Efficiency When Pulling A Trailer
 

I recently got one of those new hydralic trailers from a company called liftall and toy rack and I am getting much better gas mileage with this new trailer (which lifts into the bed of your truck) than I did with a normal trailer. Has anyone else ever seen these trailers because if you havent you should check them out. Not only are they pretty cool in the way they work but it is saving me money on gas and I will never buy trailer tires again. It is a new company I think but they seem to be trying to develop more efficient ways for people who travel with motorcycles or jet skis and snowmobile and such. A great part is that you are able to pull a normal trailer with this trailer in your bed as well so I am able to pull more with one truck so I dont have to make multiple trips or take multiple cars. I think these trailers could be the future for people like me. Check it out and let me know what you think.

So you've started two different threads to advertise the same thing?

By the way... probably not a good idea to advertise without the mods' permissions... or for your first couple posts...

haha not advertising just new to this site. after i posted this I thought it might go better under off topic tech.

You don't even know what a freeking trailer is?!? Dayam. :rolleyes:

something you put things on to transport from one place to another? what is this some kind of website for haters? I am not sure how a new idea for trailering things that is more fuel efficient is a bad thing.

Well, he has a point. It's not exactly a trailer if it doesn't "trail" the "leading" vehicle.

The fact that it's in the bed means it's a payload... without pay.

Seems like having the load stuck up above the bed would really cut the aerodynamics of the truck and make it get worse mileage than a load that roughly tapers down in the back behind the truck. At least for over 30mph or so.

Got any numbers on the better mileage of towing 2 atvs like that compared to in line or side by side on a trailer? We like data on this site so if you have any tests done please let us know of the results and if you are willing to help someone here try and duplicate the test.

There are a lot of people that use similar setups to haul an extra 2 atvs on their trucks around here and from what they say it kills their mileage. I have never gotten actual data though so it could just be them complaining about their trucks crappy mileage in general.

It appears to me the only efficiency benefit this set-up has is the avoidance of paying for license tabs.

i thought that having the atvs sitting up higher would kill gas mileage too but I live in colorado and driving through the mountains on winedy roads or throught passes it has got better gas milage. I think it is because a normal trailer has pretty near the wind pull on your truck anyway. Then add the pull from tire resistance on hills and... I dont really have any exact number right now but the next trip I take I will do a little experiment.

and yeah no licensing trailers or buying trailer tires too. I like the way the trailer can detach and be rolled around easy as well no problems rolling it into tight spots in the garage.

I wonder what having that much weight carried so high does to your center of gravity on those windy Colorado roads, and how folks like having their "full-size" pickups roll down the sides of the canyons :-)

on the big trailer that hangs over your bed which I think they call the extended deck that might be a bigger problem but I have the smaller one that actually sits in the bed so it doesnt sit as high so i havent had any problems. I have taken it camping with an atv and it is kind of nice because I could get on moderate offroad trails and I never could have with my other trailer.

I jumped out of trailer this morning and threw some eggs 'n' bacon on the trailer for breakfast. Then I went out and pedalled my trailer around the neighborhood for a nice little ride. The lawn needed mowing so I got on my trailer and mowed it. Logged on to my trailer for a lil surfin' before going out to the garage and working on my trailer.

look man you obviously arent into it so i am not sure why you keep reading and posting on this thread. I am just trying to lay some new info on people i dont give a **** whether you use a normal trailer or not i just find it convient

Of course you've missed another major point: if you were really interested in fuel efficiency, you wouldn't be hauling ATVs to go "camping", but a couple of mountain bikes instead.

haha this is very true

We all have our vices. Me, I just drool over those personal watercraft. Of course, I'd be trying to figure out how to wire up an MPGuino to it, and fitting it so I can tow it with my Accord. :-)

Personal watercraft? How about a sailboard, a canoe, or a kayak? All require zero fossil fuel to use, and very little extra to transport.

And the noise doesn't ruin everyone else's day at the lake :-)

That's why it's called a vice.

I can see where they'd be fun out on the ocean, but for lakes and waterways where all they do is buzz 40' off the shore from sunup to sundown.... there outta be a law and in fact they did **** enough people off so that there are new laws restricting them.

Out on the San Joaquin delta, there are so many boats (from sailboats to container ships) that watercraft are but a small buzz in a big cacophony. I make do with an inflatable boat with a 5 hp 4-stroke Honda that basically goes the whole summer on a tank. That certainly compares favorably to an Aquatrax that gets about 12 mpg max at 35 mph.

I saw a PWC glider (chassis, pump and dead motor) for free on Craigslist about a month ago, but I don't have a place to store/work on it. I was thinking about a variety of conversion possibilities, from a G10 to a Kubota diesel to electric.

Pulled a trailer with my Dakota, got like 16 MPG or so. 3500 pound loaded trailer and big long hills. I get like 18 w/o a trailer...

I just pulled my wife's Saturn all the way to Binghamton again... there was a total of ~5,000 lbs. I got 23 MPG in my dad's 1998 S-10 2.2 4cyl/5speed. He usually gets 27ish.

I'm doubting that severely. With 120hp you'd have to be dogging it most of the time, unless you drove 45 in 4th and the ground was flat the entire time.

the trailer im talking about isnt going to pick up 5000lbs but how often do most people trailer cars anyway...

Most of the ground is flat, there were 60 miles of his driving on the tank before I picked up the truck, and I put just over 225 miles on it, then filled it up before I gave it back to him.

We just towed the car back 4-flat, with a bar bolted to the bumper, but I'm not filling the truck this time, so I can't tell what mileage we got. It really doesn't affect the truck cruising that much, just accelerating is slower than a dog, and it's mostly highway.

I hypermile while towing, accelerating at ~80% throttle, short shifting @ 2k-2.5k, engine braking to stops, engine braking to slow down, driving like I don't have brakes, upshifting and downshifting without the clutch, EOC to stops (after I'm below 10MPH), etc. I'm a VERY conservative driver when I'm towing something heavier than the normal load capacity of the vehicle I'm using to tow.

I guess if you don't believe it, that's your perogative, but I've got no reason to lie about it, and couldn't care less if anyone is impressed with my mileage figures... so take your pick.

Well good job!

Do you happen to know the tow rating?

Not entirely sure, but I know the hitch is rated to 10,000 or better... it's a tow-motor drag-hitch, used to move steel carts with insanely large injection-type plastic molds, which are heavy steel, often weighing 5,000 or more.

The truck, OTOH, I don't think is supposed to tow more than 2,500# with 900# payload capacity. It's technically a 1/4-1/2Ton pickup, I guess. I know damn well I was over rated towing capacity for the truck, though, which is why I periodically stop to check the load. (About every 30-45 mins, usually.)

We don't really care about your trailer, we've established it's not safe or much, if any, more fuel efficient.

I trailer cars alot, actually... it's a "rednecks helping rednecks" thing... Guess you wouldn't understand...

AAA around here is just calling a friend.. doesn't matter what time it is, someone's up, and will stop what they're doing to come help. That "humanity" gets lost if you go more than 15 miles in any direction.