[RenaudVL]

Hello All,

New here!

To make a long story short, I moved from Subaru to Nissan Pathfinder because I needed the towing capacity.
I tow a 21ft, 3100 pound trailer and now that the Ascent is here I am reconsidering my choice.

I find the gas consumption of the Pathfinder 6 cylinders engine ridiculously high when towing. They say it will tow 5000 pounds but they don't say it will empty the 70L (18.5 gal) tank every 350km or so (217 miles) for a 20 to 28 L/100km (+/- 9.5 m/g) depending on hills and wind. Hope I got my conversion right!

Some say it is the reality of towing a trailer but I still find it to high!

Anyone can share their experience towing similar weight with the Ascent. Behavior and gas consumption...?

Thanks

Renaud

 

[Subiesailor]

The trailer impact is highly dependent on the trailer. If your hauling a giant tall box behind you mileage is going to be atrocious. The only mid sized vehicle I have seen post solid teens pulling 20ft boxes of furniture ie travel trailer is the diesel GMC Canyon and it twin the Chevy Colorado. I have seen travel trailer owners report getting 12-15mpg averages which is really good! That same truck with a pop up camper typically can post 25mpg averages. Similar with tent trailers windage being the biggest factor. No campers those trucks easily post 30-34mpg averages. That would be my top choice if range and towing ability is needed in a midsized vehicle.

The Ascent is only a 2.4L turbo hauling a really draggy big RV I would not expect more than 10-12mpg under the best conditions and would expect much worse.

My 2.5 cvt Outback with a 1800lb, 25ft long, roof height, 8.5ft wide enclosed decked racing sailboat which is much much sleeker than a travel trailer would typically return 16mpg at 70mph. 55-60mph 18mpg. The same car with a 4x6, 5ft wide, low rear window height utility trailer at 1400lbs will return 21mpg with no bikes on the car roof. Add bikes and we get 18mpg.

Windage is a huge factor especially with the smaller displacement engines.

 

[bmac]

The trailer impact is highly dependent on the trailer. If your hauling a giant tall box behind you mileage is going to be atrocious.

The Ascent is only a 2.4L turbo hauling a really draggy big RV I would not expect more than 10-12mpg under the best conditions and would expect much worse.

Windage is a huge factor especially with the smaller displacement engines.

Size of the engine is irrelevant. All that matters is how efficient the engine is at making the additional HP needed to haul the extra weight and deal with the substantial wind resistance.

Hopefully, some actual owners that are towing an RV can chime in with their experiences.

 

[Subiesailor]

Size of the engine is irrelevant. All that matters is how efficient the engine is at making the additional HP needed to haul the extra weight and deal with the substantial wind resistance.

Hopefully, some actual owners that are towing an RV can chime in with their experiences.

One already has use search.

 

[RWH]

Just after completing our 1,000 mi break in period, we towed our 2,700 pound travel trailer on a 300 mile trip involving 70+ mph on interstate and some hilly roads in central NY. We averaged 14.5 mpg for the trip. We experienced lots of wind and rain on parts of the trip. I'm hoping mileage increases as our previous 2015 4 cyl. Outback tow vehicle did as it accrued more miles.

 

[Subiesailor]

The Alto is one slippery tow too!

 

[RenaudVL]

Thanks everyone for your contribution to this thread.

RWH, good example for my dilemma, I ordered an Alto 21ft because I like the design better than what I have right now,

Not to contradict you but your alto looks more like the 17ft and from my understanding it s weight is 1750 pound.

Safari Condo is telling me though that the 21ft at 2350 pound have about the same gas consumption then the 17ft.

Thanks

 

[RWH]

Alto weight

My Alto model F1743 is 1,933 pounds empty weight (as shown on the vehicle's certification placard) as equipped with options. Published base weight (without options) is 1,595 pounds. I stated the Gross Vehicle Weight of 2,700 pounds in my posting. After loading the trailer with groceries, clothing, shelter, chairs, RV supplies, fresh water in the tank, bicycles, etc. a typical loaded weight for us is approx. 2,300 - 2,400 pounds (estimated).

