Community Forums

Quincybear · 06-11-2013, 06:40 PM

I have a 35 foot class a triton v10 and am looking for a dinghy. I know lighter is better but is there a general rule of thumb on how much 500 or 1000 pounds affects gas mileage on a rig of my size and engine...

djbmsu · 06-11-2013, 07:16 PM

Your driving habits will contribute far more than anything. The weight factor enters into the towing more on your start up and of course up hills. After that the toad is along for the ride. Keep your toad within your hitch and your coach factory recommendations.

**CLIFFTALL** · 06-12-2013, 04:14 AM

I've been towing 3200 - 3600 lb toads for over 80,000 miles with a 35 and 36' gas triton Ford and the mileage was about the same on a few occasions when I left the toad home.

speed racer · 06-12-2013, 06:02 AM

I beleive the average is about 1MPG less when you are towing a car behind you.

Cousin Ed · 06-12-2013, 06:49 AM

With our Journey we have "toad" a Colorado (4200 lb) at 8 mpg for 4000 miles then went home with nothing 8.4 mpg. We now toad a Sierra (5500 to 6500 w/golf cart) and are doing about 7.8 mpg. All these figures are pencil & paper for 35000+ miles.

ga traveler · 06-12-2013, 08:04 AM

I first towed a Mazda pickup. then 2 Honda Civic's. My mileage dropped less than 1 mpg when towing. my son-in law has an old Jeep. It is very heavy. At times he asked me to tow his jeep, so he could tow his boat. When towing his CJ jeep my gas mileage dropped much more.

Selah · 06-12-2013, 08:08 AM

I would not pick a toad based on whether it is going to get 0.1 mpg more than another. The toad is going to be your primary vehicle while on the road and perhaps at your S&B as well. Pick one that that you would like whether you were going to tow it or not. Then check the Motorhome Dingy Towing Guide to make sure it can be towed how you would like and is well within your tow limits.
I think most of us buy the RV based on what we liken not on gas mileage. Same should be for your toad. That's my opinion, others may vary (and probably will).

Gary RVRoamer · 06-12-2013, 03:22 PM

A toad will typically decrease mpg on a gas motorhome by around 0.5 mpg. 500 lbs more or less of toad weight probably won't make any difference to that figure, though. The main effect of towing is the increased friction of 4 more tires on the ground plus some additional wind resistance. Extra weight enters the equation only when you have to haul it up a hill, which is a tiny percentage of total driving.

A 1000 lbs of extra weight might show some effect, if only because a toad that weighs that much more probably has larger tires and thus increases road friction.

Sky_Boss · 06-12-2013, 03:35 PM

We chose the CRV for a few reasons:

1. More our style. LOL
2. AWD was normal for this area but would have preferred front wheel only.
3. Roomy enough for us and our 2 GSDs.
4. Reasonable fuel mileage.

Items 3 & 4 were more important than how much more it would have cost us to tow something bigger. Since it will be our primary get-around vehicle, we felt from a budget standpoint it was better than other options that we considered. OTOH if we were interested in something more adaptable to off-road use then we would have picked accordingly. As another poster already said, you need to pick the MH and toad that will serve your wants/needs and then figure out if you can afford them.

pixguy · 06-12-2013, 03:40 PM

We also tow a CRV and notice about .5 mpg difference with our 32' rig. Highly recommend it.

Sky_Boss · 06-12-2013, 04:14 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by pixguy

We also tow a CRV and notice about .5 mpg difference with our 32' rig. Highly recommend it.

Ya...I guess I didn't answer the question directly.

Same here.

bdickson · 06-12-2013, 04:18 PM

Used to have a Honda Fit (2650 pounds), now a CRV (3500 pounds). Negligible difference in gas mileage. Don't do any long runs without the toad so can't comment there.

TomandGloria · 06-12-2013, 04:23 PM

Found the gas mileage about the same when towing toad or without toad. I have workhorse with 8.1, so cannot comment about mileage with V10. Hope this is helpful. Also Saturn LW300 is pretty light weight lad.

bearaboo · 06-13-2013, 08:54 AM

My mileage with V-10, 30 foot class C is very consistent. It is 8-8.5 mpg whether I am towing car on dolly, car alone, or not towing anything. The V-10 just motors along guzzling the gas like nothing is back there.