I have mucked around and tries a few things when towing my 2,500kg loaded van. 21.5 Foot Lotus Sprint on 3 tonne simplicity off road syspension, 6 " chassis, 15" wheels & list goes on.
After a lot of stuffing around, I now just let it go in "D" sit on 100klms hour on the open road (speed limit in WA when towing) and give it a hand down to 3rd when it looks like it may struggle. Tend to leave it in 3rd only when a bad headwind is blowing.
No auto problems with 92,000 klms on the clock. Both TD5 engine mounts have been changed out as they had dropped to the bottom of the mount (probably from Toomie's power upgrade and mod advice giving heaps of extra torque) but apart from that no other towing induced problems.
I continually sit back in the drivers seat and watch it amaze me.
Do TD5s tow 2 tonn??? (just kidding fellas before you get up me).
Taz - thats pretty good economy for the V8. V8s like towing. I have never tested my economy with my D2 manual towing my 2 tonn 21 foot Seafarer Vagabond but its not too shabby. I use LPG towing so its pretty cheap. With LPG you just have to make sure you dont floor it when you can hold a lesser throttle position with no loss of acceleration ...Lpg is interesting like that, because its vac' based and a vapour if you hold the throttle open it will suck down and burn far more than is needed.
Nifty
I have just returned home after towing 2.7t to WA and back from Townsville.Overall ks 23300. That includes bobtail.
The over all ltrs/100 was 16.1
When towing we get between 17 and 18.5 l/100 at 90 to 100 ks p/h.
Towing theary of mine........
Std td5 put in sports mode.
select 3erd and take up to towing speed say 95ks
selest drive and ingauge cruise.
let the computer do the work.
It at first drives you mad the changing down and reving but i have proved that it is the most eco way to tow.
When i was in Adelaide i went to Triamph Rover at Lonsdale and they remapped the computer for me and the diferance is unbelievable.Overtaking is now no probs and it pulls realy well.
I also found that i had to not use sport mode as the trans would not lockup untill i was doing 95k/ph.
Now i am towing in cruise in drive at 100k/ph 2250 rpm and returning 17.8 l/100.
It will be interesting to see the l/100 while not towing now the computer has been remapped.
For your interest i tow a 25.7 ft Jayco ATM 2750kgs
Dear All,
My query is, how does the group find engine braking when towing?
She Who Must Be Obeyed (SWMBO) has just acquired the new horse float, tare weight 1 500 kg. For those who may be unaware, towing horses is very different to 'vans, boats, etc - you are dealing with a very live load that doesn't appreciate sudden changes of direction, hence the need for very smooth driving. I find that with a load on (>2 Tonnes) the TD5 tows brilliantly, except when going downhill, at less than 70K. Then the trans lets the engine go to idle and there is no real engine braking unless I select second ratio. Otherwise I am on the service brakes constantly. Is this normal, or has my trans ECU gone for an extended holiday?
Oh, by the way, bringing the new float from Melbourne to Adelaide, sitting on 90k (peak torque) returned 16 litres/100km. Brilliant!
We've towed our 2t (just over) boat from Sydney to Darwin and back via Mackay - no dramas. Just plonked it into D, engaged Sport mode and cruised - even used the cruise control once on the open road. Sat on 100kmh, not really safe going faster than that with 2t on behind!
Got 15 l/100km when towing. Normally get between 10 and 11.
Engine braking not so good, but using the S mode helps I think - seems to drop back a lot faster on the over-run.
Hello All,
We purchased our 03 TD5 auto disco for economical towing. Tandem trailer load 2.0 t to keel yacht at 3.3 t. Vehicle is stock except for flash tune and air bags under rear springs.
Find the best way to get moving with the big load is to start of in low range, then up to high range once rolling (as per vehicle manual recommendations).I always use sport mode with the yacht tow and cruise control on good highways. However many of the secondary roads here in Tassie are not suitable for cruise control use. In some sections with long downhill steep and windey passes, I use low range 2nd or 3rd to get some engine braking, although the electric over hydraulic braking system works well, you can get some fade with the big hills.
