Towing Mpg.

[haggettd]

The LS430 is not your average caravan towcar is it now, but it will be mine for the forseeable having just swapped my Octavia diesel for one!

I wondered if anyone has towed a 'van with one and if so, how did it go?

I expect no problems pulling my 1200kg van along but have been wondering about mpg!!!

I think or hope it will manage 15mpg against my usual 30mpg motorway mpg.

Anybody got any towing mpg figures?

Cheers

[Thunderchild]

Can't help on the towing figure I'm afraid but would like to ask where you got the towbar. I need one for my 430 so I can haul the bikes around the country but so far have only found Lexus as a supplier - megabucks!!

Tc

[haggettd]

Hi Tc

I don't have the Towbar fitted yet, it's booked in on the 9th.

I can't find any manufacturers that cover the LS430 so I've had to plump for the Lexus factory fit including 13pin

electrics. Cost is quoted at £818 all in (2 hours labour) Expensive enough but not outrageous.

[bookend]

I would ask about the pricing My dealer offered to fit a bar and electrics for a discounted price of £600

[haggettd]

Correction!

I thought I'd better double check with the dealer that when I said I wanted the single electric plug that he understood that I meant the 13 pin single euro electrics.

No, I'm afraid that that harness is not available due to the age of the car, so, I need an additional harness to provide the caravan electrics.

Unfortunately, this involves removal of the rear seats, and an additional hours labour as well as the harness, so, all in it will be about a round thousand pounds! Good job I called to check. Luckily I've still got the 13pin to 7N 7S adaptor harness I previously bought.

[haggettd]

Hi bookend, who's the dealer that quoted £600?

cheers, Dave

[bookend]

It was Lexus Sheffield.

[haggettd]

Funny that, Lexus Sheffield quoted me £760 but only if I bought the LS430 I went there to look at!

£760 is supposedly the 'cost price'.

I did not buy my Lexus from them so am paying full price!

[bookend]

Who did you deal with? the £600 included 13 pin electrics but they were non Lexus

I ended up buying the tow bar at a discount to fit myself and I will get an auto electrician to do the electrics. Should be about £480 when done

[John N]

My MPG when I've been towing my 1,500 kg caravan has been around 20. But if I'm perfectly honest I've never measured it carefully. ( I didn't want to upset myself when I was going on holiday.)

Put in perspective thats about the same as gentle driving in town traffic. By comparison cruising at 60 mph on the motorway without the caravan can deliver 28-30 mpg.

Remember to follow the instructions in the handbook, use 4th gear when towing, not Drive (D) and don't race up long steep hills or you can overheat the gearbox, if you've not fitted a transmission cooler.

John N

[bookend]

That's not a bad figure. Its about the same as I get from my Landcruiser towing and unleaded is cheaper than diesel so mile for mile cheaper

[haggettd]

That's not bad John. 20 mpg - I'll buy that!

Bar should have been fitted fri/ sat plus service. Unfortunately the key malfunctioned for some connected or unconnected reason so that held them up until I could get my spare to them.

Because it malfunctioned at the dealer, they have offered to order a brand new key at their expense - which is very good of them.

One nice thing about using the Lexus dealer is that you get to try other Lexus models as loan cars.

I got an IS250 sport 6 speed auto. A fun, solid drive, hugely comfy seats, taut handling but a very firm ride indeed! Looking forward to getting the LS430 back.

John, I guess yours is a 5 speeder so 4th gear is for towing. I'll have to see whether they recommend 4th or 5th on my 6 speeder.

Is a gearbox oil cooler an effective and worthwhile mod? Is it a Lexus option or aftermarket? My van is only 1200kg so maybe not necessary.

[John N]

Personally I think it is worth fitting a transmission cooler if you are towing a caravan of that weight. I didn't fit one at first, but the smell of overheating transmission fluid when I stepped out of the car after towing the caravan up a long hill, made me think it would be better to be safe than sorry. (A transmission cooler is a lot cheaper than a new gearbox!)

The one I fitted was a Kenlowe, and it has been very effective.

Try this link. http://www.kenlowe.com/oil-coolers/automatic/index.html

John N

[haggettd]

Still waiting for the return of my car complete with tow bar!

It's basically done along with the intermediate service however,

final checks have revealed that the rear air con is no longer working!

Something has been disturbed/broken during removal/replacement of the rear

Seats. I'm glad it's a main dealer doing the work instead of an independent who

may try to suggest that it wasn't working anyway. I imagine these things might be checked prior to work starting so they know what was/wasn't working anyway.

To be honest, I hadn't checked the aircon myself and maybe would not have noticed for some time. I can't see me travelling in the back - I enjoy driving it so much.

I hope it's fixed tomorrow and does not turn into a bit of a saga. I'll report back!