Hi Bob,
I towed my trailer to Minnesota and back to Arizona last fall, and: When running without the trailer, I average about 14 mpg ... with the trailer at 65 - 70 mph, the mileage plummeted to 6 - 8 mpg! If running into a headwind, good luck in making 60 mph
![Crying :cry:](./images/smilies/econ_crying.gif)
I took care of the power issue by re-gearing the Blazer ... The Blazer was set up with 3.07:1, which is okay for a smaller tire in the 26" - 27" range. However, because I have a standard (3 speed with compound) and am running a larger 33" tire, I decided to go with 4.11:1 gears for towing and a lower range of gearing off-road. Although I have not checked mileage, so far I am loving the change and power increase!
The wind resistance does not feel as bad as it was, but is still noticeable and is like running into a wall at about 60 mph ... you can actually feel the resistance!
Again, I have a 20+ inch wall sticking in the air above the Blazer roof ... the roof rack will go on next week and then I can install an adjustable wind deflector near the back of the rack. With the short tongue on the trailer, the rear of the deflector will be approximately 4' in front of the trailer ... all the wind deflector installs I have read, recommend the deflector to be installed within 6' of the trailer roof. Because I will be doing a lot of traveling with the trailer, I figure that if I can even get a 1 - 2 mpg improvement, it will add up over time (Customer comments for the deflector say that if installed correctly, they are seeing a 1 - 3 mpg improvement when towing and some say as much as 5 mpg improvement). Well, I have read both sides and if one can believe the comments, who knows. I also know that I can feel the wind when towing the trailer and that is resistance...
Note the attached pic ... one can compare the height difference with the 28" side door! The extra 6" of roof is no big thing by itself, but I added about 11" to the trailer height by going with a straight axle, installing the spring above the axle, and going to a larger tire ... If I had stayed with the standard suspension set-up, but added 6" to the ceiling, the height over the Blazer would not have been a big deal ... oh well, there is always a give and take rule ...
![Thinking :thinking:](./images/smilies/econ_thinking.gif)