Most fuel efficient auto for towing H18

I tow with a lexus es 330
previous to that i used a honda accord ex

both were fine for local, i never drove far with the honda

i have done a few highway miles (2 hours) with the lexus and a heavy mystere and steel trailer

Edited by MN3 on Apr 29, 2015 - 10:16 AM.

I use a Honda Prelude to tow the SC20 with no problems. The limiting factors are sufficient power if towing in windy or mountainous areas, and braking power( the more likely limitation with a very light car). The 18 with a trailer is not that big a load for a passenger car, just remember it's there, it's a lot wider!

Dave

IMHO - stopping and cornering and windage are the most important things

using a light car or crossover (like a honda element) is not optimal to safely handle hard stops, cornering and taking large gusts at highway speeds - doable but not the safer option

Edited by MN3 on Apr 29, 2015 - 11:14 AM.

I tow my 570 on a steel trailer behind a 2001 Subaru wagon. Seems to do fine, took it over the coastal mountain range in bc a couple months back, never felt to sketchy. It's a manual so you have to be on top of your game pulling out of steep launch ramps (my poor clutch).

I use a Honda Element (for the past 7 years) to tow my H18 and it does fine. You can feel the boat for sure (it's only a 2.4L 4 cyl), but no major handling issues. In hind sight, a manual transmission would have been better for towing. That is my only real regret. I also switched to an aluminum trailer to knock off some weight.

Honestly, just about any car can tow a Hobie. We're only talking around 800lbs of trailer and boat. Most cars have at least a 1000lb towing capacity. I would just pick a car you like, verify the towing capacity and make sure you can get a hitch for the vehicle. If you get a 6 cylinder or larger, you probably won't even notice the boat.

sm

Yes, the specific vehicle isn't as important as far as weight goes, it really depends on how far you want to tow, how much crap you want to carry, and how fast you want to go.

Towing catamarans, weight isn't the issue as much as wind resistance at Interstate speeds. The boat is so much wider than the vehicle that the hulls are out in the wind.

I regularly tow 400-500 miles one-way mostly on Interstates with speed limits of 70. I love my Nissan Xterra for the job but discovered I need to keep the speed below 73 or my mpg drops drastically.

Towing at those speeds over long distance can really heat up a small cars transmission, but if you are just towing on local roads a few miles to the ramp then anything goes.

Anything VW TDI...
Awesome low end power, most have good brake kits. A lot of people pull 24' power boats with the touareg tdi.

I bought a fixer upper H18 so I'm not thinking LUXURY SUV at $52,000 to pull a 70's Hobie... I'd be afraid to put my boards, stinky wet suit, wet Pfd, muddy booties, spilled coffee in a car like that... If you are talking $52,000 why not Mercedes Sprinter. This way you could camp!

Here's one.

2014 Subaru Forester 2.5i
MSRP: $21,995
Towing Package: $499 (for a tow hitch, dealer installed)
Towing Capacity: 1,500 lbs
Fuel Economy: 24 mpg city/32 mpg highway (with CVT)

Edited by goodsailing on Apr 30, 2015 - 07:52 PM.

goodsailing wrote: I'd be afraid to put my boards, stinky wet suit, wet Pfd, muddy booties, spilled coffee in a car like that...

A big plus for the Nissan Xterra is it's draining roof compartment. That's where I put my wet/muddy shoes, gloves etc., prevents accidentally leaving something like that in the vehicle in the summer heat and then opening the door later to a smell inside like something died in there.

Another plus is the Xterra has looked exactly the same since 2005, so you can buy as cheap as you like and no one can tell it apart from a 2015 model. Mines a 2006 and if I bought a brand new one the same color, no one would think I had a new car, they would just think I washed the old one.

Nice feature... yea I lashed my wetsuit to the roof of my jeep after a dive last week. I drove 500 miles and the darn thing was still damp...

