Driving with the generator on
Just curious if anyone knows the difference in MPG when riding with and without the generator on. Has anyone done any measurements on the gas mileage they get? Thanks
Forum Discussion
My older class C has a wide open layout, so the dash air was ONLY good for the cab; did nothing for the huge living space. The roof air, however, is positioned such that I can direct some of the airflow down into that cab, keeping it reasonable while at the same time keeping the living area cool. This while traveling in 115-120 degree heat across the CA/AZ desert.
Now that dash air gave up the ghost some years back, and rather than spend $700+ to fix it, I just continue to run the generator and roof air when needed. Honestly, I've never "noticed" a difference in MPG.
But let's do the math; I average about 6.5 mpg towing the PWC trailer round trip to the river. Traveling at 65mph that means 10 gallons per hour during the trip. Now I use the gen/ac on the way home, but not on the way down, so assuming the generator adds .5 gal/hr (?), that means 9.75 gallons per hour on the way down (6.67 mpg) and 10.25 gallons per hour on the return trip (6.34 mpg). That's a 5% hit to my mileage.
For my river trip (180 miles one way), that means that I burn an additional 1.4 gallons coming home. Well worth having the entire coach interior cool and comfortable. And realistically, one good grade or a heavy headwind can eat up more than that, and so can just running a bit faster. So I drive at a speed that I'm comfortable driving, run the roof air when needed, and gas up when empty. After all, if I'm going to stress over an additional 0.33 mpg, I have no business driving a MH in the first place. :)
Now that dash air gave up the ghost some years back, and rather than spend $700+ to fix it, I just continue to run the generator and roof air when needed. Honestly, I've never "noticed" a difference in MPG.
But let's do the math; I average about 6.5 mpg towing the PWC trailer round trip to the river. Traveling at 65mph that means 10 gallons per hour during the trip. Now I use the gen/ac on the way home, but not on the way down, so assuming the generator adds .5 gal/hr (?), that means 9.75 gallons per hour on the way down (6.67 mpg) and 10.25 gallons per hour on the return trip (6.34 mpg). That's a 5% hit to my mileage.
For my river trip (180 miles one way), that means that I burn an additional 1.4 gallons coming home. Well worth having the entire coach interior cool and comfortable. And realistically, one good grade or a heavy headwind can eat up more than that, and so can just running a bit faster. So I drive at a speed that I'm comfortable driving, run the roof air when needed, and gas up when empty. After all, if I'm going to stress over an additional 0.33 mpg, I have no business driving a MH in the first place. :)
