From the looks of things it seems like the bigger diesels get much better mileage towing. Following that would be the lighter tow vehicles like mini-vans and such. Then the full size pickups with gas powered V8's. Does it look like that to everyone else?
my Subaru Outback (2.5 litre automatic) towing my 1300# trailer and hobiecat gets 20mpg on the freeway.
1999 Dodge Durango 5.9 w/factory tow package and 31.5" tires 16mpg around town and 12mpg towing an open dual axle trailer w/a tire rack, a 2300lb Datsun 240Z with about 2k lbs of tools, tires and miscellaneous gear stuffed in the back.
I'm currently looking at a 2003 Dodge 3500 Quad Cab Cummins Turbo Diesel that gets around 20mpg towing a 5k lb equipment trailer.
The 8mpg improvement will easily offset the extra cost of the diesel fuel.
For those of you guys that are using less than the full sized trucks for towing. How do you guys do on the grades? I have a 5% uphill and a 6% downhill grade to deal with and for that reason only I've been looking at the full sized trucks (Tundra, F150, Titan) etc.
2006 Toyota Tundra 4.7 crew cab 4x4 pulling a 1600lb Civic on a 900lb single axle trailer with a kart and other gear ~ 500lbs, so about 3000lbs total weight. I get 14-15 towing, 17 on hwy unloaded and 9-13 in town (my in-town consists of very short trips, so it is always low in any vehicle). I typically tow at the same speeds I would normally drive, so around 70mph. I haven't seen much sensitivity to speed, but we just got one of those scan tools at work that can track mileage, so I'm planning on doing some experimenting to see what the optimum speed/gear is.
Some other vehicles I've used to pull the same load: 1999 Chevy Astro - 16-17 towing 1993 Jeep Grand Cherokee Limited 4.0 4x4 - 12 towing 1999 Isuzu Rodeo 2wd - 15 towing
I've never had any scary moments with any of these trucks, but the Tundra is by far the most confidence inspiring truck I've used. It barely notices the trailer.
-Chris
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