Camper/caravan towing economy

TheInterceptor

TheInterceptor

Forum Member
Joined
Mar 10, 2011
Messages
369
Location
North Perth, WA
Car Year
2002
Car Model
Outback Limited
Transmission
5sp Manual dual range
Just a question to everyone, what sort of fuel economy are you all getting towing?
Im looking at particular semi offroad pod camper that weighs in at 560kgs to buy in the future and am just curious.. :)

So basically, what vehicle towing what trailer weighing how much!

Cheers!
 
Gidday TI

I'll let you know when I've towed mine about 1,000+ kms ...

On a little jaunt around the Dandenongs towing the trailer fully loaded (but without the trailer tent) with two adults on board, I got about 10.5L/100 kms. However this is only very roughly indicative.

You need to read this thread over at myswag.org to get some ideas of relativities about this.

https://www.myswag.org/index.php?topic=5851.0

For some people, getting as good as 20L/100 kms is bliss. It horrifies me!

With a camper trailer, the mass will impact when travelling slowly (e.g. around the city; roughish off-road; etc) and the frontal area when travelling at higher speeds. Having a CT that's about the same width as your car, and not as high should have the least impact on your fuel economy. You need to ensure that the CT is not wider than your car, and that the track of the CT is the same as your car. According to an ex-army friend, it is not negotiable that both towing vehicle and trailer use the same size wheels and tyres, and the same wheel nuts.

Some of my thoughts on this subject in this post and the one following it.
 
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I got 13-14l per 100km with thw 2.5 in my forester while deiving into winds in summer with the a/c on. Varying speeds between 90-130km/hr...

Id say around 13... again there are many factors involved. This was a 500km trip. I only managed 400km before the fuel light came on.
 
Gidday Taza

That sounds too high to me, mate.

Roo2 turned in around 7.3-7.5L/100 kms at highway speeds (between 100-110 kmh) with two adults on board going to and from Ballarat - air-con on all day.

RR over much the same route (to Clunes) with 4 adults up at the same sort of speeds and the air-con on gave around 8.5L/100 kmh.

Both are pretty ordinary around town on short trips (12-12.5L/100 kms), but considerably better on longer trips around town.
 
Between Easter and Anzac Day this year, we travelled through the Flinders Ranges, to Arkaroola, then up the Strzelecki Tk via Moomba to Oodnadatta, then down the old Strzelecki Tk via Merty Merty, Cameron's Corner to Tibiburra, and via Broken Hill to Menindee and Wentworth, then home via Melbourne.

All up we travelled 4600kms, mostly dirt roads, towing a 420 kg Cub Camper trailer behind a 1990 carby 1.8lt L Series. Total combined weight of 1.8 tonnes.

Bitumen roads tyre pressures, car 34/36 psi trailer 20 psi. Speed around 100kmh (lol) when able to get there.
Dirt roads tyre pressures, car 20/20 psi trailer 20 psi. Speed around 80kmh.

Average fuel economy of entire trip including some side trips without the trailer was just under 12lt/100kms.

Beigewagon.
 
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Hi everyone. Thanks for the replies gentlemen! Thats pretty darn good. I get on average 10L/100kms general everyday use. I used to travel in a Falcon wagon that returned 13L so if i dont get any more than that im happy!

Impressed with the L series's economy Beigewagon, not bad at all!

Ratbag, the myswag link does not work, it returns a 404 error :)
 
^ Sorry, I forgot. You need to register on that forum to view anything there. {DELETE THAT}

I got the URL parsing wrong - sorry. Fixed now.
Thanks for letting me know.

It is worth being a member there. Some really good info.
Just ignore some of the smart Alecks over there (did I spell that word right? :poke: :iconwink: :lol:).
 
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about 12-13lt to 100k with a trailer load of wood
 
12.5/100km at 100-110km/h towing a Hobie16 800km round trip. Boat and trailer weigh 450kg three people in the car with personal gear and food/"water" for 3 days.
The boat is also wider than the car by 500-600mm.
 
Ratbag said:
^ Sorry, I forgot. You need to register on that forum to view anything there. {DELETE THAT}

I got the URL parsing wrong - sorry. Fixed now.
Thanks for letting me know.

It is worth being a member there. Some really good info.
Just ignore some of the smart Alecks over there (did I spell that word right? :poke: :iconwink: :lol:).
Click to expand...

Oops haha no worries RB!

I reckon ill sign up and have a peek in there :) Theres smart Alecks (no idea on spelling haha) everywhere on the internet, im used to it haha



Wicked! Im a bit surprised, thanks for the replies everyone, keep em coming!
 
TheInterceptor said:
Just a question to everyone, what sort of fuel economy are you all getting towing?
Im looking at particular semi offroad pod camper that weighs in at 560kgs to buy in the future and am just curious..
Click to expand...

I have a basically stock XT manual that has towed a 450kg loaded Stockman Podtrailer 40,000km all over Australia, across the Nullarbor to Shark Bay and back, across the Top End & over the Gibb River Road to Derby and back through Halls Creek, down to SA and back along the Murray River and through the Snowy Mts and back up the East Coast and up to Pt Douglas and return. So it has really seen a variety of landscapes. It has averaged 11.2L/100km doing that and that is what I expect to get sitting on an indicated 110km/h. Taking it a bit slower has dropped it to 10L/100km and the worst it ever got was an indicated 120km/h section on the Nullarbor running into a strong headwind where it got 14.5L/100km. On that trip it had a 4m kayak sitting on top and the return trip across the Nullarbor with a tailwind saw it averaging around 10L/100km. I have found wind direction has a much greater affect on consumption than speed.

I budget for a fuel consumption of 11L/100km on a trip. Without the trailer I budget for 9L/100km doing the same driving and speeds.

btw My Forester has now done 263,000km, is in top condition and my Suby mechanic and an ex-Suby salesman tell me I should keep it forever. I've got my eyes on a new Golf GTI though (I just have to have a red one before I slide off this planet) and can't afford to keep both. And my wife doesn't really like camper trailering and staying in tourist parks so I have a feeling that my camper trailering days are numbered.
 
That economy is very good I think.
My, non towing, MY03 has averaged 8.9l/100 kms since new so only a couple more is a small price to pay for towing a small van.
 
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