Car towing considerations

[windtrader]

I'm planning what to do for towing a car. The bus has a blue ox tow bar and built in braking system. Just need to figure out what car to tow. Obviously, the lighter the vehicle the less impact on MPG and performance on the road.

Trying to figure out where weight becomes uncomfortable What impact do you experience with different vehicle weights?

[Gary Hatt - Publisher BCM]

Don,

I have a Roadmaster tow system and love it and it is so easy to use.  Here are the top vehicles for towing based on Roadmaster sales so this may give you some ideas on the type of vehicle.  I personally tow a Jeep Adventure and it is very easy to tow.

Jeep Wrangler 96-17'
Honda CRV 07-14'
Chevy Colorado & GMC Canyon 15-17'
Jeep Grand Cherokee 11-17
Jeep Cherokee 14-17
Chevy Equinox & GMC Terrain 16-17
Ford CMAX 13-17
Ford F-150 pickup 10-17
Jeep Liberty 02-07
Chevy HHR 06-11
Fiat 500 12-17

[Jaymz]

1968 Dodge Charger!
1967 Chevy Camaro
1969 Cadillac Eldorado (with the hide away headlights)
1970 himi Cuda
you get the picture

[Scott & Heather]

Go big or go home Don 😎



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[lostagain]

We towed a VW Jetta for a while on a dolly. Good in some ways like light weight, capable of 80 mph on the freeway if needed, but the dolly is a PIA because some campgrounds are small and parking it is a concern, getting the car ready to tow is quite involved, and the dolly has tires, brakes and lights to  maintain and fix. Also the car is low clearance and not good off road. Now we tow a Jeep Wrangler 4 down. Much simpler in many ways. Capable of going off road which we like to do. No more dolly to deal with. Not as comfortable or as fast as the car, which is to be considered if the bus is parked near a big  city for a few days and you have to get on a busy freeway to go sightseeing for example. But all things considered, the

[lostagain]

continuation from above post: the Jeep works great for us.

JC

[PP]

We use the Roadmaster system and love it for ease and I've always installed the brackets myself. Our first toad was a Jeep Liberty, then for the last 6 yrs a Mini Cooper. Last week we traded in the Cooper and went back to a newer Jeep Liberty. In the process of setting it up now. Did learn something new this last week about towing Jeeps, they are not all towable unless 4 wheel drive. The 2 wd cannot be towed over 15 miles or speeds of 30 MPH without removing the rear driveline according to Jeep. In the old Liberty you manually disengaged the transfer case for towing. Now you hold down a button in front of the drive selector. It probably only seems strange to me because I'm such old school I date back to the Willys. 
Will

[Geoff]

Don.
I'll have a driveshaft disconnect and tow brackets to fit a Blue Ox tow bar for a '96 GMC Sonoma pickup or SUV of that heritage in December.  Available last two weeks of December in Vallejo. 

[pabusnut]

I have an 88 Bronco II that is set up for towing which I can't afford to part with, and now is practically new!  New clutch, throwout bearing and slave cylinder along with rear main seal.  New rear brakes, wheel cylinders and steel lines.  New front calipers and rotors.  New catalytic converters(2) and complete exhaust.  New floor pan on drivers' side and new rubber floor mat front and rear.  New headliner. New gas tank, pump and gauge sender.  New 2" square receiver hitch.  New front baseplate for tow bar.  All this in the last two years.

Next is new front upper spring(and shock), springs and shocks.

I feel like that Johnny Cash song, except "it cost me a lot of dimes"   And someday I will actually tow it behind my 4905.

You can't say PA doesn't do thorough safety inspections.

Steve

[Dave5Cs]

Windy remember also you can get adapter hookups from Blue Ox to Roadmaster etc and vice versa if needed or you can only get one kind of brackets for what ever car or truck.

[windtrader]

There are lots of cars to hook up. The concern is loss of MPG and speed uphill. I've looked at fiberglass dune buggies at 1100 lbs, my BMW E30 at 3100, and a '95 Toyota 80 Landcruiser at over 5000. I'd just hook them up and get my own measurements but as you know the towing hardware needs to be put on each vehicle, i.e $$$.

What do you estimate the loss in MPG and speed uphill pulling 1100 lbs vs 5K+? Is it worth spending some time on? Certainly no need to overthink this if not much difference.

Hey Scott, you had a Series 80 LC; did you notice much MPG loss and speed? I know you are running an 8V92 so more power to spare than an 8V71N.

Thanks

[Astro]

I believe the most economical tow rig would certainly be the one you already own if it is towable. Mpg is somewhat irrelavent if one must buy a new rig to tow. If you have a towable rig now, a baseplate is cheap, all things considered. I tow a jeep wrangler with a Ready Brute elite and I am not sure there is an easier or quicker setup. 5 minutes attach and I can go.

[Scott & Heather]

Don, I didn't have an 80 series, I had a 100 series. The Bus knew it was back there but I honestly never saw a MPG change with out without it. My 8v92 is set to 500hp and even with that, I can tell whether I'm towing or not in terms of acceleration from a stop. I can't tell when climbing a mountain (makes no deference believe it or not) and I can't tell in terms MPG.


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[RJ]

The concern is loss of MPG and speed uphill.

Don -

Your MCI is NOT going to go over the Grapevine, Donner Summit, or, for that matter, the Altamont, like your E30 does.

Simple physics, in this case power/weight ratio.  You're going to be in 2nd gear, period, with your 8V71 in the MCI.

Unless you want to spend $$$$$$$ squeezing a 500hp 8V92TA in the back of your 8.  Then you'd end up in 3rd gear watching the temp gauge like a hawk for a 10 mph uphill gain.

. . . my BMW E30 at 3100. . .

My VW Jetta weighs the same - which, if you think about it, is actually less than a bus with 40 passengers and their luggage.  As for that matter, even the Landcruiser weighs less than a busload of people.

What do you estimate the loss in MPG and speed uphill pulling 1100 lbs vs 5K+? Is it worth spending some time on? Certainly no need to overthink this if not much difference.

Yup, you're overthinking this again, Don.  I've noticed more of a MPG change running the diesel genset 24/7 than pulling the VW.  I haven't noticed any change in uphill speeds towing, but my coach is so underpowered in the first place (as you know), I just don't pay attention to it anymore.  I don't even notice it going downhill, either - that's what the Jake Brake's for!  (Hint, hint, Scott!)  The only time I've noticed the extra weight, and it wasn't much, is IF I have to get on the brakes hard because of someone else doing something stupid (which is also why I have a dash cam!)

FWIW & HTH. . .

[Jon]

Despite reading these posts for decades I am still amazed at the number of bus owners who are concerned about fuel economy.

If everyone would do a few calculations about their actual costs of ownership and the impact the cost of fuel has on total costs the focus would be on something else pretty quickly.

Similarly I am amazed at how there is a lot of discussion about how fast our coaches can climb a hill. I doubt if the time my coach spends trying to get up steep hills is even 1% of my driving time. And even if I could climb every hill at the posted speed limit it appears that most of the time I would get hung up behind two trucks blocking both lanes going at the same speed.