Weight vs gas mileage?

It's more about aerodynamics and speed

In my experience, weight indeed does matter if you have a lot of hills to pull up, or if you are stopping and starting a lot. If you are just driving along at 60 mph, weight matters little. The over-riding factor is the aero drag of the trailer. Rounded corners vs square on the front, that sort of thing. I added Airtab's to the rear of two different car haulers, and in both cases I got 15% better fuel mileage. Now, that was going from 9 mpg to 10.5 mpg, so I was still getting lousy fuel mileage, but a consistent 45 - 50 Km's more per tank was welcome.

Brian

All gas engines all high walled RVs 8-10mpg. Eight is only a factor for accelerating and hills. Budget for 8mpg, be happy with 9mpg. If you budget for 10-11.5 that 1% of RVers get, you will be disappointing when you get 9mpg.

For several years I towed a 24' KZ Spree with an '06 Chevy Silverado and later with an '05 Avalanche - same engine, same 3.42 axle ratio, same wide ratio 4 speed transmission in both ... the Spree typically averaged ~ 5500 lbs loaded and ready to camp, gas mileage towing with either vehicle was the same, ~ 10.5 miles to the US gallon, occasionally on flat terrain with little wind I'd sometimes see low to mid 11s. With that same Avalanche I now tow a 19' Freedom Express is ~ 1000 lbs lighter, ~ 4500 lbs loaded and ready to camp ... mileage on average is slightly better as I frequently see 11.5 mpg, occasionally up into the low to mid 12s under ideal conditions. Bottom line - any difference isn't worth worrying about, buy the camper that best suits your needs and when towing any trailer travel consider anything you may achieve beyond 10 miles to the US gallon as a bonus.

downtheroad wrote:

When I stopped worrying about mileage, I started to relax and have a lot more fun RVing and camping.

This would be my answer as well.... enjoy being outdoors damn the cost.

I don't know what you're planning to towing with, but look at it this way. If you have a five passenger vehicle, what's the mileage difference between having just yourself or five people in it? (Four extra people X 200# each = 800# more.) Do you really notice any difference in your mileage?

Bill

Forget about "mileage" and RV'ing. If you are going to lug around your house behind you, you are going to use a lot of fuel and basically get terrible mileage.

When I stopped worrying about mileage, I started to relax and have a lot more fun RVing and camping.

But, to answer your question...speed and wind resistance will affect your mileage much more than weight.

I doubt you will even notice any difference in FE - maybe .5 mpg.
The big killer is the large frontal area you have to pull against the wind.