Fintip,
If you are going to travel or tow that RV any distance, you can forget about gas mileage. RV's and gas mileage are mutually exclusive! :B . The weight of the trailer does not matter much once it gets rolling so the design of the trailer determines how much wind resistance is present. Most RV's are about the same. It really doesn't matter too much what the shape of the front is, the gas milage will be about the same.
There has been some research that determines that the rear of the trailer is where most of the drag comes from and therefore the decreased gas mileage. There have been numerous postings on these forum regarding air wings, air tabs, rear wings, etc. but none to my knowledge has produced really noticeable, gas saving results. The best way to increase fuel mileage is to slow down. I never towed faster than 65 mph except for the occasional pass.
What is seems to come down to is that if you want to play, you got to pay! :B Although that is somewhat of a joke, it really is true. When I towed with a gas engined truck, I used to average around 10mpg which is about the norm. Some get better some get less but most average around 8-10 mpg with a gas vehicle. When I started towing the same trailer with a diesel my average went up to around 12 mpg and sometimes 14 mpg, but the price of fuel was normally considerably higher than the gas price so my cost per mile was about the same
If I were you, I would use the trailer and enjoy it but not worry about what kind of mileage you are going to get - you are towing a big box around. Just enjoy the lifestyle and have fun! :)
Barney
