TOWING TRAILER 5TH GEAR
Submitted: Wednesday, Oct 25, 2000 at 00:00
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DARRYL
OPINIONS ON TOWING IN 5th GEAR .I HAVE CAMPER TRAILER ,RODEO T/DIESIL AND A LOT OF BITUMIN BETWEEN
PERTH AND
BROOME.SOME SAY DONT, OTHERS SAY KEEP SPEED UP 100 KPH AND LESS TOUQUE ON GEAR BOX .UNSEALED ROADS THAT CHANGES TO A DONT USE 5TH . OPINIONS ANYBODY
CHEERS
Reply By: Joseph Baz - Wednesday, Oct 25, 2000 at 00:00
Wednesday, Oct 25, 2000 at 00:00
Darryl,I drive a prado auto also i tow a 800kg trailer i run
mine in o/drive whit no problems at all,the road to
broome is relativly flat it may be a bit windy around enneaba unless u go inland wichever way top gear is not a problem,u just have to mantain a feel for the engine and dont let it struggle,Happy MOTORING and enjoy the trip
cheers,joe
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Reply By: Peter Bailey - Friday, Oct 27, 2000 at 00:00
Friday, Oct 27, 2000 at 00:00
Darryl, I also have a Rodeo T/D to which I have fitted an intercooler. I tow a 16 foot offroad pop-top caravan, a Windsor Escape, about 1800kgs fully loaded, plus another 300-500kgs in the back. I also have fitted a cruise control which drops out when the speed drops about 10klm below the set speed. When travelling on long straight reasonably flat sections of road I put it into 5th gear, if the cruise control drops out I immediately put it back to 4th. gear and lower if needed. I have travelled over most of Australia this way at about 85-90klms with no problems. Having said that, I find with towing and carrying that much weight, I get no better fuel consumption in 5th. gear than 4th.(around 16l/100klm). If you need more info, please e-mail me.
Regards,
Peter.
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Follow Up By: Dion Chandler - Wednesday, May 30, 2001 at 00:00
Wednesday, May 30, 2001 at 00:00
I also own 2000 model T/D Rodeo fitted with Intercooler and Cruise Control, my basic rule of thumb when towing, >95kmh = fifth gear, <95kmh = fourth gear, but also taking into consideration, previous experience of the terrain, and climatic conditions. When towing my boat, all up 1600kg, I use my right foot, not the CC.
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Reply By: Greg Jones - Tuesday, Nov 21, 2000 at 01:00
Tuesday, Nov 21, 2000 at 01:00
Ive lost count of the tales of woe from people who have towed loads greater than a ton in overdrive with manuals and autos. Turbodiesels are usually the worst offenders due to the peak torque being developed at 1700 - 2000 rpm. The driver thinks the whole rig is doing it easily because things quiet down nicely in OD and how would he know if hes overfuelling anyway.
Try to remember that OD is costing 5-10% in efficiency and this has to be paid for in fuel and converted to heat. The heat goes into your gearbox oil and eventually stuffs the gearbox.
The 20% drop in rpm is not enough to compensate for the extra energy required to run OD at near full load and that is why people are surprised that you often burn the same fuel or more when running in OD than direct.
I wouldnt run my wagon in 5th unless the tailwind was pretty strong. Isuzus dont seem any worse than other 4X4s but I know of a newish TD Jackaroo that crapped its gearbox recently - yes, using 5th to tow.
Cheers Greg.
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