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Car Forum / Driving, Maintenance, Tuning / RVs / October 2005Could a toyota prius pull a small tent camper ?
Not sure if the future of RVing looks bleak with $4/gallon gas prices in a year or so ? I have a toyota tundra with a viking pop up camper and probably get 17 mpg. Does anyone know if a toyota prius could pull a small tent camper ? It gets 60 mpg, but cost 20k ! Not alot of options for trucks on hybrid.com. I think the gov should be funding mroe research of hydrogen cars. Sir, are you seriously asking if a Toyota Prius can tow a pop up trailer?  SignatureQuickSilver - Visit my world Searching for a Class A Coach in SoCal http://AustinMini.OsiTech.Net > Not sure if the future of RVing looks bleak with $4/gallon gas prices > in a year or so ? [quoted text clipped - 7 lines] > > I think the gov should be funding mroe research of hydrogen cars. > Not sure if the future of RVing looks bleak with $4/gallon gas prices > in a year or so ? [quoted text clipped - 5 lines] > gets 60 mpg, but cost 20k ! Not alot of options for trucks on > hybrid.com. Not according to Toyota Signature-------------------------------------------------------- Personal e-mail is the n7bsn but at amsat.org This posting address is a spam-trap and seldom read RV and Camping FAQ can be found at http://www.ralphandellen.us/rv > > Not sure if the future of RVing looks bleak with $4/gallon gas prices > > in a year or so ? [quoted text clipped - 7 lines] > > Not according to Toyota GM trucks have hybrid options, but heavier the vehicle, the less the benefit from the hybrid. Mike I know I'm going to get flamed for this one. I pull a light weight utility trailer(#200) 4'X8' with my Echo (same frame as the prius). I need to clairify a few things I limit the weight to #800 load and only a driver. Making the total weight #1000. Also, my transmission is standard shift The largest hitch that is available is one with a #200 tongue rating, which limits the max size camper to #2000. Very few campers have a tongue wt of less then #200. Ed I don't recommend this nor endorse it and Toyota specifically states that it should not be done. Its short wheelbase makes for a bouncy ride (I use 12" wheels, that are DOT approved). > Not sure if the future of RVing looks bleak with $4/gallon gas prices > in a year or so ? [quoted text clipped - 7 lines] > > I think the gov should be funding mroe research of hydrogen cars. > Does anyone know if a toyota prius could pull a small tent camper ? It > gets 60 mpg, but cost 20k ! Not alot of options for trucks on > hybrid.com. Sure if you wanna burn up the transmission, motor, and the brakes! > Not sure if the future of RVing looks bleak with $4/gallon gas prices > in a year or so ? [quoted text clipped - 7 lines] > > I think the gov should be funding mroe research of hydrogen cars. I think you should discount the EPA mileage for the Prius by about 40%. That is what Consumer Reports is saying in its latest issue. Aside from that, you should be able to tow a small tent trailer. I used to do that with a VW bug, and with a VW bus with a Honda 90 on the bumper. You should of course check with the manufacturer for any weight limits for the car. John Andrews, Knoxville, Tennessee > > Not sure if the future of RVing looks bleak with $4/gallon gas prices > > in a year or so ? [quoted text clipped - 16 lines] > You should of course check with the manufacturer for any weight > limits for the car. It will tow it, but if I understand the hybrid concept, the drop in MPG will be far greater than if you pulled it with a gas vehicle. You might lose a couple of MPG pulling it with a Camry, but maybe 10 MPG would be lost with the Prius. Mike > > > Not sure if the future of RVing looks bleak with $4/gallon gas prices > > > in a year or so ? [quoted text clipped - 23 lines] > > Mike A Hybrid always gets less MPG when highway driving. The engine has to run all the time and it has to carry along the batteries and other electrical equipment. A hybrid is only good as a second vehicle to be used for stop and go city traffic. >> > > Not sure if the future of RVing looks bleak with $4/gallon gas prices >> > > in a year or so ? [quoted text clipped - 29 lines] >equipment. A hybrid is only good as a second vehicle to be used for stop >and go city traffic. Sounds like a nice argument in theory, but we don't drive theories. Since there is no non-hybrid Prius, it is hard to tell. It is also hard to find a car as big as a Prius that'll get 50mpg on the highway like my Prius does. snipped >>A Hybrid always gets less MPG when highway driving. The engine has to run >>all the time and it has to carry along the batteries and other electrical [quoted text clipped - 5 lines] > hard to find a car as big as a Prius that'll get 50mpg on the highway > like my Prius does. Doesn't sound like Mike256 has a clue about the Toyota line of Hybrids. Not knocking his opinion, just wondering how much he