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MPG hit with a small trailer?

Discussion in 'Gen 2 Prius Fuel Economy' started by oil_burner, Mar 11, 2017.

  1. oil_burner

    oil_burner Active Member

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    We are looking at a road trip this summer about 3 weeks long and 10,000 miles. We would like to get a small harbor freight tow behind trailer to stow our luggage in. Wondering if anyone has experience of any MPG hit we might take, since the trailer is so small I wonder if it would even be noticed?

    600 lb. Auto; 200 lb. Motorcycle Capacity 78 in. Tag-Along Trailer
     
  2. fuzzy1

    fuzzy1 Senior Member

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    Do you plan to do anything besides driving? And when might you squeeze it in?
     
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  3. 'LectroFuel

    'LectroFuel Senior Member

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    I'm guessing you'll lose 1-2 MPG. That's a small trailer. Good luck on making 10,000 miles in a 2006 Prius(y)
     
  4. fuzzy1

    fuzzy1 Senior Member

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    I'd be astounded if the drag is that low. I lose at least 7 mpg with a hitch mount rack carrying two bicycles.
     
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  5. Kevin_Denver

    Kevin_Denver Active Member

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    For that amount of gear I would look into a trailer hitch cargo rack or a roof rack instead. You can put a few hundred pounds on the trailer hitch. If youre taking cargo, I would just put the heavier things in the Prius and the lighter things on the cargo rack. The aerodynamic drag will be significantly less than a trailer.

    The Prius is not a good vehicle to tow a lot of gear a long distance. For such a long trip (10000 miles?!) I'd likely buy a van, which would be much more practical.
     
  6. Mendel Leisk

    Mendel Leisk Senior Member

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    My first thoughts went further: reduce what you're taking, and/or really try, to make it fit in the car. It's a big step, to lumbar a Prius with a trailer, or even roof rack.
     
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  7. mmmodem

    mmmodem Senior Taste Tester

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    I hope your handle doesn't describe your Prius. Anyway, I wouldn't recommend taking a 10 year old vehicle on a 10k mile tour. The risk of breakdown ruining your vacation plus expensive tows and repairs at destination and wear and tear on your car outweigh... actually, what is the reason for driving your own vehicle for this purpose? This has rental written all over it.

    There are weekly rental rates that can be had for relatively cheap. I rented a Chevy Suburban for a week a couple year ago. I only needed it 4 days but the weekly $350 rate was cheaper.
     
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  8. fuzzy1

    fuzzy1 Senior Member

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    I'd be vastly more concerned about a Harbor Freight product with cheap 8 inch wheels being able to make that distance. If / when it fails, what is the backup cargo plan?
    Maybe on a full size SUV, though watching friends overload theirs (and produce horrid headlight aims), I'm not so sure it is good there either. Certainly not on a Prius.
    Bingo!
    Note: this is 500 miles of driving per day. This leaves very little time for stopping to do anything else.
     
    #8 fuzzy1, Mar 13, 2017
    Last edited: Mar 13, 2017
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  9. Mendel Leisk

    Mendel Leisk Senior Member

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    Yeah, that would be punishing. :eek:

    And an older car, with spec'd tow capacity zero?
     
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  10. CooCooCaChoo

    CooCooCaChoo Active Member

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    Just keep this in mind:

     
  11. 'LectroFuel

    'LectroFuel Senior Member

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    Well, the trailer is behind the car so I though it would have less of a drag than a roof box. The trailer looks like a wheelbarrow.
     
  12. oil_burner

    oil_burner Active Member

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    thanks but the entire point of buying the prius was to take this trip across america, sleep in the vehicle most nights, and not spend a fortune on fuel. I already have a truck. I do not trust hitch racks, any kind of bump or dip in the road and the vehicle bounces a lot. I would think a roof rack would make a much bigger hit to MPG because of the aerodynamics. The trailer is effectively in the cars slipstream the entire time.

    Will the car make it? I don't really care. If it died I would have no problem hopping in a rental or buying a plane ticket home. But what I am NOT doing is taking my truck which gets 17mpg on the highway.

    Fuel cost:
    10,000 miles / 17MPG = 588 gallons x $3 = $1764
    10,000 miles / 45MPG = 222 gallons x $3 = $666

    Difference = $1100

    I paid $1500 for the prius. If I can complete this trip (laughable that some people don't think a 2006 can do another 10k miles), the fuel savings alone paid for the car.
     
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  13. dolj

    dolj Senior Member

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    I agree. FWIW, I drove a 2006 Prius a total of 15,000 miles around the UK and Europe, the longest single trip being ~7,000 miles, and it never missed a beat. I don't think you need to worry about whether the Prius can make it or not. Lol.

    Btw, we fit everything in the car, for three adults on the 7,000 mile trip, but were not sleeping in the car, though.
     
  14. fuzzy1

    fuzzy1 Senior Member

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    Less? Yes. Just 1-2 mpg? That would be astonishing.
     
  15. wjtracy

    wjtracy Senior Member

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    My roof top box would be about 10-12 MPG loss, but it's a fairly wide one.
     
  16. tvpierce

    tvpierce Senior Member

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    The Prius is a pretty slippery car, so any alteration is likely going to have a significant effect. A total guess, but I'd bet you'd lose somewhere in the 10mpg range. Look at the specs for a Prius vs a Prius V: you lose 7 mpg simply by raising the rear hatch about a foot.
     
  17. RobH

    RobH Senior Member

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    I build a small travel trailer on a Harbor Freight frame. About 600 pounds. Mileage hit was 32 mpg instead of 47 mpg without the trailer. More info, including a picture of the trailer at Update on Towing with Prius | PriusChat .
     
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  18. Davidude

    Davidude Junior Member

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    I sure wouldn't plan on that lasting 10,000 miles. Those wheels will probably wear before 1000. I would look into an actual trailer that's small, or a roof rack. Can find a trailer on Craiglist that will for less that $500 easy. While you will lose some mpg(not sure how much), you know it'll last the trip unlike that tiny thing. To be honest I would be worried your harbor freight trailer would flip in heavy weather.
     
  19. jwedel

    jwedel Junior Member

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    Bringing the thread back from the dead but I know someone will want some accurate mileage numbers in the future when they are search through these. I just took my 2005 prius with 270k miles on it to Texas from Colorado and back (1400 miles) with a small trailer with two dirt bikes and gear on it. The whole setup probably weighed about 750-1000lbs. I got anywhere from 20-27 MPG and averaged about 24. It does great if you aren't going fast, going up mountains, and don't have wind. I can get 30-35 MPG with the same setup if I keep it under 50mph. For that trip I had the coolest looking prius around but I'm not sure it was worth the money/hassle of getting it all setup to haul bikes. She was running wide open for 75% of the trip with wind and trying to stay at 75mph.. I wouldn't have done that if it didn't already have 270k on it but I figured if it died, it's about time to get a new vehicle. But I made it back and this only goes to prove you can't kill the 2nd gens, they just keep going and going and going. (Never had a single repair/replacement on the vehicle - original hybrid battery) Screen Shot 2018-03-06 at 7.33.24 PM.png
     
  20. Aaron Vitolins

    Aaron Vitolins Senior Member

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    Wow truly amazing!