Fuel mileage

[wjschill]

OK friends.

I've read fuel mileage for a 35' gasser with the v-10 Ford engine pulling a 3500 lbs toad will be anywhere from 4 to 9 mpg. This is average traveling, not all level and not all hills.

Please share your experiences.

Thanks,

Skip

[RetiredRealtorR]

ferndaleflyer wrote:
The only hazard is the fool that don't know there is a slow lane over there in the right. And in how many states are you obliged to go 55 when towing. My old Dynasty w/ 450 hp would run 90 all day long in Texas but when I hit CA it was back to 55 because I was towing. I have seen min speed 0f 40 some places but the last I knew we all paid for those roads and if you hit someone going slower than you like guess what, ITS YOUR FAULT!

Thank you Captain Obvious :C

The only 40 mph speed postings you will see on US Interstate highways are MINIMUM speed limits (unless you're talking about exit ramp posted speeds :h)

Also, in many jurisdictions it is illegal to drive more than 15 mph slower than the posted limit -- impeding the flow of traffic.

[ferndaleflyer]

The only hazard is the fool that don't know there is a slow lane over there in the right. And in how many states are you obliged to go 55 when towing. My old Dynasty w/ 450 hp would run 90 all day long in Texas but when I hit CA it was back to 55 because I was towing. I have seen min speed 0f 40 some places but the last I knew we all paid for those roads and if you hit someone going slower than you like guess what, ITS YOUR FAULT!

[Dutch_12078]

mowermech wrote:

Why collect the data? It is something that I have done since my first vehicle along about 1958. It is a habit I am slowly breaking. The only vehicles I still do it in are the Dodge truck and the motorhome. Perhaps someday I will throw those two logbooks away. Of course, they are also a log of where we have been. Or, perhaps, someday I will do some math computations and see what the fuel economy was.
Just a bad habit that I haven't managed to totally break yet.

The fellow we bought our current motorhome from gave me several notebooks, including one with odometer readings, fuel purchase notes, and receipts for every gallon since he picked it up new from the dealer. Other notebooks show things like which bulb in the bathroom light bar burned out when, plus where the replacement bulb was purchased and the receipt. July 22, 2009 he sprayed the generator bin door latch with WD-40 to stop it from sticking. Can you say OCD? 😉

[mountainkowboy]

We run around 7-8.5 mpg. The high side is just the moho and towing the Ranger with the Harley in the bed (3,900lbs) puts us right around 7.5 mostly, depending where we are.

F53 chassis 6.8 V10, 5 speed auto, 31 foot total length, driving about 62-65 mph.

[Horsedoc]

wjschill wrote:
OP here.

Thanks for all the input. I don't worry about the $$$'s, but the rig I'm looking at buying has a 75 gallon tank.

I was just trying to figure out about how far I can get on each tank full.

Thanks again...

Didn't mean to imply that in a ugly manner. Sorry.
I believe my coach gets about 5 towing. These long gassers are hard to get into the gas pumps in most regular stations. We try to start looking for stations we will fit into at about half tank. Some of the QT stations along the interstates bought enough property to allow a long coach to gas . Some stations off I-75 in S Georgia have good prices and I can only wave as we drive past. Postage stamp area

[enblethen]

Some states do have speed limits. Many if rig is over 10,000 or towing are required to follow truck speed limits. Speed limits are the maximum speed not a requirement.

[RetiredRealtorR]

wildtoad wrote:
If a driver is in the far right lane and doing 55-60 it’s hard for them to be the cause of an accident. Most of the time I suspect someone following the slower driver isn’t paying attention.

Still, driving that much slower than the flow of traffic, even in the right lane, DOES create a hazard --- and we watched it happen.

Sure, everybody should be paying attention, but an unnecessarily slow driver adds just one more cause for concern to those 'paying attention' to the general flow of traffic.

Don't be rude. Don't be a fool. 55 is for secondary roads, not 70-75 mph interstates.

[rk911]

wjschill wrote:
OP here.

Thanks for all the input. I don't worry about the $$$'s, but the rig I'm looking at buying has a 75 gallon tank.

I was just trying to figure out about how far I can get on each tank full.

Thanks again...

i use 5-mpg...the in-my-head-math is easier. in my case it's an accurate number. your mileage may be better but it's better to figure a worse MPG for your plan. beyond that we generally drive on the top half of the tank. if that means we stop a bit more often then so be it. we usually have no where to be and all day to get there.

[CA_Traveler]

If you have a gen then the fuel intake should be higher and it will quit before the engine. Something to consider.

What I consider is where to get fuel next considering my 42' length plus toad and gas lanes are incompatible, Something else to consider.

[wildtoad]

If a driver is in the far right lane and doing 55-60 it’s hard for them to be the cause of an accident. Most of the time I suspect someone following the slower driver isn’t paying attention.

[Sandia_Man]

Unfortunately, I can't divulge mpg on any of our RVing setups over the 3 decades we have been enjoying our favorite pastime, just never mattered enough for us to know. Additionally, we live in the mountain west and getting up and down the roadways and safely to our destination is our only concern. Our current rig tracks mpg as well as our scangauge 2, again never took the few minutes to view this information as it is meaningless to us. From what I have heard from friends, family, and fellow RVers is gassers give 4-8 mpg, and diesels 7-12 mpg, speed of travel is the main component for expected mpg on any type of rig.

[wjschill]

OP here.

Thanks for all the input. I don't worry about the $$$'s, but the rig I'm looking at buying has a 75 gallon tank.

I was just trying to figure out about how far I can get on each tank full.

Thanks again...

[Horsedoc]

Chances are if you start driving by your wallet, your trips will become worry and not be any fun. Keep the accelerator off the floorboard and drive off the top half of your tank. We have the Ford F53 chassis an tow a 4 door Jeep. Not nearly the towing power the previous 425 hp Cummins had, but it gets the job done.

[RetiredRealtorR]

enblethen wrote:
The faster you travel the faster the gas disappears!
Keeping speed 55 to 60 will help!
We have big block Chev chassis and get 8+. Fords do not get good mileage.

And please remember, if you DO subscribe to the "55-60' philosophy, please do so on US highways and not on 70-75 mph interstates.

We just returned from a 3300-mile trip, and actually witnessed 3 cases where a pokey driver nearly caused an accident. 2 were RV's and one was a pickup.

Safe travels.