Fuel Efficient Tow Vehicle

[trapper_canada]

I am looking to buy a used vehicle (2002-2003) that has a towing capacity of 2,000lbs.

I REALLY want fuel economy.

Any thoughts on the most fuel efficient SUVs/Car that can comfortably tow this weight?

Ford Escape? Any thoughts would be great!

[mechmike0034]

Fuel Efficient Tow Vehicle? No such thing...

Seriously, how often are you planning on towing a ton? How far will you tow it? Over mountains? What will the vehicle be used for when it is not towing?

My experience has been to allow a 100% "durability factor" when looking at towing capacity - meaning that if you regularly tow 2K pounds to have a vehicle that's rated to tow at least 4K. Engines, transmissions, clutches, and brakes (among other things) all last much longer that way.

If it is a 2K pound trailer that you tow a hundred miles over flat interstate to the beach twice a year, then the 100% "durability factor" isn't as big a factor.

When towing (or loading, as in a truck), if the load is properly balanced yet the rear bumper of the vehicle is lower than dead level then you don't have enough vehicle.

Sidebar - I worked as a line tech in a Chevy dealer in horsy-set country some years back. Loved it when some "gentleman farmer" would bring his 3500 series 454-powered Chev dually in and complain that "it gets poor mileage when I am towing my fifth-wheel horse trailer"...

Like I could wave my magic warranty wand and make it get 20MPG.

[attgig]

subaru forester/outback?

i'm sure there are a bunch of minivans that can do the same.

[mcs328]

At first I thought he meant like tow truck to tow disabled vehicles. if that were the case he could just siphon off the gasoline in the disabled vehicles fuel tank. ok...that was off topic. now back to your regular posted topic.

[BrewMaster]

in Europe people tow small trailers with their usual cars. an escape hybrid can tow over 2000 lbs i think.

[Nanotech9]

I tow my motorcycle all teh time with me '91 BMW 318is.... very light single bike trailer.

I get 27mpg normally, and with a full carload, and a trailer / bike, i get 23mpg. However, the trailer and bike probably only weigh 700lbs. The 23mpg was averaged over about 650miles at 90+ mph to and from Dallas. Some speeds were in excess of 110 mph. Yes, i'm nuts, but i trust my equipment and my driving skills. Luckly, so did my passengers.

I've also pulled a larger trailer and two bikes weighing in over 1400lbs.

The reason my car seems to handle it though is because of the race suspension on it and race tires which have stiff sidewalls to start with.

[Svyn]

This is going to be a bit of overkill but, if you are going to tow constantly and want the added security of a proven tow vehicle go with a truck. We have a ford excursion (suv/bus) with the 7.3 diesel and you don't notice the load you have behind you much at all. We have towed anywhere from 1k - 10k items. Flat open highway - 22 mpg, don't let this number be misleading this is traveling 10 over the speedlimit on every road, and keeping your foot out of it (avg speed for the trip was 70mph. Towing look to lose maybe 3 mpg, unless you are traveling up mountains constantly.

Towing a 5k boat from MD to NY up the 83/81 area netted 19.5mpg. This vehicle is 4wd, and loaded with creature comforts, 3.73 rears and its heavy (6-7000+lbs)(chip set to 54hp). We also have a tuner chip (54hp, 78hp, and 105hp bumps) a pillar pod full of guages, and a 4" monster banks kit (with power elbow). That allows us to keep the egt's down when pulling.

If you have the cash and don't need 4wd you can get 2+mpg more for going 2wd vs 4wd. I would go with a used 7.3L or 6.0L diesel (ford), 5.9L (dodge), 2wd with 3.73 rears and I am guessing you can net 20's pulling that load any day of the week. No bashing intended but as far as chevy goes, their diesels are made from an isuzu block. Which is known to most diesel mechanics as replace not rebuild (plus I like having american motors), but thats a whole different conversation. Plus, with a truck you might get away putting that 2k load into the bed and eliminate the trailer.

[ufcrusher]

As others have said, it depends on what you are planning on towing, the frequency, and what you are trying to accomplish. i.e.- Ride in style with a big towing capacity vs. just get me there with the max towing capacity being 2 lbs more than you are towing.

I, like MechMike, believe in making sure you have more capacity then you ever will need. For example, if you are planning on towing a seadoo on a trailer....well chances are, later on in life, it will become at least 2 seadoo's with a larger trailer or if you are like most salty people, a nice speed boat. Hell, you could even get the boat that the seadoos dock into and power. Thus, if you only bought the minimum, you need to get a new truck/car too. The same logic works on campers/fifth wheels as well. If you love it, chances are you will end up getting higher end/larger models later on.

