Glad to hear you had a safe trip. As far as the MPG goes.....if you can maintain a good steady speed without having to slow down/speed up all the time, and don't have to make a lot of stops or pull a lot of hills, you can actually get fairly decent mileage pulling a load. If I'm just running up or down I-95 or the Turnpike down here in Florida, I only loose about 1-2 MPG: not bad for pulling two Harleys & and a two-axle trailer.....
As far as braking goes.....I agree; getting that much rolling mass to slow down is always a challenge (especially in the rain!).
Electronic trailer brakes are the best things since sliced bread!
