Moppetsdad and Tentz are spot on with what they say. I have also sat behind artics whilst towing and it does help with fuel consumption.56 mph offers a good saving on 60mph cruising too.
I hope everyone is sticking to the 2 second + stopping distance gap? The closer you get to the artic, the better the streamling effect but "by George" it's a bit dangerous.......
------------- cramming for my finals in the twilight zone
On the way to Dawlish from the West Midlands traveling at an average 60 we achieved 21MPG
How do you average 60 mph with towing a caravan as legal limit is 60 mph on motorways and dual carriageways,? do you mean you ran at around 60 mph on the motorway?.
It is impossible to average 60 mph for the journey described and probably only just possible if running solo
If this was over Easter then the wind would have made one heck of a difference.
On Good Friday towing from Essex to Southampton I got 28.5 mpg.
Coming back on the Tuesday I got 23 mpg.
Both journeys were travelling at 60 mph where possible, traffic was slightly more free flowing on the return journey, but I still feel the reasonably brisk wind coming from the North East rather than the prevailing Westerly wind we normally get had the biggest effect.
Tailgating is so dangerous. I have seen many LGV's into the back of each other due to following too close and lack of forward vision. Towing a caravan gives an extended stopping distance. Please don't get too close as I have to pick up all the pieces when it goes wrong. Believe me it's not worth losing your life or serous injury to save fuel.
There are many things that could have influenced it. If the start point is at a lower altitude then the outbound trip is predominantly up hill, whereas the return trip is predominantly down hill. Wind direction and speed will have a massive effect as well.
Even small unnoticed changes in driving could have a significant effect on overall economy. A change of just 2 or 3 mph average speed can make all the difference with fuel consumption.
While tailgating can save a small amount of fuel, is it worth the cost of an accident? Simply slowing down a few MPH and reading the road ahead to avoid braking and harsh acceleration by making slight changes to the throttle well in advance can make a far greater impact on fuel economy. This would also make you as safer driver rather than tailgating HGVs, becoming what one can only describe as a danger to yourself and to other road users.