You're right, Harvey. I tow my 16' vintage SOB (Serro Scotty) with a Caprice
Wagon, 305 4v. Car gets 20 mpg at 75 mph unloaded, firing once to the
telephone pole in an overdrive so tall it will downshift for grades too
slight to even notice otherwise. Towing, it gets 9 mpg at 60, in third,
howling along at what must be pretty close to the torque peak through
secondaries big enough to swallow whole flocks of small birds. There's not
enough manifold vacuum left to keep the air conditioner doors open when
going up hills, so the a/c does a great job of chilling the windshield until
you hit a downgrade. The long wheelbase, big tires, heavy frame, big
anti-sway bars, and 1/2-ton truck rear brakes make this a great tow car
otherwise, and strictly speaking it goes plenty fast enough for me, even up
grades (though conversation stops when you hit second gear on the way down
past 45 mph) but it could use lots more motor. I hang onto it because it's
otherwise perfect for us, and I just tow on annual vacations. But if I were
towing lots, I'd be saving money with a big block.
Interestingly, I used to tow the same trailer with a dodge aspen wagon, with
the rare factory 4-speed and the 225 slant six. Got about the same
performance--maybe slightly less--and 12 mpg, because that little mill is a
stroker with lots of low-end torque for it's size. And of course the stick
helped some.
Dan Weeks
75 Argosy 26 (Towed home 225 miles with the chevy at 60, and felt no more
drag with the A/S empty than I do with the Scotty loaded. Guess the shape
really DOES do a lot for drag, 'cause the trailer's twice as heavy!)
> From: "Harvey Barlow" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
> Reply-To: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
> Date: Wed, 14 Mar 2001 07:55:59 -0600
> To: Multiple recipients of VACList <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
> Subject: [VAC] Towing With A Short Wheel Base Tow Vehicle
>
> Chris, Greg, and others
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: Christopher H. Dow <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
>
> "I found that towing a trailer
>> and driving a car are very different activities--the former being much
>> more stressful--and that might change the way you feel if one feels much
>> better as a puller."
>
> I understand that Land Rover owners are just as fanatical about their choice
> of transportation as Airstream owners are about their choice of RV but I
> can't help but respond to the preceeding comment.
>
> Towing an Airstream, although it certainly requires a little more attention,
> should not be stressful and normally isn't. The stress described above most
> often results from towing with less than adequate equipment. A short wheel
> base tow vehicle will always be somewhat directionally unstable. You will
> always feel some "tail wagging the dog effect" and frequent if not constant
> steering corrections will be required. Another condition that causes stress
> and is tiring to the driver is towing with a relatively small engine.
>
> Torque is required to tow a heavy load, not horsepower. And torque is
> always associated with cubic inches of displacement, not high lift
> camshafts, fancy electronics, etc. If you tow with a large displacement
> high-torque engine it will accelerate the load easier, maintain engine speed
> on a grade, permit remaining in a higher gear without frequent downshifts,
> provide better engine braking on a downgrade, and will actually produce fuel
> economy numbers as good as or better than a small engine laboring. Higher
> numerical gears in the rear axle (or both with 4wd) will compensate with
> more torque multiplication and will buzz the engine in a higher rpm range,
> but a big engine will tow at 2000 rpm in overdrive without strain. Lower
> rpm equates to longevity because piston travel is reduced significantly,
>
> My comments are not intended to blaspheme your beloved Land Rovers, I
> understand the addiction which is very similar to my A/S addiction. And I
> am aware that a V8 Land Rover, 4 cylinder Jeep, and other small engine tow
> vehicles are in service all over the country today as I write this. My
> daughter tows a 27' A/S with a new V8 powered Jeep Grand Cherokee, short
> wheel base and modest displacement (against my advice). I also know that my
> comments will elicit a fire-storm of response but the point I wish to make
> is this: A heavier, long wheelbase, pickup truck, van, or Suburban with a
> 350 cubic inch engine or, even better for larger trailers, a 454 or 460
> cubic inch big block or turbo-diesel, will tow more comfortably, perform
> with a much wider safety margin when conditions are adverse (strong and
> gusting winds, steep grades, wet road surface, etc) will deliver equal and
> sometimes better fuel economy, and the equipment will last longer with less
> repairs.
>
> An SUV or pickup which gets excellent fuel mileage when running light is
> frequently geared for economy. When a heavy load is attached, fuel mileage
> usually plummets.
>
> For those who will dispute my statements, consider the reason eighteen wheel
> truck tractors use huge displacement, low rpm, high torque motors for towing
> rather than small displacement, "economical", high revving, high horsepower
> engines.
>
> I'll step down off my soapbox now. My comments are intended, not to
> criticise anyone's vehicle choice, but to promote discussion and
> understanding. Those of you who are proponents of "smaller is better" may
> now feel free to attack what I have said.
>
> Harvey Barlow
> Lubbock, TX
> WBCCI # 1171, WDCU, VAC
>
>
>
>
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>
>
>
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