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I've got a '96 F250 automatic turbodiesel that I bought new 20 years ago for towing my travel trailer. At the time, I had a 27-foot 1967 Airstream, and with my new F250 was averaging 16 mpgs towing on the highway. However, when the Airstream began showing its wrinkles at 39 years of age, with its floor developing some soft spots and the frame needing some attention and etc, I finally got tired of the idea of putting more work into it, so I gave it to one of my kids for their starter rig.
I wanted something new for when I retired that I would not have to work on. I considered a new Airstream, but choked at the $50K cost to play. So I bought a new 28-foot Jayco for $17K that has torsion bar suspension and weighs less than the equivalent Airstream. While it tows just as well on the road, due to the unfavorable aerodynamic differential, I did lose about 1.5 mpgs (now averaging 14.4mpg). On the other hand, I saved $34K in purchase cost. Even though I didn't like to lose the mileage, I figure I got my Jayco for free because the Airstream would have depreciated by what I paid for the Jayco in the 10 years since I bought it, and the Jayco is still in excellent shape requiring no repairs so far as long as I am diligent watching to assure the roof keeps properly sealed.
My old Ford used to be among the leaders in towing fuel economy. Nowadays, there are new choices on the market, such as those diesel Mercedes and VW cars and SUVs and those half-ton diesel pickups which regularly are seeing 18 and 19 mpgs while towing travel trailers. It's true that those rigs aren't as heavy as mine, but their efficiency is nonetheless amazing. On the other hand, considering that I bought my F250 new for about $26K using 1996 dollars and the Jayco new for $17K in 2006 dollars, the newest rigs can't touch me for relatively low overall investment, even with their increased fuel economy on the road. But they sure are nice.
That's my story and I'm sticking to it.
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