Gas Mileage

03 Dodge Grand Caravan
15 and 16.5 mpg almost 17, maybe with premium Texaco gasoline.
Driving like people concern about not getting speeding tickets.
note used low gear, wife read it in operator manuel and was not going to get caught using overdrive. Mighta
gotten the 17 in over drive.

I agree with most comments made about cruise control. It needs to be used with caution and common sense but it does help on longer trips. I also accelerate slightly when I see a steep grade approaching to avoid downshifting. We don't use it in heavy traffic or bad weather.

Good luck with the vehicle you choose. Hope this helped.

1997 Toyota T100 V6 Automatic Transmission
We normally get 17 to 19 MPG highway. We averaged 14.6 towing our 1988 TM 26 (3023) with overdrive locked out. We were climbing a lot of hills.
I have since checked with the Toyota Service manager and he says I can use overdrive on level ground but should lock overdrive out if the transmission starts "shuttling" in and out of overdrive. This may improve mileage a bit on long trips over level ground.

Originally Posted by Texas_Camper

I don't get concerned when I read about maintaining 70 mph without the TM, but Goodyear and/or TM advises not to tow over 60 mph for prolonged periods. I know those 18 wheelers drive 70 mph PLUS for long stretches, but the TM tires are different.
I feel more in control and drive relaxed at 60 than at higher speeds... get a little better gas mileage too....
Just my 2 cents worth...

Anyone tempted to tow a trailer at 70 mph for prolonged periods of time should take a look at the photo I posted in the FRAME section. I try real hard to stay below 60.

Has anyone driven in windy conditions? Is there a wind speed to pull over? Is the TMs the last to pull over? I suppose wind would decrease my mpg's. What about the 5th wheelers, do thay wish for a TM during wind spring days?

[RockyMtnRay]

Originally Posted by Magdefrau

Has anyone driven in windy conditions? Is there a wind speed to pull over? Is the TMs the last to pull over? I suppose wind would decrease my mpg's. What about the 5th wheelers, do thay wish for a TM during wind spring days?

Depending on you define "windy conditions", I believe I qualify as one who has towed under those circumstances. In May of '04 I had to tow for about 30 miles with crosswinds of 50 gusting to roughly 65 mph as I traveled north on I25 through the outflow below LaVeta pass in southern Colorado. This pass...like most on the Front Range of Colorado and Wyoming...acts like a huge wind tunnel when high pressure is to the West and low pressure is to the East. With a properly adjusted WDH to keep full weight on my truck's front wheels, I had zero problems with directional control and experienced no sway whatsoever. Just to be prudent I was traveling at about 55 to 60 mph (speed limit is 75 in that stretch) and probably could have gone faster but saw no reason to really push my luck. Nonetheless, I was quite glad I was towing with a 1/2 ton truck.

The only strange effect was the strap on my McKesh mirror vibrated extremely loudly; probably due to the interaction of the cross wind and the slipstream off the front of the truck.

After about 20 miles of traveling through this very strong wind, I noticed I'd acquired a contingent of about 15 cars following me...like I was leading a parade or something. This despite the fact that the left lane of the Interstate was completely clear of traffic and they could have passed at will. Guess they figured that somehow if they followed me (more knowledgable driver or whatever ) , they'd be safer. Once we finally got far enough that a mountain blocked the downflow from the pass, they all passed me like I was standing still.

I found out later that a "high profile wind warning" had been issued for that stretch of I25...basically a warning from CDOT that semis and other high profile trailers (like 5ers) should stay off the Interstate until the winds abated.

Just picked up our 2027SL in Wisconsin last Thursday. Towed it back with a 2004 Dodge Grand Caravan 3.8. Got 24.8 mgp on the trip up without TM and 20.1 on the way back with TM.

RockyMtnRay....Great story. I hear the wind howling. I remember the Soosoon valley in California as a child. I see in my mind the tumble weeds rolling by for days as fast as cars. I'm sure low profile is an advantage. Last summer a TM couple told me during a wind storm some campers had trouble but they didnot. He added they were still hooked up to their van. It neat to hear a story of driving in wind.
Summer storms with high winds presents danger. I wonder if folks might share me their stories.


91whitetc....20.1 thats my goal now. I've started thinking how I can get that. This is so much better than my Van. Help me. Did you do anything more than the basic gas saving techniques. I've seen ads for a device that helps with the engine computer to find the best spark advance.

I get right around 16 mpg when towing our 3124 with our 4.3 liter Astrovan. The mileage dropped a slight bit when I had the rear axle changed from 3.22 to 3.73.
Wayne & Leon, you are on the right track when you recommend the 60 mph towing speed. Not only is safety and gas mileage increased and wear & tear decreased but it allows for a more relaxed, less stressful time behind the wheel.
By keeping our speed below the posted maximum I can stay in the right lane on interstate highways and not have to constantly check my mirrors to see if it is safe to pass and pull back in.
The Car Guys on NPR have said that the best gas mileage is achieved if you keep your vehicle just at the speed where your transmission has shifted into it's highest gear. On my Astrovan that would be 45 mph with the overdrive engaged and about 35 mph when towing with 3rd gear as my top gear. That's too slow for most of us and even under the posted minimum speed on most federal highways but every 10 mph increase over top gear shift point decreases gas mileage dramatically because wind resistance increases as a square of your speed.
Has anybody tried checking their mileage at, say, 50 mph and then at 70mph?

I hate to post this because I am embarrassed, but it is pertinent to this discussion. I recently went to Florida and back. I was pulling my 2720SL with a fairly normal load in it. I also had an old fashioned fiberglass large (non-folding) 2 man Folbot on top of my Ridgeline with the large open cockpit? facing up. It was sitting flat on my padded roof without a roof rack.

Knowing full well that higher speeds would decrease my gas mileage, I chose to drive at my normal fast pace. I am a working person and I reasoned that my time was worth more than the extra cost for gas. I averaged only 12.8 mpg.

I traveled at the same speed as the majority of cars on I 95 which was 75- 80 mph in most areas. I am sure many of you will think I was nuts driving that fast with a trailer, and you are probably right. As crazy as it sounds, I was quite comfortable driving at that speed using cruise control when traffic conditions permitted. Handling and braking seemed fine. As I often hear repeated here, I had to remind myself that I had a trailer behind me.

I get about 18 mpg on average without the trailer or boat with a good share of my driving at high speeds. I think this very poor mileage on my trip was a result of the aerodynamics of the open kayak on my truck roof compounded by my high speed.

In the Washington DC area we hit construction and did quite a bit of travel at 30 mph and even stop and go. I was expecting the gas mileage to be worse, but actually it improved for that tank of gas by one or two mpg. Other than this, my tank-to-tank gas mileage was pretty consistent so attribute it to the slower speeds and not an aberration.

When I found myself ahead of schedule I actually tried to slow down a bit and found it really difficult mentally. Driving where I do most of my driving at home seems almost like a competitive sport. I had a real hard time adjusting to all the aggressive drivers and 4 lane highways when I moved here from a sleepy town in upstate NY. Intersections that were uncontrolled when I lived there now have stop and yield signs, but there is still not one traffic light in town! I cursed the aggressive drivers when I got here, now I realize I have become one of them. No wonder my car insurance rates went up just because I moved. I know I am not winning any friends here, but that’s my paradigm. I hope to find the safer more relaxed driver in me again in a few years when I retire.

I know from other boards that some Ridgeline owners get much better mileage towing than I did. I can't blame the vehicle.

Go ahead…let me have it!

Jim