Owners Towcar Database.

Aug 2, 2009
4
0
0
Visit site
Browsing through the forum it occured to me that practical caravan web forum are in a perfect position to start an owners towcar database with headings under car manufacturers/models and sub headings under caravan models. This way users of the forum could build up a database of actual owners figures for fuel consumption and comments on their car as a towcar. This way a better general picture would emerge of towcars and their performence and abilities. While I understand that two different people using the same towcar/caravan outfit would arrive at different figures, It would help to produce a fairly good source of information.

For my own Part I towed an abbey 14'GTS with Two different Vectra 2Ltr Diesel Estates giving around 50 MPG Solo and around 35 MPG Towing. The resuls when changing my van to a Abbey Expression 15' Was slightly less towing about 32 MPG.

I have changed my car to a Jaguar 2.2 Diesel Sport Est while the solo consumption figures have improved to around 55 MPG the towing figure while pulling my Expression has dropped to 24 MPG on a 530 Mile trip to Scotland. I expect these figures could be improved on as I do have a heavy right foot. I would be interested in forum users opinions.

Ron
 
Jun 17, 2008
113
0
0
Visit site
Afternoon Ron,

My towcar is a 2000 plate Ford Explorer, doing my bit for the environment with a hefy 4.0L V6, my caravan is a Sterling Europa 620 Twin Axle.. here is the painful bit.. my MPG is roughly 22 towing...

Cheers

Rob.
 
Sep 7, 2009
5
0
0
Visit site
Hello there,

I tow a 1989 Fleetwood Garland 165-5 on a 2005 Ssangyong Rodius 270SX 2WD. I am getting around 21 to the gallon whilst towing (but as we only normally get around 29 to the gallon solo it is not to much of a drop)!

Rob
 
Oct 18, 2009
357
0
0
Visit site
Pat and me tow with an old J reg Mitsubishi Pajero 2.5L 7 seater.

The only problem with it is it is like a jelly if the roads are bad.

Hate to think what it dose to the gallon, I just keep filling it up.

We tow a Swift Challenger 590 at about 55 to 60 mph with the wind behind us.

A bit slow up hills so always take a run at them.

Pat loves driving it, have to prize the wheel from her to have a go.

Over all it is a good tug for its age.

It has automatic plus over drive, 4x4, cruise control, electric fold in mirrors and loads of room in side.

Would it be possible for some one to do a proper data base that you type in car or van make and up it comes or a spreed sheet would be nice.

I for got to say about the van, my second one this year, we had an old Elldis, I liked it as it was old and could drill holes in it but it had to go for a van with a rear bedroom and a little newer.

I would love to have a go at towing a double excel just to see what they are like, maybe one day.

Don't forget the sun paper for camping holiday for a
 
Oct 18, 2009
357
0
0
Visit site
Pat and me tow with an old J reg Mitsubishi Pajero 2.5L 7 seater.

The only problem with it is it is like a jelly if the roads are bad.

Hate to think what it dose to the gallon, I just keep filling it up.

We tow a Swift Challenger 590 at about 55 to 60 mph with the wind behind us.

A bit slow up hills so always take a run at them.

Pat loves driving it, have to prize the wheel from her to have a go.

Over all it is a good tug for its age.

It has automatic plus over drive, 4x4, cruise control, electric fold in mirrors and loads of room in side.

Would it be possible for some one to do a proper data base that you type in car or van make and up it comes or a spreed sheet would be nice.

I for got to say about the van, my second one this year, we had an old Elldis, I liked it as it was old and could drill holes in it but it had to go for a van with a rear bedroom and a little newer.

I would love to have a go at towing a double excel just to see what they are like, maybe one day.

Don't forget the sun paper for camping holiday for a
 
Mar 14, 2005
17,556
3,051
50,935
Visit site
Hello Ron,

The idea of a contributors data base is quite appealing, but I suspect would be highly flawed for a number of important reasons. Think about the range of things that will affect the consistency of results. Here are just a few.:-

Driving style,

Actual weights of car and caravan,

Mechanical condition of the outfit

Route chosen

The severity of traffic and other hold-ups,

Wet or dry conditions,

Temperature

altitude

Tyre pressures

Fuel types ( e.g Bio vs petrochemical vs LPG etc)

Accuracy of fuel filling and mileage indication

Accurate definition of vehicle model type age and engine

Bias in reporting

The attraction of bragging about a result

Downright lying

Genuine mistakes.

