Quote:
Originally Posted by Hersbird
. . Then I thought a 5th wheel design instead might be better but then I'd have to get a pickup that I would otherwise not use where the minivan is a daily driver.
. . . My goal here is to be able to tow it at about 65 getting 15mpg or better. A normal box trailer seems to drop mileage to 10 or worse.
|
You may wish to read on
Airstream Trailer Owners Community what others are finding with Airstream trailers and latest turbodiesel tow vehicles. MPG above 20 is now fairly easy.
Plenty of satisfied owners with gasser minivans. The real savings is always in purchase price, not just vehicle spec. The latter is central, but the former is where one really makes out. Don't sweat a hard MPG number so much, but find the tow vehicle
that best suits solo use and can also tow the trailer. Reducing solo miles and driving the remaining miles for best FE can help subsidize the fuel cost of towing. Find this balance and satisfaction will outweigh particular MPG numbers.
The trailer is the all-important choice as the right one (aero, all-aluminum) will last decades and the tow vehicle
will change several times. My folks kept their TT 27-years and used two TV's in that time. I started from scratch and pull a 35' TT at an average 15-mpg with a 3/4T truck (sig) versus the 8-mpg my folks saw with the same brand and a 28' pulled by a Cadillac.
A/S was the bargain brand of this TT type. But, like Chevrolet, built them by the thousands. An enormous price range to cover new and used. No reason, IMHO, to reinvent the wheel if it is a TT you want. But, beleive me, you'll break ground with a strong FE conciousness.
65-mph is a little high.
58-62 mph is the range for highway speed for FE (best travel time
and best brake time/distance versus reaction speed; greatest peripheral vision). Aero resistance climbs too high and too fast above 60-mph.
.