Road Tripping - Towing Economy

[Rjstokes]

G'day All,

All the work on the Fortuner has finally finished and were ready for an 8 week road trip. It'll certainly test out the Fortuner and it's capabilities. I've fitted an ARB dual battery tray with a 105AH battery, UHF, Anderson points to the rear, ECB bar, Toyota tow bar with the Toyota WDH, Pioneer Platform, Cooper ATR's, False Floor with a fridge slide amongst others. I've attached a few pics. The van weighs close to 2500kg with about 230 on the ball. I'll keep a log of what economy we end up getting and post it up here. Wish us luck!

[Caleb HGT]

Good luck, my economy is shit towing a box trailer with only camping gear 😂.

Now with the 33's it's in desperate need of more power.

[Rjstokes]

What are you getting? Shouldnt be too bad you would have thought. We did 650km today into a reasonable headwind and averaged 18.6l/100 on the trip computer. We also passed a public weighbridge and measured the van and car together at 5100kg. Still well under the GCM but heavy none-the-less. That's with a spare, max tracks and 2 Jerrys on the roof too! Sport mode 4th works nicely to stop any gearbox hunting, sport 5th works ok too but will drop out of 5th at the earliest sign of an incline... See how we go over the next few days...

[mrh460]

What class of licence do you have? 😬

[Caleb HGT]

WOW 😧, 18.6 is huge. I normally get around 9 not towing. I noticed last time I went camping it was like 11 something. Now with the 33's I'm changing down heaps 😭 So it's definitely using more fuel.

[Rjstokes]

18.6 is alright with 2.5t strapped to the back and loaded to the gunnels in a headwind. We used to have a V6 Prado and that was 22-25 l/100!

[Anthony]

Hi, just back from a 27 day camping trip to Darwin from Sydney. With a fair bit of camping gear, food, 25lts of water at all times, spare oils & filters, roof pod, plus 2 adults travelling at various speeds, the best daily fuel average I got was 8.8/100klms, & the worst about 10.8/100klms. Found best economy was sitting on around 85-90ks, worst was when sitting on 110+ks. Also noticed a big difference when NOT using cruise control. With cruise, engine is always looking to get back to the rev/speed it was set at. Found better economy using the right foot.

Also plenty of fuel stops, so no need for a long range tank. In short, went from Sydney, via Goulburn, Wagga, Mildura, Spalding, Pimba, the Alice, Ayres Rock, Tennant Creek, Katherine, Kakadu etc etc.

For what its worth, if your concerned about fuel economy, sit on 90, but it makes for a slower trip.

[Monaz]

Great feedback....auto or manual??

[lufkin]

are you sure the brakes wernt on the caravan. 18l is awfully high even for 2.5t. ive towed a 3t boat and averaged 12 in hilly country

[Rjstokes]

Yeah, I'm sure. It's still up around that - still battling headwinds. Having a spare and jerrys etc on the roof platform doesn't help either. Ours is auto. I've found Sport 4th is good as it has enough tq to tackle most situations without downshifting. If it's flat or downhill we'll drop it into 5th. Drive works fine but it's always hunting gears. We've had vans for several years and 15l/100 is a pretty realistic figure for a light poptop with most 4cyl diesel cars. If you're getting 12 l/100 towing a 3t boat up hills then hats off - must have far less drag I guess?

[lufkin]

Yeah, I'm sure. It's still up around that - still battling headwinds. Having a spare and jerrys etc on the roof platform doesn't help either. Ours is auto. I've found Sport 4th is good as it has enough tq to tackle most situations without downshifting. If it's flat or downhill we'll drop it into 5th. Drive works fine but it's always hunting gears. We've had vans for several years and 15l/100 is a pretty realistic figure for a light poptop with most 4cyl diesel cars. If you're getting 12 l/100 towing a 3t boat up hills then hats off - must have far less drag I guess?

Boats probably more aerodynamic than van I guess. Plus I have manual. I came from a petrol patrol. Averaged 25l unloaded on a flat road lol

[Anthony]

Hey Monaz, mine's a GX auto

[Monaz]

Awesome, good to know. I still cant decide between auto or manual!!!

[Rjstokes]

Had a bit of tailwind today for the first time, managed 15l/100. Found if we put it in sport 5th and manage to get in gear, it happily pulls along locked up. So much better than the old petrol prado that dropped into 2nd looking for tq on the slightest incline. Very comfortable cruiser. Bigger fuel tank would be nice though!

[Drew70]

Make sure you daily check your Rhino tray clamps as ours were coming loose and causing the tray to move on the rails.

[Rjstokes]

Thanks. Good tip. You mean on top of the tray, fixing the platform into the bars? The other clamps on the side are locked on ours.

[Drew70]

Check both
Clamps are the most important as although locked this is for security. Our clamps moved significantly on the rails and caused damage

[Anthony]

Hi Rjstokes, just curious re your ARB 105AH dual battery kit. ARB fitted mine but only an Optima 55AH Yellow top, saying there's no room for a larger deep cycle battery. What brand is your 105AH deep cycle battery & which ARB store did the dual battery kit. Interesting you've a 105AH & I'm told 55AH is the largest the engine bay will take due to the lack of room??

[Rjstokes]

No that's usual service from ARB I guess! I did it myself. I used an Allrounder 105AH battery. It definitely fits but is tight. The instructions say a N70ZZ battery fits which is the same size. There's some good info on Newhilux too. ARB probably have extra stock of yellow tops or can't be stuffed I'd say. Grab their dual battery tray instructions and show them!

Good Luck!