. It's a fine truck.

[brian_bp]

A Toyota Tacoma can tow a staggering (to me, anyway) 3500 lbs. My 1998 4-cyl 5-speed towed roughly 2500 lbs in an unbraked U-haul from Seattle to Atlanta...

Pick the right gear, and let it coast on down, no brakes at all...

That was 2500 lb in an unbraked U-Haul?

The largest standard U-Haul cargo trailer without brakes (also the largest single-axle cargo trailer in the system) is the 5x8, with a cargo capacity of 1800 lb. The larger cargo trailers are all tandems, with surge brakes. Even a 5x10 (the size I wanted to rent a couple weeks ago) has brakes, and only 1550 lb capacity; the next is the 6x12 (the size I got and turned out I needed anyway) does have 2600 lb capacity, but of course it has brakes, too.

Was this an overloaded 5x8, or a brake-equipped tandem, or was the 2500 lb the total loaded trailer weight (including the trailer itself) of a 5x8?

Also, I found the tandem 6x12 with its bias-ply tires was like pulling an anchor, so just coasting it had so much drag it pulled the van back to much lower speed than the van would have coasted to by itself. I believe that - despite the low height and narrow width - it had more drag than my almost-as-heavy single-axle radial-tired travel trailer (much wider and taller).

The 4-cyl Tacoma should be a very capable (if not quick) towing vehicle for Class 2 (up to 3500 lb) trailers.

[John Foote]

That was 2500 lb in an unbraked U-Haul?

Was this an overloaded 5x8, or a brake-equipped tandem, or was the 2500 lb the total loaded trailer weight (including the trailer itself) of a 5x8?

The 5x8 single axle, counting the trailer, too. I guess the weight of the trailer at about 800 lbs empty, plus a 23 year old daughters vast +/-1600 lb pile o' vital crap. Whatever it weighed, it was definitely packed to the rafters, and took all the back I had to get the tongue on the hitch.

Never thought about those bias-ply tires adding their rolling resistance bit, but really, it towed pretty durn good! And cheap! I think I spent more covering the crappy gas mileage deficit than I did renting the trailer for a week.

[jss06]

I am curious about the lack of milage figures for the diesel pickups with a light trailer. The government site does not even list them. Unloaded I get 21+ on my daily commute. If I keep the speed down around 65, I can get 25+ on the highway. I have a 2003 3500 RAM CTD HO with the 6-speed manual tranny. Even with the higher cost of diesel it is still cheaper to operate then the 2001 Dodge Durango I used to own which averaged 14 MPG on my daily commute.

I pulled a 6x12 uhaul trailer loaded (probably around 3500 lbs maybe 4000 lbs.) from Dallas to Houston and averaged 22 MPG loaded and 24 MPG empty on the way back. All highway and speed was kept down to 65 MPH. A lot of that has to do with the way the trailer tucks in behind the truck and reduces wind resistance. In comparison, I was pulling a friends small full height camper (maybe 4K lbs.) and only averaged 14 MPG.

Pulling my 20ft Gooseneck w/Jeep (approximately 7K lbs and brakes on both axles) I average 15 MPG @ 65 MPH. Because that is only half of the trucks rated capacity, the drive is smooth and comfortable. And I don't have to worry as much about how the vehicle will respond in emergencies.

[nikwax]

seems like we'll have a lot more choices in a year or two. Subaru,for example, have a turbo diesel engine in their Outback which they're saying will end up in the Forester and Impreza as well, which has great torque and economy. I think we'll be seeing a lot more in the way of economical cars in that time frame.


I love my old Trooper, great off road capability and 5000 lb tow rating, but it can easily burn through $100+/day in fuel.

[brian_bp]

That was 2500 lb in an unbraked U-Haul?

Was this an overloaded 5x8, or a brake-equipped tandem, or was the 2500 lb the total loaded trailer weight (including the trailer itself) of a 5x8?

