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HZNHRZ View Drop Down
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Joined: 09 Mar 2011
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Posts: 17 		Direct Link To This Post Topic: Poor Mileage
    Posted: 05 May 2011 at 7:43pm
I have a 2010 Dodge Grand Caravan and I pull an R-Pod 176.  On the highways without pulling anything I used to get about 22 mpg.  Now I can only average 11 mpg highway.  I have been theorizing that perhaps the hitch is too high and I am pulling the total load.  Since I have only two wheels perhaps the center of gravity could be a negative effect on mpg.  That is if I used a lower hitch height maybe the trailer would have a slight tendency to push the car rather than being a total drag.  Which it is!  Ha ha!!!
Seriously is there anything that might improve mpg
ThanksOuch
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Direct Link To This Post Posted: 05 May 2011 at 7:51pm
Originally posted by HZNHRZ

Seriously is there anything that might improve mpg
ThanksOuch
 
************************************************************************************
 
The short answer to that is ......... No.  Your mpgs seem to be average/normal for pulling the Pod, regardless of the tow vehicle.  This has been a subject of much discussion and in spite of the enormous raw brain power here on the forum, none have yet to figure out a way to do any better.  Wind resistance is the biggest enemy.  If you keep your speed about 50-60mph, you may notice some improvement.  Hope this helps.
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Posts: 32 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: 05 May 2011 at 9:31pm
the R-Pod may not be in the 'heavy' category of RV's, but you're still pulling a good sized load not to mention wind resistance.
As David mentioned, stay between 50-60mph and try and keep gear shifting to a minimum and definitely do not use cruise control!
When accelerating, do it slowly, all this will make a bit more of a difference, but you might as well get used to the low teens mpg!!
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Joined: 19 Nov 2009
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Posts: 767 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: 05 May 2011 at 9:54pm
Originally posted by HZNHRZ

Seriously is there anything that might improve mpg

As David said: no.

10-12mpg is normal for towing an R-POD.
Craig :: 2009 RP171 towed by a 2017 F150
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Posts: 1950 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: 06 May 2011 at 7:24am
I wish I could get 10 to 12.  That is my range without pulling anything.  Well, almost anyways!  I get about 15mpg running around empty.  With the Pod on the back it is cut in half.  The reason for poor mileage is the lower gears I have for off road use, along with an extra 1,000 pounds of weight my poor Jeep has over the stock weight. 
But the fact is towing an R-Pod will cut your mileage in half.  It isn't the Pod.  Any camper around that weight and size would do the same thing.

Terry
RP-175 W/Lift Kit 2011 Ford F-150 4X4
Saint Augustine, FL: The first permanent European settlement in the USA: 1565
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Posts: 1222 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: 06 May 2011 at 10:07am
     Wind resistance is perhaps the biggest problem. The Rpods heighth, width the fenders on the sides the AC on top and antenna all of these add up. If you are traveling against the wind or with the wind will make a difference. We average about 12.5 mpg, if your gas tank is small you need to be watchful you do not run out of gasoline. Your only other option would be a smaller trailer, but then you would not have the convience of standing up or not having to raise the roof as with a pop up trailer.       David and Danette
2018 Vista Cruiser 19BFD (2018-              
2012 Vibe 6503 (2014-2019)
2009 r-pod 171 (2009-2014)
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Posts: 9062 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: 06 May 2011 at 11:14am
As others have said, its the wind resistance.  My popup would pull at highway speeds (65-70) at 16 mpg.  It was probably 500 pounds heavier than the 'pod, maybe more (thick steel frame, all the gear to raise the roof, plus a dinette slide-out which adds 300 pounds by itself).
 
Even with my 'pod so much lighter, the best I've seen is 12 mpg on back roads where the speed is lower.  On my recent trip to FL - about 5 tanks of gas each way - when I had no headwind I got 10 mpg doing around 65-70.  With a horrible headwind and trying to stay at 60 I got 8 mpg.  Horrible headwind still but backed off on the throttle to stay around 50-55 I improved to 9 mpg.
 
Outbound did some software simulations (off the shelf software that does 2D but not 3D) and found a big pocket of turbulence behind the 'pod.  His avatar is a screen shot of one of those tests, look just below his name on the left, above.  That turbulence explains our problem - the faster we go the more suction is holding us back.  We've talked here of adding air dams to vehicles to help (Terry found putting kayaks on his tow vehicle roof helped a little), and maybe spoilers on the back of the 'pod itself - but nobody is brave enough to put screw holes in their 'pod to try...
 
The angle of a towed vehicle will make no difference to the wind resistance, at least not going up or down 6 inches which is about the max you can go, so no difference to your mpg.  The weight of a towed vehicle remains the same no matter its angle, so that also will not change the mpg.  It has to be pulled by the tow vehicle no matter what.
 
Do make sure your 'pod is either level when loaded up for a trip, or slightly nose-down.  Nose-down will help mitigate sway, although we've all had few problems with sway on the 'pods.  Nose-up will promote sway.  My popup had bad sway and the further I dropped the tongue the better it was (but it was still bad).  I recommend a weight distribution hitch, all minivans are designed for comfort and not towing so you'll have sag in the rear and less weight on your front axle where you need it for braking and steering.
Doug ~ '10 171 (2009-2015) ~ 2008 Salem ~ Pod instruction manual
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Posts: 3990 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: 07 May 2011 at 12:01pm
I have played around with a few tow vehicles pulling my 2009 R-pod 171 and my current findings have me scratching my head.

2 different 160 Mile Round Trip to the same State Park going the same way both times.

Pulling with a Dodge Ram 1500 (5.2L) With Cap on the back no Kayaks taken averaged 10.1 MPG

Pulling with a Dodge Ram 1500 (5.2L) with Cap on the back 2 Kayaks on the roof with the front part closer together so it is a slight V shaped on the roof (Use Thule J-hooks) averaged 12.6 MPG

I plan on going back down there several times this summer so I will be doing some more playing.

Normal with out pulling is 14.9 MPG.

Looking at replacing the Muffler with a low flow Muffler, doing the Cold Air Intake mod and a few other items to see if I can increase the MPG.  But also have to be careful as if I spend to much $$$$ when is the payback.

I have pulled with Jeep liberty, Ford Ranger, Chevy Trailblazer and got about 11-12 MPG on average with them.
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Posts: 672 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: 07 May 2011 at 12:18pm
The real key is to remove the turbulance behind the TV, which is what the Kayaks on the roof do to some extent. If you can make the TV and the POD seamless like one unit you can remove a lot of drag. I have an idea for fairings at the back end of our Jeep that would help in this manner like the fairings on the back of the cabs of tractor- trailers but Mama sez she's not riding in something that looks like it just can out of a hill-billy junk yard. Wink   Goose
Mother Goose's Caboose..2011 RP171..07 Grand Cherokee
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Posts: 767 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: 07 May 2011 at 12:22pm
If you'd like to see the airflow simulations, you can see them on my youtube channel (http://www.youtube.com/user/outboundcamper).

Forest River has issued a recall in Canada to install a spoiler/lightbar over the rear window plus fender lights.  We should have some good information in a few months on whether the spoiler improves gas mileage.
Craig :: 2009 RP171 towed by a 2017 F150
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