Weird?!? Trailer hitch ball install causes a drop in MPG's?

[Frank B.]

Love the photo and love the Trace.
Last week I found some old photos from a 3-day cancer donation camping ride on the Trace. When I have had a job on the Mississippi River in the general area of Natchez I have lengthened my drive home via a section of the Trace.
Of course, much smoother and scenic than when created.

Norm when I was much younger I never used the Trace, too slow, too boring.  Now, on our many trips/year to Nashville, we always use the trace because, well it is too slow, too boring, and mostly beautiful and easy on the nerves.

[Doug SC]

I prefer to drive back roads. I find I enjoy the drive more and save on gas as I rarely go over 60mph. I have been using the low traffic roads since I was a teen. However, when I what to get there on a long-distance drive, I go Intrastate. I used to like them but anymore the amount of traffic on many of them is amazing.

[Six Bells]

Congratulations.  A nice follow you home gift!

[Norm L.]

As for the liking of back roads I loved a Saturday 100-mile ride in rural LA/AL/MS.

I got a collection of 6 county topo maps so I could lay out 50-, 60-, or 100-mile rides. They were all good except for the one where %&&(%^%$ came from behind me in a pickup truck and threw a not-empty beer can at me. They were so stupid and incompetent they missed me. 

[Grith]

Wind resistance towing! We tow with our dodger and solar panel array over our rear bimini in situ. The inflated dingy on the foredeck breaks the wind before it hits these!
We have towed tens of thousands of kilometres this way. At an overloaded for extended cruising around 3.3-3.4ton on trailer it's no lightweight either.
Our VW Touareg achieves around 15-16l per 100klms when towing but our Isuzu NLS AWD light truck with slide on camper gobbles closer to 20l per 100klms when also performing tow tug duties. You cannot view this attachment.

[Norm L.]

That is some good thought to possibly smooth the wind shape of that big boat getting towed. I imagine there is not a lot of high speed, which may be good to lower the force against the cloth parts.

The classmate of mine was an engineer. When he came ashore he became a regional field equipment maintainer for Caterpillar. With a partner he eased into a truck dealership, sales and repair. For many decades his only car, many VW, were diesel powered. Your Touareg reminded me of his last car which he had for a long time before an accident. I've ridden with him in that vehicle and admired it in several trips. Even at my ancient age he bought a used VW Touareg in Porsche clothing.

[noelH]

Windage, cold weather, rolling resistance or lack of traction all = lower mpg.

Vela and so far the trailer wheels seem to not significantly add windage or rolling resistance.

When I drove out to CO to pick up Vela the Chevy Silverado 1500(4.? V6) I own averaged over 24 mpg cruising at the posted legal speed limits.  Driving home. Max speed of 65mph.  23.?mpg pulling the boat.  Have this 8x5 ft utility trailer with one of those tailgates that sticks straight up ~6 feet.  Never have broken 20mpg on the roads I normally get 22-24mpg pulling that beast.  Windage.

Winter ice and snow tires have a bit more rolling resistance than the summer (Not)"all seasons".  Add cold weather conditions. MPG drops.  4x4 high a few times needed to get to and back from our local ski area. Only 7.6 miles roundtrip, but all down then up hill.  If they put a tunnel from my house to the ski area parking lot it would only be a 1km walk.  MPG sub 20mpg. Snow. Increased rolling resistance and reduced traction.

[CapnK]

Right - so it wasn't the hitch that caused the issue, it was the thing *attached* to the hitch (see post #3) which made the mileage drop.     

The rubbing, as noted before, has proceeded. Large amounts of rubbing, in fact, along with razor blades and a heat gun for scraping, followed with copious usage of multiple grits of sandpaper afterwards - from 220 down to 5000.
Now she's almost at the point where I can slather on the compound...

The stripe in the pic, being 10+ years old and having lost most of its stickum, is placed just in order to see how it would look. She'll get new stripe material post-compounding. 

Name is yet to be determined.

You cannot view this attachment.

[Spot]

Oooh, shiny!