Can anyone out there with a px ranger or equiv mazda let me know their fuel consumption towing their van and what weight they are towing . I just did the trip from Brisbane down to Tamworth and onward going thru the hills it was up and down gears quite a bit.Towing 3.2 tonne I was only getting around 20litres / 100 klm ,the car was running in 5th gear most of the time at a bit over 2000 revs. I'm wondering if this would be around the mark or a bit much?
I have a PX and a 2.7 tonne caravan and average between 18 to 20 l per hundred. On the road to Tamworth would be 20 l/ hundred.
Good practice to tow in sports mode as will put you in 5th gear. Not recommended to be in 6th towing as will kill the gear box. I sometimes will drop it into 6 the on a flat road no head wind but back to sports mode if any load on car.
I have a 2014 Colorado, twin cab ute (loaded at all times) 6 speed auto diesel. not what you ask for but I thought I would give the info anyway as a comparison.
My van is 2.65t all up and when towing I always start off in auto then when in 3rd change to selective shift and take control myself. I only tow in 5th, never 6th and also use cruise control only when safe to do so. My revs are a tad under 2000 when up and running. I go back to auto through road works and towns. I get around 14lts per 100km while towing. Not towing and with back of Collie loaded I get around 10lts per 100km. I am very happy with the way the Collie performs at all times.
It has been checked by the on-board computer as well as me doing the sums.
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I tow with a 2010 PK manual and have found that I average around low 6's to high 6's per kilometre while towing 2250kg van, I have been down to 5.4 and as high as 7.8 k's/lit both times under unusual circumstances, when I'm not towing, I usually get around 10-11ks/lit though one year I ended up buying some h/t tyres and on good surfaces was getting around 13 ks/lit not towing, though still the same with the van on just more comfortable. Have met a couple of people over the years who had to spend a lot of money because they were towing in top gear, always tow in 4th.
I have a manual PK Ranger towing a 25' Jayco at 2.7t.
I use the app fuel map on my tablet and record every refuel the following figures are from the app,
Average Economy
km/L 8.4
L/100k 11.9
Min - Max Economy
km/L 5.5 - 11.5
L/100k 8.7 - 18.1
This is over 12 months travelling 26717k using 3071l of fuel at $3522
Just some examples pulling out of Adelaide to Tailem Bend 101k @80kph 15l/100k, Tailem Bend to Narracourt 233k @ 90-100kph 16l/100k.
My worst figures were last year July11,13,14th, 17.4, 17.4, 17.8, 18.1.
I never short shift I let the revs build up before each gear change, the best fuel consumption is at 85 to 90 kph, the short coming of auto gearbox's is when you let them change gears they tend to short shift, it's at the change when it shifts into a higher gear that it uses more fuel.
If you towing with an Auto. specially larger loads.
A Converter Lock up. really helps. primarily with temp's but also fuel
just remember to sw off b4 stopping.
You'll stall motor.
Have a Px ranger 3.2 auto, towing a 2.5 tonne van I get 14ltrs per 100kms, I tow in sports mode and change down before it reaches 1500 rpm and up when it reaches 2200 rpm approx. Don't tow in auto.
I drive a BT50 auto towing 2.7-3 tonne, my last trip I calculated 15lt/100 and 15.4 lt/100. I did a short bit of driving un hitched to the gas station, and filled the tank before and after. My speed was strictly (LH seat GPS managed!) 90km/hr. I will continue to monitor as that figure as it was a bit good.
Was your 15L on hills / head wind ? The trip from Brisbane to Tamworth has a lot of hills and even though I was in sports mode I had to shift up and down constantly , plus there was a reasonable side wind blowing most of the trip. I didn't check tyre pressures etc . When I haven't got the van hitched we get approx. 10L /100klms on long runs . I wouldn't have thought it would double with the van . I might put a note on a ford forum to see what feedback I get.
Yes of course hills and a head wind make a difference. I've read on here where travelers have stopped for the night to wait for the wind to blow out because their fuel consumption was too high. On these two trips, when I did the calculation, there were some hills, but the wind if any was mild. I wouldn't be at all surprised to see my fuel consumption go through the roof under tough conditions (still on the bitumen though).
