Improving gas mileage

[kartvines]

OK, have not taken my used 83 Pace Arrow out yet, still repairing little things beforehand, but I am told that I may get a maximum of 5 MPG when I do, so my questions is, beside proper maintenance which is a given, is there anything beside not exceeding 55 mph is there any proven way to improve the gas mileage?

Also when you are figuring the cost of traveling how is the offset of things you do not have to do, such as motels and dining out, etc. I am trying to develops a plan to get the most overall value from this motor-home, and being on the anal side, it would be great to develop a spreadsheet that will demonstrate the total real time cost of these outing, which will allow me the confidence to take it out more often with the cost of gas today

[HD4Mark]

One of the most simple ways to improve mileage is to lay off the pedal. Slow starts instead of jackrabbit and lose a little speed on the hills if it is safe to do so. With the gasser we had I would not use the cruise control in hilly areas because it would floor it then keep it floored even after cresting the hills. When there were only two lanes and no safe places to pass I tended to give it more speed as to try and keep those behind me happy but with a passing lane I let the speed drop some.

There are some mechanical improvements like headers you can make but have to weigh the savings against the initial cost. There are also some "snake oil" remedies out there to be careful about.

Tire inflation is not only a fuel concern but safety as well.

Good luck with the new MO.

Mark

[Gary RVRoamer]

I agree with Mark. Not much can be done for that beast except major upgrades (headers) and convert to fuel injection, either TBI or Direct. A lot of money for modest gain on an old rig.

The good news is I think you may get 6 mpg rather than 5 someone else told you.

[Steve N Sal]

Improving mileage????? Well I don't know about that except for the tips in the previous posts. The trade off dollar wise for the add on equipment would take a while to recoupe unless you drive alot. ( A whole lot) When you figure in that most campgrounds are cheaper than a motel room you save some there but then you have to figure back in the gas, insurance and upkeep on the motorhome. A nice factor of RVing is that you have cooking facilities ( that can save some $$$ instead of eating out) you have your own bathroom, your own bed and the ability to just get out and enjoy the outdoors and meet some new friends. One thing we do when on the road before reaching a destination is stay at Flying J Truck stops for the evening or a WalMart. They don't charge, their convenient for things like gas, groceries etc. and have good security. (at least most do) So anyway in regards to saving on mpg, I would try to find the other things as you travel to save a buck here and a buck there. It takes a while but you'll get the hang of it as time go's by. If you can, travel as light as you possibly can as well. Do you need a full tank of water with you? Probably not. Do you need to fill the cupboards to the max? Probably not. You can always get the water you need when you reach your destination. Sure you'll need some but not a full tank. I generally carry about 25 gallons. Groceries can be purchased as well when you reach your destination. These are just a couple of little things that will help out a bit. Good Luck!!!

[bigskymt]

I had an '84 34' SW for 15 years. Pulling boats, trailers w/ATVs and a Jeep my best mileage was 7.82 towing nothing. My worst was 5.2 pulling a trailer N. I-15 through Utah.
Speed/acceleration will hurt you the most. Without an overdrive you'll be running around 3000 rpm at 70mph. When the secondaries on your quadrajet engage your mileage will drop. Likewise when your fan clutch engages.
I installed Doug Thorley Headers, a fresh air intake for the carb, kept my tires inflated and synthetic oil. I changed air filters regularily as well as plugs and wires. I washed the bugs out of the radiator frequently and installed an electric cooling fan to aid in A/C condensing and lower the duty time of the engine fan. I never used cruise in the hills and we kept generator usage to a minimum (we had Solar and an inverter)
My overall mpg was probably 6.5.

[Chuck 1935]

You have to make a choice, be independent and enjoy your own bed and don't have to pack and unpack. Or save some money on gas and get to sleep on someone elses pubic hairs and skin flakes. After having that happen to me at a Quality Inn I opted for the Motorhome. Whats the cost of peace of mind ? PRICELESS !!!

[kartvines]

Thanks you for all of the feed back, I will take all into consideration. One last question not sure if it is related, the previous owner installed a BANKS system, does exhaust improvement like this help in any way?

[FreshAir]

I had the Banks on an 89 Bounder with the 454 chev. engine. Helped the performance some but nothing for mileage. A group of us were running Banks about then and the general consensus was it doesn't help MPG. I see the Banks has really gone up in price since I used it. As i recall the 454's saw more benefit than the 460's from the Banks. Maybe other way around?

[Chuck 1935]

You are fortunate that someone else pissed away money on the Banks System. With all the products being sold to improve power and handeling, my question is, WHY DID THEY BUY THE MOTORHOME IN THE FIRST PLaCE ? Why staqrt out with a piece of crap and try to turn it into a diamond. Never has made any sense to me !!

[bigskymt]

I agree with FreshAir. Several years ago we had a large group that rode at Glamis. We all had 32-34' gas coaches and pulled 20-24' trailers.
Pulling the grade on 10 from 62 to the pass the Chevs would pass the Fords and the Banks equipped coaches would pass everyone.
Since the trip was short and generator use was not comparable it was impossible to compare mileage.
With the Banks you have one less thing to worry about: cracked exhaust manifolds.

[kartvines]

Thanks to all for the feed back. The previous owner had many thing installed which I guess is great for me, just more thing to learn.

Right now I am tracking down as much information as I can on the A&E leveling jacks, trying to locate the right filter breather cap for the Hyd. pump, of course they sold out to another company. so the hunt continues.

As I have discovered no real surprised but vintage motor-home required vintage parts, so there is never a one part shop, and trying to locate part and model number are also a treat. All a part of the vintage game.

[RocketDork]

Why track the cost of traveling in a motor home at all? You are going away to take a break from the realities of the world. Why bring the issue of whether or not it costs more into that?

Take your motor home out, bring enough $'s to keep it moving down the road and food on the table, enjoy yourself, and ignore if it costs more or less.

I don't know many that buy a motor home because its cheaper, they buy them because they like to be in them.

[Chuck 1935]

Both my sons and I own Motorhomes and once a month we all go to the beach, which is only an hour away, for a long weekend. It's fun, it's cheap and it's great way to get together..

[TW]

Originally Posted by RocketDork

Why track the cost of traveling in a motor home at all? You are going away to take a break from the realities of the world. Why bring the issue of whether or not it costs more into that?

Take your motor home out, bring enough $'s to keep it moving down the road and food on the table, enjoy yourself, and ignore if it costs more or less.

I don't know many that buy a motor home because its cheaper, they buy them because they like to be in them.

Thats how we feel.... let's go RVing and be happy