Iflyit

My Feedback: (512)

OK, well they aren't when your at a meet, at the store, out to dinner, etc.

sillyness

My Feedback: (25)

This is silly.

rcking

My Feedback: (8)

whats the point of a trailer if you unload it all the time ! that defeats the purpose of the trailer to begin with?

sillyness

My Feedback: (25)

The purpose of a trailer (for me) is to be able to take my wife, child in carseat, and 35% planes to events several hours away. For me, a trailer is not a place to work, live, etc... I don't want to move my entire workshop into the trailer. I will keep my planes in the house where they are more secure (and have a much better chance of getting covered by insurance in the case of theft) and I will use the trailer for transport only... just because I have a van that I can put a bed in doesn't mean I sleep in it.

Big picture... it takes me 5 minutes to put everything I need in the trailer.

On a side note, I plan on using the trailer for many other activities... not just RC. I can put our Kayaks, bikes, tents, etc... in it and take a vanload of people and booze on a weekend get-away. I will have it setup up so it takes minutes to break down any RC related shelves, etc... so I can use it for any sort of leisure activity... general purpose.

Volture

My Feedback: (1)

Small engines working too hard often get worse mileage than larger engines. If you get an Explorer get the V-8, and put an auxilliary transmission cooler on it if it doesn't have the towing package already. I tow with a Dodge RAM 2500 with a 5.9L Cummins turbodiesel. Mine has a six-speed manual, gets 22-23 mpg empty, and 19-20 mpg pulling my 6x10 6.5-ft headroom Horton Hauler. It will pull the airplane trailer up any grade at any speed and pretty much not know it's there. I also have a 2000 Explorer with the 4.0L V-6. It will pull the Horton OK on the flats, but is not particularly happy going up grades, mostly due to the high profile of the trailer.

Iflyit

My Feedback: (512)

I have been using a couple Explorers with V-8's they seem to do fine.

jmiracle

My Feedback: (9)

while it's true the smaller motors can actually get worse mileage when towing than the bigger motors.....the trade-off is much better mileage when you're NOT towing. And for us...that's 95% of the time. It makes sense to me to take a slight hit in mileage on those occasional trips with the trailer, and more than make up for it on the every-day trips to work and the store.

narpets

Yea, I used to get about 32 MPG not towing w/ my old 6cyl Maxima, and about 29 towing... What I wouldn't do for that now [&o] Still I now get about 20MPG towing on back roads w/ lots of hills w/ a 6 cyl 4Runner, which is aboout 5% of the time. 22-23 not towing on the same kind of roads. I haven't taken the trailer on a long enough trip on the highway yet to get a feel for that.

Iflyit

My Feedback: (512)

Actually the 6 cyl SUV's don't get much better mileage, only about 2-4 miles more per gallon than a V8 depending on how you drive of course. You can go to www.fueleconomy.org to see what kind of mileage most autos get.

jmiracle

My Feedback: (9)

i don't think such blanket statements are really a fair comparison. Obviously much depends on each motor and transmission. I've seen v8's that'll get 27-28 mpg (actual) and others that are lucky to get much over 10. The same applies to V6's....

Usually a V6 will be more consistent between city and highway mileage....a V8 will vary tremendously. My camaro is a good example.....when in 6th and cruising on the highway, it gets very close to matching the mileage of my 4-cyl Mazda protege......but when cruising around town, I don't even get half of what I get on the highway. The mazda? It varies by maybe 5 mpg city vs highway.

Iflyit

My Feedback: (512)

Yes I know V8's in general can get somewhat decent mileage, but I am talking strickly SUV's not V8's in cars. The midsize SUV's get roughly the same mileage from one to the other, sure it will vary a tiny bit from engine to engine but not very much, so yes a blanket statement applies as the majority will be like that. There will always be exceptions to the norm, I have seen a 6 cyl Explorer get 40MPG AVERAGE for a tank but that is not the norm as lots of mods were done to it and when driving they would turn the car off and coast down hills. I have driven many 6 cyl and 8 cyl SUV's on the lot and the mileage does not vary by more than a few mpg for the most part, they are all gas hogs either way 6 cyl or 8

Normally a V8 can't get a consistant 30mpg like your Mazda may get with a V8 car either for a complete tank, sure there will be times that you hit that mileage when going down a hill but you cant get that for a whole tank average like the Mazda can.

jmiracle

My Feedback: (9)

i've still got to disagree. We just spent a considerable amount of time shopping for a new SUV. The wife just wanted an SUV, didn't care about towing capacity.....so she looked at some with 4-cyl's...some with 6....and even some with 8. The 4's got the best mileage at high 20's and sometimes low 30's (obviously)....the 6's were well in the upper 20's....and the 8's were all in the teens...sometimes worse than that!

