Oct-28-2019 08:14 AM
Nov-02-2019 03:35 AM
Nov-01-2019 07:45 PM
jjrbus wrote:Thanks for posting this, I worked at Sikorsky for 30 years and the S-58T was one of my first jobs there, but I never knew Winnebago made a flying camper out of it. However it was quite a bit more expensive than Ron's camper. What I always thought would make a nice light camper was to use the airframe structure from the nose to the end of the cabin(minus the tail cone), and install wheels and an engine. There are a lot of old airframes that are no longer flight worthy but would be fine for the road.
I don't see anything on the market today that is compact, good on fuel and decent price, that I would be happy with.
Now a heli home would be right up my alley.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MJRlQrN8RAY
Nov-01-2019 03:28 PM
Nov-01-2019 01:12 PM
pnichols wrote:The Tiger is small, but our old Mirage was smaller yet. I measured the over-all length at 17.5 feet, front bumper to the end of the rear step bumper. It really was tiny. Lengthwise, it easily fit into any automobile parking space. The Toyota pick-up truck chassis made it easy to get in and out from because it was skinny there, providing good door swing clearance to adjacent parked cars. The entire rig weighed only 3600 pounds, 2500 for the C&C, and 1100 for the seamless RV body. The shell walls had a honey-comb core with a thicker outer layer fiberglass, and a thinner inner layer fiberglass. The front cab-over bucket was of the outer layer alone.Gjac wrote:ron.dittmer wrote:jjrbus wrote:Thank You!ron.dittmer wrote:Nice camper and thanks for the response! I try not to pay attention to my mpg, if I actually knew what it is I would probably not drive it. That cheap thing. But left Florida and noticed that I was filling up far too often even with a small tank. Something was definitely off, so I checked my MPG.jjrbus wrote:We own a 2007 E350-V10 Phoenix Cruiser 2350 SEEN HERE. When not towing our Jeep Liberty, our "truely accurate" trip average is 10.5 mpg. That is significantly better than 8 mpg.docsouce wrote:I have been looking at newer small Class B+ with the V10. But 8 mpg, ouch!
...this years average was 8.0 mpg as usual...Oh,we have a smaller class C. Thor Freedom Elite 22e E350 Triton V10 and there are just 2 of us.
Aerodynamics and cruising-speed seem to be most influential. The difference in fuel economy between Phoenix Cruisers, the shortest 21 foot model to the longest 31 foot model is different, but less dramatic than taller boxy conventional class_c's. With our rig traveling across the country, our practiced top speed hovers around 67-68 mph. A tall boxy "C" would go through gas a lot faster at those speeds.
Towing our Jeep Liberty, our fuel economy drops by 1.3 mpg. But the fuel loss is more than recovered by driving the Liberty around at our destinations, and leaving the motor home at the camp site. So it's a win-win.
I was getting 10mpg, did a few things and now the little Toyota is back up in the 13+ area. Most toy owners report avg between 12 and 14.
We owned THIS TOYOTA MIRAGE for 24 years. It had the 2.4L-L4 carbureted engine rated at 96hp (with CA emissions) with a close ratio 4-speed manual transmission. Oh my what a slug it was, but we loved it anyway. We special ordered it new in 1983 with no a/c of either kind and a frill-free chassis that did not even have power steering. We paid $12,255 for it back then. 57 mph was the sweet spot for optimal fuel economy. On one extended trip out west we actually broke 20 mpg averaged across the entire 6000 mile trip. We must have experienced more tail winds on that trip. It had a very small fuel tank. We quickly learned that we did not make time going faster because the fuel economy would drop by more than 25% when we pushed it. The time we made in speed, we lost in stopping more frequently.
We sold that rig in 2007, replacing it with our special ordered 2007 Phoenix Cruiser. We wanted (and needed) a fully self contained and much more comfortable motor home in our later years.
Ron,that Toyota Mirage is an interesting MH, looks like more room than a small TC but much better MPG. Is there anything equivalent today?
I know you asked Ron, but FWIW I thought I'd jump in with my opinion on the closest today - a new small Tiger motorhome ... in which you specify to them that it be built on the smallest standard cab (for the short length) PU possible with the smallest engine (for the best fuel mileage) available in that pickup.
