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kmburns49 · 08-08-2015, 06:33 PM

DW and I are looking to start fulltiming in a Class A Gas around 34-35' long. All the Ford V-10 specs I've seen in that category claim a max tow capacity of 5000#. We'd like to flat tow a 2012 Jeep Liberty (4100#). What kind of mileage should I expect? Also, any advice would be appreciated. Thanks.

Doug Sage · 08-08-2015, 06:36 PM

I would guess that you will average about 7 mpg.

clyon51 · 08-08-2015, 07:04 PM

I'm with Doug, about 7 mpg avg. 9-10 on good days (tail wind or down hill) and 5.5 - 6 on bad days.

MonkeyClaw · 08-10-2015, 11:26 AM

The weight of the toad isn't going to affect you anywhere near as much as the wind resistance. It will have an effect when you are going up hills but even people who live in the mountains spend a lot of their time at a speed where aerodynamics is more important than weight.

clyon51 · 08-10-2015, 06:30 PM

I don't think I can agree with wind resistance is a major factor on a toad vs weight. With my Equinox 3 ft behind my 8x12 ft Bounder (drafting) being much of a wind resistance problem. Certainly in a heavy crosswind, it would be an issue, as well as the additional weight. Just MHO of course.

**NLOVNIT** · 08-10-2015, 07:53 PM

We manage around 7mpg. Have been down to 6, or a bit lower, when in mountains + headwinds.

Lori-

twinboat · 08-10-2015, 08:00 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by clyon51

I don't think I can agree with wind resistance is a major factor on a toad vs weight. With my Equinox 3 ft behind my 8x12 ft Bounder (drafting) being much of a wind resistance problem. Certainly in a heavy crosswind, it would be an issue, as well as the additional weight. Just MHO of course.

I don't believe he was referring to wind against the toad. He was probably comparing effect of the wind against the whole rig verses the effect of the weight of the toad.

Thor 37GT · 08-10-2015, 08:01 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by kmburns49

DW and I are looking to start fulltiming in a Class A Gas around 34-35' long. All the Ford V-10 specs I've seen in that category claim a max tow capacity of 5000#. We'd like to flat tow a 2012 Jeep Liberty (4100#). What kind of mileage should I expect? Also, any advice would be appreciated. Thanks.

I get 7-8 mpg towing a 2005 chevy Colorado. It is lighter than a liberty.

Excell · 08-10-2015, 08:07 PM

You will have no problem with Liberty .My inlaws towed one for 6 years .

MonkeyClaw · 08-10-2015, 09:47 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by twinboat

I don't believe he was referring to wind against the toad. He was probably comparing effect of the wind against the whole rig verses the effect of the weight of the toad.

Thanks, yes - for most conditions, frontal area of the rig is more damaging to gas mileage than the weight of the toad. When climbing and accelerating the weight will affect the gas mileage but even then aerodynamic drag is a major force to content with above certain speeds (I'm too lazy to actually calculate them...).

The point is that the toad won't affect your gas mileage too much unless your climbing a lot of hills or doing a bunch of city driving. I pulled my FJ cross country with my gasser earlier this year and there was minimal difference.

As for advice - I don't have much. Always be sure you can drive forward, get good at connecting/disconnecting for the times you can't go forward. Get a good braking system (you may need to get power from the coach to the toad somehow, there are many options), learn to use engine braking when descending to save your brakes. I've never seen my toad swing outside the outer arc of the tail of my coach or inside the inner arc. It's really quite easy to tow and maneuver. I want to get a tire pressure monitor system (TPMS), which will help check tire temp and monitor for blowouts.

Get used to your engine running at a high RPM when climbing. It's designed to do this, but it's a bit noisy. That's it!

clyon51 · 08-14-2015, 04:40 PM

MonkeyClaw, sorry for my misunderstanding in the post in question. Agree 100% with your last posts.

MonkeyClaw · 08-14-2015, 05:41 PM

No worries, it's the internet

Can you write a quick review of White Tanks when you get a chance? (In another thread, of course!).

Hikerdogs · 08-15-2015, 07:27 AM

We pulled a Buick LeSabre on a dolly behind (4,200 lbs.) our 2001 Winnebago Adventurer with the 310 hp V10, and later a 2004 Jeep Wrangler (3,750 lbs.) 4 down. With both we averaged between 7 and 8 mpg.

We now pull the Jeep behind our 2013 Winnebago Adventurer with the 362 hp V10, and get the same mileage. The only thing we've found that makes a difference in mileage is if you can find regular gasoline without ethanol. When using non-ethanol gas in either motorhome the mileage increased about 1 mpg.