I did find a couple 8's in cross-over style suv's/station wagons that were rated for mid 20's....but those seemed to be the exception rather than the rule.

We ultimately settled on a honda-powered SUV. The little six puts out over 250hp and 250ft-lbs torque....it really has impressed me. The decent torque allows it to couple with a 5-speed automatic keeping cruising rpms at under 1500. It so far averages 22-25mpg and keeps getting better as it breaks in. We've only got a little over 3000 miles on it so far, so I'm expecting it to improve another couple mpg as it loosens up. The tranny does decent with my 6x10 trailer as well and again has been getting better the more I tow with it and all the pieces parts learn to live together.....but since I live in the flat-lands, I have yet to see how the truck will do towing up a decent incline. If money was no object, of course I would have preferred a v8....but I think the Vue was a decent compromise.


anyhoot....i fear we've derailed this thread enough, so I will bow out now...

Iflyit

My Feedback: (512)

When I am comparing I am talking about similar size SUV's Explorer, Blazer, Durango between 1996-2000, guess I should have been more clear, not a small SUV with a 4 cyl. I sell them all week long and drive a different one every day and I have found they get roughly the same mileage, its the same size body they have to push through the air either with a V6 or V8. When looking at new cars you can't believe the Monrony sticker as they will say higher than what it will actually get also.

Anyway the V8 Explorer seems to tow it with no problem up hills.

sillyness

My Feedback: (25)

Have you guys seen this:

http://www.trailer-alarms.com/dl80.htm

Iflyit

My Feedback: (512)

Might have to try some of those locks, the alarm is pretty expensive though, I think Lowjack can be had for that price.

sillyness

My Feedback: (25)

OK... help me out here... what is Lowjack?

Iflyit

My Feedback: (512)

http://www.lojack.com


It is installed and hidden in a vehicle, if its stolen then the police use it to find the vehicle.

logager

But with Lojack, you have to pay a monthly fee, and hope that the police in your area have the equipment to find your vehicle.

I didn't mean to barge in here, but saw activity from this site to my Trailer-Alarms.com website. We do have a GPS tracking system that has NO monthly fee, just on demand charges if you want to locate the vehicle yourself if it is stolen.

If anyone has any questions, feel free to shoot me an e-mail or call my toll free number.

[email protected]

R/C Foolish

My Feedback: (6)

Lojack does not require a monthly fee, I have it in 2 of my cars and it is a one time cost. But it has to have power all of the time to work. So if you do not have a reliable power source in the trailer it will not put out a signal.

logager

My mis-understanding. I was told that you did. My fault for not looking into this.

Sorry.

Lyle

sillyness

My Feedback: (25)

And apparently you have some internet tracking system as well... are your the infamous "big brother"?

sillyness

My Feedback: (25)

Lyle,

I was looking at your PRO-TEC system on your website and just had a question...

... assuming that someone gets into the trailer, how is the is teh unit moutned so as to prevent them from immediately disconnecting the battery or cutting the siren/brake connections? Any pics or suggestions on how to make it secure?

Cheers

logager

Yes, I do have the tracking systems. Whether or not "Big Brother" wants to mess with my mess, that is a whole nother story.

About the alarm system, unless you make it known that you have an alarm, "most" will hit the road when the sirens sound, and the lights flash. Then they have to get inside. When they do, they have to find where you have things mounted. If you have cabinets, tuck it away in one of those corners.

Thanks,

Lyle

sillyness

My Feedback: (25)

Well... the Pro-Tec system does look nice, but I really want the pager for road trips and it is a little out of my budget.

I founf this on the web... it was ranked fairly high by consumer guide. It has a lot of junk you obviously don't need for a trailer, but it does have the shock sensor, etc... Most importantly... a half mile pager system.

Has anyone tried adapting one of these car alarms to work in a trailer? I was thinking it could be wired so that it could draw from either the trailer battery or the car battery, but it would require some sort of diode or relay to prevent the car from trying to charge the trailer battery through the alarm.

http://www.slickcar.com/productdetai...ProductID=2197

Cheers

logager

When I first got started in this, I thought I could out do the guys that make the alarms. I had a few good ideas, and tried them. For me, trying to figure out which wire goes where, and making the door sensors was a pain. So I just went with the guys that have everything figured out already.
Can it be done cheaper, yup. Is it a headache, yup. But it can be done.

Lyle