I have found with the heavy tows it is critical to have the rig set up right ie appropriate tow ball weight, levelling, right tyre pressures and good braking systems. The air bags under rear springs work well to assist with levelling and minimising yaw and pitching on uneven road surfaces.
I am constantly surprised how well this 2.5l turbo can haul. The disco is really in its element doing this kind of work.
Gday Nifty, we tow a 2.5T van with the Td5 and i always tow in D, when we come to hills i push in the sports button and travel at the posted speed limit, i find the car responds better at 100 to 105 when we come to hills than at 90. I have tried the slower speeds to see if fuel is any different and found about the same so i do the speed limit. I have put below the fuel usage on the Winton trip back in June/July.
hope this is of some help
Winton trip (2008)DateTypeOdometerVendorDescriptionFuel Qty.Fuel PriceAmountNotes28-Jun-08Fuel79,752Shell Coles43.84 ltr @ $1.77 (Shell Coles)43.84$1.77$77.55towing29-Jun-08Fuel80,097BP59.08 ltr @ $1.88 (BP)59.08$1.88$110.78BP Tower House, Mitchell29-Jun-08Fuel80,581Caltex71.10 ltr @ $1.90 (Caltex)71.10$1.90$135.00Barcaldine Homestead Caravan Park (Caltex), bad head winds)3-Jul-08Fuel80,895BP56.80 ltr @ $1.87 (BP)56.80$1.87$106.16BP Winton road house, towing4-Jul-08Fuel81,228BP46.02 ltr @ $1.87 (BP)46.02$1.87$86.01BP Winton road house, No towing but a lot of dirt5-Jul-08Fuel81,502Caltex71.09 ltr @ $1.90 (Caltex)71.09$1.90$135.00Barcaldine Homestead Caravan Park (Caltex) towing9-Jul-08Fuel82,030Caltex71.02 ltr @ $1.93 (Caltex)71.02$1.93$137.00Ausfuel, Caltex Morven. Towing9-Jul-08Fuel82,376Caltex67.25 ltr @ $1.83 (Caltex)67.25$1.83$123.00Country Petroleum, Caltex Chinchilla. Towing11-Jul-08Fuel82,645Shell Coles46.69 ltr @ $1.80 (Shell Coles)46.69$1.80$84.00Coles Express Highfields, towing & non towing
We have pulled 1.5t van all around the country D2 Td5 auto SLS. Only time I use 3rd is into a stiff head wind or if the auto is doing the 3-4-3-4 searching thing and not locking up in 4th. Mostly will sit on the speed limit up to 110 no problem. In our around Australia trip including heaps of dirt the consumption was 14 litres/ 100 km. Will be worse with the extra weight you have but if you are on the flat then your weight is not the issue rather the wind resistance. I find that using sport is not that helpful as it delays getting into lock up. When taking off you have to use a lot more right foot and it seems my car computer is programmed to hold the gear longer with a boot full of accelerator so does much the same thing anyway.
I can only think of one time when I had to leave it in 3rd for most of the trip and that was into a head wind going south from Broom to Perth. Interesting that as I recall it did not add much to consumption, from memory no worse than 15 l/100km. I sat it on 85-90.
I have towed a 2.7 t VanJayco 25/7 from Townsville to Perth and Return.23000ks in all over 7 months this year. With a standed TD5 setup the towing was by far the best in sport mode,drive,cruse @95/100 kph.Yes there is alot of hunting through the trans but the fuel eco is the best this way by 1.2ltrs/100.
I now have the computer remapped WOW (TR Spares Adle on the way home) But a new learning curve. Travel in drive ,cruse @95/100kph dont use sport mode as the reverse now happens and the fuel usage is up. Another way of saying it is by putting it in sport mode its like putting it in double sport mode.The towing performance with a remap is just incredible epecialy when overtaking and climbing hills
Seeya Steve
Reply With Quote
(just kidding fellas before you get up me).
Bookmarks