Towing A Caravan

[purplemadboy]

I KNOW DONT ASK A QUESTION FOR WEEKS THEN 2 COME.

If anyone tows a caravan what MPG do you get?I tow a fair size van with the 1.9 tdi 150bhp and only get 19mpg should I get better than this?

[johnb80]

I drag a tow-a-van 220d around (max 2 tonnes), I don't load it fully but with careful use of the throttle and anticipation at junctions etc I get about 29 mpg on average.

 

Regards - John

[davec]

got 130 and tow a 1500 kg van get between 20 and 25 mpg

[chicosi]

Not sure of van weight (I borrowed my brother-in-law's once), it was a 4 berth and I got 19mpg with my 2.3 petrol

[Phil Neal]

i reckon 30ish outa of a 90bhp with tuning box

[Guest andeee]

I tow a 6 mtr. Bailey Pagaent with 4 up and all the holiday kit to Spain with my 115 Auto and get about 24 to the gallon. :lol: Andy.

[tim-spam]

I tow a 1200kg caravan and cruising at around 70mph in 5th, I get around 27mpg, although when the maf started getting weak and I was having to use 4th gear more often, it dropped to around 23mpg. Now back up to 27+mpg with new maf.

[wytonpjs]

Even with my MAF/Turbo problems I was getting an indicated 22 mpg with my 115 bhp 1.9 whilst towing my loaded 5.5m Ranger - have not towed since changing out the MAF and restoring power so no "current figure". Your mpg sounds really low unless you have a really heavy right foot and were that Galaxy that zoomed past me and left me standing on the M6 2 months ago B)

[dave_m]

I tow a 15ft Caravan and only get a very small increase in fuel consumption mine is a 115 PS TDI

[Guest MATT]

ive got a 115PS Automatic, towing a Coachman VIP, it weighs in at 1,300KG. i get about 27 - 28 MPG towing on the motorway (maintaining 60mph)

 

MATT

 

ps: big slap on the wrists for tim-spam (doing 70 when towing?)

[purplemadboy]

Me again guys,thanks for the info....to give you the whole picture my car has just turned 2000miles(does it need run in?)and the caravan is Bailey Senator Arizona.yes I try and tow between 65 to 70 foot was all the way to the floor in sixth,any small incline just killed it and had to drop a gear.Could not tow at 60 in sixth it would just about stalling.I had a land rover td4 and it would burn the balls off the galaxy on towing..needless tow say i am very disapointed.WISH I had my landie back.

[Guest MATT]

hmmmmmmmmmmmmmm, my galaxy tows my caravan fine, and the Bailey Senator Arizona is about the same weight, however i only have 5 gears, so im wondering if sixth gear is too high for towing? either that or you've got a power problem. mines only 115 PS, so a 150PS should fly along?

 

MATT

[Guest MATT]

oh yeah, something that sprung to mind, someone posted an article on here ages ago (may have been GSMGuy, but cant remember) that said something about, if an engine is 'struggling' to pull, the engine system, actually pumps more fuel in?

 

also, i would not base anything on what gear you are in, to try and tow a caravan just above engine stalling speed is being a little tight. i keep my revs at 1,900 to 2,000 rpm that way, i can very easily maintain 60mph, even up hill!

 

like ive already said, your more powerful engine should find no problem in towing that caravan, so i think either not to use 6th gear, or get it checked, as it should really pull that caravan easy.

 

MATT

[Bigjeeze]

Me again guys,thanks for the info....to give you the whole picture my car has just turned 2000miles(does it need run in?)and the caravan is Bailey Senator Arizona.yes I try and tow between 65 to 70 foot was all the way to the floor in sixth,any small incline just killed it and had to drop a gear.Could not tow at 60 in sixth it would just about stalling.I had a land rover td4 and it would burn the balls off the galaxy on towing..needless tow say i am very disapointed.WISH I had my landie back.

 

 

I don't tow anything with my 115 but I do know that at 60Mph in 6th the engine is doing around 1500 rpm - I'm not surprised it struggles!

 

I think that Matt has hit this one on the head - Try towing at around 2000 rpm- which should give you 70 in 6th . Up hills you should drop down to 5th but maintain the revs.

 

Worth a trial.

 

At only 2K miles it probably isn't run in yet either!

[Guest MATT]

in all honesty, i wouldn't tow anything with such a new car. i would like to do at least 7,000 miles solo, before towing anything. also, with it being so new, don't try and 'flog it' because it wont go up a hill at 60/65, try 45 or 50.

 

its got new everything, and everything needs to be run-in before you get optimum performance, both power, and fuel consumption. another thing is, the galaxy isnt a land rover, its a people carrier. i had a defender years ago, and i agree with you, it would pull anything!

 

MATT

[purplemadboy]

Thanks for all the info guys,as the seasons has now finished I will have to wait untill March b4 I tow again.As for the reves I had my foot to the floor in4th and 5th trying to build the revs up.

[tim-spam]

ps: big slap on the wrists for tim-spam (doing 70 when towing?)

In France, the speed limit on the Autoroute is the same whether towing or not - ie: 130kph or 81mph.

 

As regards which gear to use, 5th is ideal for towing at around 70mph - just above 2000 rpm, and any incline or other increased resistance tends to pull the engine back into a higher torque regime (max. torque is at 1900 rpm), which tends to self compensate. In 6th, the engine is working below its maximum torque, and any increased drag will pull it further down the torque curve.

 

A TDI 150 should be a very good towcar and return good performance and economy - in terms of performance and economy, it should be better than a Landrover TD4.

[Guest MATT]

In France, the speed limit on the Autoroute is the same whether towing or not - ie: 130kph or 81mph.

ah, please except my apologies, lol

 

MATT :lol:

[Guest MATT]

i was towing today, the galaxy pulls my van easy! keep the revs above 1800 and it pulls no effort at all! it just glides up hills no problem.

 

hope everything works out well, once it has been run-in.

 

MATT

[Guest lablover]

We have a 1.9 TDi and tow a Coachman Pastiche, quite a heavy 'van, and the car is brill. We tow at 55 - 60, sorry, just overtake us, but we nearly lost everything earlier this year. We had a Volvo 940 and snaked over all 3 lanes of the M27 - tail wagging the dog. Since then, we do not go over 60 ever - we never used to - usual speed is 55. We towed 230 miles down to Cornwall in the summer, and used less than half a tank of fuel, and we were stuck in traffic at crawling spped for 1 1/2 hours. To me, that's very good. The Volvo towed at about 10 mpg! Gas Guzzler!

 

My verdict on the Galaxy as a tow car - excellent, and feels very safe.