expected mpg of the V10

[cmprcountry]

Hi everyone!
I just bought a 2006 Surf Side Class A 30ft 11" motorhome on the Ford chassis with the V10 engine. Bought it in Florida and on the drive back to Delaware I got 6 mpg. Is that normal? I do not know what I was expecting but that seemed rather low. I did run the generator one night while parked at a Walmart.
Just wondering what everyone else is getting.

Chip

[cmprcountry]

Hi everyone!
I just bought a 2006 Surf Side Class A 30ft 11" motorhome on the Ford chassis with the V10 engine. Bought it in Florida and on the drive back to Delaware I got 6 mpg. Is that normal? I do not know what I was expecting but that seemed rather low. I did run the generator one night while parked at a Walmart.
Just wondering what everyone else is getting.

Chip

["007"]

cmprcountry welcome to irv2
When I owned Fords 3 V-10's with Banks sys I could get on flat road ways between 7.5 and 8 mpg. You say you have a 2006 v-10 with new 5 speed trans, is it? Most people are pretty happy with the new Ford drive train yours is new and will improve with miles if it doesn't you may have something going wrong just keep track and try it with out running GEN on a fill up. "007"

[Izzyblueye]

Brand New, my V-10 got 7.0 mpg overall. 12000 miles it moved up to 7.5 to 7.9 mpg., leveled off there. Head winds give me the 7.5, flat level road 7.9. Mountains do not seem to affect it much. The higher the speed, the lower the mileage. It's called air mass movement. I have found 58 mph gives me about the best overall mileage and still travel the same number of miles in a driving day.

[LVJ58]

Over the 6 years we've owned our coach with the v10 we average 7mpg annually including a tow vehicle. Our rig is 37'8" and weighs in at around 21,500lbs loaded for travel full tanks, etc. our towed vehicle weighs 3,600lbs. With the new more powerful v10,5spd tranny and a lighter coach, I wouldn't be surprised that after break in, 7 to 10k miles you could get 8 to 10mpg. This estimate is based on cruising speeds of 55 & 60mph and no headwinds. The faster you cruise, the mileage drops dramatically. Don't expect any great mileage until you log 7k miles or so. When we first got ours we were averaging around 5.mpg then after 7 to 10k miles mileage got much better.

Best of luck with your new coach and enjoy many fun and safe journeys,

Jim

[Fossilhog]

I have a 2002 32' Class A Winnebago Adventureer w/V-10. 18K on the odometer. Made a 500 mile round trip over the holiday weekend towing a 6x12 enclosed trailer. NJ-Virginia, all flatlands and stuck to the 55-60 MPG range.

8.2 MPG

[Hikerdogs]

We have a2001 Adventurer 32V with the Ford V 10. It has almost 45,000 miles on the odometer. When towing a full sized Biuck on a dolly we average 8.2 mpg. Without the car & dolly we average about 9.5mpg. Sometimes as good as 10 mpg others as low as 9 mpg depending on the speed we travel and the wind.
The mileage was between 7 mpg and 8 mpg for the first 10,000 miles then began to improve.

[Fxrscotty]

I have 5000 miles on my Four Winds 24T and got exactly 8.5 mpg last weekend on a trip up north. No tow no generator just driving. It's good to hear that it may improve aftyer 10k miles. but I thought this was pretty good. Scotty.

[FC Ontario]

The worst mileage we have gotten was in the hills of West Virginia and Virginia towing our Sunfire and that was 7.5 USG. We normally get around 8.5 MPUSG and that is with towing and the auto air operating.
When I do the conversion to Canadian gallons, get close to 10 mpg.
JM2CW

[pzalos]

We have a 2005 Gulf Stream Independence Class A 36' on the 20500 lb F53 chassis. Currently showing 6200 miles and weighs in at 19,200 lbs. On a recent trip to Illinois using I70 to take advantage of the flatlands of Ohio and points west, we averaged 9.3mpg. I set the cruise control to 54. The return trip gave us 8.5 due to headwinds and jacking up the speed to 60.

I use Amsoil 0W-30 synthetic oil to reduce friction. I also installed the full Banks PowerPack (headers, exhaust and air induction). This provided the needed HP to overcome the incredible hills found in western Maryland and West Virginia. While they provided extra horses, I don't believe they contributed significantly to any mileage improvements.

I am considering a future add-on to improve wind resistance: an air dam from "http://www.turboshield.com/class-a.asp". In speaking with engineering instructors from the University of Maryland, forcing the air through the grill and avoiding turbulence under the coach can give substantial results.

I further plan a reduction in heat by using the severe duty Amsoil synthetic transmission fluid and read axle gear lube. Redline fluids are also excellent for these purposes.

I'd like to think it's possible to hit the magic '10' after all tweaks are completed.



In reading the posts, I am hoping to see a further increase once I get over 10-12K miles.

[livingwells]

I've got a 1999 Coachmen 32ft w/ford v-10.
I get 7.5 - 8mpg

[Gary RVRoamer]

Chip,
As you have seen from the other responses, your 6 mpg is low. The generator uses about a half gallon per hour on average, so you can estimate how that affected your mpg, but it should not have dropped you from a typical 7.5-8.0 to 6.0 unless it ran all night.

Head winds can drastically affect mpg and speed is always a factor as well. Both increase the wind resistance, which is te major impediment to good fuel mileage in a motorhome. Weight is a factor, but actually only a small one.

Record your fuel consumption carefully and try to avoid complicating factors like the genset for awhile. Keep your speed under 62. If your mileage does not come up to the typical 7.5-8.0 range within a 1000 miles, see a Ford dealer.

[SRT]

Have 1999 F53 V10 with full Banks (no transcommand for the transmission). Coach grosses about 19,500# and pulls a 3500# toad. On a trip last May on US 2 from Duluth, MN to Spokane,WA (then onto Portland, OR via freeways) the mpg ranged from 6.5 to 8.18. We had constant headwinds until East Glacier, MT. After that point the mpg improved. We had about 1/2 tank of water and always had some black & gray water on board. We camped in no facility type campgraounds most of the time.

[JD Allen]

I'm afraid to check. Some things just shoudn't be known.