Unfortunately, I dont think you are going to find anything with truly decent gas mileage used. I know that Chevy/GMC has a hybrid silverado/Sierra on the horizion and it may even be out now. There is also the lexus RX400h, with a towing package capable of giving you 3500lbs.You can look here to compare predicted mpg on different vehicles.

http://www.fueleconomy.gov/feg/byclass.htm

For example,we have owned several different trucks over the years.
Currently, I drive a 4.6L V8 F150, which gives me real world gas mileage around 14mpg city, maybe 19 highway, one time I managed to get 23mpg coming back from Oregon with my bed completely full. I am averaging about 17 mpg. According to the govt, I am supposed to get 15c/19h, with an average of 19mpg.
Before that I had a 2001 F150 XLT supercab V6 engine, which gave me 19mpg on avg. The govt claim was 16c/20h, 18 avg, so that was a bit better.
We had a 99 Land Rover Disco II, which was a fuel guzzler. If memory serves, we only got 13 mpg on it, the govt claim was 13c/16h. Other other Disco II, had slightly better gas mileage, but nothing extraordinary.
We had a suburban, it was the new body style that came out in the mid 90's that everyone was paying through the nose for, it was actually a little better than the disco II that replaced it with us getting about 15mpg on avg. The govt claim was 12c/15h.
These are all being used without towing anything!

My inlaws have a 2001 Chevy Silverado 2500HD Diesel, which they use to tow their fifth wheel. They told me they are lucky to see 13mpg! When the gas prices arent astronomical, they drive that thing everywhere! Their last trip went all over the western US.

Given my experiences, I find that claimed MPG on the excursion to be suspect. With certain disel engines, modifications to intake, exhaust, computers can create HUGE gains in power/mileage. Although no mention was made of modifying the intake/exhaust, its probable that these were done as well. I dont think you would see any numbers close to that ones posted.

[Showtime]

No bashing intended but as far as chevy goes, their diesels are made from an isuzu block. Which is known to most diesel mechanics as replace not rebuild (plus I like having american motors), but thats a whole different conversation. Plus, with a truck you might get away putting that 2k load into the bed and eliminate the trailer.

That Izusu diesel was actually a kickass motor when it 1st arrived here. Better performing than the Dodge Cummings (previous favorite) and the Ford powerstroke (based off their gasoline motor). The newer Ford ps diesels are nicer now and Dodge has probably made a lot of improvements, but 5 years ago Chevy was the best imo. We had all 3 and ended up going to all chevys/isuzu. And dont forget that Allison tranny... Great for towing.

-j

[Svyn]

That Izusu diesel was actually a kickass motor when it 1st arrived here. Better performing than the Dodge Cummings (previous favorite) and the Ford powerstroke (based off their gasoline motor). The newer Ford ps diesels are nicer now and Dodge has probably made a lot of improvements, but 5 years ago Chevy was the best imo. We had all 3 and ended up going to all chevys/isuzu. And dont forget that Allison tranny... Great for towing.

-j

By the way, it was CHEVY that makes the gasoline motors into diesels (remember the 6.6L), that was an OLDS block turned gas NOT ford. The 7.3L is an international 444E, but ford wanted control of their motor and threw a ford engine management system on the motor (my guess is they wanted to de-tune it for the other drive train components).

The new 6.0 is a bit quieter and had problems at the start but it is indeed a very strong motor (more hp / torque stock than the old 7.3). The new Cummins is very nice (the H.O. model especially) and very reliable as time has proven if taken care of.

I beg to differ, 5 years ago Chevy for sure not best, they have been until recently too far behind the game in diesel performance and durability. The Allison transmission is a small take off of true Allison transmission which made its name for durability in larger vehicles (read semi's and earth movers). It is their LIGHT duty transmission. Yes it is arguably better than ford / dodges transmission stock, but I would rather drive a true American made truck than something outsourced. Another thing I never understood is why Chevy went IFS? We are not driving a car here we want something to stand up to the punishment not give us a cushioned ride.

[mechmike0034]

By the way, it was CHEVY that makes the gasoline motors into diesels (remember the 6.6L), that was an OLDS block turned gas NOT ford.

The only domestically-produced GM diesel engines that were based upon gasoline-engine designs were the 5.7 V8 and 4.3 V6 of the late 70s and early 80s. These were based upon the Olds gasoline V8, and they were only used in passenger cars and light-duty trucks.

The GM 6.2 and 6.5 were diesels from the drawing board. The 6.2 was durable but underpowered. The 6.5 was durable, and made more power with the turbo but suffered from a poor computer-controlled fuel management system.