Newbie - How does towing affect mpg?

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Parksy

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Nov 12, 2009
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85% is only advisory it's not a limit. Recurring references to "limit" or "rule" tend to reinforce the misinformation illusion that it has some regulatory base or even guarantee of safety, especially for novices who can trawl the internet for information.
Safety is not a guaranteed, and that's another reason why it's best not to give it extra credence by calling it a limit or a rule.
There is a wealth of information on the internet about the advisability of staying at an 85% ratio between the towing vehicle and the towed caravan for people who are new to towing.
Constant hair splitting about how this recommended ratio is described on our message boards isn't helpful and it's distracting.
The 85% recommendation is the only guidance we've currently got in that respect.
There can never be any guarantees of safety for any road user under any circumstances because so many variables are involved, and I've never seen any forum member imply that a new touring caravan owner is guaranteed to be safe if they follow the 85% rule of thumb.
It's a starting point which is still recommended by all recognised authorities on caravan safety, so no matter how it's described, if it's good enough for the experts it's good enough for this forum.
 
May 7, 2012
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Safety is not a guaranteed, and that's another reason why it's best not to give it extra credence by calling it a limit or a rule.
True, but the chances of a bad match at 85% are so low I doubt they are worth considering. I know it is contentious, but you have to give people some idea of what is and is not a sensible figure to aim at, and although I always quote the 85% figure, I do say more to try and cover the situation more clearly.
 

Sam Vimes

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Sep 7, 2020
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Hi everyone - I am a total newbie to caravans, we are about to purchase our first second hand van.
The issue is I have a petrol car (I have been told diesel is better for towing) which I cannot change at the moment as it was brand new just over 12 months ago.

The car is a Nissan Qashqai 1.6 DIG-T Petrol - the book says 1500kg braked towing. The caravan I am looking at is a Bailey Ranger 540/6 2009 MTPLM 1306 kg.

What percentage will towing affect my MPGs please? Is there a website to calculate it? I currently get around 40-45mpg (average)on a motorway run - 30mpg around town. I am scared that I'll buy this van and get 10mpg or something! What realistically can I expect please?

I hope that you haven't been put off by some of our more pedantic members which has caused a deviation from your original question. Their intent is well meant but often causes more confusion.

In answer to your basic question about mpg there is no simple answer and I doubt you'll find any website that can provide you with a definitive answer. There are just too many variables to be able to say for sure what your resulting mpg will be. It will definitely be less and some of the variables include more than just the weight of the tin can behind you. Your driving style; road types (motorway vs B roads); weather - to name just a few.

All I can restate is that on my 1.5 dci Qashqai the drop is about 40-50%.
 
Dec 6, 2013
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As the OP has probably gathered by now, it's impossible to give a definitive answer or even a sensible guide to this question as there are just so many variables that can affect it.

My own experience with a VW Arteon 2.0 TDI is that it typically returns mpg in the low 50s in normal driving (mixture of urban and motorways but not an awful lot in between)! and 30 ish towing a 1300kg caravan on long journeys. I note that these figures seem similar to Icaru's in a Passat with exactly the same engine.

Many petrol engines (though I can't speak for the OP's Nissan) produce more of their power higher in the rev range, which may mean that when towing it might be necessary to change down sooner and rev the engine harder - which can only mean it will use more fuel.

Purely on the basis of the two points above, I'd say that it's not an unreasonable guess to expect the OP's fuel consumption to roughly double.
 
Nov 11, 2009
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As the OP has probably gathered by now, it's impossible to give a definitive answer or even a sensible guide to this question as there are just so many variables that can affect it.

My own experience with a VW Arteon 2.0 TDI is that it typically returns mpg in the low 50s in normal driving (mixture of urban and motorways but not an awful lot in between)! and 30 ish towing a 1300kg caravan on long journeys. I note that these figures seem similar to Icaru's in a Passat with exactly the same engine.

Many petrol engines (though I can't speak for the OP's Nissan) produce more of their power higher in the rev range, which may mean that when towing it might be necessary to change down sooner and rev the engine harder - which can only mean it will use more fuel.

Purely on the basis of the two points above, I'd say that it's not an unreasonable guess to expect the OP's fuel consumption to roughly double.
Some of the more modern turbo petrols do have their torque coming in at lower revs. The VAG 1.5 TSI being particularly good, as are some others. Mine is petrol and torque comes in from 1500 rpm and it spends much of its life below 2000 rpm even when it was towing. But the lower power non turbo really did need to rev up as load was applied. But as you say in general even the modern turbo petrols don’t equate to a diesel for economy whilst towing.
 
Jun 30, 2022
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I lose about 40% fuel consumption when towing, drops from about 50 mpg to 30 mpg. Mondeo estate 2.0 tdci. I would guess that's about average. Smaller cars pulling a heavy trailer might lose more, bigger cars pulling a small caravan might lose less as a %.

FWIW I think the 85% towing weight figure is a good place to start esp someone new to towing. It is far from any guarantee of safety. Experience is a big factor tho. I would feel much safer with someone with 20 years experience towing at 100% who knows to check tyre pressure, nose weight, knows how to distribute weight, maintain the van than a newbie towing at 80% who just buys a van, throws the awning under the bed, hitches up, pops on a Madonna CD and hits the gas.
 
Apr 28, 2021
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I’ve towed several caravans with many cars over the years including Nissan, Kia, Ford, Vauxhall, Ssangyong to name a few. I’ve always found that in all cars I get anywhere between 22-26 mph. On my last trip being conscious of fuel prices I lowered my speed and drove conservatively, on a 500 mile round trip I got 28 mph, probably the best I’ve achieved in over 30 years of towing.
 
Jul 23, 2021
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Some of the more modern turbo petrols do have their torque coming in at lower revs. The VAG 1.5 TSI being particularly good, as are some others. Mine is petrol and torque comes in from 1500 rpm and it spends much of its life below 2000 rpm even when it was towing. But the lower power non turbo really did need to rev up as load was applied. But as you say in general even the modern turbo petrols don’t equate to a diesel for economy whilst towing.
And, of course, neither compare to electric for economy while towing. With torque available at 0rpm, no gearbox to damage or clutch to wear out, huge torque, generally high power, high kerb weight, they make great tow cars, with two caveats;
1) if you can afford one in whatever way is appropriate for you and
2) if range or "distance towed per day" is not an issue - both of which may be a challenge for the OP or anyone.

But the options are there, and they make excellent tow cars if you can live with the drawbacks.
 
Jul 19, 2021
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I’ve towed several caravans with many cars over the years including Nissan, Kia, Ford, Vauxhall, Ssangyong to name a few. I’ve always found that in all cars I get anywhere between 22-26 mph. On my last trip being conscious of fuel prices I lowered my speed and drove conservatively, on a 500 mile round trip I got 28 mph, probably the best I’ve achieved in over 30 years of towing.
That's very slow, hope I don't get stuck behind you 😁
 
Sep 16, 2018
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40 to 50% seems about right, solo we get 40-44mpg, towing 22-24 mpg. Thats pulling a 1550 kg van with a 1760kg kerb weight diesel car with a 2000Kg towing capacity.

The harder the car has to work the more the difference in fuel consumption. We also chose to stay well below the max towing weight to allow a margin, with these weights we can accelerate up most hills and are rarely unable to maintain the legal speed limit.
 
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May 7, 2012
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With our Mazda 6 towing a Quasar 574 consumption drops from about 42 mpg to around 28 mpg, but a lot depends on the roads you are using and traffic levels.
 

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