Towing teardrop camper from IA to UT with Hybrid XLT. 22mpg roundtrip [Trip Report]

[paulthomas]

We just returned from a ten day camping trip to Bears Ears National Monument pulling my homemade teardrop. I built the camper last year and it weights 1320lbs empty. We also had a lot of camping gear, heavy cooler, clothes, water, 50ah lithium battery, solar setup, and our two dogs. Truck tires are Nokian Outpost APT 225/65r17, and the teardrop has General Grabber AT tires.

Without headwind, we were getting 19-23 mpg on the interstate. Anything over 65 mph just killed the efficiency. At highway speeds and lower we routinely got mid to upper 20s. We experimented with towing mode, but left it in regular driving mode for most of the trip. Driving in towing mode was noticeably louder and droney and really cut the mileage.

Coming from a 4x4 Tacoma and AWD CR-V, I'm super impressed with the capability of the front wheel drive hybrid, even pulling the teardrop across sandy, rocky, hilly back roads. I guess tires make all the difference.

Overall we're super happy with how the truck performed. Plenty of towing power, respectable acceleration and decent mileage. The only annoyance is the e-cvt. Hills and rapid acceleration cab be droney and loud, but otherwise it did great.

Pulling it to eastern Oregon in June. Can't wait!

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[Vongreg]

Sweet, nice tear drop

 

[ShadowBlack XL440]

We just returned from a ten day camping trip to Bears Ears National Monument pulling my homemade teardrop with a hybrid XLT. I built the teardrop last year and it weights 1320lbs fully empty. We also had a lot of camping gear, heavy cooler, clothes, water, and our two dogs. Truck tires are Nokian Outpost APT 225/65r17, and the teardrop has General Grabber AT tires.

Without headwind, we were getting 19-23 mpg on the interstate. Anything over 65 mph just killed the efficiency. At highway speeds and lower we routinely got mid to upper 20s. We experimented with towing mode, but left it in regular driving mode for most of the trip. Driving in towing mode was noticeably louder and droney and really cut the mileage.

Coming from a 4x4 Tacoma and AWD CR-V, I'm super impressed with the capability of the front wheel drive hybrid, even pulling the teardrop across sandy, rocky, hilly back roads. I guess tires make all the difference.

Overall we're super happy with how the truck performed. Plenty of towing power, respectable acceleration and decent mileage. The only annoyance is the e-cvt. Pulling the teardrop on hills it can be droney and loud, but otherwise it did great.

Heading to eastern Oregon with the teardrop in June. Can't wait!

Any idea what the loaded trailer weighed?

 

[paulthomas]

Any idea what the loaded trailer weighed?

probably 1700.

 

[Freeb22]

I’m pulling the teardrop I just finished soon! Mine weighs less than 1,000lbs. I’m excited to see what it does!

 

[Aherpa]

Glad you are happy with your truck.

I grew up just west of Decorah and used o bicycle all over that area as a 'younker'. Are the 'cats' still there? That would be the cat faces on Highway 9 just west of Decorah?

 

[atomguy245]

Why am I more interested in pics of the teardrop than the truck right now? lol

 

[Gmood1]

Looks like an awesome trip! No doubt the 2.0T would have been better suited for this duty.

 

[Traegorn]

Looks like an awesome trip! No doubt the 2.0T would have been better suited for this duty.

Yeah, but then you're sacrificing day to day gas mileage and paying more for a capability you don't need 90% of the year

 

[Gmood1]

Yeah, but then you're sacrificing day to day gas mileage and paying more for a capability you don't need 90% of the year

Well depends on if the person is a city dweller or commutes to work like I do.
The savings isn't huge.

Seeing that OP had issues with the droning. It maybe worth moving to a 2.0.
I'm thinking they may use their equipment more than once a year, though I could be wrong.
I'm guessing gas mileage will be better on avg for those types of duties as well with the 2.0.

 

[paulthomas]

Well depends on if the person is a city dweller or commutes to work like I do.
The savings isn't huge.

Seeing that OP had issues with the droning. It maybe worth moving to a 2.0.
I'm thinking they may use their equipment more than once a year, though I could be wrong.
I'm guessing gas mileage will be better on avg for those types of duties as well with the 2.0.

Droning issue aside, would the 2.0 get better mpg pulling a loaded 1700lb trailer? I dunno- an honest question, not to make a point.

My daily work commute is 36.5 miles one way- about 90% highway- and I consistently get 37-42mpg. I got the truck January 10 and already have 7,600 miles on it.

 

[uh50]

We just returned from a ten day camping trip to Bears Ears National Monument pulling my homemade teardrop. I built the camper last year and it weights 1320lbs empty. We also had a lot of camping gear, heavy cooler, clothes, water, 50ah lithium battery, solar setup, and our two dogs. Truck tires are Nokian Outpost APT 225/65r17, and the teardrop has General Grabber AT tires.

Without headwind, we were getting 19-23 mpg on the interstate. Anything over 65 mph just killed the efficiency. At highway speeds and lower we routinely got mid to upper 20s. We experimented with towing mode, but left it in regular driving mode for most of the trip. Driving in towing mode was noticeably louder and droney and really cut the mileage.

Coming from a 4x4 Tacoma and AWD CR-V, I'm super impressed with the capability of the front wheel drive hybrid, even pulling the teardrop across sandy, rocky, hilly back roads. I guess tires make all the difference.

Overall we're super happy with how the truck performed. Plenty of towing power, respectable acceleration and decent mileage. The only annoyance is the e-cvt. Hills and rapid acceleration cab be droney and loud, but otherwise it did great.

Pulling it to eastern Oregon in June. Can't wait!

Nice job on the teardrop. Most importantly, the puppies are on point and looking out for your safety.

 

[Gmood1]

Droning issue aside, would the 2.0 get better mpg pulling a loaded 1700lb trailer? I dunno- an honest question, not to make a point.

My daily work commute is 36.5 miles one way- about 90% highway- and I consistently get 37-42mpg. I got the truck January 10 and already have 7,600 miles on it.

Your commute is actually longer than mine. lol
I'm 31 miles one way.
Driving 70 to 80 mph. With a mix of city driving. I'm at 27.6 by the onboard computer.

That's goosing it as well. I haven't tried hypermiling in it as yet. Even in Tampa traffic on vacation recently. I was still at 26/27 mpg.

Good question about the mpg while pulling the trailer. I'd say at hwy speeds. You wouldn't get worse than the hybrid.
Since the 2.5 is pretty much running the entire time at hwy speeds, unless going down hill.

Terrain is also a consideration.
Depends on if you live in a flat area of the US or one with a mix of hills.

Probably a wash...but without the droning.

 

[A Dodge that drives Fords]

I had a hybrid ordered at the beginning and switched to an all-wheel drive EcoBoost 4K towing after my wife said she couldn't sleep in a teardrop because of her being claustrophobic. But it looks really nice.

 

[RockHoundTX]

If you fill up all that dead-space between the front of the teardrop and the tail-gate you will probably get at least another 1-2MPG especially at the higher speeds. While contrary to what most people thing, most teardrops are horribly un-aerodynamic. The front-end increases the dead-space behind the towing vehicle (thus more parasitic drag). The slope of the back-end is also important (if the angle it too steep the air separates too soon creating even more drag). There are some good (but REALLY geeky) websites on how to make trailers more aerodynamic. With the smaller 2.5, there are probably a few small things you can do that would help a lot (as well as give you some more cargo space in the process). Can't wait to get my XL so I can go camping with it (my F350 sucks WAY too much diesel). Have fun.

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