My GF and I are likely buying a lightly used pop-up camper from her parents. It's a small model that comes with AC and a power lift for the top, and we plan to use it on long-distance trips to visit both coasts of the USA as well as interior national parks.
Stats are a base weight of about 1,200 pounds and a tongue weight of 120 pounds.
Our current options for towing are as follows:
1. My 2018 Chevy Cruze Diesel sedan 6MT
2. Her 2018 Toyota Sienna AWD
Either of these vehicles can be fitted with a tow hitch from U-Haul.
Which do you think would be the best vehicle to use for towing?
She is enthused about the fuel economy of my Cruze, but I don't believe the fuel economy would translate to any worthwhile savings. I haven't done the maths on total cost, but it would be saving an insubstantial amount of money.
I've suggest using her Sienna because I believe (would have to look it up) the tow rating of that vehicle is about 2,500-3,000 pounds. If it's officially rated for towing, we could get a hitch installed at the Toyota dealer instead of U-Haul. The benefit of the Sienna is much more interior volume to carry along all the (say it with me in an outrageous French accent) accoutrement that we will schlep along with us for camping. On lots of trips it will be me, her, and her son. With the Cruze, it would be extremely tight packaging to carry along all the stuff we will pack and have 3 people in the car. With the Sienna I believe we can remove one of the rear captain chairs to just seat 3 and have that much more space for cargo.
If using the Cruze I suspect fuel economy would dip into the high 30s. Her Sienna achieves high 20s when highway driving and would probably dip into the low 20s when towing the camper at reasonable speeds. With Diesel fuel costing more than gasoline in lots of places, I think it's a matter of total savings of like $100-200 on some trips if we use my Cruze. For me, that's irrelevant when factoring in the space and cargo capacity of using the Sienna.
Thoughts?
Stats are a base weight of about 1,200 pounds and a tongue weight of 120 pounds.
Our current options for towing are as follows:
1. My 2018 Chevy Cruze Diesel sedan 6MT
2. Her 2018 Toyota Sienna AWD
Either of these vehicles can be fitted with a tow hitch from U-Haul.
Which do you think would be the best vehicle to use for towing?
She is enthused about the fuel economy of my Cruze, but I don't believe the fuel economy would translate to any worthwhile savings. I haven't done the maths on total cost, but it would be saving an insubstantial amount of money.
I've suggest using her Sienna because I believe (would have to look it up) the tow rating of that vehicle is about 2,500-3,000 pounds. If it's officially rated for towing, we could get a hitch installed at the Toyota dealer instead of U-Haul. The benefit of the Sienna is much more interior volume to carry along all the (say it with me in an outrageous French accent) accoutrement that we will schlep along with us for camping. On lots of trips it will be me, her, and her son. With the Cruze, it would be extremely tight packaging to carry along all the stuff we will pack and have 3 people in the car. With the Sienna I believe we can remove one of the rear captain chairs to just seat 3 and have that much more space for cargo.
If using the Cruze I suspect fuel economy would dip into the high 30s. Her Sienna achieves high 20s when highway driving and would probably dip into the low 20s when towing the camper at reasonable speeds. With Diesel fuel costing more than gasoline in lots of places, I think it's a matter of total savings of like $100-200 on some trips if we use my Cruze. For me, that's irrelevant when factoring in the space and cargo capacity of using the Sienna.
Thoughts?
