m.p.g. when towing

[692909824]

It depends on your driving style and the type of driving you do. Mine averages just under 23mpg over all. You can't use 4WD on 1st & 2nd Gen's on tarmac anyway as those vehicles don't have a centre diff. 3rd gen's do and are a bit better, especially the later 98 on as apparently they have the D4-D engine, so high 20's into the low 30's are more likely. However opinion is split on whether they look as good as the 2nd gens.

No Surf is going to be particularly economic as you're pulling around about 2 tons of motor even without towing anything.

thanks. mid 20's is good for me but 15 - 18 scares me. I get 30 on my currant car so a 10-15 mpg is a big hit. 5 or just over is fine. for a 50 quid tank of petrol round town i get 340 miles so i assume a surf is about 350 miles for a 70 quid tank?

[Tallyman]

Last time I filled up cost me around £55 but that was a couple of months ago, as the beast has been sat on the drive doing nothing for a while. You'll have a 65 litre tank, so even if you run out completely (DON'T OR YOU'LL HAVE PROBLEMS WITH THE FUEL SYSTEM) it should only cost you about £65 to fill up. I've had 29 mpg keeping to about 60 on the M-way but that's unusual as I usually travel at an indicated 80 (but that's only 74 according to the sat-nav). I find it's best to let the car travel at the speed it feels most comfortable at and hang the mpg.

[Andy W]

I got 21mpg towing by Bailey Ranger 420 which is nowhere near 2 ton but it was well frieghted (probably more than it should have been), I had 3 adults (with all theri junk), 3 dogs roofbox with full awning & 2 annexes in and a 75 mobility scooter split between the roof and the boot in the car. I really could not have carried another fag paper. Mind you moving that lot around I kept the speed down to 50-55 and I think it paid back at that sort of MPG.

Did you get your roof bars from Rough trax ? are they any good ? i have been looking for some to go in the rails on the 3rd gen.

Andy

[internetsurfer]

my last 40 quid and 12 litres of veg oil i clocked up 485 km and was on the last mark before empty so could have got more.that was going to work and occasional trip out averaging 60's to 80's

[TJG]

Did you get your roof bars from Rough trax ? are they any good ? i have been looking for some to go in the rails on the 3rd gen.

Andy

Nope, not roughtrax. I went to my local Thule dealer (the ones that know whatthey are talking about, not Halfrauds). I have Thule aerobars and the fittings for a 4runner. The Thule man put the official Thule measuring thingy in the tracks and said they were a little too loose for comfort, no doubt some dodgy "Toyota only stuff fits gear". The 4runner roof mounts just and I mean only just clear the rails. It also means that the roofbox sits nicely forward helping with the weight distribution and I suspect it would foul the roof spoiler when the hatch was open if it sat back on the tracks. That was a problem I had when I fitted it to a Mitsui shogun sport when the dealers forgot to fit the towbar to my Surf.

[trev.w]

what does the ect pwr button do exactly?more power,is it reccomended for towing,does it affect m.p.g.?

[Maverick]

It supposedly causes the gearbox to act more sporty! It will hold the gears for slightly longer alowing the engine to rev slightly more before changing up, it also allows it to change down sooner. Which I find very usefull as my truck seems to have a hugh flat spot between 40mph to 50mph. If you are gentle with the throttle it will change up normally.
It can effect the MPG, but in my experiance not by much.

[v8 jeep]

I know this is an old thread but, I thought i read somewhere that someone had destroyed overdrive while using it while towing! Is this a load of nonsence ?? Whereabout is the temp guage suposse to go upto on the gauge before you could say it is now overheating ??

[steved]

23 mph in France last year towing 1550 kg abbey cruise control set to 2000 rpm approx 63 mph I never take it out of overdrive which is torque converter lockup and will not damage the box.

[v8 jeep]

23 mph in France last year towing 1550 kg abbey cruise control set to 2000 rpm approx 63 mph I never take it out of overdrive which is torque converter lockup and will not damage the box.

Thanks for the reply steved. Its better to be safe than sorry. Cheers adam.

[huff_diggler]

i got a fold down rapido confortmatic rigid body caravan, weighs 400kg so no difference really, don't even feel its on..

[Spoggle]

what does the ect pwr button do exactly?more power,is it reccomended for towing,does it affect m.p.g.?

When towing I keep the ect switched on unless it's a long straight flat run, but if you are going on a road with a few hills keep it on. It holds the vehicle in each of the lower gears a bit longer before changing up, so prevents a lot of hunting up and down the box. On a long uphill run I normally drop out of overdrive for the same reason. I would advise you fit an ATF cooler ASAP if your going to use your Surf as a tow car, it will help to prevent the coolant getting too hot as well as helping the ATF burning. Also an idea to fit an override switch on the electric fan so you can get it turned on in plenty of time for a long uphill run. Keep an eye on the temperature gauge (even on a 3 ltr) and if it all starts to get a bit warm pull over ASAP and let things cool down, keep the engine ticking over and even turn the heater on full to lose the heat a bit quicker. I've fitted a few washers between the bonnet hinges and the bonnet so the rear edge is lifted about half an inch and have found that this also helps remove quite a bit of heat from the engine bay. Next job is to sort out the viscous fan to try and get it to cut in a bit sooner. Oh yes as for MPG when towing!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Don't ask it makes me cry

Spoggle