knows of the logistics of them. HD in NY >Doesn't sound like Mike256 has a clue about the Toyota line >of Hybrids. Not knocking his opinion, just wondering how >much he knows of the logistics of them. He needs to drive one and watch the energy screen. On any downhill where you might normally coast and expect engine braking to slow you down, you get battery charging instead. Whenever you hit the brakes (still happens on the highway sometimes) you get battery charging as well. > >Doesn't sound like Mike256 has a clue about the Toyota line > >of Hybrids. Not knocking his opinion, just wondering how [quoted text clipped - 5 lines] > (still happens on the highway sometimes) you get battery charging as > well. Those savings are insignificant. I have been following electric drive car development for a long time. Take any equivalent size vehicle and equivalent engine without the extra weight of the batteries and it will always give better highway mileage than a hybrid. A Hybrid on the highway does not use the electric drive. It is powered directly by the engine. They are wonderful in the city where stop and go is the rule. When driving to work on the San Diego Freway in LA I used to say I could get by with a lawn mower engine if the car were electric drive. Hybrids have been around a long time. In the 1960s an Army 6x truck was equiped with 50 HP electric AC motors. It did very well but the cost of the motors was more than the rest of the vehicle. A little looking around will find support for my arguement: http://www.cartalk.com/content/testdrives/Reviews/toyota-prius-2004.html "This car really shines in the city or suburbs. It's not an ideal highway cruiser, though you can certainly use it for that. But you'll pay a penalty in cabin noise and won't realize the fuel savings on the highway because the Prius gets its best mileage while making heavy use of the electric motor around town. There are better cars for heavy highway driving that will give you better comfort, more safety, less interior noise, and still reasonably decent mileage. " http://www.thecarconnection.com/Vehicle_Reviews/Hybrids_Electrics/2001_Toyota_Pr ius.S274.A3375.html "If it's more highway driving you do, you might be happier with Honda's Civic HX, which gets an honest 40-something miles per gallon in real-world highway driving (EPA rated 36 city, 44 highway), " >Those savings are insignificant. I have been following electric drive car >development for a long time. Take any equivalent size vehicle and [quoted text clipped - 17 lines] >Prius gets its best mileage while making heavy use of the electric motor >around town. The fuel savings will be greater around town, but that doesn't change the fact that ours gets 50mpg on the highway, and a smaller civic won't do that. >There are better cars for heavy highway driving that will give >you better comfort, more safety, less interior noise, and still reasonably [quoted text clipped - 5 lines] >Civic HX, which gets an honest 40-something miles per gallon in real-world >highway driving (EPA rated 36 city, 44 highway), " Sorry, a civic is not a prius. It is smaller, and less comfortable. snipped > "If it's more highway driving you do, you might be happier with Honda's > Civic HX, which gets an honest 40-something miles per gallon in real-world > highway driving (EPA rated 36 city, 44 highway), " I'll repeat, you need to brush up on your facts. The Prius gives excellent gas mileage, on the road, and gives better mileage in the stop and go traffic. The Honda line, IIRC, does not use the same logistics as Toyota, the engine runs all the time with electric assist when needed. The Toyota vehicles are practical for *all* normal uses, when used to transport people from point A to point B. The Prius would be fine for long range travel as it has plenty of interior room. You really need to get out and investigate them before offering "advice" on the subject. HD in NY > snipped > > "If it's more highway driving you do, you might be happier with Honda's [quoted text clipped - 13 lines] > offering "advice" on the subject. > HD in NY I have no arguement about it's overall mileage. Great in the city. But if you drive the roads I do where everyone is going 80 mph they just are not practical. The engine would be running all the time and I would be carrying along the extra weight. As I said just take a look around the web. There are numerous sites that support what I am saying. So what I am doing is not "normal". >> snipped >> > "If it's more highway driving you do, you might be happier with Honda's [quoted text clipped - 21 lines] >are numerous sites that support what I am saying. So what I am doing is not >"normal". First of all, I think you'd be surprised at what kind of mileage a Prius can get on the highway. People on the web may or may not be telling the truth. I'll tell you, though, that on a 240 mile trip to a nearby city and back our prius got 50mpg. I don't think a civic will do that, and it sure