D3 Towing

[Nifty]

Anyone out there own a D3 diesel and tow a 2 tonne full caravan, and what gear do you tow in on highway. What is consumption like towing.
Regards Nifty

[rovers1952]

I dragged a trailer of housedhold goods (highish load) for my daughter from Mansfield, Vic to Orange, NSW. Weight of load less that about 750kgs. Ave fuel consumption abt 16 litres per 100 klms as opposed to less than 10 unladen.
Progressive rise in altitude on trip, modest inclines stimulated auto to hunt a bit between 5th & 6th. gear. But happy in 6th on the flat. Can't see myself using a caravan after that experience. Notwithstanding that, the D3 TDV6 is probably the most economical tower in its class.

[LeighW]

Nifty I have a 3000 kg Bushtracker van and generally it is loaded to about 2.5 tonnes. (Van dry is 2020 kg and max is 3000 kg.) The D3 is TDV6 auto.

Economy has averaged 10.7 L/100 km including van towing. The use of the van is generally once per month for 3-4 days all the rest is 2-3 passengers with the majority being city driving.

When towing the figure is no more than 16 L/100 km but I have seen 22 displayed on the rather optimistic dash display. All my figures have been recorded since purchase in January 2006 as a fill to fill for the kilometres travelled. I do not rely on the gauge alone.

Edit: I try to watch the tacho and as long as it is around 2000 rpm then I will use 6th gear manually. But I always manually shift to 5th BEFORE a hill so that momentum is not lost and the engine is in the correct rev range to pull up the hill.

As of this weekend the speed now shows 85 000 km and there is no sign of bearing noise from the gearbox so I am satisfied that my driving style whilst towing is not placing undue stress on any components.

HTH.

Leigh

[Nifty]

Rovers 1952
Fuel consumption seems a lot for the load, I currently get 14.5 ltrs per 100 towing with my old 2001 d2. Maybe I should keep it.

Regards nifty

[Nifty]

Thanks LieghW
Thats not to bad for 3 tonne, Have you thought about gas injection, it works a treat on my old 2001 d2..Regards Nifty

[rovers1952]

Rovers 1952
Fuel consumption seems a lot for the load, I currently get 14.5 ltrs per 100 towing with my old 2001 d2. Maybe I should keep it.

Regards nifty

Yeh...it does, am trying to remember if I had a Northerly in my face. But is is roughly a 1,000 metre climb over the last third of what is about a 700-800 k trip.

[LeighW]

Gas injection looks like it would be a suitable way to improve power and economy but I am not sure where to put the extra tank. I like the spare where it is nifty and that leaves no other suitable place.

[TDV6]

We have a 17' (internal) three ton dual axle off road van. We averaged approx 18.5L/100k cruising at approx 93kph. Depending on where the wind is from parts of the trip were 23L/100k to others at 16L/100k in the seven months it took to get around OZ. If I can get the ready's I will get a software upgrade before the next trip later this year. I used 265/60/18 tyres at 33psi front and 42psi rear. The van tyres were kept to 38psi as this gave a 4psi increase after an hour’s travel.

I tried towing in both normal and sport mode and aside from down shifting to 4th for a hill, I just let the car do the selection. Most of the travel was done in 5th gear sport mode and we only got 6th with a tailwind or downhill, which seemed to be quite rare.

I carried several Gerry cans on and in the van to give me the extra range. I thought about fitting an extra tank under the rear and putting the spare on the rear bumper but couldn't justify the cost when the van could easily carry the extra weight.

There is a list of economy measures in a recent car and van magazines, saying mud terrain tyres add 8% to the fuel consumption, next to improve economy get it chipped, get a wheel alignment and do not run under inflated tyres also tyres that are larger in diameter than standard use more fuel.

Ryall

[Nifty]

LieghW
On the d2. the gas tank is under drivers door, would have put two tanks but compressor for SLS is in the way. For what it is worth the gas is unbelievable on hills, the auto is not chasing gears.....Regards Nifty

[Nifty]

TDV6
I put 32 PSI in front and 45 PSI in rear. Sport mode on the D2 uses to much fuel when towing. On the van are 4 x lite truck tyres each at 45psi.It helps to keep you van light as possible for consumption, remember water is 1kg to the litre I dont know what deisel wieghs. And a chip will work wonders for you.......Regards Nifty

[Nifty]

Probably got a lot to do with it....Regards Nifty

[V8Ian]

TDV6
I put 32 PSI in front and 45 PSI in rear. Sport mode on the D2 uses to much fuel when towing. On the van are 4 x lite truck tyres each at 45psi.It helps to keep you van light as possible for consumption, remember water is 1kg to the litre I dont know what deisel wieghs. And a chip will work wonders for you.......Regards Nifty
Diesel weighs aprox .8kg/L. Wind resistance, read van height/speed, has more effect on fuel usage than gross weight.

[rex]

do you loose any steering eg. lighter front end with air suspension
regards
rex
Nifty I have a 3000 kg Bushtracker van and generally it is loaded to about 2.5 tonnes. (Van dry is 2020 kg and max is 3000 kg.) The D3 is TDV6 auto.

Economy has averaged 10.7 L/100 km including van towing. The use of the van is generally once per month for 3-4 days all the rest is 2-3 passengers with the majority being city driving.

When towing the figure is no more than 16 L/100 km but I have seen 22 displayed on the rather optimistic dash display. All my figures have been recorded since purchase in January 2006 as a fill to fill for the kilometres travelled. I do not rely on the gauge alone.

Edit: I try to watch the tacho and as long as it is around 2000 rpm then I will use 6th gear manually. But I always manually shift to 5th BEFORE a hill so that momentum is not lost and the engine is in the correct rev range to pull up the hill.

As of this weekend the speed now shows 85 000 km and there is no sign of bearing noise from the gearbox so I am satisfied that my driving style whilst towing is not placing undue stress on any components.

HTH.

Leigh

[djhampson]

do you loose any steering eg. lighter front end with air suspension
regards
rex

My D3 tows a 3t boat without a WDH and you don't notice any change in the steering or handling.

We did use a WDH at first but now don't bother after finding out that LR don't recommend it. I couldn't pick the difference with it on anyway.

If you can watch someone attatch a trailer to a D3 \ D4 with the engine running. You'll see the car level off almost instantly.

[LeighW]

Sorry rex, missed your question.

I have not noticed any change to the front suspension, eg. lightness, etc. due to the air suspension.

But you do know that you have an extra 2.5 tonnes behind pushing you when slowing. Even had the ABS kick in on one particularly hilly section south of Blueys Beach in NSW a few years ago. Although the D3 could tow it OK, my speed was obviously too high for the corners and the electrickery kicked in to do its thing. I did slow down after SWIIBTO (she who it is best to obey) said "What's that noise?"

For peace of mind I dutifully followed the advice the ABS was offering.