[slowmover]

Is it a toy, or something on which you and your family will depend?

Will it "save" you $500 or $5000 in a calendar year AFTER you've recouped the cost?

A fifth wheel travel trailer looks nice on paper. But it uses up the trucks cargo capacity for volume and weight.

Over on Airforums are some threads by "Skatiero" where she and her husband beautifully modded a 29 and then a 32 foot Airstream to accommodate their family of nine.

Something like this with a well-chosen passenger van is far more "fuel efficient" than a specifically high mpg rig.

Where the trailer has been "maximized" in terms of not needing outside supply where X people over Y nights is concerned, is the path to take for fuel efficiency.

Trailer parked at given location and no use of the tow vehicle for ? days. That's the question to answer.

Limiting the use of an otherwise well chosen (and highly reliable) tow vehicle is the path to follow for reducing fuel burn. That limited use is then defined with carefully planned trips.

As I recently went over in a post on the thread "Economics of Modding" , it's not the highest mpg of the vehicle per se, it's the best use per mile.

A passenger van with short rear overhang and an indefinite lifespan aero trailer is a dynamically good as well as overall efficient package.

What I'm trying to say is that there is a limit to chasing FE in a specific instance.