MPG - Page 2

Topic: MPG (Read 2631 times) previous topic - next topic

Re: MPG

Reply #25 – October 07, 2018, 06:18:47 pm

Jerry, I worried about MPG for a while after we got our coach, but it is whatever it is going to be. I try to drive carefully but I can't so anything about wind and other factors. I am still averaging just under 8 and am pretty happy about it. We are staying longer where we get to so our miles per day is getting less as is fuel $ per day. Of course if you never went anywhere it would go to zero but that is no fun.

Re: MPG

Reply #26 – October 07, 2018, 07:03:00 pm

Our 40 ft 1995 U320 with 400 Hp Cummins M11 and Aqua-Hot gets between 7 and 8 MPG overall while towing our Chevy Equinox an traveling at about 70 MPH over a wide variety of terrain and weather conditions.

Re: MPG

Reply #27 – October 07, 2018, 07:22:20 pm

I've never concerned myself with MPG's, but rather with the range with the diesel left in the tank. I like to know how far and when I need to get fuel.
Now on my cars & trucks I track MPG's in order to see if there is a problem creeping up.

Re: MPG

Reply #28 – October 07, 2018, 08:33:05 pm

Quote from: Roger & Susan in Home2 – October 07, 2018, 06:18:47 pm

Jerry, I worried about MPG for a while after we got our coach, but it is whatever it is going to be. I try to drive carefully but I can't so anything about wind and other factors. I am still averaging just under 8 and am pretty happy about it. We are staying longer where we get to so our miles per day is getting less as is fuel $ per day. Of course if you never went anywhere it would go to zero but that is no fun.

Same here. I don't worry about it to much. however, Just like Han Solo, I try to "fly casual" and that is usually a good way to be economical with out whipping out a calculator.

I still need to get a vms from you.

Re: MPG

Reply #29 – October 07, 2018, 08:52:34 pm

Kansas appears flat, but going eastbound the elevation drops about 10 ft every mile. So your running slightly downhill. Just the erosion deposits from the Rocky mountains.

Re: MPG

Reply #30 – October 07, 2018, 11:16:19 pm

Looked up Texas on a globe, and figured we would get better mileage going down than coming back. And I was right!!
Downhill one way and uphill coming back.

Re: MPG

Reply #31 – October 08, 2018, 12:01:37 am

31480 lbs+ 4700 towed, gets 8MPG@ 65 mph. Don't worry much about it though just put them dinosaurs in the tank and light em up. 👍😎🌵

Re: MPG

Reply #32 – October 08, 2018, 08:24:59 am

My old coach because it's 6" narrower and at least a foot shorter heightwise And a sloped nose will run 10-11mpg at 65 all day long.

Re: MPG

Reply #33 – October 08, 2018, 11:28:23 pm

Roger, "but it is whatever it is going to be." is so true. My 92 Signature had fuel tracked since new, previous owner always got 10 mpg. After purchasing it, I always got 8 mpg and I'm an easy driver. I do tow a 5500 to 6000 lb dingy, I used the generator often to charge the batteries, and often ran the A/C while dry camping with the generator running. My FT when I checked it on last years 2500 mile trip I got approx 8 mpg, and yes, ran the a/c allot with the generator running instead of being plugged in.

Re: MPG

Reply #34 – October 09, 2018, 10:36:38 am

Jack,

More likely the P.O. "claimed" he got 10 mpg. 8 mpg for a 40 foot 102 inch coach w/toad is nothing to sneeze at a 60-65 mph cruising speed.. The lower, 96 inch coaches push less air and are lighter so 10-11 mpg is probably pretty normal. Side radiator coaches use somewhere around 35 hp to run the fans at 65 mph and up to 60 hp on grades. That's a lot of fuel wasted.

MPG off the ECU is almost always less than operator claimed.

Pierce

Re: MPG

Reply #35 – October 09, 2018, 11:22:57 am

When I bought the coach ten years ago, the ecu reported 8.5mpg overall. Now it reports 7.5

The first owner probably drove like an older lady, and for good reason. I like to hot rod a bit.

Lately I've slowed down. Driving my age? vmsPC is frequenty reporting averages around 9.

Re: MPG

Reply #36 – October 09, 2018, 11:53:23 am

Quote from: Tom Lang – October 09, 2018, 11:22:57 am

When I bought the coach ten years ago, the ecu reported 8.5mpg overall. Now it reports 7.5
The first owner probably drove like an older lady, and for good reason. I like to hot rod a bit.
Lately I've slowed down. Driving my age? vmsPC is frequenty reporting averages around 9.

Tom,

Was the P.O. also on the west coast? With all the mountains and rugged terrain here, mileage will be less. I'm at full throttle quite a bit of the time from stop signs, grades, but find that about 60-65 on the freeway and less on 395 allows me to spend more time looking around rather than having to focus so much. Speeds like the blowout RV was traveling at are not what retirement is for.

Our air cleaner restriction gauge was at the end and after changing the element, we got both more power and better mileage.

