VCCA Home Forums GENERAL DISCUSSION Hauling or Trailering V Nose or not?

Well I placed a deposit on an order for a trailer. With the deposit the dealer loaned me an enclosed trailer to take my 62 to the AACA Grand National in North Carolina this weekend. It had a flat nose and my gas milage on my 2009 2500 Sierra ranged between 9 and 7! Does the V nose give any better MPG?

FYI The VCCA guys that were there kicked butt!
Thanks
John

The "V nose" will reduce wind drag and theoretically improve mpg.
Depending on the design it will also give you more lockable storage space as well.
Tony

John-sounds about right. I pulled a semi round cornered 20` Haulmark enclosed trailer 1200 miles round trip to the Southern Spring Tour and got about 8-9 mpg with my 99 GMC Suburban (350). I was going to try and pull this with a 2006 Trailblazer since the dealer said it was rated at 6,000 trailer weight, but chickened-out because I didn`t think it would be safe.

hoppy

The 3500 lb trailer and 2500 lb car make 6000 lb but what about the extra parts and other stuff? I would opt for the tow vehicle with the heaviest suspension, largest brakes and longest wheelbase. Those are critical to safe trailer towing.

Chip,
any thoughts on the v nose?
John

John,
Don't have any experience but would expect a little higher fuel mileage and likely a bit more stability when trucks pass.

Check with your trailer dealer, he should be able to provide you with some statistics.

He would not commit to anything he just said every vehicle is different and "I should do better" I was just shocked by the 8 - 7 mpg I was getting. I did sleep much better at night knowing my car was in the box and I did not have the cleaning process I had with the open trailer, so I had more free time
John

I think that your low MPG is due to having a big truck and a big trailer and the way that you drive. I know some advise to not use your cruise control when towing and use lower gears, I use the top gear and cruise control on dry level Interstate only. I have had good results towing my 20' enclosed Pace Pursuit with a Tahoe using a good balanced equalizer hitch, with towing chassis and the 5.3 engine and automatic towing tranny. I also limit speed to around 60-65 MPH, it works out to around 15 MPG, without the trailer I average 18.6 MPG. I have been towing fairly heavy trailers for over 50 years. Don't listen to tapes or get distracted, you have to drive, like when you are flying, you have to fly the airplane.

my 94 K-2500 with 454, headers, tuned port inj, 4 speed std shift with OD and 4.10 gears gets 12 mpg on interstates running 75-80. hook up the 5th wheel enclosed trailer with a 3200 # vette(trailer and vette and tools and parts total wieght just shy of 10,000#) and the milage drops to 5-6 mpg interstate cruising at 75-80 MPH. i bought the 94 silverado new strictly with towing in mind. i've followed dodge and ford diesels all over the country and none of them will run with the tweaked 454. they do stop less frequently for fuel though.don't know how it'd rate with the newer chevy diesels in terms of performance.its a keeper. mike

Mike,
If you ever get a Duramax hooked to your trailer you will send the old hauler to the scrap yard. The are awesome. Tons of torque to level those upgrades (yes just punch on the cruise control and steer). I get 14-15 mpg towing the open trailer and 10.5-12 mpg pulling the extra height slightly rounded enclosed trailer. Max. weight on enclosed trailer depends on what is inside but is mostly in the 8-10k lb. range. The '08 is the second Duramax, has more hp and torque but less mileage than the '04 (which my daughter talked me out of and still drives 20k miles per year.) The '04 has nearly 200k without any major problems or repairs. As a ranch truck, tackles a wide range of tasks including pulling the horse trailers to rodeos for the granddaughter.

Mike what kind of mileage do you get between speeding tickets?

The v-nose is a no-brainer. Ever try rowing a boat stern first? Theres a reason the bow is pointed and the same principle applies to the trailer.

Well a v nose trailer and a boat aren't quite the same. the trailer tongue and the placement of the wheels are 90% of how a trailer tows, the other 10% is the alignment of the wheels on the tow vehicle to the hitch. A semetrical v nose and a slightly rounded nose trailer have about the same towing geometry, but the wind resistance of a v nose is less in a head or trailing wind if both trailers are the same highth. V nose is a good trailer design. Be sure to get a trailer design that is only tall enough for your car, excess height is a wind catcher deluxe. a wind diverter dam on the tow vehicle is also a good thing.

got stopped by a penna trooper doing 80 on th pa turnpike--abuot 180 bucks. got stopped by a wva trooper timed at 88--got warning and told to get the hell back to maryland asap. regards,mike

I went with a V nose and picked it up two weeks ago. I was planning on going to the AACA Southern Fall Meet this weekend in Blacksburg VA with my Biscayne but the Doctor said otherwise.
John

John
What type unit did you get I know a V nose how about more details. I'm looking to get one in one or two years.I hope

Hi John,

I noticed your post about the V nose.
I see no benefit for the V. We pull these trailers at 60-65mph and no matter what, these Chevy trucks get the MPG they do..... Of course, crossing the mountains you found on the way to the GN doesn't help much - but it is the East Coast afterall.....

I would stick with the flat front trailer - as they are also easier to "resell"..... The V front will give you a little more elbow room up front..... but that only gives you more room for junk and that increases the gross weight also.

One thing, I sold my 28' trailer and moved down to a 20'
(which is the one you see me with) and I love it! The 28 was just too much for what it offered.

By the way, the Honda gets 10-12 MPG pulling the 20' and the Dooley gets 12 MPG pulling either one.

Wish you the best of luck at the GN!