got any tips on how to save on gas? how much do you spend?

My dad was a long haul truck driver and ALWAYS won his company's fuel mileage award. It's what we used to buy mom's Christmas present every year! His advice - drive like you don't have brakes. You see a light ahead of you that looks like it might start turning and stop giving it gas - you waste a lot of gas speeding up to slow down or stop.

Simplest way to describe it is, every time you travel a mile, throw 50 Cents in a bucket. That will cover the fuel, not the taxes, not the Insurance, not the depreciation, not the campgrounds, not the wear and tare on the MH. If you are comfortable with this, enjoy. :S

29' gas class A. I fill up before the tank gets to a 1/4 so the genny doesn't shut down. I quit checking mileage because I don't care.

Fuel Mileage is what it is and I, like most, get around 7 or less running 65 to 70 MPH. People on the forums seem to save more on toilet paper than fuel.

msmith1199 wrote:

dons2346 wrote:

sch911 wrote:
Easiest way to save is to slow down, period.

Or stay home

Or get a hose and a gas can and go on midnight gas runs! :)

Made me laugh!!

Many more ways to save than just on fuel. The best way to save is not while moving but while sitting.

dons2346 wrote:

sch911 wrote:
Easiest way to save is to slow down, period.

Or stay home

Or get a hose and a gas can and go on midnight gas runs! :)

hounddogboy wrote:
how much mileage do you get?
what size rv do you drive?
what grade of gas do you use? regular, premium, diesel?
do you add anything to your gasoline?

thanks

The best milage I ever got 10 MPG coming back from Lake Havasu City, AZ. in my 36' gas motorhome without towing my car and I drove 55 MPH just about the entire trip. I average around 7 when towing and I drive at slower speeds 55 to 59 MPH. I use regular gas and use a Kroger discount when fueling, it's usually 2 cents cheaper than Costco. When I'm heading south for the winter I shop at Safeway a month before I leave so I can get the Native American Casino Gas at the 7 Feathers truck stop in Southern Oregon. They honor Safeway cards at there truckstop along with a players card. I try to buy as less fuel as possible when driving thru California. The only time that I use a fuel additive in my gas tank is when I arrive at Lake Havasu City, AZ. for the winter. My coach is sitting for 7 months so the additive helps to keep fuel from going bad. Hope this info helps you!

hounddogboy wrote:
how much mileage do you get?
what size rv do you drive?
what grade of gas do you use? regular, premium, diesel?
do you add anything to your gasoline?

thanks

6 on a bad day, 8 on a good
35' class A gasser
87 regular, 86 or 85 in the higher elevations
nope

Well Sir,
Without sounding too negative here. If you're going to drive ANY type of RV, then gas mileage is not in the picture. Some "supposedly" get in the 10s, some in the 9s, but, by far, the average hovers between 6-8. They're big, they're heavy, they're usually pulling something that's not light, they're built like a Kleenex Box on wheels so there's absolutely "0" aerodynamics.

We ran two class Cs for several years. One was a 23' Dodge "Four Star" with the 440 and it got somewhere in the 7s range. The next one was a 27' Class C Ford "Ultra" with the 460 and it got in the low to mid 7s. We then moved to a '99 Fleetwood Bounder 34V with the V-10. It got in the low to mid 7s.

We're now in a 2004 Itasca Horizon 36GD with the C-7 330 HP CAT and 6sp Allison MH3000 trans, and it hovers between 6.5 and around 7.5-8 depending on how much down hill I get to drive on. All of our motor homes never moved an inch without something hooked to the back of them so, again, gas mileage was, is, and never will be a factor. It is what it is.

And, as far as what type of gas, we've been using regular for all my driving years. 99.999999% of the NORMAL, everyday, common vehicles produced over the last several years, I'm talking 20 years, run on regular gas. Some of the manufacturers "recommend" the use of Premium but, the engines run just fine on regular.

All of he gas coaches we had ran on regular and, we live in CA where the lowest octane is 87. But, when we entered states like UT, where 85 octane was available, it went into the tank too. Absolutely no running problems when running that fuel.

So, unless you're going to run one of those newer Winnes with the Mercedes diesels in it, don't plan on getting too much mileage, especially if you're going to tow something.

Again, not trying to be negative, just being real.
scott