MookieKat wrote:
Wow!!!! You you people are awesome!! Thank you so much for all the wonderful and quick responses to my query!!
Here's a new development: There is a chance that we may wind up living in it for 6 months or so....as a transition to see if we like the new area that we are considering moving to.
Well, you’re going to be faced with some conflicting desires you’re going to have to work out. If you’re going to live in it for extended periods of time you’ll appreciate more room, i.e., a bigger TT. If you want to visit the parks and do a lot of mountain driving the smaller and lighter the better. You’ll find more campgrounds you can get into and have more available sites. And small is an easier tow in the mountains.
Forget good gas mileage, air resistance of a TT is such that you’re probably in the 10 to 11MPG area. Weight is a small factor on the flats, but it becomes much bigger when you’re trying to drag it up the mountains. You’d have to go really small to do better, I pull a 16’ 3000# loaded TT with an F150 5.4 and spend a lot of time mountain driving. Overall, I get 14, but I get less on long climbs, in the 9 to 11 area. If I were pulling 5000 to 6000# I’m pretty sure I’d be much closer to the 10 to 11 mpg range overall. I also agree with Terryallan, go for the full size SUV.
My thought if I were in your position would be that most of my use is camping and the extended living would be an aberration. So I’d opt for a TT in the roughly 20’ range. But I’d prefer a ½ ton truck with a cap to an SUV, too. I doubt if there’s a sweet spot between comfort and gas mileage though there likely is between comfort and accessibility to off the beaten path camping. Good luck on your decision.
