New member, my question

[george]

Hello all, you guys seem to be a nice bunch so I've decided to ask my question here.  I've started dating someone that likes to camp and I have a good time of it generally.  But we camp in tents and I don't like being without a shower or bathroom for extended periods.  I do love being out in the wilderness and enjoying walks along the trail though. 

I think I'm going to look at getting a small camper that has a bathroom and shower.  I currently don't have any vehicle that could tow such a thing though and the thought of buying a behemoth that'll clog our highways and pollute is not appealing to me.  Not to mention the high cost of gas.  So I did some research and found out that Dodge and GM have an SUV that is also a hybrid that is supposed to get good mileage and pollute less.  My question is what kind of mileage could I expect to get with an SUV hybrid?  I would almost never drive it except to tow the camper since I have the prius to get me to and from every where I need to go.  The trailer I would get would less than five thousand pounds loaded up with water and everything, probably closer to four thousand.  What does everyone think???  Is this a good idea or not?  I'm betting the hybrid will cost quite a bit more than the regular version as well. 

[hemiram]

First, welcome to the site.  I hope you find lots of great information here.

My guess is that the Hybrid Aspen/Durango will get you 24-26 on the highway unloaded.  Loaded up with a camper though it would be hard to say.  You might get the same mileage that a non hybrid gets. 

[diesel game]

Hello all, you guys seem to be a nice bunch so I've decided to ask my question here.  I've started dating someone that likes to camp and I have a good time of it generally.  But we camp in tents and I don't like being without a shower or bathroom for extended periods.  I do love being out in the wilderness and enjoying walks along the trail though. 

I think I'm going to look at getting a small camper that has a bathroom and shower.  I currently don't have any vehicle that could tow such a thing though and the thought of buying a behemoth that'll clog our highways and pollute is not appealing to me.  Not to mention the high cost of gas.  So I did some research and found out that Dodge and GM have an SUV that is also a hybrid that is supposed to get good mileage and pollute less.  My question is what kind of mileage could I expect to get with an SUV hybrid?  I would almost never drive it except to tow the camper since I have the prius to get me to and from every where I need to go.  The trailer I would get would less than five thousand pounds loaded up with water and everything, probably closer to four thousand.  What does everyone think???  Is this a good idea or not?  I'm betting the hybrid will cost quite a bit more than the regular version as well. 

Hemiram is right about the uncertainty of MPG while towing.  I do believe that there are some Tahoes on the road so you might find some personal experience there.  Why not wait and get a Diesel Durango, they're supposed to get 25 mpg highway unloaded and loaded up you know the MPG will go down a predictable amount.  The hybrid vehicles you have no idea.  Since you probably won't use it for anything but towing the extra cost of diesel won't hit you as hard.

[jeepers]

Hello george and welcome to the site.  If you enjoy being in the wilderness but also like to have a bathroom/shower why don't you look to places that have cabins?  A cabin offers nothing that a camper does not and you can rent them for just a couple hundred dollars a weekend.  It would take a lot of campering with your new camper/suv to come out ahead vs renting a cabin.  That might be a good compromise for you.

[95concord]

Hello george and welcome to the site.  If you enjoy being in the wilderness but also like to have a bathroom/shower why don't you look to places that have cabins?  A cabin offers nothing that a camper does not and you can rent them for just a couple hundred dollars a weekend.  It would take a lot of campering with your new camper/suv to come out ahead vs renting a cabin.  That might be a good compromise for you.

Best advice yet.  You don't need the big camper and the toy to haul it with if it's not your lifestyle.  Just get a fancy tent, you can get portable showers/bathrooms to put in it if you need to.  Look for cabins and save your money.

[MegaTruck]

While a Durango is a good purchase if you're going to be towing a camper, you might also want to look at RVs.  They don't get good mpgs but it would be more cost effective.  You could get a diesel powered one and run vegetable oil in it.

[george]

While a Durango is a good purchase if you're going to be towing a camper, you might also want to look at RVs.  They don't get good mpgs but it would be more cost effective.  You could get a diesel powered one and run vegetable oil in it.

I appreciate all the responses so far.  Thankfully I'm at a stage in my life where I don't need to worry about money, so I can focus mainly on my impact on the environment.  I don't mind that the cost won't pay for itself in fuel savings, it'll pay for itself in satisfaction that I'm enjoying something I want to do with someone that I want to do it with while keeping our carbon footprint to a minimum.

[markedman]

If cost isn't an issue I would look at one of the new ctds with all the emissions stuff loaded on it.  The 6.7L will get you good mpg while towing and you'd be able to get any camper that you want.

[raman noodles]

If cost isn't an issue I would look at one of the new ctds with all the emissions stuff loaded on it.  The 6.7L will get you good mpg while towing and you'd be able to get any camper that you want.

Plus you'd be able to run biodiesel which burns cleaner and the crop that is used to make the biodiesel absorbs CO2 while growing   It's a win win.

[man o jeep]

Welcome to the site, I imagine that the hybrid system would net you a few mpgs better than the non hybrid system.

[gman]

The hybrid system will be expensive and who knows what it'll cost for maintenance.  The cummins v8 might cost th same but it's a simpler solution that you know will get better mpgs.  My vote is for the diesel in 2010.

[raman noodles]

The hybrid system will be expensive and who knows what it'll cost for maintenance.  The cummins v8 might cost th same but it's a simpler solution that you know will get better mpgs.  My vote is for the diesel in 2010.

Diesel all the way baby

[MegaTruck]

The hybrid system will be expensive and who knows what it'll cost for maintenance.  The cummins v8 might cost th same but it's a simpler solution that you know will get better mpgs.  My vote is for the diesel in 2010.

I agree but the new cummins engines will likely cost a lot as well.  And who knows what kind of maintenance you'll have to do on them.  I'm all for diesel but only when it makes sense.

[squat]

Hello all, you guys seem to be a nice bunch so I've decided to ask my question here.  I've started dating someone that likes to camp and I have a good time of it generally.  But we camp in tents and I don't like being without a shower or bathroom for extended periods.  I do love being out in the wilderness and enjoying walks along the trail though. 

I think I'm going to look at getting a small camper that has a bathroom and shower.  I currently don't have any vehicle that could tow such a thing though and the thought of buying a behemoth that'll clog our highways and pollute is not appealing to me.  Not to mention the high cost of gas.  So I did some research and found out that Dodge and GM have an SUV that is also a hybrid that is supposed to get good mileage and pollute less.  My question is what kind of mileage could I expect to get with an SUV hybrid?  I would almost never drive it except to tow the camper since I have the prius to get me to and from every where I need to go.  The trailer I would get would less than five thousand pounds loaded up with water and everything, probably closer to four thousand.  What does everyone think???  Is this a good idea or not?  I'm betting the hybrid will cost quite a bit more than the regular version as well. 

First, welcome to the site.  I hope you find it useful.  Second, others are right about how the hybrid durango will perform under load.  We don't know really.  I imagine that it'll be a few MPG better than the Durango nonhybrid, however since the hybrid system IS the transmission, there will likely be factors that affect MPG in a positive way under all types of driving. 

If environmental impact is your main concern, maybe you should look at either a Cummins V6/V8 as others have mentioned.  They'll become available around same time as the hybrid system.  The batteries used to store the energy for the hybrid system have a high environmental cost and the new diesel technology is the cleanest in the world.

[flint]

I've heard that you'll get 40% improved mpg with the hybrid.  So I'd expect that you'll get 40% better mpg towing.