Hi group,
I'm wondering what owners of the newer Foretravel coaches with 650 engines are getting for mileage.
Jim
2002 U320
Jim, I inquired with FT and they pulled some information from the glass dash silverleaf for a new 650 for me to post here.
Curtis was kind enough to do it for me. Here is his response.
Based upon the history that is retained on the Glass Dash
instrumentation , the Cummins 650hp on a Phenix 4540 averages between
6.2 and 6.5 mpg. Driving conditions and driving culture will of course
have an affect on the range average.
I will second the driving conditions. I know in the mountains of VA that i have to travel to get anywhere i am a full MPG less than on the flats....
Our 05 has a 500 hp and we are getting 6.4 and 6.7 of course we have been in Georgia and Florida, not too many hills here!
I just rescued my coach from Cummins today. I filled up and went a bit over 500 miles on that tank and the Silverleaf showed 7.2 for my 42 foot 450 M 11. I will usually end up between 6.9 and 7.2 over 500 miles or so....This one was pretty good as it seems that coming home is easier than going south. I noticed the same road just a different direction is only 7.0 for what it is worth... If I sit and idle any time at all for instance a traffic light or even a quick brake to walk the pups I will lose .2 mpg very quickly.
Just a note: wind can certainly play a big part in fuel economy or lack of it. While I have an older coach I know I dropped at least 1 MPG going into a quartering 40 MPH headwind. Think of it this way, driving into a 20 MPH headwind at 60 is like driving in still air at 80, aerodynamically. This time of the year we have a lot of fronts. Before they get here the wind is blowing 20 to 30 from the south and after the front about the same but from the north. Only one time have I been lucky enough to go north when the wind was from the south and south when the wind was out of the north.
Very true about wind. I was driving across SD and MT in a 50 plus mph head wind. My mirrors bent backwards and I could not open the door when I stopped to fix them. I had to turn the coach around. I got 3.5 mpg that trip. Worse ever.
Today we traveled from Raleigh, NC to Asheville, NC, a distance of about 250 miles. Speed was typically 55mph with mode off. Mileage was 9.2 mpg until we hit the hill to the east of Asheville. Ended up with 8.8mpg. Engine is a 400ISL in a 2003 36' coach. This is pretty typical of what we have been getting mileage-wise.