More distance = Bigger car = lower mpg. Under 2-3 hrs drive? I used my MINI Cooper S for years and still got 30+ mpg on the highway going 70mph or less.
Ideas on wet stuff??
Lash wetsuit to the forward mast support like an airport wind sock and it should be dry after 15 mins at 70mph 😉 OR put all your wet stuff in a mesh bag laced to a hiking strap for the 400 mi trip home and things should be less damp unless you drive through a storm 😉

MINI Cooper S

Pulling a Hobie?

Yes, worked great. Keep in mind it's the 200HP supercharged manual 6 speed version. Had no trouble towing a hobie at all, Even my Hobie 20 miracle a few times. Its a bumpy ride tho for long distances...

Edited by fxloop on May 04, 2015 - 08:58 PM.

My first tow vehicle hauling a Hobie 16 three hours from Raleigh NC to Atlantic Beach most weekends, 1976 MGB. Took awhile to get rolling and stopped but once I was at speed....get out of my way, because being able to stop wasn't on a dime. On to my second sixteen but with the original trailer still in commission with its third axel. Should have put a galvanized axel on the first time I replaced it but it is now.

You guys amaze me. Fantastic.

I have put two hitches on minivans and had mpg of 19 to 28 highway. This is 450 mile trip one way over multiple mountains to 4000 ft. The Odessy and the Quest were both great to drive, had 6 cyl. engines and never complained. I did use a Nissan truck for a bit but it seemed under powered compared to the minivans, and got tossed around in the wind a bit.

I am wondering what else folks drive these days....I have been using a V8 Tundra but would like to trade down to something smaller that could also double as a commuter...so gas mileage and handling at the launch ramp as well as driving maybe 40-150mi towing a larger cat are the main considerations. So far the ones I have been looking at are RAV4, Honda CR-V, VW Passat or Jetta wagon.
My wife has a Sienna, any thoughts how that might work. I know most light duty are rated to 1500lbs but some launch ramps can be steep and slippery.

Use to tow my Prinlde 18 with a VW Vanagon that had a 1.9L engine that was pushing a 5000 lb breadbox.... Towed it all over the west... even up into the Sierras a few times... no problems... Put well over 250K on that engine with a few clutch jobs... mileage was the pits though... but gas was about $1.00 per gallon

Recently pulled another Prindle 18 with a Toyota Camry 2.4L with no issues going over the California Grapevine in mid July... 100 degree temps. I would say the mileage was 20 MPG on the highway... The car is normally around 30 MPG highway

Edited by JohnES on Feb 12, 2017 - 03:01 PM.

I once launched an H18 on a very steep boat ramp with a rusted out 87 b2000 2wd truck I bought as a joke for a few hundred bucks. Was a manual and had bald rear tires. Didnt spin the tires at all leaving the ramp and it had hardly any weight on the rear axle.

It had 86 horsepower when it was new and at the time had like 280k miles on it. I could still (barely) do 70-75 on the highway towing the boat.

Point being anything modern with a hitch can tow that thing just fine.

fxloop wrote: More distance = Bigger car = lower mpg. Under 2-3 hrs drive?

This is spot on.
Used to drag my P18-2 around Europe behind a Mercedes E230. The mpg wasn't
very good.
That had to to with speed, I must admit. We mostly travelled at night doing
1000 Km in 10 hours. Thats 62 mph average, including coffee stops.
But thats Europe....

Driving the combination trough Paris in rush-hour wasn't fun I can tell..

Nowadays I tow my T on a rented canting trailer for a 1,5 hour max with
a VW golf mk5 stationwagon. The mpg is good and the ride is smooth.
But this is Holland, the "flatlands", no steep hills whatsoever.

So, its simply down to your needs. Long-distance? Hills or mountains on
your voyage? Any beach cat can be towed by an average family car.

Grtz, A

I've done A LOT of towing with my 2005 manual Toyota Corolla S, F18 on a trailex, 750+ mile hauls 2-3 times a summer. Lacks power in the mountains, breaking and windage aren't major concerns however.Toyota rates the Corolla for a 1500 lb tow rating. I wouldn't do this with an automatic and I did have to replace my C59 transmission at 180,000 miles (bad bearings, known issue with this tranny even without towing). Dropped in a 6 speed manual and should be good to go for another 100,000+. I get 20-23mpg towing, 32 in the city and 36 on the highway.

