shorter vs longer on a long trip

Just like they say you can't have too much truck. IMO for being on the road you can't have too much trailer.

If you're thinking about fuel economy it's going to be about the same for both trailers. The front of the trailer pushing through the wind is what eats up mileage not the sides.

For grins I did some quick calculations. First I pulled up Google maps and plotted a course from Miami Florida (far south) to Plattsburgh New York (far north) and it was roughly 1,600 miles one way. I then calculated the cost to drive figuring fuel at $4.00 a gallon and various mileage figures. Below is what I found.

• 1,600 @ 8 MPG will cost $800.
• 1,600 @ 9 MPG will cost $711 saving $88.89 over 8 MPG.
• 1,600 @ 10 MPG will cost $640 saving $71.11 over 9 MPG.
• 1,600 @ 11 MPG will cost $581.82 saving $58.18 over 10 MPG.
• 1,600 @ 12 MPG will cost $533.33 saving $48.48 over 11 MPG.

If you increased your mileage from 8 MPG to 12 MPG which is not likely, you will save only $533.32 round trip. A more realistic increase would probably be from 9 to 11 MPG which would be a savings of $258.58 round trip. I find it hard to believe you could purchase a trailer and pay taxes and registration for less than $258.

Personally I would keep and use the trailer you already own rather than downsizing to a smaller more cramped trailer for a month long trip.

Most full timers I know have large 5ers or Class As. That would infer to me that people taking long trips prefer longer units. I personally have traveled from Vermont to the west coast, 3 month trips, in both a 21' TT and my current Class C (31' long overall). The comfort and storage capacity of the larger Class C was preferable to me, even with the higher gas cost.

I get the same mpg as everyone else, and my trailer is much smaller and much lighter. So mpg is not the reason to go short. But my trailer fits on my short driveway -- no storage fees. And I can take it just about anywhere my truck can go. Decent headroom -- 6'3". The bed is a normal queen size.

But if you are going to RV parks and large campgrounds (instead of boondocking or tight campgrounds, which is where we usually go), why not be as comfortable as you can with a larger unit? Also, a very small trailer is not great when you are stuck inside on a rainy day, so we usually hike in the rain.

So far we are still not sure. But the TT we were looking at will not suit us. Very Very nice but it had the cutoff corner double bed. Can't see us fitting on that as we are both old six foot tall people.

Well TOMKAREN13, did our comments help?????

I see no benefit here unless you just especially WANT a smaller trailer. Remember that the chances of selling it when you return may or may not happen in a timely manner. I wouldn't mess with it. Just take your current trailer and you'll be fine.

Also remember that if you do decide to buy a smaller trailer for this trip, you're going to have license, insurance and taxes to pay and you'll not recoup this money. Not to mention the depreciation.

While towing last Summer our 7900 lb TT on the way to Alaska before our trip was curtailed by an attack of AFib, we got a constant 7-8 mpg with 6.7 Ram with a crazy head/side wind. TT is a Forest River Classic Ultra lite (right) 831 about 32-34 ft or so. Best it ever got was maybe almost 10. Now have a 2013 Ford F150 CC 4X4 EcoBoost that's about the same towing, but much better empty. JMHO

We went from towing a 20' TT with a V8 1/2 ton truck. Now have a 3/4 ton truck with a V10 and tow a 29' TT. Gas mileage improved by around 2 mpg on average. The little V6 was running flat out most of the time and we were close to the max. tow figure. We got down to 5.6 mpg in steeper and longer hills like near Grants Pass in Or. and were off on the right shoulder along with the semis and crawling up at around 30-35 mph pedal to the metal.

Sometimes bigger IS better.

Mind you, we now have one of those fancy new aerodynamic front caps. Maybe it's all about the cap.... :D

We went from a TT to fifth wheel a few years back about 2000 more in weight and higher with the nose made me think if I got the same mileage I would be happy. I consistently get about 1 mpg better. As noted, it's more about wind resistance. Most important, enjoy your travels!