72 or 78?

[Deryk the Pirate]

Ive been on the horns of a dilemma for the last few days. With the new to me TV, my original plans of lighter and a little smaller then my first lil vardo isnt a concern now, Im tryin to figure how to do the next lil vardo build. The rav4 is 73" wide and 69" tall. I do have a roof rack so I could go a little bit taller and build a small wind deflector on top but dont plan on goin standup height.

Now if I keep it to 72 or 73" wide will keep within the width of it shouldnt have issues with drag, but I am planning to be way under the max tow weight of 3500lbs I was debateing the pro's and cons of goin 78" and putting the bed straight across the back like a traditional vardo which means I could get some decent storeage under the bed for clothes and misc items, the cabin is gonna be 8 feet long with a 2 foot box on the back for a galley.

Would the extra 3" wider on each side of my Rav4 be a real problem? Ive read starleen2's builds and he went a little wider then his vehicle and only noticed a small decrease in fuel mileage.

Down the road 1 day I will build a standup vardo, but would prefer something that wont be a major hit on my mpg and a little bigger is a plus to me since I plan on this being like a 2nd home when I go away to visit friends since most of my friends are an hour or 2 + away from me and would like to be able to retire at night to my own sleeping quaters for a little privacy besides obviously going camping in it.

any thoughts?

thanks

deryk

[bobhenry]

Ever heard the quote " Aerodynamic as a barn "

It is towed less than 1200 miles a year and I drive 18,000 a year so is gas mileage really that big an issue?

I find if we are camping we get there when we get there and get home when we get home. I try and take the road less traveled on the state highways and the devil with the interstate system. There is more to see and curious places to stop and sight see and even garage sale in route.

I find that the lower towing speeds more than make up for the aerodynamic drag by the increased frontal area.

[Deryk the Pirate]

Bob, whats your tv mileage towing the barn and not towing it?

thanks
deryk

[bobhenry]

09 dodge 6 cylinder full sized pickup 17 / 21 and towing at 52-60 it drops just over / under or around 2 points depending on the head winds to 15/19

[Deryk the Pirate]

Thats really not bad at all. I was really happy with the Rav4 mileage reported by Edmunds and on the Rav4 forums, suposedly 21/27. Ive got a 15 gallon tank and did alot of mostly city driveing this weekend but havent refilled the tank yet to figure it out...

Im thinkin goin 78" isnt gonna be a problem then. With lil vardo 1 and my pt cruiser I dropped down from 25mpg mixed city/highway to 18 while towing. Hopefully with a much more powerful engine I will only lose a little mileage.

thanks

deryk

[bobhenry]

Our Hoosier Tearjerker group have 3 official gatherings spring summer and fall and a not so offical winter shivaree so for us thats somewhere around 950 miles depending on which state parks are chosen. A few personal outings just for us and a couple sleep overs at the kids for halloween, new years, or the occasional grand monster birthday party. So what is having a comfortable "bedroom" worth , and if I party with the boys (OK there is no if it's when I party with the boys) I can save myself from a possible brush with the law.

So if you take the .117 drop in mileage times 1200 miles a year at 3.75 a gallon if figures out about $525. I wonder what a DUI would cost ?

[Deryk the Pirate]

Oh yeah, Im thinkin along the same lines. The lil vardo2 is gonna be with me on New Years eve so I can sleep safely at a friends house along with many summer bbq parties and camping events. The only time I drink is when I know Im stayin there for the night. I know far too many people who drive under the influence and Im not one of them lol...I have enough pain, dont need to add more to the list lol

[doug hodder]

I'm pulling a 78" trailer behind a 63" tow vehicle...(Ranger). I kinda have to keep an eye on the right hand side when I pass someone, as I don't have extensions on the mirrors, drivers side is fine....but any narrower than that and it just didn't work out for the floor plan on it. I"m glad I went that wide. Doug

[starleen2]

Oh yeah, Im thinkin along the same lines. The lil vardo2 is gonna be with me on New Years eve so I can sleep safely at a friends house along with many summer bbq parties and camping events. The only time I drink is when I know Im stayin there for the night. I know far too many people who drive under the influence and Im not one of them lol...I have enough pain, dont need to add more to the list lol

That's kinda a new "tradition" for some of us in the South Central tears - we meet at a members home with our teardrops in tow - celebrate the new year eve - retire to our campers and depart in the morning.

[starleen2]

BTW - 74" - 76 " wide would be a good compromise

[mezmo]

Hi Deryk,

Here's a couple more approaches:

Why not radius the verticle corners - at least in front - for the
additional little bit of width?

-or-

Why not doe a 'wedge' body of sorts? Tow vehicle width at front
and 78" at the back?

-or-

As Bob Henry suggested - for as much as you'd probably be
towing it it probably isn't worth any angst over the extra 6" in width.

If you were towing it full-time it'd probably be more of a factor.

The crosswise bed should probably trump any other consideration.
Balance comfort with frugality and put your finger on the comfort
side of the scale on this one.

Cheers,
Norm/mezmo

[Deryk the Pirate]

I could probably live with the 76" width, now were only talkin 1.5" wider on each side. Its true Im not towin it dailey but most trailers tend to be wider then their tow vehicles (and probably use alot more fuel). Im a hair taller then 5'10" so would give me enough room to lay down without head and feet touchin the side walls.

Im really likeing the idea of storage and the galley area will be pretty large... might think of adding a sink I have at my parents house hmmm...

[bdosborn]

Now if I keep it to 72 or 73" wide will keep within the width of it shouldnt have issues with drag, but I am planning to be way under the max tow weight of 3500lbs I was debateing the pro's and cons of goin 78"

My truck and trailer is 78" wide and the trailer wheels are the same width as the truck's. The roof of the trailer is about the same height as the truck. I figured that this much of the trailer would be in the wind:



What I found is that about a 12" on each side of the trailer is in the wind, as evidenced by all the dead bugs in this picture.



My mileage went down 2-3 mpg with the 78" wide trailer while the 48" teardrop had no effect at all on the mileage.

My guess is your trailer at 72" is already in the wind and another 6" won't make much difference.

Bruce