Which tow vehicle gets the best gas mileage these days?...*N

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Steve Lemieux
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Which tow vehicle gets the best gas mileage these days?...*N

Post by Steve Lemieux »

*NM*
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aNNieNsaLTIE
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Re: Which tow vehicle gets the best gas mileage these days?.

Post by aNNieNsaLTIE »

on a day to day basis or just towing?

yesterday at big break i saw a older dodge durango towing a 21' triton or 20' not sure but it did have a 225merc.

i also saw a honda ridgeline parked with a triton trailer with dual axles. i wonder how big that boat it. now i know for sure this honda gets great gas milage. i had a buddy drive to reno from daly city and back on about one tank of gas. beat that..but he was not towing.

saLTIE-
justflipit
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Re: Which tow vehicle gets the best gas mileage these days?.

Post by justflipit »

none of them.

i have a 06 f150 super crew and i get around 12.5 on the digital reader.
CORAL 96
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Re: Which tow vehicle gets the best gas mileage these days?.

Post by CORAL 96 »

Just remember, when you look for economy in towing usually your sacrificing something else (braking, stability, power). Would really like a Duramax Diesel truck, but with the cost of Diesel, I think I'll pass for now. Not to mention, you need your own dinosaur when it comes to changing the oil!! :shock: Thought of maybe a Toyota Tacoma to tow about 3500 lbs, but with the concerns above, I'd sacrifice a few mpg's for SAFETY!!! :shock:
David Rogers
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Re: Which tow vehicle gets the best gas mileage these days?.

Post by David Rogers »

Like one of the guys posted, if you go V6 you will have no power, if you go V8 you will go broke paying for gas but lets face it, we are going to go broke paying for gas anyway, with a V8 you will just go broke faster:) If you are a tourney guy and you want to pull a boat with a 150 HP or more you will need a V8 or you will toast the engine quick, if you are under 150 HP a V6 Pathfinder, 4 Runner are a good choice, if you only fish a few tourney's like me, I keep my 18 foot 175 HP Ranger at the lake I fish most often, I had a choice buy a new truck or keep my boat at the lake, I was keeping my boat at a storage place for $55.00 a month, than my buddy said hey I can use the money and I will only charge you $40.00 a month so I keep it at his place at Clear Lake so I did not need to buy a new V8 to pull it over hill all the time, us bass boat guys better start using our heads or we are going to go broke on gas, I would say up to 4.50 my summers end at some stations. By keeping your boat at or by the lake you fish most often you will save a ton of $$$$ on gas and repairs.

Good luck and tight lines.
David 371V Rogers
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201Pro
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Re: Which tow vehicle gets the best gas mileage these days?.

Post by 201Pro »

Well, you probably don't want to hear that. But any diesel will be better in MPG than any gasser. For my 7.3L Ford PowerStroke, I get 17 around town and 15 towing. The Chevy and Dodge diesels are a bit better in MPG than my older PowerStroke.

BUT ... Diesel fuel prices have gone through the roof!! :evil:
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aNNieNsaLTIE
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Re: Which tow vehicle gets the best gas mileage these days?.

Post by aNNieNsaLTIE »

well i think there are a lot of other things to keep in mind... with the speed limit increased in California to 65mph, everyone who does not tow a boat most likely drives 70-80mph average. it can be a little unsafe driving around those speed demons when towing. but it is also unsafe towing especially if you get a late start because everyone is zipping around you.

i will confess i tow about 60 to 65 and more at 65 than 60. i know i am not helping my mpg's. i also know i am not the only one guilty. i think if we towed at 55 we would save ourselves a few bucks. on flat land i would say use cruise the control option when possible.

I tow with a 2003 gmc Sonoma. i got a nice ole 4.3 v6 w/190hp. my boat is a old heavy 16ft sled. i can tow from the city to ruso's with 7-8 gallons of gas. stopping power is great. i do not have any trailer breaks either. and this is doing 65mph. my boat is made of glass and wood.

saLTIE-
Rod Martin
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Re: Which tow vehicle gets the best gas mileage these days?.