as heck won't do it near as comfortably as a prius. We test-drove a civic, going up a long entrance ramp that had a bit of an incline, the civic auto seemed to top out at 58mph, not wanting to go faster without use of considerable pedal and a lot of whining from the engine and the salesman in the back seat. The prius does that same ramp without a whimper and merges at highway speed at the end. Try one, you just might like it. snipped > First of all, I think you'd be surprised at what kind of mileage a > Prius can get on the highway. People on the web may or may not be [quoted text clipped - 7 lines] > does that same ramp without a whimper and merges at highway speed at > the end. Try one, you just might like it. There are folks who have had a Prius for some time, who have put many highway miles on them. They back up your findings. It looks like it's time to let Rich256 wallow in his shallow viewpoint. HD in NY >There are folks who have had a Prius for some time, who have >put many highway miles on them. They back up your findings. >It looks like it's time to let Rich256 wallow in his shallow >viewpoint. People believe what they want to believe, I guess. To keep this somewhat on topic, if someone would invent a hybrid diesel pickup, I'd definitely give it a look in about five more years. I've found that a 10-watt solar panel along with an old and not all that reliable sun-saver charge controller will actually keep the batteries up on my f350 while it sets in the driveway waiting for fuel prices to come down and the need to get away to increase. After spending over $160 for batteries this summer and seeing what not keeping batteries full does to them, I'm pleased so far. > if someone would invent a hybrid diesel pickup, I'd > definitely give it a look in about five more years. They are already under development by GM. Since the Diesel is a more or less constant speed engine it is an excellent engine for a hybrid. Not a new concept. They have been around for many years in our railroad locomotives. An even better engine would be a turbine. Several years ago I saw an electric car that used one of the little turbines used for ground power carts by the Air Force. It was a very good vehicle except it was difficult to control the noise. Like having a Banshee in the back seat. I was slightly involved in the building of the circuits for a solar power car at GM many years ago. That was interesting but not a very practical vehicle. snipped > People believe what they want to believe, I guess. To keep this > somewhat on topic, if someone would invent a hybrid diesel pickup, I'd > definitely give it a look in about five more years. snipped I don't know what your problem is Chris, the statements have been made, and substantiated, that the Prius is a viable means of long range travel. You seem to have a working knowledge of the subject, put it to use and do the research. The Prius engine shuts down when not needed, that includes going down a grade. Every time the engine isn't needed to move the car, the charging system is operable. That means, as I said, when going down grade, when coasting with the foot off the "throttle" and when coming to a stop. Tomorrow is already here and being marketed by Toyota. HD in NY > Not sure if the future of RVing looks bleak with $4/gallon gas prices > in a year or so ? [quoted text clipped - 7 lines] > > I think the gov should be funding mroe research of hydrogen cars. It could PULL it, but I doubt if it could CONTROL it in an extreme maneuver. And I think it would prematurely wear out the Primus at a lot of wear points. Steve > Does anyone know if a toyota prius could pull a small tent camper ? It > gets 60 mpg, but cost 20k ! Not alot of options for trucks on > hybrid.com. Owner's manual says no. B~ >Owner's manual says no. > >B~ It is funny, the manual says it can't tow, then recommends extra maintenance if the vehicle has been used for towing. Strange. I had allways been told by RVers that small tent campers can be towed by very small cars. I'm not sure how much some of these campers weigh, but you see all kinds of little cars pulling them. I saw a Jetta Station wagons get 46 MPG highway (diesel). You can't buy a new one in some states like ME,MA,CA, because of emmisions. I wonder how hard it would be to find a used one (I live in MA). Nice to have a hatchback type car with plenty of room for gear and an occasional nap in the back. If terrorists blew up some oil refineries, I suppose you could go biodiesel as well, but are the emmissions bad enough that I should feel guilty about owning such a vehicle ? I've heard they don't put out much emissions, and that the carbon emissions are not as bad as regular cars. I'm wondering how hard it would be to find gas stations that sell diesel. I heard diesels are good for towing as well. I have to chek if consumer reports rates volkswagen's as well as toyotas for reliablity. |
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