 

[RenaudVL]

My Alto model F1743 is 1,933 pounds empty weight (as shown on the vehicle's certification placard) as equipped with options. Published base weight (without options) is 1,595 pounds. I stated the Gross Vehicle Weight of 2,700 pounds in my posting. After loading the trailer with groceries, clothing, shelter, chairs, RV supplies, fresh water in the tank, bicycles, etc. a typical loaded weight for us is approx. 2,300 - 2,400 pounds (estimated).

I stand corrected, it makes perfect sense... :smile:

 

[Robert.Mauro]

I plan on towing this travel trailer...

We've towed it with the F150 V6 EcoBoost (turbo) truck in the image, and, it destroys gas mileage. On all highway jaunts, we get 12ish mpg. That's a 10mpg drop over standard highway rating.

If the Ascent has a similar drop, I'd expect 16mpg for all highway. My friend and I have been wanting to do the tow test for a while, but haven't had the time yet.

 

[Handben]

Towing my Camp-Inn 550 teardrop, I've been getting around 21mpg. Granted it only weighs around #1000 and is fairly aerodynamic. It's really not that different from our previous 4 cylinder 2011 outback.

 

[MAGNUMB]

Make sure you brakes are not dragging while towing or your MPG will suffer. Don't ask how i know

 

[RenaudVL]

Make sure you brakes are not dragging while towing or your MPG will suffer. Don't ask how i know

Thanks,
This is something I did wonder about!
How can I find out if the brakes are dragging or not?

 

[MAGNUMB]

Thanks,
This is something I did wonder about!
How can I find out if the brakes are dragging or not?

Mine was on the trailer and cause by a pinched brake line. I noticed after seeing one wheel completely black from brake dust and the other was fairly clean. This caused a reduction of about 1 MPG and slight performance loss

 

[Trey T]

Just after completing our 1,000 mi break in period, we towed our 2,700 pound travel trailer on a 300 mile trip involving 70+ mph on interstate and some hilly roads in central NY. We averaged 14.5 mpg for the trip. We experienced lots of wind and rain on parts of the trip. I'm hoping mileage increases as our previous 2015 4 cyl. Outback tow vehicle did as it accrued more miles.

How many adults in 2nd and 3rd row during your trip? And how did the rear suspension perform?

 

[RWH]

No passengers in rear seats, but had an estimated 175-200 lbs of cargo in the rear. Suspension was fine; minimal sag. With trailer tongue load (approx. 280 lb.) and cargo, the sag was less than 1". The angle sensor in the Ascent displayed zero degrees while on flat roads.

 

[NWAscent]

With a new Ascent Limited (started just over 1,000 miles) and a 2,600 Lb box trailer, I got nearly 14 MPG on highway driving. I hope to see some improvement as the drive train gets more miles on it.

 

[Jen Jones]

Hi RWH,
We have an Ascent Touring and I am on this forum to try and figure out how it would do towing an Alto. We would prefer to get the Alto 2114 (3500 GVWR) but are concerned it would be too much for the Ascent. We will be towing long distances and lots of mountains. Our specific concern is that we understand Subaru recommends not using a weight distribution hitch so the tongue weight would be too much with the 2114. We have never towed and trying to figure all this out. It looks like you have the Alto F17 which would be our second choice of Alto. How is it going towing with the Ascent? Thank you! Jen

 

[RWH]

In my opinion, I think it will be fine to tow an F2114 Alto with an Ascent Premium or higher trim level. The 2114 is 1,500 lbs under stated capacity. Just watch that you don't exceed the tongue loading. Also, I wouldn't be concerned about using a WD hitch if you prefer to use one. I know what it says in the manual. Prior to purchasing our Ascent Limited, we towed our F1743 Alto using a WD hitch on our Outback Premium 4 cyl. The Outback manual also said to not use WD, but the relatively light loads from the Alto tongue weight did not put undue stress on the car. The Ascent would not have any problem with a properly set up and adjusted WD hitch. The Altos do not put enough weight on the tongue to be a concern. In fact, there is a Subaru advertising video showing an Ascent towing an Airstream trailer and they are using a WD hitch. So far, the Ascent tows our Alto very well. Solid feeling. Of course, it uses more fuel, but that is expected.

 

[Robert.Mauro]

I just towed a 4,395 pound travel trailer and got better gas mileage than we do when towing with the F150 King Cab with EcoBoost.

13.5-15 mpg highway using ACC at 65mph

9-12 mpg "city"



On the trips we do, that would end up being about 13.5-14 mpg average.