MPG on Cross Country Trip

[TOMFEN]

The wife and I just completed a 32 day trip from McMinnville, Or to Louisville, Ky and Chase City, Va to visit our families. The following is a breakdown of the mileage and gallons of fuel used. The MH now has 80014 miles on it.

Total mileage was 6658 miles, we used 803.72 gallons of gas for 8.284 mpg.

Fuel and mileage from McMinnville to Chase City was 3056 miles and 368.56 gal for 8.292 mpg.

Fuel and mileage from Chase City to McMinnville was 3602 miles and 435.16 gal for 8.277 mpg.

The reason for the differences in the mileage to and from Va was that we traveled the most direct route going there and came back home on the most northern route (I94/I90)

One thing I found interesting was that traveling across the Rockies I got much better gas mileage both going and coming than I did in the hills and mountains in Ky, Wva, Va, NC and Tn.

From McMinnville to Indianapolis, Ind was 2274 miles, used 268.89 gal for 8.457mpg

From Indianapolis through the above states to the flatlands of Tn was 1137 miles and 144.49 gal of fuel for 7.869mpg

On individual fillups the best mpg was 8.90 mpg and the worst was 7.33 mpg.

The 7.33 mpg was traveling across Mn into SD., most of I90 was under construction with a lot of two way traffic, 45/50 mph zones, it was very rough with stop and go traffic, lots of 2nd and 3rd gear driving.

Hope this isn't too boring for everyone who decides to read it.

Tom

[Ron & Dee]

Not boring at all, I always enjoy reading stories on mileage.

You did better than I did on my 6300 mile trip. I only averaged 8.1 and I don't tow.

You didn't mention speed other than the construction zone. What speed did you try to drive at? I tried to stay around 60 to 63 and sometimes that's hard to do

Ron

[TOMFEN]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ron & Dee Not boring at all, I always enjoy reading stories on mileage. You did better than I did on my 6300 mile trip. I only averaged 8.1 and I don't tow. You didn't mention speed other than the construction zone. What speed did you try to drive at? I tried to stay around 60 to 63 and sometimes that's hard to do Ron

Ron, if you're running stock 8.1mpg is doing good. Before I had all the mods done on mine I was averaging around 7.5mpg.

I usually drive a couple of mph under the speed limit unless the speed limit is 75mph, then I still drive at 67mph.

I was at 62/67 mph for most of the trip except for driving across Ill, their speed limit for motorhomes is 55mph. Driving 55 with the cruise control on got about the same mileage as 62/67 did.

We did use the gen some on the trip, usually stopped at a rest area and fixed breakfast after driving an hour or so every day, also used it to warm up some lunch. Don't know how many hours we used it, I forgot to write the hours down before we left.

The toad doesn't seem to make much difference in gas mileage, maybe .1 or .2 mpg overall.

What lubricants are you using in your MH? I use Mobil 1 Truck & SUV synthetic 5w30 engine oil, Mobil 1 synthetic transmission fluid and Mobil 1 synthetic 75w90 differential oil in mine.

Tom

[Ron & Dee]

Tom,

I did the UP upgrade before the trip, but to be honest, there are too many variables to consider to get an accurate comparison of before and after.

I know I was loaded much heaver than previous trips because we made only 2 major Walmart runs Usually we make between 3 & 4 on a 30 day trip.

Our first long trip I only averaged in the mid seventies, but I had a heavy foot, 65 to 70 mph The next trip I tried to keep the mph between 60 & 65, and I averaged in the high 8's.

This year I switched from Mobil I to Castrol Edge and my oil consumption was down a bit, and that was with some very HARD and HOT driving.

Quote:

We did use the gen some on the trip, usually stopped at a rest area and fixed breakfast after driving an hour or so every day, also used it to warm up some lunch. Don't know how many hours we used it, I forgot to write the hours down before we left.

I always keep track of the Gen hours because we use it a lot, 153 hours on this trip.

We only have almost 66,000 miles on the MH and I hope it goes another 20 or 30K

Ron

[DriVer]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ron & Dee We only have almost 66,000 miles on the MH and I hope it goes another 20 or 30K

Ron, You can expect a lot more than that. This "Horse" ain't nowhere near ready for a glue factory!

I expect that we'll see a lot more miles before the end of this year, we'll see 82,000 right off the bat. Our resident W-Series mileage champion Ed will second that as well! By this time next year he'll have over 100,000 miles showing.

In case you can't make out the reading on the IP, it's 81981.8.

