[img]/forums/images/icons/tongue.gif[/img] We just returned from a 4,000 mile-plus Jeep odyssey that took us up thru So Dak, Wyo, Mont, Ida, and over to the Pacific Ocean at Seattle. Besides sightseeing and visiting friends, one of our goals was to empty out a renta-storage room that one of the kids still rented in Redmond WA, a leftover from their college/apartment/working/etc. days. [img]/forums/images/icons/tongue.gif[/img] We found the renta storage all right, and there was a U-Haul place just a few miles away. To our surprise, the U-Haul dealer informed us that if we had been using the convertible top on our Jeep, he COULD NOT have rented a trailer to us. Luckily, for this trip we had the hardtop on the Wrangler so that wasn't an issue. We did not get the whole story as to the WHY of the no-convertible rule, but no doubt some dummy did something dumb with his convertible and got in a jam and blamed U-Haul. We also found out that U-Haul WILL NOT rent a trailer to anyone who will be towing it with a Ferd Explorer. [img]/forums/images/icons/shocked.gif[/img] A few years ago when those Exploders were self destructing because of defective tires; Ferd and the tire company tried to blame it on U-Haul; so U-Haul has adopted a retaliatory: "OK, you sonzas!" policy and no Exploder gets hooked to any U-Haul trailer. [img]/forums/images/icons/mad.gif[/img] We picked out a single-axle 5X8 trailer and scientifically packed it to get the exact tongue weight that was needed, and were rewarded for our efforts by a trailer that actually improved the handling of that Jeep. [img]/forums/images/icons/smile.gif[/img] We got 21.17 MPG on the way to the coast and 14.72 MPG on the return with the trailer behind us. We spent 943 dollars on gas in 4057 miles. The overall average fuel consumption was 18.29 MPG. That 4.0 in-line six in our Wrangler did very well towing up some 6 and 7% grades; I never had to go to bottom gear. [img]/forums/images/icons/tongue.gif[/img] Gas was most expensive in Seattle, and cheapest in So Dak. Out there on I-90, you would think that gas and diesel were FREE the way people push trucks and RVs, 70-75 MPH is about what they run with a Dodge Diesel pickup and a thirty-foot fifth wheel trailer. [img]/forums/images/icons/crazy.gif[/img]