At F18 nationals this past summer there was a team towing with a Chevy volt, plenty of low end torque.

My next ride will be a small SUV (the RAV4 v6 is a good choice, stopped making those in 2012 however), Xterra a good option but they are pricey and not the most comfortable for long haul trips; Acura RDX starts looking pretty good. My vote for the suv is simply for the power and ride comfort. I would go for a v6 Camry but they aren't tow rated, closest thing is a Toyota Venza. Verdict is out on CVT reliability but if you aren't buying a European designed and built car the auto tran is likely better engineered and more reliable than the manual.

I second the Toyota Corolla. It's rated at 1500 lbs. Gets relatively good gas millage while doing so. And when not hooked can get 35 hwy. Just don't over load it, watch your speed and you'll get there. Otherwise, my Expedition does a fabulous job.

I use a Nissan Quest to tow my H16. Gets good gas mileage, plenty of room and comfort, and power from a V6.

Edited by martyr on Feb 12, 2017 - 11:08 PM.

If you need a new daily driver/commuter car, the Corolla is a hard one to beat. I wouldn't recommend it for regular towing and for trips over 4 hours towing, its just not that comfortable and you have to be 100% on driving when towing, but for short trips to the beach in the summer etc. its very hard to beat.

I have a 2006 Ford diesel E350 van and get 72mpg.

Well actually, I get 12mpg, but I'm towing a trailer that holds 6 A-cats at a time. When you split the fuel cost 6 ways, it comes out to 72mpg... 😉

Edited by mikekrantz on Feb 13, 2017 - 11:26 AM.

thanks for all the suggestions..that's quite a few relevant models that I will look at.

It's funny, we already have 2 Corolla's in the family, maybe I use one of those. Yeah, gas mileage is yuuuuugee. I was going to hand my Corolla down to one of my college sons and get something that could replace my towing truck and commuter corolla but maybe I just get my son another Corolla or Honda Civic. I grew up driving manual and still prefer them except on my commute. The concern with small light commuters are obviously handling on steep and/or slippery launch ramps and transmission wear. My commute is 20mi stop-and-go traffic...Tundra is about 15mpg. I bike commute a couple of times which saves some gas but still don't like the idea of using the Tundra for commuting in stop-and-go traffic.

martyr wrote: I use a Nissan Quest to tow my H16. Gets good gas mileage, plenty of room and comfort, and power from a V6.

I have used a Quest, Odyssey, and now a Caravan to tow comfortably 700 miles at a time in extreme desert heat. With a V6 you will have no power issues and can keep lots of gear inside with you.

I think you could use a Corolla, but it is a very light car. I use a 2009 Camry with the 4 cyl 2.4L engine and it has no problem towing on the interstate or launching the Nacra 5.7. The boat has been across the country several times, usually behind a Jeep Cherokee. Just make sure your trailer bearings are up to the task, the rest should be easy.

RAV4's are built on Corolla frames. Highlanders are built on Camry frames. The more towing-ready models do have transmission intercoolers. Neither are required for short towing. Yes, steep ramps are painful on clutches, but I really don't get why you would launch a beach catamaran directly off a trailer. Its far better for your clutch, transmission and trailer frame and trailer bearings to remove boat, put on beach wheels, insert into water. To each his own I guess.

I would take a close look at the Acura RDX, the newer models are powered by a V6 and cost less than $30k used. Trouble is anything with a 6 or 8 cylinder engine just isn't good on gas mileage, the RDX gets 20 in the city and 28 on the highway. Your 4 cylinder SUV's don't leave much power for towing because its hauling around its own extra heft.

Tom, the 2009 Camry's have 1000lb tow ratings. The newer models don't have any tow rating, though I'm sure they would be just fine, you are just on the hook for anything that goes wrong. Doesn't make any sense to me, since the smaller, lighter, less powerful Corolla has a 1500lb tow rating.