What "toad" to buy

tropical36 wrote:

RayChez wrote:

tropical36 wrote:

DrewE wrote:

tropical36 wrote:

Before we started towing, I had a lot of arguments against it, but since then, we seldom go anywhere without it. It's so easy for doing so and only uses about 1/2 gallon per mile in fuel, so why not, if you already own it, as your everyday driver. In fact, that's the key to the whole thing and should be asking yourself if it's your pick or at least will do, for an everyday driver and not just for a toad, per say.

I sure hope you actually mean "a one-half mpg change in mileage" rather than "a half a gallon per mile." :W :B

Yeah, for sure and probably about a half gallon over 8 miles or so, for a good bit of the time. Seems that on a good day, where we would normally be getting 8.5 or so, we would now get 8, pulling the toad.
I've seen 9 without it, not counting the genset and this would be at sea level with no head wind on flat country and at approx. 50mph, so.....

That is the big difference between a gasoline motor home and a diesel. The diesel it does not matter whether you are towing or whether it is running light weight. It gets the same fuel mileage all the time. Mine gets 9 mpg with the Caterpillar 3126-E.

Not saying that I doubt what you're saying with your towing experiences, but it does sound like a violation with the laws of physics and no matter how efficient this transfer of energy might be. Now how does this diesel handle things differently, given the same HP and torque as a gasoline engine?

Very easy to figure out. What is the torque at the wheel from a gasoline engine with the same cubic inches at the wheel versus a diesel engine? Lets assume you have the 3v V-10 Ford engine with 362hp. The torque at the wheel is 457 ft lbs.
Now the 3126-E Cat engine diesel like the one on my coach has only 330hp, but it will give you 860 ft lbs at the wheel.