Post by Rod Martin »

Had a dodge 3500, with a 20' champion, traded down to a smaller champion and a chevy colorado with the in line 5 cyl. works great for me. You can tow with just about anything its stoping that is harder. long as you maintain dist. and keep an out , its all easy
fishwithron2

Re: Which tow vehicle gets the best gas mileage these days?.

Post by fishwithron2 »

I have a 1996 4 runner V6 and pull a 18' champ with 175 merc. Towing at alittle above 60 I get 16 mpg and about 21 reg. I have over 200K miles and only thing I replace was brakes,tires ,battey and anew starter. Change oil every 6000 miles.
My partner use to tow his old champ ( 18') on his 3 year old Exp and gets about the same mileage. He now has a 19' champ and proably burns alittle more gas.
I fish mostly in the delta and have gone to clear acoupal of times. Can still make it over those steeper hills at 50 mph which is 5 mph below speed limit.
BIG DADDY BLUE RANGER
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Re: Which tow vehicle gets the best gas mileage these days?.

Post by BIG DADDY BLUE RANGER »

I get 16 not towing with my Tundra 5.7 Crewmax and 13 when towing......... my V6 Tacoma gets more like 18 not towing and 12 when towing...
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Nick_Barr
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Re: Which tow vehicle gets the best gas mileage these days?.

Post by Nick_Barr »

A great towing SUV, that does not get a lot of recognition. IS a JEEP Grand Cherokee, Inline 6 Cyl. 4.0 Liter (195 HP-235 Torque)

I have a 1993 Jeep Grand Cherokee w/ 240K miles, that tows my Legend LE-186 with a 150 Opti

I get inbetween 10-12 MPG towing
highway I avg. 17-19

Steep hill and mtn. Passes I can lock in at 3K RPMS and stay at 55MPH no problem.
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Sean Graf
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Re: Which tow vehicle gets the best gas mileage these days?.

Post by Sean Graf »

Fish out of your buddy's boat :lol:
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Sacto John
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Re: Which tow vehicle gets the best gas mileage these days?.

Post by Sacto John »

It all depends on what you are towing. I get 21MPG towing my old, heavy, 16 foot fiberglass bass boat with my Subaru Outback Wagon. I set the cruise control at 60 and leave it there until I get where I am going. I am pretty sure that my boat is about as heavy as I can pull with Subaru, even though it has a 2500 towing capacity. My next boat will most likely be aluminum. I avg. 25 MPG mixed driving when not pulling my boat.
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Paul W
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Re: Keep an eye out

Post by Paul W »

Word is that Chevy/GMC are gonna make the Colorado and Canyon trucks with v8's for 2009. They were going to make them for 08, but it was delayed a bit. You can bet these trucks will get pretty decent mileage, being they are much smaller than a fullsize. I'm hoping they make them with cylinder deactivation, then I would not be suprised to see 25mpg hwy while not towing. I pull an 18' Champ/175Vmax with my 2005 GMC Sierra 4.8L. Pulls great and I would guess its getting about 14mpg.

Paul W
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CW2 Tucker
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Re: Keep an eye out

Post by CW2 Tucker »

I have a 2006 F150 S-crew with the smaller V8 4.6L I tow an 18 foot nitro and get about 16 MPG out of it on flat ground. I have found that the cruise control is my best friend. I set it for 58MPH and enjoy the ride.

I am very interested in the 2010 F150 with a 4.4L supercharged Diesel. I think that will be a killer tow rig IMHO. Don’t worry Chevy and Dodge is coming out with 1500 series diesel trucks as well.
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Colebass
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Love my Dodge Diesel!

Post by Colebass »

I travel from Roseville to Paso Robles about every other week and I run about 70-75 on cruise and get 21-23 depending on my load.

I don't like to current price of diesel, but I like to power and am please with the mileage.
Dave Cole
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