Smart Car

John & Angela wrote:

Gjac wrote:
What is your average mpg on the hiwway? Also at 1800 lbs do you bother with toad brakes if you are not over your GVWR?

Although I don't tow mine four down I'll throw this out there. One of our friends tows without a supplemental brake although he had one from a previous toad. He used to set it up but never turned it on...I'm thinking that was more of legal CYA thing but I don't know. He doesn't bother now.

Most of the people in our club with gas smarts exceed the MPG ratings by about 3 to 4 mpg on the highway so low to mid forties. Depends a lot on the driving style.

With our 2007 E350-V10 rig, our first tow vehicle was a 2100 pound Toyota MR2 Spyder shown below. We got by without a secondary braking system. I can't say it was ideal, but rather "Getting By" with regards to braking performance & Safety. To be honest, I was surprised how much "push" the 2100 pound car gave when braking the motor home.

About the fuel economy of a straight-n-simple gasoline fueled vehicle....I did a lot of research in this area before buying our 2014 Nissan Altima with the 2.5L 4-cylinder engine. Around town we get 28-32 depending on the time of year. On trips with a lot of open road, we get near 40 mpg. If we slowed down to 60-63 mph, we'd get better yet.

One story I have that reflects this is that we visited my cousin in Michigan City IN. Before leaving town there, I filled up and reset everything in the Altima. A few hours later we get home to see that we averaged almost 44 mpg. Driving was at night with no traffic, no hills, and no winds. Not bad for a decent sized simple gas powered sedan....one of three primary reasons why I bought the car. The other two reasons were size/comfort/safety/versatility, and affordability.