Pierce

Re: MPG

Reply #37 – October 09, 2018, 01:37:19 pm

When I drove the coach empty from Nac. to Chicago I got a little under 10 mpg. Similar to Rodger but without the mountains. I was not going slow either. Driving style has a lot of influence on MPG. The harder you mash the pedal the more fuel you will use. Loaded towing the CRV at 65 mph I get about the same on flat terrain. In town it's abysmal.

Keith

Re: MPG

Reply #38 – October 10, 2018, 08:31:53 pm

I started keeping mileage records a couple of years ago. We're at 6.7 overall at this time, with about half of that on the old engine and half on the rebuilt one. The generator is usually running on travel days, and I don't make any allowance for that. I figure that I still have to put that diesel in the tank, so that is part of operating the coach.

Roger is sending the VMSpc stuff, so by the time we leave at the end of the month I'll have that all hooked up and running. Then maybe I'll have a different number to report. In the meantime I'm happy with what we get.

Re: MPG

Reply #39 – October 10, 2018, 09:25:31 pm

Ol' Moby did 11 on our big 2500 mile Yellowstone trip. I haven't really kept track of mpg since then.

Re: MPG

Reply #40 – October 11, 2018, 07:31:01 am

Left NAC with a "ton" of "coach bucks " left behind . Sort of expected a big improvement in this MPG thing . Hmm----no change , same five and a half to six .

Brad Metzgert

Re: MPG

Reply #41 – October 11, 2018, 10:23:35 am

Quote from: Brad Metzger – October 11, 2018, 07:31:01 am

Left NAC with a "ton" of "coach bucks " left behind . Sort of expected a big improvement in this MPG thing . Hmm----no change , same five and a half to six . Brad Metzgert

If you have a big wide and long coach with slide and a flat nose, you can't expect much better than that and can't compare it to GVs with the low and narrow body. The CATs and 5.9 Cummins are going to almost double your mileage even without tranny lockup. Plus, you have a trailer on behind as I remember. Will drop more in the Rockies.

PIerce

Re: MPG

Reply #42 – October 11, 2018, 11:55:34 am

No surprise here , no change either . This coach has the aerodynamics of a shoe box . The only way it could get better would be down hill every where you went . So , am very aware of this aspect , I buy fuel , moan and keep on doing what I intended to do in the first place . My goal from day one is to ware this thing out . Looks like it will outlast me with no problem . Every issue with this coach has been resolved . The day will come when someone will get a coach that has been looked after . Brad Metzger

Re: MPG

Reply #43 – October 11, 2018, 12:06:32 pm

Like Brad said, don't have to like the price of fuel, but it's the cost of doing business.

Re: MPG

Reply #44 – October 11, 2018, 12:25:40 pm

It's the dishwasher Brad. Way too heavy

Re: MPG

Reply #45 – October 11, 2018, 12:31:53 pm

Quote from: bbeane – October 11, 2018, 12:06:32 pm

Like Brad said, don't have to like the price of fuel, but it's the cost of doing business.

Yet at the same time. There's no reason a person shouldn't try differing driving techniques to maximize their MPG. Tossing a rock on the go pedal and calling it good is of course one way to drive. But YMMV. One way to look at it is that going from 6.5 to 7.5 mpg is a 15% reduction in fuel costs. That equals NOT having to buy 29 Gallons to refill my 197 Gallon tank. That adds up.

I do the MPG game in my Mercedes SUV. I can drive it like I rented it and get 37 mpg. But by being just a bit careful. I've seen 47 mpg in a 4,200Lb full time awd suv. And routinely get 41-42mpg.

Re: MPG

Reply #46 – October 11, 2018, 12:40:00 pm

True. .5 MPG makes a few dollars in the pocket.
If we moved the horns back to a low pressure area, added a better slope to the front AC unit and maybe added a front air dam... I could see anouther .5 or better. IMHO.

Re: MPG

Reply #47 – October 11, 2018, 01:02:49 pm

One of the reasons I max the tire pressures and make sure the front end has just a little toe in. Having a lower RPM cruise in not in the cards for our four speed Allison but the lockup helps.

Tire air pressure just to taxi an aircraft makes a big difference. With low pressure, lots of throttle is needed just to get it rolling and it takes a couple seconds longer to get off the ground. With the tires pumped up, you have to be careful when taxiing downwind as a following wind will push you along.

The hydraulic fans are the big thieves here. Anywhere from 35 hp at cruise to 65 hp on grades at high RPM drops the mpg way down. A 65 mph cruise probably takes (just guessing) about 150 hp on flat ground for a 102 inch coach so 35 hp is a big deal. With a GV, twin front radiators with electric fans when the ram air is not effective like around town would save not only fuel but thousands of coach bucks when a failure occurs. A hydraulic failure can also be associated with engine overheating and damage too.

Pierce

Re: MPG

Reply #48 – October 11, 2018, 02:26:51 pm

Are our fans always on? or are they on a demand basis?

Re: MPG

Reply #49 – October 11, 2018, 02:54:05 pm

Should be LOW-HIGH, not ON-OFF.

Even if coolant temperature is not high, you still need air flow through the CAC.

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