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No Astro is all that great for mileage. The AWD seems nice but one pays a penalty. To give you an idea, my wife and I travel in a Dodge diesel pickup pulling a 34' travel trailer and average 13-16 mpg highway. The truck, solo, does from 18-20 city and 24-26 highway in the south central US.
I see the appeal of a van. Once knew an architect who had a Chevy half-ton (rear windows only), a big propane tank underneath and some very basic living accommodations. He used it to travel from Texas to Colorado, camp out for a few months (besides backpacking), and live cheaply while on the road as he could park it anywhere anonymously. Pay $7 for a shower at a truckstop when need be.
There is a single vehicle out there that will do better than the Astro. Frankly, pulling a trailer is better still (CASITA, SCAMP, etc) as one can use a quite small tow vehicle.
Look to the rigs owned and modded by KAMPERBOB on this site for an excellent approach.
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