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Best fuel economy speed

outboardfever
Explorer
Explorer
What speed are you folks seeing your best mileage ? When I was towing it was not always the low end of the range.
25 REPLIES 25

Effy
Explorer
Explorer
I love the fuel "economy" questions. You are driving an apartment. You won't get good mileage no matter what speed you drive. The difference between 45 and 70 is about 1-2 mg. Which translates into almost nothing unless you are driving a LOT of miles. And all bets are off if you drive in hilly terrain, stop and go traffic, wind, loaded heavy, genset running, how many stops you make etc.. I stopped monitoring mileage years ago. I didn't buy a MH as en economical travelling vehicle. I bought it for convenience. I still pay less than airfare and hotels so regardless of mileage travel budget is friendlier. You also will notice almost no difference in MPG towing a car. Your car is in the slipstream and rolling along with almost no resistance. And your car gets unlimited MPG while towing. I figure if my budget is so tight that mileage is a constraint on my MH usage, I have no business owning one. Ignorance is bliss. Every now and then someone at the pumps asks me what kind of mileage I get, I tell them, pretty good for an apartment. For me, it's all about smiles per gallon, not miles per gallon.
2013 ACE 29.2

tatest
Explorer II
Explorer II
For most vehicles with the frontal area of a motorhome the best fuel economy speed will be in the 35 mph to 50 mph range, which is not practical. So as slow as you can stand to run.
Tom Test
Itasca Spirit 29B

Bruce_Brown
Moderator
Moderator
donn0128 wrote:
Too many variables to give an answer.
Motor, transmission, rear end ratio, load, tire diameter, peak torque, all play into your answer.

Exactly.

Back in our gasser days our V10 did better at 70 MPH than it did at 65 MPH. At 70 it was in its sweet spot, at 65 it struggled on even the smallest hills.

I also agree with the others that +/- 1/2 to 1 MPG isn't something I'm going to get too worked up over. Normally I want to get where I'm going.

Having said that I have found myself slowing down a bit lately. We just did a 1200 mile trip, I ran around 67 MPH most of the time.
There are 24 hours in every day - it all depends on how you choose to use them.
Bruce & Jill Brown
2008 Kountry Star Pusher 3910

J-Rooster
Explorer
Explorer
59 MPH is where I get the best gas milage in my Winnebago gasser.

stickdog
Explorer
Explorer
I drive at 62 when possible, may drive a little faster going through metro areas my best mpg is at 55 but with a days driving 62 turns out to be 55 so 55 would turn out to be 45 which would add an hour to our 250 mile preferred travel distance.
9-11 WE WILL NEVER FORGET!
FULLTIME SINCE 2010
17 DRV MS 36rssb3
17 F350 King Ranch CC DRW 4x4 6.7 4:10 B&W hitch
John
โ€œA good traveler has no fixed plans, and is not intent on arriving.โ€ Lao Tzu

donn0128
Explorer II
Explorer II
Too many variables to give an answer.
Motor, transmission, rear end ratio, load, tire diameter, peak torque, all play into your answer.

booty51
Explorer
Explorer
Towing a toad for me is 1 mpg

darsben
Explorer II
Explorer II
Bet economy around 62 mph. But I drive whatever is comfortable. As said the difference between 7.5 MPG and 7 MPG ain't enough to sweat over.
Traveling with my best friend my wife!

Ivylog
Explorer III
Explorer III
I usually run 64-70 and get 7mpg. I did 100 mile test at 45 mph on a rural WY road. Instead of seven I got 10 MPG but I did not want to take another day to get home.
This post is my opinion (free advice). It is not intended to influence anyone's judgment nor do I advocate anyone do what I propose.
Sold 04 Dynasty to our son after 14 great years.
Upgraded with a 08 HR Navigator 45โ€™...

Bill_Satellite
Explorer II
Explorer II
I drive the speed limit or just slightly above. The difference of a 1/2 mile per gallon or so is not worth my time or effort to slow down. My favorite follow up to a post like this is....YMMV.
I want to get where I am going. For some it is the journey and for some it is the destination. For me, it's the destination. I would rather be there! I very often travel at 70 or so and the difference between that and 55 is less than 1 MPG.
What I post is my 2 cents and nothing more. Please don't read anything into my post that's not there. If you disagree, that's OK.
Can't we all just get along?

2oldman
Explorer II
Explorer II
.
"If I'm wearing long pants, I'm too far north" - 2oldman