weight down the road

Almas Only · Posted: Sat Dec 17, 2005 8:00 am Post subject:

Fran Sea: I too tow with a Jeep Grand Cherokee, and am wondering what you mean by gears "locking up"?

flagold · Posted: Sat Dec 17, 2005 11:01 am Post subject:

"12.6 MPG" -- I get 11 with the Liberty (V6). Avg. 20 not towing.

The Fran Sea · Posted: Sun Dec 18, 2005 10:09 am Post subject:

Alma..... on automatic transmissions, there's a certain amount of slippage in the torque converter in the lower gears, but in top gear the tranny "locks" up to eliminate the slippage and thus improve the gas mileage. On many tranny's the position just below drive, usually "3" does not lock up and thus gets less them optimum fuel economy in that gear, especially when towing. The tranny in my Jeep Cherokee locks up in "3" and "drive" positions. You can see this when driving, even without towing. When you reach a certain speed, the RPM will reduce about 4 or 5 hundred RPM's when it goes into lockup, and when you give it the gas, a moderate amount, the RMP's won't increase dramatically until it down shifts.

AstoriaDave · Posted: Sun Dec 18, 2005 11:19 am Post subject:

Jazzmanic · Posted: Sun Dec 18, 2005 4:29 pm Post subject:

flagold wrote:

flagold · Posted: Sun Dec 18, 2005 5:25 pm Post subject:

"Does that 20 mpg avg include city driving?" -- yes, but I don't have much city here where I am. If I were buying today, I'd get the diesel Liberty (not out when I got mine -- 28 mpg and lots of torque).

Sea Wolf · Posted: Sun Dec 18, 2005 6:58 pm Post subject:

I have a '98 Dodge Durango SLT 4WD with the 5.9 liter V-8, and the vehicle has averaged 14.8 mpg overall since new for a toal of 83,000 + miles. The occasional towing seems to produce about 11-12 mpg, unless in severe mountain driving. It does seem to go though a lot of gas, though. Joe.

Adeline · Posted: Sun Dec 18, 2005 9:15 pm Post subject:

'86 Ramcharger w/ 360 and auto. 9 m.p.g. towing or not. Oh well, at least it's consistent.

gljjr · Posted: Mon Dec 19, 2005 12:22 pm Post subject:

Our '98 Grand Cherokee with the 318 average 14.3 MPG over the 120K miles we put on it. That is combined. On the highway it averaged about 18. This was with the Quadra track full time 4wd. My daughter has a 2001 Grand Cherokee with the 4.0l 6 and averages about 18. But it doesn't have a tow package on it.

We just got a 2004 Liberty with the V6. I will be putting a class 3 hitch on it sometime after Christmas to tow my 13' Columbian up to Canada this summer. Since it is my wifes car and I have only driven it a few times I haven't looked at the trip computer to find out what the gas mileage is.

If I had to choose between a 6cyl Grand Cherokee or the Liberty for towing purposes I would choose the Grand Cherokee every time! The wheelbase on the Liberty is very short making it much less comfortable to drive and putting a trailer behind it will only make matters worse.

Just as an fyi: The 1997 Dakota with 318 and part time 4wd got 14.6 MPG average. My 1993 F250 Diesel 4x4 gets 18 on the highway and 15 average. And got 10 towing the 27' C-Dory back from Texas. The newer 6.0 liter Powerstrokes are supposed to do much better than my big 7.3l non turbo does. But I will say this. The F250 is so much better in the towing department you just can't compare!

Something else to think about. A diesel is good for towing for a couple reasons. First is the awsome torque. Second is that the extra weight of the engine helps keep weight on the Front wheels when braking. This is VERY important. Cars are designed to have about 60% of your braking on the front wheels. If you unload them by adding weight on the hitch you never get that back.

Here is my tip of the week Wink

When you back down a ramp you are further unloading the front wheels making it nearly impossible to stop. To counter act this when backing down a ramp shift into nuetral (or first with the clutch in on a standard trans) as soon as the weight of the boat starts to pull you down the ramp. This way you aren't fighting both the weight of the boat and the torque of the engine. With the car in Nuetral keep one hand on the shift lever in case you need to quickly pull forward (And so you don't forget to put it in drive before trying to pull off the ramp!).

After 5 years of driving a tow truck I learned a few things about what NOT to do while towing something... I had to pull a couple of vehicles out of the water... I also had to tow a couple vehicles that far exceeded the weight limit of the truck Sad

After the last one I told my boss I would never do that again. Having to hit the brakes to get enough weight on the front tires to steer was NOT FUN!

Chris Bulovsky · Posted: Mon Dec 19, 2005 5:59 pm Post subject:

I tow with a 96 Ford Explorer. Yes it works but it certainly grunts when on hills. Some previous posts suggest that you should go for the power. They are clearly right . GO FOR THE POWER! I'm looking to up grade my tow rig. A Explorer works but will leave you yearning for more power.
A vehicle thats rated for heavy stuff is just plain safer. The newer Explorers seem to have a little more snort. But what I need is good o'l truck. Its rare someone wishes that they have less horse power.

Christopher Bulovsky

journey on · Posted: Mon Dec 19, 2005 6:52 pm Post subject:

Transferring weight to the front wheels is what equalizing hitches are for. But then one needs electric/hydraulic brakes (or an equilizing hitch that works with surge brakes.) The combination lets you to pull with a smaller vehicls. This isn't all bad if that's what you got, and gas prices stay up. Your mileage is poor when you're towing with anything (takes so much energy to move weight,) but when you're unhitched, the mileage goes back up.

No such thing as a free lunch.

Boris

jennykatz · Posted: Tue Dec 20, 2005 12:08 am Post subject: towed the mazda

I towed the 22ft duck /jennykatz only a few blocks but it semed to do fine with a 96 mazda m p v with a 4500lb towing package 97000miles I was pleasantly suprized on how well it did I also got the suziki 90 hp put on today I cant wait to run it tomorrow I think ill wait until next summer to buy a trl and better tow rig i sure wish the dakota or explorer would come in a diesel ,liberty is just to small

starcrafttom · Posted: Tue Dec 20, 2005 12:52 am Post subject:

I have a tip for all of you ford v-6 owners. The ford 4-liter v6 was designed to run on premium gas. That’s the 97-octane higher price stuff. I have not put in the good stuff for a long time due to the cost, but last week premium dropped to 2.18 a gallon at the am/pm down the street. I dropped in a fresh tank of the good stuff and remembered why I should do it more often, especially when towing the boat. Much more power and the knocking sound went away. So if you are going to tow this weekend and up hill is the rule drop in the high grade to get the most out of your ford.

Chris Bulovsky · Posted: Tue Dec 20, 2005 1:05 am Post subject:

Hay I kind of have grown fond of that knocking sound In my Explorer. Laughing

Chris

SENSEI · Posted: Tue Dec 20, 2005 1:14 am Post subject:

well, I have the ultimate 4x4 it burns about 12 gallons /hr,top speed of 22 mph, and go anywhere