DesertTed Posted November 1, 2018 Hi all, long time no post. Been on the road traveling. I'm in Florida now after a 2K mile trip from New Mexico via I-25, I-10 and I-95 (so you know what kind of roads I've been traveling). I've been pulling the 5500# trailer with the van, about 14,000lbs between the two of them. I drive from 61-64mph on cruise control. I've gotten just over the 10mpg the entire drive so far. Thought somebody out there may be curious. So far, not any problems with the van hitting 20K miles tomorrow. The trailer hitch and I have established detente. I get by, but I don't hate it enough to drop hundreds of dollars. Ted 2 Mark Rogers and ASD Dad reacted to this Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ASD Dad Posted November 1, 2018 Wonder if the highroof helps cut wind resistance to the trailer behind you. I get 8-9 mpg on average towing our 7600 lb trailer. The 1 mpg could be a multitude of things - slower speeds, pretty flat driving, etc. but I am genuinely curious of the roof does anything. 1 Mark Rogers reacted to this Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
DesertTed Posted November 1, 2018 (edited) I don't know if the high roof makes the difference, but I have the three solar panels. Including the folding one hanging on the driver's side of the van. Also I have the big Fantastic Vent Fan cover on top. I wanted to post a photo showing that, but I can't seem to do that in a response. I'll try to post it separately. I think my slow speeds contribute greatly to to the mpg. I can't say that I hypermile, but I do the best I can with the behemoth. It could be much worse.Ted Edited November 1, 2018 by DesertTed 2 ASD Dad and Mark Rogers reacted to this Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Mark Rogers Posted November 1, 2018 (edited) It would be interesting to compare the shapes of your trailers. The biggest contributor to the aerodynamics of a trailer is way the air flows around the back. That's why a lot of semi trucks now have big flaps added onto the backs of their trailers. They're supposed to improve fuel economy by about 5% at freeway speeds. Keeping your speed down is the single biggest thing you can do to help with gas mileage. If you look at the drag equation (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Drag_equation), you'll see that speed is the only term that's squared. You'll have 33% more drag at 75 MPH than you'd have at 65 MPH. Aerodynamics can't do a whole lot to counteract that amount of increase, unless you radically change the shape of the van and trailer. Edited November 1, 2018 by Mark Rogers 2 ASD Dad and andy_george reacted to this Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