Now ask your self who would verify the results? And how would they be cross-referenced? And could you genuinely believe the results?

Even the sites that try to offer outfit matching as a commercial service are known to contain many errors, and I suspect that if this were tried the inconsistency of results would serve to confuse rather than inform.
 
G

Guest

Hello Ron,

The idea of a contributors data base is quite appealing, but I suspect would be highly flawed for a number of important reasons. Think about the range of things that will affect the consistency of results. Here are just a few.:-

Driving style,

Actual weights of car and caravan,

Mechanical condition of the outfit

Route chosen

The severity of traffic and other hold-ups,

Wet or dry conditions,

Temperature

altitude

Tyre pressures

Fuel types ( e.g Bio vs petrochemical vs LPG etc)

Accuracy of fuel filling and mileage indication

Accurate definition of vehicle model type age and engine

Bias in reporting

The attraction of bragging about a result

Downright lying

Genuine mistakes.

Now ask your self who would verify the results? And how would they be cross-referenced? And could you genuinely believe the results?

Even the sites that try to offer outfit matching as a commercial service are known to contain many errors, and I suspect that if this were tried the inconsistency of results would serve to confuse rather than inform.

Prof.

You forgot the mechanic condition of the vehicle itself, ie is it actually running in near perfect condition.

And also how people read there MPG, is it by just trusting the trip computer or do they actually work it out for themselves....
 
Apr 28, 2009
40
0
0
Visit site
Hello all,I tow with a Vauxhall Omega Elite 3.2 V6 Auto Estate and find it tows our Abbey Aventura 318 with comfort and almost as if in solo mode. For a low mileage car that cost me so little 2 yrs ago,its yr 2003,one of the last made, it has all the toys, but for convenience a rear tailgate and low loading platform (my wife has mobility problems) count as positives. For towing, autobox power, with RWD, and a self levelliing rear suspension/zenon headlight system are the real assets. Of course as usual MPG aint good it does about 24 solo and 19 when towing, strange thing is I dont appear to be able to improve the computerised figures much by being light footed,although some improvement can be had by an A/C switch off. A good mod Im considering is an LPG conversion and abandon the spare wheel to provide a donut underfloor tank.I just like the car so much "it does the business with ease" and would like to keep her for some time longer especially as now being retired Im able to maintain her myself, Clifford.
 
Aug 13, 2010
1
0
0
Visit site
we tow a bailey pegasus 534 with a vw passat tdi140 saloon (07) ...mpg towing is 29 , solo around 50 mpg.pulls very well and holds 6th gear at 50mph without struggling until you hit an incline. feels stable enough in most conditions but you can feel it shifting in gusts of winds , maybe its the shape of the pegasus because we had that towing with a 2.8 pajero also.
the suspension is quite stiff on this car so theres virtually no tail sag but obviously the solo ride is not as good as a mondeo for instance
 
Sep 11, 2009
197
0
0
Visit site
I tow an Avondale Argente 650-6 with an 05 Reg Hyundai Santa Fe 2.0 Diesel, solo I average arund 38ish and with the van on the back between 23/29 I don't think that's bad at all for a 4x4, Very high on my wish list is a tunig module for it, so then I should see even better fuel economy

Mike
 
May 21, 2008
2,463
0
0
Visit site
As usual John (prof) gave a load of technical waffle but no facts on his tow car capability, perhaps he has a Reliant Robin and tow an Eriba puck?

I used to use a 1998 Laguna 2 Ltr petrol estate which did 40 mpg solo and 31 mpg towing and it has now done 206'000 miles.
Now I have a Rover 75 cdti connessure which does 47Mpg average solo and 36Mpg towing 1250Kgs. Having only just got the rover, I'm sure I'll improve the Mpg once I've got used to the car.

Atb Steve L.
 
Mar 14, 2005
17,556
3,051
50,935
Visit site
Steve,
For the reasons I tried to explain, the way that such information would be garnered has so many variables that it could bot be used as a reliable indicator.

