Bad Tow Vehicles?

This thread made me laugh. The only vehicle I ever owned that consistently stranded me on the side of the road was a one year old Land Rover lol

 

Just got home with my new 550 towed behind my 2015 Scion xB 2.4L 4 cyl automatic from Necedah Wi to Springdale Arkansas.

Had no problems, gas mileage went down from 24.9 w/o trailer to 24.7 mpg. I am concerned transmission shifting way to often in the very hilly Ozarks, will install a tranny temp gauge to monitor and practice manual shifting to hold gear on big hills.

I have no reservations pulling our baby many thousands of miles!

 

"Toad Away" gets pulled pretty nicely by our 2007 Honda Element. It has a 4-cyl, 2.4L motor rated at 166 hp with a 5-speed automatic and the aerodynamics of a closed barn door.

Went through a period of fighting with the cruise control downshifting and upshifting all the time, from 5th (OD) through to 3d and back up, and poor gas mileage.

Had an extended conversation with Craig and Cary about it. Craig's first suggestion was to turn off the OD, but the Element's set-up is that when you disengage OD with the little button on the shifter, it stays in 3d. Many cars' manuals will tell you to turn off the OD for towing; however, the Element manual doesn't address it.

Craig's second suggestion was slow down. Bingo. I now keep it btw 60-65 all the time, which seems to be the sweet spot for this rig. The nonstop up/down shifting on cruise control has gone away and gas mileage has come up to reasonable.

FWIW, I mounted a ScanGuage in the hope of being able to read transmission fluid temp out of the OBD2, but that data was not available; there's no sensor.

 

Toad away, you might want to research "Ultragage MX" for your Trans temp readings as it works for "some" vehicles. MY xB has a Trans temp sensor, your element shold too. I'm going to monitor it with a sensitive voltage gauge to chart temp vs v.

Yes that 60-65 mph is a sweet spot. Gives us more time to see the beautiful countryside too.

 

Duffinmaster,
I wasn't as fortunate as you with the gas mileage. Our 2015 Outback did 30-32 mpg w/o the trailer, but only 20-22 w/trailer in tow. That's a significant drop in mpg, and I keep hoping to find a reason to explain it, but none so far. We did stay off interstates a lot on the trip, and maybe the slower speed and frequent stops going through so many small towns was a factor. I'm interested if other Subaru owners have seen similar results.

 

We have a 2013 OB witha 3.6 engine. Before trip averaged 26-7 mpg w/o trailer and 20-21mpg with trailer thats is averaged over 3100 miles this summer from Iowa to CO/NM and back.

 

Chuck and Martha,

We hope you are enjoying your new Camp Inn. We too tow with a 2015 Outback 2.5 engine. we typically get the same mileage you did, however we almost always have kayaks or bikes on the roof of the Outback, which adds to the air drag.

The one time I towed without anything on the roof I got just over 24 MPG.

It is a 4 cylinder and so it has to work more than a larger engine to move an additional 40% of the cars weight.

Best thing is moderate acceleration and limit the speed to 60 MPH.

 

Thank you for the feedback. I feel better about the mpg.

 

My Scion xB may have an aerodynamic advantage, as it is almost exactly as wide and tall as the 550. It was also nearly empty, especially the galley, as we had just picked it up friday.

 

Well, shoot. Reading that my Yaris is on the 'bad' list... Like some other cars the Canadian side of the manual says it can tow but the American side says 'no' to towing. No button to turn off overdrive. Plus I start reading on trailer wiring and it is special and I never considered it. Glad to read about this before breaking my tranny. It's been a trooper with the long drives I put it through over the mountains without towing anything but stuffed with interior cargo.

 

Another thing to consider is a transmission cooler - I'm pretty sure ours is a Hayden brand. Might help with the steep climbs? Tim had no trouble adding it to our (2007) Subaru Outback (plenty of room). He also added a K&M air filter.

 

Car dealers make a fuss about transmission coolers when you are trading in a vehicle with a tow hitch. It's pretty much a negotiating ploy to get you to think your vehicle is worth less than it really is.

When we bought our van the dealer made a big fuss about getting the factory hitch because it would come with a transmission cooler, etc, etc. When our special order van didn't arrive on time and they tried to get us to buy a different van, they said that there were no modifications to the transmission cooler and the hitch was all we needed.

If you are towing within the specs given by the manufacturer I suspect a transmission cooler is not necessary. It might be worthwhile if you'll be doing long drives in mountainous areas, but I think I'd ask around about that before spending the money.

I'd be a little suspect of Mazda's SKYACTIV engines - they supposedly are higher compression in order to burn fuel more completely. But their older engines, like those flat-four Subaru engines, are rock solid.

Subaru might be the safest bet for a compact SUV-style tow vehicle. There are lots of folks on this forum that tow with them (both 4 and 6 cylinder versions). But most pick ups will tow well, and if you are flying solo there are likely plenty of sedans that might fill the bill.

 

After we bought a 2014 550 Ultra We planned to replace our 2014 CRV with the new tow vehicle. But with the chip shortage and interest rates going up we pretty much decided to stay with the CRV which officially in the US has a 1500 pound capacity. After some research it looks like the same is true for a CRV as far as what is rated in Europe and Australia compared to here. See note and link below.
I just wanted to get your take on it cause I feel by the time we get our gear we will exceed the 1500 pound.

“But maybe Honda is in on the conspiracy too. The CRV weighs 3600lbs and offers 166hp, about the same as an old gen Explorer. In Europe, where folks often buy CRV’s specifically for their towing capacity, the CRV is rated to tow 2000kg/4400lbs. And in the tow-aphobic US? A measly 1500lbs!”
2014 Honda CR-V Towing Capacity

 

Braking is the big issue that no on really talks about. How much reserve braking capacity does TV have in order to dramatically slow down an extra 1500 or 2000 lbs? You can always live with going up a hill a little slower, but will you be able to stop adequately. Trailer brakes help, but the TV is still doing the bulk of the stopping

 

I do have trailer brakes and getting a transmission cooler.

 

Hi there! I’m in WI too (SE) and have a 2014 Outback and feel the Same way about it. Sturdy vehicle and rows up to 2,700.

 

Karen, I have a 2017 Outback and based on you advice I am thinking I might take it to Lake Mendota in Madison for a competition. I sure hope mine "ROWS" up to 2,700 also

 

Well, the answer is in the question there...