Low MPG

[Blue Ribbon]

I know this subject has been kicked around a lot, and I believe that some people really don't know how to calculate MPG, but here goes.

Over 600 miles of very flat country roads - possibly fast & slow every 10 to 15 miles, pulling a new Saturn Vue. 18000 miles on coach. My milage was 6.27. Not towing, but "in town" get 5.4 MPG.

NO lack of power. The state park we go to will challenge ANY vehicle, and I really think if my engine was sick, there is no way I could make it in there. (It is a 15% + grade.)

I've heard many people blame burned spark plug wires. If this was the case, I would think there would be a serious lack of power.

Running 87 octane, brand name fuel. Oil is synthetic with about 3000 miles on it. NO smoke or oil loss at all.

What's your opinion?

[Blue Ribbon]

I know this subject has been kicked around a lot, and I believe that some people really don't know how to calculate MPG, but here goes.

Over 600 miles of very flat country roads - possibly fast & slow every 10 to 15 miles, pulling a new Saturn Vue. 18000 miles on coach. My milage was 6.27. Not towing, but "in town" get 5.4 MPG.

NO lack of power. The state park we go to will challenge ANY vehicle, and I really think if my engine was sick, there is no way I could make it in there. (It is a 15% + grade.)

I've heard many people blame burned spark plug wires. If this was the case, I would think there would be a serious lack of power.

Running 87 octane, brand name fuel. Oil is synthetic with about 3000 miles on it. NO smoke or oil loss at all.

What's your opinion?

[Petro]

Bill;

I tow a 2007 Saturn Vue AWD. I range from 5 mpg with a head wind to 8 mpg with a tail wind. Average is 6.5 to 7.5.

Lots of variables.

Don

[Paul T]

Winter of 06/07 traveling 9000 miles over a 3 month period I came up with a tad under 7 mpg, (7.11). About 1000 miles of that trip was accomplished with what turned out to be a intermittently bad spark plug wire.
This last month I left PA for CO and planned the trip using 7 mpg. As one might expect, that worked out pretty good for the first 1000 miles of a 3000 mile trip but, climbing the Black Hills of SD and then working up to the 6000 ft plus I25 drive from WY to Denver decimated the plan with end results down around 6.3 MPG.
If I drive the thing down her to FL though maybe I'll see 7.5 or more.
Oh yes, I had a CRV TOAD for the vast majority of those miles and I'm pulling more weight with the W-24.

[Bagman57]

You guys are just driving too fast! Slow down to 60-62 MPH and use cruise control and you'll get much better fuel economy! Bagman57.

[RVJeeper]

I keep pretty close tabs on my mileage (yes I know how to calculate it ) and while towing on of the Jeeps shown in our sig we get around 6.5 mpg average. We've had as high as 7.5 and as low as 5.8 in wind, uphill etc.

I've been experimenting with the Grand Cherokee (my daily driver) since it has a very accurate computer and have found that how you drive has a huge effect on the final mileage you get, namely how often you stop and start again. When you're in traffic and hit the red lights the mileage will fall because you are using more gas to get rolling again. How you start off from a stop also matters a lot. I've always been one to get up to speed quickly but I'm finding that accellerating leisurely gets a lot better mileage.

Last week I found the mpg in the Jeep had fallen about .5 mpg even though I was driving carefully. I checked the air filter and even though it didn't look horribly dirty I replaced it anyway. Bingo! The fuel mileage returned to what I had previously been getting. So, how you maintain the vehicle matters too. Keep the tires inflated to as high as you can stand it and they roll easier.

Evidently little things matter and add up!

[retired2001]

I have avg'd 6.5 mpg while towing my Silverado Crew Cab, since I bought the motor home. I would like a "lighter" toad, but too upside down to trade. I bought the truck prior to buying the new m/h. I also found that staying close to 55mph does help a lot!

[RV 4 2]

We just did a 2500+ mile trip from Fullerton Ca to Sequim Washington mainly north on the 5, then down the Oregon coast to North of Coos Bay on the 101 and then back to the 5 south back home. We towed a Saturn Vue the whole way, set the Cruise on 56-57 MPH and averaged 7.01 mpg. With a best of 8.6 and a worst of 5.8mpg. Never really had any difficulties going up the steep hills, just went slower, like 40mph up the Siskyous. The coach started with 1900 miles on it.
I was hoping for 7.5 to 8 but I am ok with what I got.

[DAN L]

you should always use ToP TIER gas. i cannot figure out which engine some of these posters are running, FORD OR GM.
PLEASE UPDATE YOUR SIGNATURE PROFILES.

[dieselclacker]

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by DAN L:
you should always use ToP TIER gas. i cannot figure out which engine some of these posters are running. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

DanL, I assume by Top Tier gas you mean premium grade, higher octane than regular grade gasoline. This is not necessery nor is it a requirement for the 8.1 Vortec engine. The engine was designed for no lead 87 octane. Using any thing higher doesn't harm the engine, but certainly doesn't do the wallet any good.

Dieselclacker

[wazone2]

Earlier this year we did a 5200 mile round trip to AZ. My 2006 Allegro Bay 37DB with the W22 chassis, towing a Honda CRV gave me 6.96 MPG. Speed was in the 60-62 MPH area.

[Clay L]

My lifetime average pulling the Honda for 34,000 miles is 6.84. If I correct for generator hours run while driving it will come up .2 or so.

The lowest mpg per tank was 5.46 and the highest was 8.5.

[Photog]

My average, over the last 20,000 miles, is right at 7 MPG.

[Bagman57]

Well, there is no way I'm ever going to sell our Allegro Bay37DB, because the 8.1 in it must be something special because we regurally get close to or over 9.0 MPG! Therefore, we'll just continue to make modifications to make it nicer and just keep what we have! Thursday I'm getting a new set of Koni FSD shocks. Regards, Chuck/Bagman57.