I do borrow my tow car from Del boy when he's not using it for for his market stall in Peckham. It does 5miles to the pint of best bitter.
 
Mar 14, 2005
9,703
602
30,935
lutzschelisch.wix.com
Any fuel consumption figures that anyone quotes need to be put into perspective before they can be used as an indicator. We toured the UK with our caravan a few weeks ago and my overall fuel consumption was 22 mpg. Over here in Germany I am lucky to get 19 mpg. Solo I can easily achieve 31 mpg in the UK but only around 27 mpg in Germany. As my driving style presumably doesn't change when I cross the Channel I can only put the difference down to traffic conditions.
 
Jun 20, 2005
17,263
3,485
50,935
Visit site
Lutz
Could the variance be that England and Germany sell different fuel grades, additives etc??
Maybe the English air quality is better? LOL!
 
May 6, 2010
73
1
0
Visit site
Hi I tow my Series 6 Indiana with an Audi Allroad 2.7ltr Auto 06 model year. Fully loaded towing in France recently got 23mpg at towing speed of 65mph. Solo motorway I average 39mph. Heavy car at 1900kg kerbwieght but very comfortable exec saloon car ride with 4wd and air suspension no tail sag and dont know the vans on the back.
 
Mar 14, 2005
9,703
602
30,935
lutzschelisch.wix.com
It's a possibility, Dustydog, but I think it has more to do with lower average speeds in the UK and less opportunity for overtaking due to narrower and winding roads. It is rare to be stuck for ages behind someone doing 40 mph over here in Germany, but it happened to me quite a lot in the UK. OK, left hand drive may have something to do with it, but none of the other cars ahead or behind me were able to overtake, either.
 
May 18, 2010
29
0
0
Visit site
I drive a S-Max 2.2TDCi and tow a Hobby 560KFMe getting aroud 24-25mpg on the Autobahns. Averaging 100Kmph and about 27 mpg in Italy, I think due to greater overtaking restrictions.
 
Sep 2, 2006
103
0
18,580
Visit site
Hi, Vw Touran, with 118000 on the clock, used for most of it's life on the motorway 50 mpg, currently only running around locally 2 trips a day of a total of 6 miles, it's down to 35 mpg solo. Towing a Swift challenger 530se, averages around 37 mpg on a 90 mile run.Suspension is rather stiff, mimimal rear overhang, and does most things adequately, and preferes just over 60mph to hold 6th gear whilst towing.

I would like to update the summary above to take account of my recent travels from West Sussex to Cornwall, in light of the fuel consumption changes.
As mentioned in previous threads I have toured several times to the Med, however with my first run of any distance in this country, the fuel consumption was down to around an average of 27 mpg, which was shocking, my experience to be fair has been mainly chasing the sun, down through France, motorways all the way! and with persisant wet days, whilst down in Cornwall, I can feel another motorway run South next year beckoning.

Regards Paul.
 
Aug 30, 2010
4
0
0
Visit site
Hi I tow a Fleetwood Colchester 520 4EB with a Mondeo 2.0 TDCi. A recent trip to Scotland returned 31 mpg and about 45-53 solo. Its far better than my old Fonty which gave me about 19 towing and 23 solo (Petrol).
 
Apr 22, 2006
369
0
0
Visit site
I kind of agree with prof john on this one due to my own experiences.

My tug is a Ford Galaxy tdi 150 with a swift conqueror 530 on it's rear.

Every day solo driving with the car I achieve around 40.3 mpg on average (brim to brim calculation). If how ever I am driving solo down to England this can very easily become 50mpg.

Towing at the weekend there saw me get 30 mpg as I was only on a short cross country drive going along at around 45 - 50 mph. However a few weeks ago heading down from Scotland to Harwich for the ferry traveling mainly at 55-60 mph I normally get around 23 mpg. Once on the other side due to flatter ground this immediately jumps up to around 27 at the same speeds. I normally put this down to the fact that when heading towards Germany I am also getting a bit of a tailwind.

However the biggest consistent change in fuel consumption I have ever had was 3 years ago when we changed the caravan. Previous van was a Swift charisma which is around 150kg lighter and I think more crucially a few inches narrower. This change resulted in around an extra 2mpg being added across the board to my touring figures.
 

TRENDING THREADS

Latest posts