Community Forums

bobioknight · 06-21-2013, 03:49 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jnp_macklin

I'd oblige on the rest stop request. It's nice to be able to get out and stretch your legs and walk for a little longer then 28 feet before having to turn around and sit back down again. Also a good idea for you to get out from behind the wheel every couple of hours and take a brief walk to keep the blood circulating in your legs and keep you mentally refreshed. In the grand scheme of things, it's 15 minutes out of the travel time. How big a deal is it to "get there" at a specific time?

Older folks, may not feel all too steady on their feet, especially if you're rolling down the highway, even on the smoothest of roads.

Yea, you are right about this. I was a bit nervous about pulling off the highway, not knowing what to expect. As I get more experienced, we will surely include some sight seeing adventures into our travels, which will give us a good excuse to stop and stretch. Now i am feeling bad that poor Alfanso had to pee while I was driving up the bumpy 5 fwy. Gosh darn it.

deandec · 06-21-2013, 09:00 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bobioknight

I guess I could be miscalculating the results. I have 110 gallon tank, I topped it off before I left. Auto leveling at the pump for good measure. The trip was 1120 miles I had not even burned 1/2 tank when passing by magic mountain but started hitting stop and go traffic all the way from there, down the 91 then cleared up at the 15. When I filled back up again same gas station and auto level it took 65 gallons to top off. By the way she weighs 25,600 lbs.

.

Wow, on my rig which weighs 31500 lbs plus a 5,000 lb toad, I would be out of fuel at about 750 miles with the same size fuel tank.

65 gallons in 1120 miles makes you a Rock Star !!!!!

greatlakes · 06-21-2013, 12:12 PM

I never follow trucks close enough to really draft them and you can typically tell when you reach the draft as the RV will shudder from side to side as you get close. Don't feel it so much with the current mh (33,000 lbs) but the old 31ft gas that weighed just over 10k lbs would shake like we had a flat tire.
So unless your really close I can't imagine following a truck would make much difference.
I would suggest you track the mileage and fuel consumption for a few more trips and see if it doesn't avg out a bit lower. I doubt you will see more than 12 in the long run.

**TonyDi** · 06-21-2013, 04:02 PM

I've gotten 20 mpg in my DSDP. However that was downhill. That all changed when I leveled out LOL.

LakeKerrGuy · 06-21-2013, 04:46 PM

[QUOTE The trip was 1120 miles. By the the way, I am going to feel pretty foolish if I was supposed to divide my result in half or something like that. Yikes.[/QUOTE]

Are you absolutely positive it was 1120 miles not 1120 kilometers?

If it was kilometers, that would give you about 10.5 mpg. Believable.

Iangolf · 06-21-2013, 09:26 PM

Since it is approx. 480 miles from Murrietta to Napa Valley taking the I-5 and he stated that he filled up in Murrietta and did not purchase fuel again until he returned to the same gas station in Murrietta then 1,120 miles makes sense. Still have never seen a class A get that type of mileage however if traveled 1,120 miles and burned 65 gallons then the mileage is correct.

LakeKerrGuy · 06-21-2013, 09:53 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Iangolf

Since it is approx. 480 miles from Murrietta to Napa Valley taking the I-5 and he stated that he filled up in Murrietta and did not purchase fuel again until he returned to the same gas station in Murrietta then 1,120 miles makes sense. Still have never seen a class A get that type of mileage however if traveled 1,120 miles and burned 65 gallons then the mileage is correct.

Never been to CA so I had no clue where Murrietta is or Napa Valley. Just cannot believe the mileage. We all need to learn how he did it. He got within 1 mpg of what I get in my Silverado with a V6. And he is driving in mountains 20,000 heavier.

Hope OP comes back with an explanation. I'm really scratching my head.

TdogKing · 06-21-2013, 10:03 PM

I have Ocean front property to sell him in Arizona .

bobioknight · 06-22-2013, 12:34 AM

Wow this post sure caused a lot of drama with the cynics. So it really go me thinking about the tires and the odometer. Well for sure it was 65 gallons of fuel, and the beginning and ending odometer indicated 1120 miles, HOWEVER, could my odometer be wrong. Having just changed out the tires with michelins 255/80 22.5 all around. Whereas, the fronts should have been a little shorter wider tire, which means I am running a larger front tire than the manufacturer is calling for, so I am wondering if my odometer is off because of the tires and having them inflated so high.

I checked with my gps navigation, I did not track the route to see exactly how many miles I went, but it is telling me the route I chose electronically is 508 miles each way, +- so 1016, @65 gallons of fuel would be 15.63 mpg.

So if my odometer is off and we go by the electronics, worse case I got 15.63, if my odometer was correct 17.3. Either way it was a great trip and I still got better mileage in the coach than I would have had in my ford 2002 f350 also diesel.

Airstreamer6 · 06-22-2013, 07:19 AM

Whether 15 or 17, it's still a record-setting performance for that size rig.

In fact, it's unprecedented by a factor of at least 1.5.

WOW.

The only thing I can think of is drafting behind big trucks. That might do it. But that would be very difficult to do over many miles, and very dangerous.

anotherone · 06-22-2013, 07:39 AM

dont think of the skepticism as cynical. Think that you are one lucky guy and never ever sell that coach!!!!!

bobioknight · 06-22-2013, 08:48 AM

Yes, skeptics is a much better and correct word. Thanks.

BTW, drafting, no way. That would be dangerous and way too close for comfort for me, and would probably piss the trucker off having an RV on his/her tail mile after mile. No, I had 6 or 7 car lengths of space (if I recall correctly), I assumed tracking behind the truck was acting like a wind break. So if there is no benefit of following a wind break we can rule that one out too.

One thing I do which is another assumption is, if I see black smoke out of the exhaust, I back off the accelerator, until there is very little smoke, I assume black smoke pouring out of the exhaust means I am shoving more fuel into the cylinders than the engine can burn. I assume this because when climbing especially, I can press the accelerator to a position that pushes us up the hill, pressing it beyond that point does not necessarily push us up any faster, it just makes more smoke and wastes fuel. I watch this closely while driving.

Other than that, I accelerate slowly, watch my smoke, and keep it under 60 (the best I can).

Possum · 06-22-2013, 09:09 AM

I have one of those goofuss thingies in my Jeep that supposedly tells you your current mileage. I would always point to it when we were towing our TT and say to the DW, "See I told you we get great mileage with this old 318."

On the downhill at 60 and foot off the gas it would record 99.99 miles per gallon.

That said, "Do you want to sell your unit?

My 30 footer gets 10 to the gallon imperial and 7.5 on your tricky smaller gallon.

Just funning yuh. I also agree that it is a great idea to stop for 15 minutes or so half way through the drive day just to work out the kinks. I'm probably your FIL's age and I like my kinks out time.

Enjoy your travels.

Rich-n-Linda · 06-23-2013, 08:04 AM

I said it before and I'll say it again - there is NO WAY you got 17.3 mpg with that coach. Your numbers are off somewhere, either on the gallons or the miles.

It is simply impossible for ANY vehicle that weighs what your coach weighs to get that kind of mileage. You cannot change the laws of physics, and those laws dictate that you are going to get somewhere in the area of 7 to 9 mpg...just like everyone else.