My wife and I are looking to replace our current camp trailer (a very small 12' number pulled by a Subaru Forester). We would like a larger bed than the glorified twin we currently share, and we live in Colorado and do a lot of ski camping, and an RV would be safer than the camp trailer in snowy conditions (far from optimal, but better).
Problem is, I've never actually seen one of these up close, and know just enough about them to know they exist and will get better gas mileage than anything else in our price range (and probably similar mileage to pulling our trailer).
I was hoping I could get answers to some basic questions that would address whether it would suite our needs or whether I need to be on the lookout for something else.
1. How fast can I generally expect one of these to comfortably roll down the road (without beating the hell out of it)? 50 mph? Anybody have any experience climbing Colorado-style mountain passes? Does that mean 25?
2. I hear people say 14-16 mpg in ads. Does that sound about right for a typical configuration?
3. I am generally looking for stuff that is late 1980's and early 1990's (preference for fuel injection due to Colorado elevation changes being hell on carbs). Most of these seem to be 4 cylinder models. Is a 4 cylinder in a state like Co foolhardy?
4. Is a stickshift preferable to automatic for performance/economy/reliability reasons?
5. I'm reading of axle problems one earlier models. Does this issue come with warnings like noise and vibration (like a bad bearing) or do the axles just shear?
6. Is there any towing capacity in these? I have an 1800 lb loaded jet ski trailer that almost anything can tow, but it seems like this could be an "almost"...
