Travel trailer "vs" fith wheel --MPG to tow

otrfun wrote:

goducks10 wrote:
A TT sits further back from the cab than a 5th wheel does. More air coming over the cab will hit the TT unless you have a canopy on. A 5th wheel and especially on a SB truck will have less air hitting it since it's tucked in closer to the cab. Evidence of this is after a long day on the road, take a look at the front of the trailer. Where are all the bugs? Now, some 5ers are high and flat in the front and that will impact the mpg more so . . .

Good point. Where the bugs hit, the air hits.

Our previous trailer was a bumper-pull. After a long trip the bugs covered about 75 percent of the frontal area. Only the area directly behind the tailgate didn't have bugs. On our 5r, the bugs tend to congregate around the upper half of the front shell. I'm sure if I had calculated the square footage of the area covered in bugs on both, would probably have found the square footage for the bumper-pull was a bit higher---that's the case even though the overall frontal area of the 5r was significantly higher than the bumper-pull. When towing the 5r, I would tend to believe the truck itself is presenting the largest percentage of air drag. With the bumper-pull, I'm guessing maybe an equal amount.