Quote:
Originally Posted by aerostealth
I have been on trailer towing sites looking for comments on how to get better mpg while towing a trailer and they seem fairly clueless about aerodynamics. About all they can tell you is drive slower. I typically do only about 62 mph if conditions warrant it. Slower in head winds or side winds. I once got over 15 mpg towing Apex with the 4 Runner with a nice tail wind. But 12 mpg is my baseline I am looking for improvement on.
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Yeah, I hate to tell you I'm about the only one out there. Not that there aren't others with interest. But "camping" precludes any serious thinking, which is that "fun" seems to a mindless thing. Look at the phrase, "making memories" . . where's this s%^+ come from?
The short version is annual fuel budget. Annual miles. What is the change to the fuel budget for vacation miles? Even if RVers kept records, fuel isn't that high a cost primarily as they don't care about solo miles either. There is no interest in starting to decrease the solo mile cost for fuel so as to underwrite towing miles.
The two subgroups genuinely interested in RV fuel economy are those on fixed incomes (retired and/or disabled) and those who call themselves workcampers. This group (and yours truly) wants the longest life at lowest cost. Greatest distance so as to be able to travel between assignments, etc.
Fuel is about one half the daily cost of travel averaged out. Some boondocking, and some campsites with full hookups. Fuel is overhead, not optional.
And, are you sure you want a 5er? The lifetime is no better (roughly a decade) and they're top heavy. Don't tow as well as is assumed. The really well built ones need a DRW truck or bigger.
Nash Mfg is where I'd start looking. Arctic Fox or Desert Fox. Read Steve Rankins posts on Woodalls and his own site for value on that brand.
But a Bigfoot conventional trailer and TD tow vehicle would be a bulletproof approach. Very good value, used.
Obviously, Airstream. Ten years old is not old. My Silver Streak is "old" at twenty five years in the sense that the wearing items need to be redone. Etc. but no where near worn out. A 200k mile trailer versus the notmal 60,000 miles for a conventional.
A ten year old A/S is at the sweet point of depreciation and age. The best of both. Your current truck can pull a 25' and even larger with sensible loading. The "wide bodies" made since the late nineties are more of a good thing.
And the mechanical baseline of any of these still need to be verified. None of them come brand new with an accurate alignment. And all have unequal weight on each of the four tires. Etc.
One has a tremendous amount of expense to make a conventionally manufactured trailer a decent vehicle to tow. They are much more expensive in the long run.