The 5x8 single axle, counting the trailer, too.. I guess the weight of the trailer at about 800 lbs empty, plus a 23 year old daughters vast +/-1600 lb pile o' vital crap. Whatever it weighed, it was definitely packed to the rafters, and took all the back I had to get the tongue on the hitch...

Thanks for the clarification, John.

[brian_bp]

Never thought about those bias-ply tires adding their rolling resistance bit, but really, it towed pretty durn good! And cheap! I think I spent more covering the crappy gas mileage deficit than I did renting the trailer for a week.

I suspect that that in my case the tandem axles (which the 5x8 doesn't have) were more of a source of drag than the bias ply tires, but that's only a guess.


A much greater concern is the safety of operating a 2600 lb trailer behind a Tacoma (or even a 1500 lb trailer behind a less capable tug) without trailer brakes. I don't have a Tacoma owner's manual avaiable to me, but I strongly suspect that it requires trailers over something like 1000 lb to have brakes. I won't go into much detail here - it has been discussed in other topics in this forum - but there are good reasons for that:

- working well under normal driving conditions says nothing about how well the rig will stop or be controlled under emergency conditions
- adding mass to be stopped without adding weight for tire traction to the braked axles means longer stopping distances
- pushing back on the trailer with the tug for braking reduces the level of control of the tow vehicle

These concerns will apply to many towing rigs, but especially those with relatively lightweight tow vehicles. I'm not discouraging towing with modestly sized vehicles at all; only encouraging equipping properly to do it.

[McBrew]

Looks like the diesels and hybrids are a bust as far as overall costs go???
I don't see any substantial savings over the regular gas jobs there.

Well, it depend on which one you are looking at. I drive a 2003 Golf TDI that was rated at 49/42 (new EPA ratings are a little lower). I regularly got 52 MPG in mixed driving (mostly highway) and have never gotten below 43 MPG unless I am towing something. Even with performance modifications (now running over 200lb of torque), winter tires (too cheap to buy new LRR tires), and running pure biodiesel (8% lower fuel economy), I am getting an average of 46 MPG.

I haven't finished (okay, barely even begun) my teardrop trailer, so I can't tell you what that'll do to it... but towing a 4x8 flatbed cargo (Harbor Freight) trailer with a few pieces of plywood and lumber on it still returns 41-42 MPG easily. Oh, that's with a roof rack, too.

When I upgrade the software, I should get more HP & torque as well as improved average MPG.

By the way, A4 VWs (Jetta, Golf, Beetle) are rated up to 3,200lb towing in Europe.

[bobbruso]

I have a topic-related challenge I am trying to work through, and would welcome advice:

I have the HF trailer (4x8 folder w/12" wheels). I have read through the comments others have about the trailer (folding vs fixed, larger wheels, lengthening, moving the axle back) and feel better equipped (if not a little confused) to take it on.

I want to build a very lightweight model that can be easily towed by a 4 cylinder (1.9l) Saturn with 5 speed. The conflicting interest is that I am 6'4+" tall and need as big(long) a bed surface as I can get out of this thing. I am thinking of building the floor frame longer than 8' by a few inches and hang it off the rear of the trailer frame.

Is it ok practice on a lightweight to stretch the body out past the end of the trailer frame (assuming the galley structure is over the frame - I'm even toying with a slide-out galley)?

BTW, the Saturn got me 38mpg on my last highway trip.

[McBrew]

Bob, I'm new here and am building my first TD, but I am basically doing the same thing. I have the folding HF trailer (not folding any more!), and my TD is going to be 4' wide, but a bit longer than 8'. My plan so far is to have the front and rear bulge out a bit. If you can't picture what I'm talking about, do a Google image search for "TAB Trailer". It won't be as tall as a TAB, but the same idea in the front and rear.

In other words, the floor will be approx. 8' long, but the longest part of the body will be 9' or more. This should allow me to stretch the sleeping area while allowing enough space in the galley.

I'm 6'2", so I know what you mean!