Have I been doing it wrong all these years?
I have been towing our 30ft fiver for years with a Silverado 2500 Duramax. Have been using the tow mode and get right around 12MPG. Today we headed out. I zeroed out the trip computer before leaving. ...
Forum Discussion
Sorry - this ones going to be a bit long - there is son many things to consider.
There are two schools of thought on figuring fuel economy. One trust the computer or second compute it yourself based on the gas pump!
I had a co-worker that studied the pump method and its accuracy.
He found if you parked at the same pump in the same position every time your accuracy was right around 10%. know add in different pumps and vehicle positions?
When I hit the road I frequently check my MPG using both methods and rarely do they agree with each other! The computer normally tells me that my MPG is slightly higher (.3 mpg) than the pump method. So what do you believe?
I believe what one should be asking himself is this: Is my MPG consistent with my prior tank given the conditions? If they are then everything is good. Did my Mileage drop then why? Wind, Hills, Speed or other? If it's not the wind, hills or speed - is there something wrong with my vehicle?
Speed & wind are the biggest reason I see for a Mileage drop or gain!
driving 10 miles an hour faster is the same as driving into a 10 MPH head wind. For every 10 MPH increase in speed you can expect a 10% decrease in MPG.
I keep a log and at the end of the trip I'll figure out my MPG for the complete trip. If I hit my goal of 10 MPG I am happy. Some days are better than other, but I can say that I almost always are within a few tenths.
Happy camping and save travels!
There are two schools of thought on figuring fuel economy. One trust the computer or second compute it yourself based on the gas pump!
I had a co-worker that studied the pump method and its accuracy.
He found if you parked at the same pump in the same position every time your accuracy was right around 10%. know add in different pumps and vehicle positions?
When I hit the road I frequently check my MPG using both methods and rarely do they agree with each other! The computer normally tells me that my MPG is slightly higher (.3 mpg) than the pump method. So what do you believe?
I believe what one should be asking himself is this: Is my MPG consistent with my prior tank given the conditions? If they are then everything is good. Did my Mileage drop then why? Wind, Hills, Speed or other? If it's not the wind, hills or speed - is there something wrong with my vehicle?
Speed & wind are the biggest reason I see for a Mileage drop or gain!
driving 10 miles an hour faster is the same as driving into a 10 MPH head wind. For every 10 MPH increase in speed you can expect a 10% decrease in MPG.
I keep a log and at the end of the trip I'll figure out my MPG for the complete trip. If I hit my goal of 10 MPG I am happy. Some days are better than other, but I can say that I almost always are within a few tenths.
Happy camping and save travels!
