Camping in Canada ??

Originally posted by Budward So spill the beans CharlieM!    How did that supercharged Tacoma do mileage and power wise?

So far the S/C is working and I think I like it. Gas mileage towing the Camplite seemed to run 10-11, about what I got with the Pilot/RPOD combo and about what I expected. The Tacoma doesn't have an MPG computer so I go by my ScanGauge. It measures instantaneous MPG and mileage for the current tank. I'm lazy so I didn't save receipts and calculate the totals. The S/C does require premium gas so that brings $/mile into question, but there are way too many variables to really answer that question. With the Pilot/Pod combo I did observe about +2 MPG using premium while towing, but I can't make that comparison with the Tacoma.

Performance was no problem. Lots of power when I needed it, but we didn't find many "mountains" on our trip up east. I think we got to 2500 feet elevation maybe. It pulled fine going up hills .I kept my highway speed to 60 MPH and had no problem maintaining that going up hills. Again, the Camplite is 1000# heavier than my Pod and has a slightly bigger frontal area so comparisons are imprecise. And I didn't have any experience with the Tacoma without the S/C so no help there. When we first got the Tacoma the S/C whine was really annoying, but we find we're getting used to it.

Bottom line is the jury is approaching, but it's still out. I suspect the MPG will be about the same with or without the S/C unless I really use the S/C, but then that's why I bought it. The real test will be the Rocky Mountain passes this summer. That's where I expect a great improvement and I do have the Pilot/Pod experience to compare to.