Here's the Tiger website: http://www.tigervehicles.com/
Nov-01-2019 09:20 AM
Gjac wrote:ron.dittmer wrote:jjrbus wrote:Thank You!ron.dittmer wrote:Nice camper and thanks for the response! I try not to pay attention to my mpg, if I actually knew what it is I would probably not drive it. That cheap thing. But left Florida and noticed that I was filling up far too often even with a small tank. Something was definitely off, so I checked my MPG.jjrbus wrote:We own a 2007 E350-V10 Phoenix Cruiser 2350 SEEN HERE. When not towing our Jeep Liberty, our "truely accurate" trip average is 10.5 mpg. That is significantly better than 8 mpg.docsouce wrote:I have been looking at newer small Class B+ with the V10. But 8 mpg, ouch!
...this years average was 8.0 mpg as usual...Oh,we have a smaller class C. Thor Freedom Elite 22e E350 Triton V10 and there are just 2 of us.
Aerodynamics and cruising-speed seem to be most influential. The difference in fuel economy between Phoenix Cruisers, the shortest 21 foot model to the longest 31 foot model is different, but less dramatic than taller boxy conventional class_c's. With our rig traveling across the country, our practiced top speed hovers around 67-68 mph. A tall boxy "C" would go through gas a lot faster at those speeds.
Towing our Jeep Liberty, our fuel economy drops by 1.3 mpg. But the fuel loss is more than recovered by driving the Liberty around at our destinations, and leaving the motor home at the camp site. So it's a win-win.
I was getting 10mpg, did a few things and now the little Toyota is back up in the 13+ area. Most toy owners report avg between 12 and 14.
We owned THIS TOYOTA MIRAGE for 24 years. It had the 2.4L-L4 carbureted engine rated at 96hp (with CA emissions) with a close ratio 4-speed manual transmission. Oh my what a slug it was, but we loved it anyway. We special ordered it new in 1983 with no a/c of either kind and a frill-free chassis that did not even have power steering. We paid $12,255 for it back then. 57 mph was the sweet spot for optimal fuel economy. On one extended trip out west we actually broke 20 mpg averaged across the entire 6000 mile trip. We must have experienced more tail winds on that trip. It had a very small fuel tank. We quickly learned that we did not make time going faster because the fuel economy would drop by more than 25% when we pushed it. The time we made in speed, we lost in stopping more frequently.
We sold that rig in 2007, replacing it with our special ordered 2007 Phoenix Cruiser. We wanted (and needed) a fully self contained and much more comfortable motor home in our later years.
Ron,that Toyota Mirage is an interesting MH, looks like more room than a small TC but much better MPG. Is there anything equivalent today?
Nov-01-2019 08:53 AM
Jayco-noslide wrote:
I wasn't trying to make much of a point but mainly just sharing my observations. I do think it's misguided when folks talk about one motor home getting better mileage than another. The cost of fuel, even at 9 MPG, say compared to 14 MPG is negligible in the overall issue of total costs. this thinking helps me accept the $70 I might spend on a fill.
Nov-01-2019 08:15 AM
Oct-31-2019 08:25 AM
ron.dittmer wrote:Ron,that Toyota Mirage is an interesting MH, looks like more room than a small TC but much better MPG. Is there anything equivalent today?jjrbus wrote:Thank You!ron.dittmer wrote:Nice camper and thanks for the response! I try not to pay attention to my mpg, if I actually knew what it is I would probably not drive it. That cheap thing. But left Florida and noticed that I was filling up far too often even with a small tank. Something was definitely off, so I checked my MPG.jjrbus wrote:We own a 2007 E350-V10 Phoenix Cruiser 2350 SEEN HERE. When not towing our Jeep Liberty, our "truely accurate" trip average is 10.5 mpg. That is significantly better than 8 mpg.docsouce wrote:I have been looking at newer small Class B+ with the V10. But 8 mpg, ouch!
...this years average was 8.0 mpg as usual...Oh,we have a smaller class C. Thor Freedom Elite 22e E350 Triton V10 and there are just 2 of us.
Aerodynamics and cruising-speed seem to be most influential. The difference in fuel economy between Phoenix Cruisers, the shortest 21 foot model to the longest 31 foot model is different, but less dramatic than taller boxy conventional class_c's. With our rig traveling across the country, our practiced top speed hovers around 67-68 mph. A tall boxy "C" would go through gas a lot faster at those speeds.
Towing our Jeep Liberty, our fuel economy drops by 1.3 mpg. But the fuel loss is more than recovered by driving the Liberty around at our destinations, and leaving the motor home at the camp site. So it's a win-win.
