Towing with a 200-series Toyota Land Cruiser (3 Viewers)
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I don’t think they’d allow my type at their sites… we’re the shower outside types…
Yeah, doesn't work for most of my camping group and when I'm in off-road camping mode. Makes sense, as private hosts probably don't want visitors peeing and digging holes everywhere?
We aren’t quite that uncivilized… we do have a wrappon toilet lol. But I do enjoy the stargazing while showering and I’m not willing to give that up.
If you are towing a lot, I would drain and fill trans fluid once a year. That is what I do and don't have any issues inching 190k on the clock.
Hi, Do you do full flush or pan level flush only, Also what fluid do you use?
how do you identify the return line?
read through this thread, lots of the info you seek can be found here.
Beware, there are several schools of thought on this… pan only or full flush with filter change. Each have their own pros and cons… choose wisely.
Complete Transmission Flush DIY - VIDEO
forum.ih8mud.com
I just completed a 900 mile trip through Utah and Colorado (Moab, Durango, Ouray) pulling a 23' airstream with a combined weight of 12,500 lbs. I'm on LT295/70R18 AT tires. I had three bikes on the roof for the first half from northern Utah through Moab, Durange and Ouray. I got 8-9.5 MPG fighting cruise set to 65 MPH most of the way.
As most have experienced, using cruise kinda sucks since it fights against the terrain. It downshifts and holds a low gear if the momentum downhill ever gets you above 1-2 MPH over the set speed. This also happens when cresting a hill when it had to downshift to make it up the hill and then overdoes it at the top and exceeds the set speed. It also gets schizophrenic if it ever needs lower than 4th gear, dropping to 3rd briefly and then up to 5th, over and over again if it cannot maintain any set speed over 60 mph.
For the drive home, I put the bikes in the trailer and didn't use cruise control. Despite Douglas Pass needing to shift down to 2nd and getting the tranny pretty hot, the return route was much better, resulting in an average of 9-11 MPG (depending on tank and terrain). It's hard to say what improved the MPG, whether it was ditching cruise control or the improved aero by ditching the bikes.
here are some temperatures (ambient air 80F) pulling up over Douglas pass (between Rangely and Montrose):
As most have experienced, using cruise kinda sucks since it fights against the terrain. It downshifts and holds a low gear if the momentum downhill ever gets you above 1-2 MPH over the set speed. This also happens when cresting a hill when it had to downshift to make it up the hill and then overdoes it at the top and exceeds the set speed. It also gets schizophrenic if it ever needs lower than 4th gear, dropping to 3rd briefly and then up to 5th, over and over again if it cannot maintain any set speed over 60 mph.
For the drive home, I put the bikes in the trailer and didn't use cruise control. Despite Douglas Pass needing to shift down to 2nd and getting the tranny pretty hot, the return route was much better, resulting in an average of 9-11 MPG (depending on tank and terrain). It's hard to say what improved the MPG, whether it was ditching cruise control or the improved aero by ditching the bikes.
here are some temperatures (ambient air 80F) pulling up over Douglas pass (between Rangely and Montrose):
Dang, 11 mpg? I don’t think I have broken 9 mpg in the 3500 or so miles I’ve towed so far
More or less downhill to flat land on highway 50 through western Colorado at 60 mph. Sadly, I used to get 10-12 in my GX with the 4.7L just about everywhere in Utah pulling this same trailer at the same or higher speeds.
I’d put my money on ditching the cruise control over any aero gain from moving the bikes. It’s been my experience that once you’re hitched up and trying to maintain highway speed at weight you’re already struggling to punch that hole in the air that bikes on the roof won’t even register. You’ll likely notice the bikes at the upper end of your MPG, if you have one.
For me, my best I can get in my most efficient configuration is 12-13 and 4 bikes on the roof made little to no difference. My worst configuration is averaging 8.5-9.5 and that’s bikes or no bikes.
I’ve tried the cruise one time and it lasted about 5 miles because It was all over the gears. I’d rather lose a few MPH going up an incline than to drop a gear and hit the higher rip’ums.
Join the party. Although, sub 9’s is somewhat respectably bad. High clearance front bumpers and weight of a heavy build with a trailer makes for a thirsty Cruiser. Throw in an Oklahoma head wind and you’ll be pining for the 40 gallon LRA with a swiftness.
Since MPG and road trips are being discussed I’ll share my recent 5600 mile trip gas usage. I’ve blocked out the octane column to keep the discussion from veering off the rails. This trip earned roughly .5 MPG better than one to Wyoming last year and a similar trip 2 years ago. Less towing off road may be to blame for this, I didn’t track this particular item but we didn’t tow as much in 4LO as we have in the past. Easier roads are likely the cause, we stuck to mostly 1 and 2 rated roads with the trailer based from the trailsoffroad app. The previous 2 trips were more dirt focused with the camper.
Another thing to note is the 14.10 mpg anomaly… we had 2 short interval fill ups in a row. That one was just before a very long decent and all pavement.
Another thing to note is the 14.10 mpg anomaly… we had 2 short interval fill ups in a row. That one was just before a very long decent and all pavement.
I always love your attention to detail on this.
I’m on the opposite end of the spectrum on a trip like this. I get fuel, throw the receipt away, reset the trip Meter and roll on. Maybe doing the quick math to see my smiles per gallon only for reference on distance till empty until the next fill up.
I honestly don’t know why I hoard data like I do, my wife has the same predilection. Dropping MPG’s is often a symptom of something a larger issue so it’s a good way to catch things early, failing PCV comes to mind.
Also, keeping the spreadsheet allows me to factor in tire size, something the onboard computer does not. The “sheets” app makes it very convenient… I have detailed files.
I’m coming up on my first interval for the drain and fill. My odometer is at 28k and it’s a 2021 MY, gut tells me I should be fine with the 4 quart drain and fill given the age and mileage but my obsessive side is wavering on pulling the return line and flushing completely. I guess it will depend on what the initial drain looks like but I feel like the flush is excessive at my current stage.
Aero and drag. Putting this into perspective, 70mph is double the air drag of 50mph. 85mph is triple the air drag of 50mph.
I'm sure the bikes contributed, but perhaps other major factors played into this. Often driving the same routes, the predominant grade and wind makes driving one direction more efficient than the other. Driving at altitude improves aero too as air is less dense. Combined with less engine output / forced efficiency.
I do think Airstreams, with their less frontal area and curved profile have a 1-1.5 mpg efficiency advantage, especially at speed.
I'm sure the bikes contributed, but perhaps other major factors played into this. Often driving the same routes, the predominant grade and wind makes driving one direction more efficient than the other. Driving at altitude improves aero too as air is less dense. Combined with less engine output / forced efficiency.
I do think Airstreams, with their less frontal area and curved profile have a 1-1.5 mpg efficiency advantage, especially at speed.
