ahicks Report post Posted March 5, 2011 Hi everyone. As a newbie with no Toad experience, have been doing a lot of reading regarding Toads. Struggling trying to weigh the cost of having one with us vs. renting a vehicle when/if necessary? I've looked but see very little discussion regarding how this will affect my rigs mileage? Our coach will be used mainly for touring the first couple of years. Part timing and not spending a lot of time anywhere. Maybe 3-4 days max? Looking for input, realizing a VW bug is going to affect mileage less than a Suburban, but curious anyway if you have with/without mileage numbers. Thanks Much! 93 HR Aluma-Lite 34' w/tag Chev. chassis/gas Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest BillAdams Report post Posted March 5, 2011 I would not expect your toad to change your mileage very much at all unless you are towing a vehicle that approaches your maximum capacity. That not being the case I suspect that you would see a reduction of 1 MPG or less. We have a big 'ole honking Detroit and we tow a 8000 pound loaded extended Chevy van and we get the same mileage towing or not but since we hardly get any mileage at all I don't think that's a fair comparison. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
kingfr Report post Posted March 5, 2011 I would expect that a Toad would affect the mileage of a gasser more than a diesel. We had a 1991 Allegro gas coach (Chevy 454) towing a Jeep Cherokee and got about 6 1/2 MPG. Our current DP (360 Cummins) averages about 7 1/2 MPG pulling a Grand Cherokee which is about 1500 lbs heaver than the Cherokee. We also run 5 to 8 miles per hour faster in the DP! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
hermanmullins Report post Posted March 5, 2011 ahicks, Welcome to the FORUM. Towing a vehicle might affect mileage by less then 1/4 to 1/2 miles per gallon. Weight that against the cost of a rental for say 3 days. Most of your coast is up front. Tow Bar, Base Plates, Wiring the tow vehicle and a braking unit. If you already have a vehicle that can be towed 4 down just look for bars and plates to fit it. If you don't have such a vehicle then I might suggest that you look into trading for a vehicle you can tow and also use as a first or second family vehicle. Many vehicles can be towed 4 down (check the towing chart in this web site for year and make of vehicle :rolleyes) and most can be made to tow with pumps or drive shaft disconnects. As I said the mileage is not really the factor. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
RogerEastman Report post Posted March 5, 2011 We have a gas 6.8L Ford V10 and pull a Dodge Caravan using a tow dolly and it affects our gas mileage about .5mpg. We get 7.9 without and 7.4 towing as averaged through mountains around Denver and Flagstaff. Towing is rerally a function of what you are doing at the stops. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
wolfe10 Report post Posted March 5, 2011 As suggested, MPG is but one of the cost factors you need to consider. But if that truly is your question, the best answer is IT DEPENDS. Physics dictates that MPG depends on whether you are on flat terrain or hill/mountains. Weight is a major factor in MPG on grades, but not on flat ground. To look at this, go to this Caterpillar Corporation document-- yes the same physics applies to gasoline powered rigs: My linkhttp://www.catrvclub.org/Tech%20Talks/RV%20Performance%20.pdf Look at the HP requirements for a given weight coach on flat ground, then on a 6% grade. You will see that weight has little effect on flat ground an a large effect on grades. HP requirement easily translates into fuel usage. Brett Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
marrakay Report post Posted March 5, 2011 We have a class C Jayco Ford v-10 and tow a HHR behind us. I average about 2 miles per gallon better pulling Versa solo. Now, we must remember we tow at about 60-62 mph SOLO we are not limited to speed so the RPM go up as well as speed, and mpg goes down. So, I would say don't worry about the tow vechicle, drive with what you have and be Safety First. A Ford V-10 uses gas for sure, SO who cares just tow the toad, at least you know at all times you have a car and would not even think of chasing a rental car location. Tim FM 405095 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
johntelling Report post Posted March 5, 2011 We also get slightly better mileage when towing our Acadia with our Cat 350 powered DP due to lower speeds. In California we are only allowed to drive 55 mph when towing, compared to 70 mph solo. One interesting aspect of pulling a toad is that it is easly to get stuck in fuel stations. Guess how I know? I have become very suspicious of fuel stations where the pumps are at 90 degrees to the access road - and also quite good at quickly unhitching the toad if I need to! JT Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
mikev Report post Posted March 6, 2011 Hi, we tow a 2003 Ford Explorer "four down" approx. 4600 lbs, we get on the average .5 mpg less when towing but that is an average, as Brett posted earlier if we are in mountainous regions it affects us more. However over a couple of trips last year after we started towing we averaged .5 less. We get approximately 9 mpg when towing. You will note by our info below we have a diesel pusher. Cheers Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ahicks Report post Posted March 6, 2011 Those that have replied so far, thanks so much! Would still like to hear more from those with GAS rigs, your impressions regarding how your rig handles that weight, 4 down vs. dolly, size of your toad, and if you have it, how the toad affects your milage? How/what would you change if you could (while trying to maintain something resembling a budget)? To expand on my thinking a little? Carol and I have a late model Impala that would have to be dollied, and a Dakota 4x4 that must be pulled 4 down. I've done the checking on both. These vehicles are both on the heavier side regarding my rigs capacity, but do-able. Both would cost similarly to rig for towing. We hadn't even begun to think motorhome or toad when these vehicles were purchased. In a perfect world, we would sell one and buy a CRV or maybe an HHR. The problem is we're feshly retired little guys that have just sprung for a motorhome, not really ready to spring for another vehicle at the moment - if we can get away with what we have for the short term? Brett, thanks, but trying not to "over think" this one. I get how one could quickly turn this question into something that can eventually become so mired in trivia that nothing useful could possibly come from it. That's not the direction I'd like to go, prefering instead to keep this nice and simple. Input from those with averages based on thousands of miles traveled will work fine for me here.... -Al As suggested, MPG is but one of the cost factors you need to consider. But if that truly is your question, the best answer is IT DEPENDS. Physics dictates that MPG depends on whether you are on flat terrain or hill/mountains. Weight is a major factor in MPG on grades, but not on flat ground. To look at this, go to this Caterpillar Corporation document-- yes the same physics applies to gasoline powered rigs: My linkhttp://www.catrvclub.org/Tech%20Talks/RV%20Performance%20.pdf Look at the HP requirements for a given weight coach on flat ground, then on a 6% grade. You will see that weight has little effect on flat ground an a large effect on grades. HP requirement easily translates into fuel usage. Brett Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