I was getting 10mpg, did a few things and now the little Toyota is back up in the 13+ area. Most toy owners report avg between 12 and 14.
We owned THIS TOYOTA MIRAGE for 24 years. It had the 2.4L-L4 carbureted engine rated at 96hp (with CA emissions) with a close ratio 4-speed manual transmission. Oh my what a slug it was, but we loved it anyway. We special ordered it new in 1983 with no a/c of either kind and a frill-free chassis that did not even have power steering. We paid $12,255 for it back then. 57 mph was the sweet spot for optimal fuel economy. On one extended trip out west we actually broke 20 mpg averaged across the entire 6000 mile trip. We must have experienced more tail winds on that trip. It had a very small fuel tank. We quickly learned that we did not make time going faster because the fuel economy would drop by more than 25% when we pushed it. The time we made in speed, we lost in stopping more frequently.
We sold that rig in 2007, replacing it with our special ordered 2007 Phoenix Cruiser. We wanted (and needed) a fully self contained and much more comfortable motor home in our later years.
Oct-29-2019 07:22 PM
jjrbus wrote:Thank You!ron.dittmer wrote:Nice camper and thanks for the response! I try not to pay attention to my mpg, if I actually knew what it is I would probably not drive it. That cheap thing. But left Florida and noticed that I was filling up far too often even with a small tank. Something was definitely off, so I checked my MPG.jjrbus wrote:We own a 2007 E350-V10 Phoenix Cruiser 2350 SEEN HERE. When not towing our Jeep Liberty, our "truely accurate" trip average is 10.5 mpg. That is significantly better than 8 mpg.docsouce wrote:I have been looking at newer small Class B+ with the V10. But 8 mpg, ouch!
...this years average was 8.0 mpg as usual...Oh,we have a smaller class C. Thor Freedom Elite 22e E350 Triton V10 and there are just 2 of us.
Aerodynamics and cruising-speed seem to be most influential. The difference in fuel economy between Phoenix Cruisers, the shortest 21 foot model to the longest 31 foot model is different, but less dramatic than taller boxy conventional class_c's. With our rig traveling across the country, our practiced top speed hovers around 67-68 mph. A tall boxy "C" would go through gas a lot faster at those speeds.
Towing our Jeep Liberty, our fuel economy drops by 1.3 mpg. But the fuel loss is more than recovered by driving the Liberty around at our destinations, and leaving the motor home at the camp site. So it's a win-win.
I was getting 10mpg, did a few things and now the little Toyota is back up in the 13+ area. Most toy owners report avg between 12 and 14.
Oct-29-2019 01:19 PM
ron.dittmer wrote:jjrbus wrote:We own a 2007 E350-V10 Phoenix Cruiser 2350 SEEN HERE. When not towing our Jeep Liberty, our "truely accurate" trip average is 10.5 mpg. That is significantly better than 8 mpg.docsouce wrote:I have been looking at newer small Class B+ with the V10. But 8 mpg, ouch!
...this years average was 8.0 mpg as usual...Oh,we have a smaller class C. Thor Freedom Elite 22e E350 Triton V10 and there are just 2 of us.
Aerodynamics and cruising-speed seem to be most influential. The difference in fuel economy between Phoenix Cruisers, the shortest 21 foot model to the longest 31 foot model is different, but less dramatic than taller boxy conventional class_c's. With our rig traveling across the country, our practiced top speed hovers around 67-68 mph. A tall boxy "C" would go through gas a lot faster at those speeds.
Towing our Jeep Liberty, our fuel economy drops by 1.3 mpg. But the fuel loss is more than recovered by driving the Liberty around at our destinations, and leaving the motor home at the camp site. So it's a win-win.
Oct-29-2019 01:12 PM
Oct-29-2019 12:02 PM
Oct-29-2019 11:59 AM
Oct-29-2019 10:36 AM
jjrbus wrote:We own a 2007 E350-V10 Phoenix Cruiser 2350 SEEN HERE. When not towing our Jeep Liberty, our "truely accurate" trip average is 10.5 mpg. That is significantly better than 8 mpg.docsouce wrote:I have been looking at newer small Class B+ with the V10. But 8 mpg, ouch!
...this years average was 8.0 mpg as usual...Oh,we have a smaller class C. Thor Freedom Elite 22e E350 Triton V10 and there are just 2 of us.