[Ron & Dee]

Quote:

Our resident W-Series mileage champion Ed will second that as well! By this time next year he'll have over 100,000 miles showing

WOW

It would be interesting to know if any out there have gone over the 100K

Speaks well for the Workhorse "HORSE"

Ron

[TOMFEN]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ron & Dee WOW It would be interesting to know if any out there have gone over the 100K Speaks well for the Workhorse "HORSE" Ron

I have the P32 chassis with the 4L80E transmission, now have 80,041 miles on it. The engine still uses a quart of oil every 3,000 miles, the tranny still shifts as smooth as it did when it was new. I expect to get well over 100K out of it.

Tom

[edgray]

Now that I've been granted another title, namely "W-series mileage champion" I feel the need to explain.

At 88,593 miles I just changed the oil & filter, and lubed the 14 Zerks again, as I have been doing every 3K miles or so since it was new.

I'm a "if it ain't broke, don't fix it" kind of guy, but I did have OEMY replace the plugs and wires at ~ 77K. I flushed the Dex-cool after 5 years and switched to Transynd at 20K. One of OEMY's SG II helps me keep an eye on temps and RPMs, and it all good.

We have been to New England, the Pacific NW, and CA at least twice, with lots of stops in between. I keep buying 87 gas and it keeps running. I don't baby it, and drive as fast as road conditions allow. Our planned trips for the rest of 2009 will put me at over 90,000 by year end.

I can't tell you how many salesmen have told me you NEED a diesel if you're going to put on lots of miles. I just smile and tell them "no thanks, I'm too cheap to go diesel". My W-22 isn't perfect, but I have not spent big bucks maintaining it, and it has served us well, going everywhere we wanted to go and safely back home again. I do wish I had upgraded to Koni shocks- I'm still running with Monroe Gas Magnums. Did I mention I am cheap?

If I make it to 100,000 miles next year, you can bet I'll be here bragging about it!
ED

[Jeepster47]

Two thumbs up, ED.
I have a set of 4, almost new, Bilstein shocks, if your interested. Yes for free.

Ed H.

[oemtech]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jeepster47 Two thumbs up, ED. I have a set of 4, almost new, Bilstein shocks, if your interested. Yes for free. Ed H.

Thanks a lot... Now he will be by and want me to install for free the the next time he comes to visit his daughter.

[edgray]

Quote:

Originally Posted by oemtech Thanks a lot... Now he will be by and want me to install for free the the next time he comes to visit his daughter.

DALE: I admitted I'm cheap....and I know your post quoted above is in jest, but you need to admit that I paid you your asking price to install those used Monroes I brought with me. Sure, I'd want you to install for free....but I don't really expect that to happen.

ED H: If you still have them laying around when I come out there next year, I just may take you up on that offer. I can't beat the price! Do you do installs???

ED

[tppilot]

I just returned from a 3,700 mile trip from SoCal to NorCal (Bay Area), then out I-40 to Tulsa OK and back to SoCal. I burned 528 gallons of gas for an average of 7.01 mpg.

I have a Winnebago Voyage, 33V, with UltraPower, Banks intake and headers, dual exhaust and MagnaFlow Big Block 70 Mufflers.

We were not towing the Jeep on this trip..........but in my experience, it doesn't seem to matter from a gas mileage perspective whether or not we're towing anything (boat, Jeep, motorcycle trailer, etc)

BTW, we averaged $2.46 per gallon - much better than last year's trip to Sturgis!!

[oemtech]

Quote:

Originally Posted by edgray DALE: I admitted I'm cheap....and I know your post quoted above is in jest, but you need to admit that I paid you your asking price to install those used Monroes I brought with me. Sure, I'd want you to install for free....but I don't really expect that to happen. ED H: If you still have them laying around when I come out there next year, I just may take you up on that offer. I can't beat the price! Do you do installs??? ED

Cheap... nah just THRIFTY.

[Aldev]

I just got back from a trip from Southern Ca. up thru Vegas and Salt Lake City to Yellowstone. We went thru the Grand Tetons. Came out the West end of Yellowstone. Followed the Snake River to Boise. From Boise South thru Winnemucca and Hawthorne Nev to Mammoth Lakes Ca and then home. Total mileage was 2846 miles and I used 397.3 gal of gas for approx 7.16mpg. We had a lot of headwinds and the grandkids used the Gen all the time for their games and movies as we did for the air conditioning. Along the Snake thru Sourthern Idaho, the temperature was around 100+ degrees. It was hot going thru Neveda also. I always seem to get a lot of headwinds no matter where I go.
My caliper temperatures got up to 150 degrees on the rear but didn't lock up. I had changed the brake fluid previous to this trip.
My scanguage did measure 170 degrees for the transmission though at times in the 100+ degree heat. I'm not sure what this should be. I think that the range is 150-158. I didn't have any problems though. The motorhome ran great for the whole trip.
Any comments are always appreciated!
Thanks,
Al DeVinaspre
2002 32H Bounder W22
Torrance Ca.