Southwind 32 MPG

[Rocky 2]

I wonder what the fuel economy differences are between the Workhorse and the Ford chassis on the late models..the 2006 and 2007's.

I have the 2006 on the W20 and my mileage has been less than thrilling. Over the first 11,000 miles pulling a CRV I have averaged only
6.4 mpg. What are others getting?

[Rocky 2]

I wonder what the fuel economy differences are between the Workhorse and the Ford chassis on the late models..the 2006 and 2007's.

I have the 2006 on the W20 and my mileage has been less than thrilling. Over the first 11,000 miles pulling a CRV I have averaged only
6.4 mpg. What are others getting?

[ron55]

I have a workhorse W20 33' voyage and I have get 5.something never 6

[Paulin]

Rocky 2,

I'm suprised at your fuel consumption, especially since I notice you have Ultrapower installed. We have the Banks exhaust (stock air intake) and averave 7+ towing the VUE. I always drive between 55 and 62MPH and pretend I have a raw egg between my foot and the accelerator pedal.

You might want to contact Mike at Brazil's RV or Redlands Truck. (see the Workhorse section of this forum)

Paul

PS: Was your 2K inverter an aftermarket installation? If yes, any info on where and how you installed it would be appreciated as I'm considering one.

["007"]

Rocky 2, I was getting your figures before having ECM programed in Tenn. Now get 2-3 mpg difference. Up in high 8's low 9s. Take a run down in Workhorse forum and you will see others that have improved mileage. Ask Mike, from Brazels what he thinks can be done to improve your mileage.
He works with Redlands if thats where you had it done.

[wilanddij]

This is on a 2004 W20. I was getting about 6.3 mpg pulling a Jeep Wrangler. Had Ultrapower installed (reburn, CAI, plug wires and re-gap; no exhaust changes), and on our last trip I averaged 7.2mpg overall with a noticeable difference in power and torque. Have about 12K miles on the coach now, so more breakin may add to the mpg. At least, I can hope

[Rocky 2]

Mike has been working on the mpg issue with me. The ECM has been reprogrammed (3 times total)and still not much luck.

Bluebird, I had the inverter-charger installed at Camping World on one of their specials. Without unnecessarily bad-mouthing CW and Xantrex, find another spot. The first unit was bad out of the box and Xantrex will not pay labor to replace their stuff. CW charged me to remove and replace the bad unit..which failed the first time I used it.

[Gary RVRoamer]

Strange that your W20 gets such poor mpg, even stock. My 2002 W22 gets a consistent 7.3 mpg loaded to near max and towing 3500 lbs besides. I recently crossed the country and did a lot of interstate cruising at 65+ - still got 7.3 or better all the way, in all kinds of weather and terrain.

[Rocky 2]

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">wilanddij </div></BLOCKQUOTE>
wilanddij Thanks for the reply. I was looking for info specific to the Southwind 32VS and you gave it. It looks like your "before" mpg was the same as mine. Your "after Ultra Power" mileage improved more than mine has so far.

Bluebird, looks like the 03 and 04 years have been heard from and my 06. That barn door front end design sure pushs a lot of air. Perhaps the later designs are just less efficient. Thanks to both of you.

BTW, I checked the brochures and both the 2003 and 2004 are 12'2" high and the 2005 forward are 12'7" high. That was to accommodate the extra 5" interior height..which I don't like. My wife can't reach the overhead light switches.

[Bob (WA0MQE)]

Quote from Rocky 2:
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Over the first 11,000 miles pulling a CRV I have averaged only
6.4 mpg. What are others getting? </div></BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">That barn door front end design sure pushs a lot of air. Perhaps the later designs are just less efficient </div></BLOCKQUOTE>
I think you hit the nail on the head with both the Southwind and the Pace Arrow. Fleetwood's design of these two rigs is definitely not wind friendly. Mine's a 2004 and if there's even a little bit of direct or indirect headwind mine slows to a crawl and the mpg goes down the tube. If I'm running on the straight and level, no wind, about the best I get is 6.8, maybe 7.0. Going from Colorado south on I-25 thru New Mexico it's pretty much level to downhill and I approach 7.0. Coming the other direction, forget it. Average about 5 to 5.5 mpg. This is pulling a 3600 lb Colorado Pickup.

[FreshAir]

Bob, I have also thought about the,"barn door," effect as was mentioned. Do you think the Pace's and Southwind's, etc. are any worse than the others in wind design? All seem to me to be pretty typical of each other in front end design. An interesting point. Are we worse?
I have an 05 Pace 36B which is factory out of the box stock, and after 9,200 miles seem to be doing about the same as you in MPG pulling a 4000 lb. Liberty, except I can't recall ever getting in the low 5's. mainly traveling Utah & surrounding western states. I've kept really close track on dollars vrs. gals. Is the UltraPower doing what you hoped it would?
Pat

[machman72]

I have often wondered how those flat nosed Motorhomes do in the wind, and with mileage. Even the bus conversions. Anything that is that flat is gonna be like pushing a wall. My Southwind is the older 94 model, with the swept back roofline at the front. Even with the old 460 and EFI I average 6.5 to 7 pretty consistently.

[Bob (WA0MQE)]

Probably not much worse than some of the others mh's, although I know mine is pretty heavy. I think it's a combination of the "barn door" effect and the third slide that puts on more weight. My 'CCC' is only 975-lbs.

I definitely think the UltraPower has helped some. Maybe more so in power then mileage. I have my second ECM from Brazel's installed. I complained to them the first one didn't seem to help that much, so they sent out another with the latest reprogramming. Apparently as time goes by they learn more about programming for the better.

So far I haven't had a chance to test the latest on a long road trip. However, a short trip under 200 miles has shown some improvement in both mileage and power, not a lot, but some.

[Brazels RV Performance]

We are constantly working on improving the programming,anyone who has had a coach programmed gets free program's for the life of thier coach.Anytime we make a signifigant change to our Ultrapower Programming we will reprogram our customer's coaches at no charge.We appreciate all of your support & feedback.