motor home mpg
what brand of mh gets the best mpg? we are considering a vegas 24.1
Forum Discussion
Floridastorm wrote:
Hello Folks,
I am a mechanical idiot (Contracts Manager my entire career)and know next to nothing about engines with the exception to what I read. Am still considering a motor home for getting around Florida and Georgia in retirement.
Can you help me with the reasoning behind the inability of engine manufacturers to produce an RV engine that can get decent gasoline mileage. I worked with engineers my entire career and don't really understand why they would not want to build this type of engine considering the hundreds of thousands and possibly millions of motor homes built every year. Is it a physical problem or scientific? I would imagine this would address the trucking industry also.
Also, is it better to use premium gasoline compared to regular in a motor home? How about synthetic oil as compared to standard oil?
Florida,
Drew has outlined the issues pretty well, but I just have to jump in here and clear up some things.
The first problem is that you are burdened by a preconceived misconception. It is a physical issue that makes typical motorhomes have less than fuel efficiency you would like. It is a matter of dragging a house down the road. The other issue is that fuel is the least of the issues.
You say you are (were) a contracts manager. I suspect that you used spreadsheets. Open one and put in at least two pages (maybe more) of every way you might choose to travel. If you are not an economic idiot, that sheet will soon show you that fuel cost is just not a big deal. When you add up everything else, it is a just a manageable part of the whole picture.
If you value fuel efficiency that much, go look at the little diesels that are now on the market. There are a few that pretty much sacrifice everything for the fuel economy. The ones that are actually a Class B (van with living space) do even better.
We are currently running a 40+yo gas powered coach, and the actual travel costs are not a killer, the killer for me was the abrogation of the bankruptcy laws in 2009. That is done and there is no way I can recover.
Matt
