Community Forums

Danorske · 09-18-2009, 09:36 PM

Hi,
When I went to Florida last Jan. I got 8.3 mpg. After I got home there was a letter from Freightliner notifying me about a recall on something to do with the turbo? i think, {don't remember for sure). Now I've been to Yellowstone, and am currently in Las Vegas. This trip have only gotten 7.3 mpg. I wonder it they, Freightliner, caused this to go down. I guess I;ll have to have a talk with them when I get home. This sure sucks.

JARS · 09-21-2009, 06:54 AM

I'm not sure what your recall was for and I would suggest you dig into that a bit more, however we have had our 2008 Astoria for just over two years now and have been through 16 states, including out West. We live in Florida and I get at least an extra mile per gallon when driving/towing in the SE. I think the problem is geography related. There are hills out West!

Also driving habits can drastically change your fuel mileage outcome. These newer Cummins get the best fuel mileage at around 55-65 MPH. Yes wind and weight have factors as well but once you pour in more fuel to maintain speeds above 65 your mileage drops dramatically. I think one of our members here did a fuel test and recently posted it, explained in greater detail. I do know that I drive my rig around 62-65 with the toad and average around 9.5 to 10.0 in the SE and when I was out West last summer we were down about almost a Mile per gallon.

Happy travels

powerboatr · 09-21-2009, 03:10 PM

any more info on the recall?
we are still pulling 8-8.9 at 66-68 mph

i think it can be better, we now have over 5k on the odo.

Danorske · 09-21-2009, 10:06 PM

any more info on the recall? I don't have that info with me. It's at home on my desk. When I get their I'
ll post it.

I drive between 63-65 mph. There is still a lot of flat land out here. We've got about 9600 miles on it now.

Will get back later,
Ron

Danorske · 10-02-2009, 09:06 PM

OK,
On Jun 10, 09 Frieghtliner preformed Recall # 0844, a Calibration Campaign to my 2008 360 HP Cummings, ISC EPA07. They updated the Calibration code from AU90002.15 to AU90002.32. I think this had to do with the Turbo Charger. I have lost the original Letter. The dealer wouldn't say much other than it was an emissions thing and that it sometimes causes a little mileage drop. (sigh).

On the last tank of fuel it went 615 mile with 84 gallons of fuel. That equals 7.3 mpg. That tankful I drove 67-70 mph. When at 63-64 mph it got 7.4 mpg.

Ron

powerboatr · 10-05-2009, 07:26 PM

Ron
thanks for the update
We just ran a WINDY trip from albq to vernon texas
still pulled down 7.9 with all the winds
I was driving with the wheel turned to the right somewhere between a 1/8 and 1/4 turn all day
we were leaning pretty good, them sidewalls must have been stretched

it was so windy we stayed in 5th gear alot

Danorske · 10-09-2009, 04:08 PM

Some time earlier someone posted something about upgrading their 360HP Cummings to 400 or 425 by doing a computer upgrade from Cummings. Well, I talked to Cummings today they said yes it can be done but NOT on mine. 360 is the largest it can go. Darn,

Ron

powerboatr · 10-09-2009, 10:42 PM

ron
bummer about the hp
I am still working an upper through deleting a certain part.

i revised my fuel burn it was 737.4 miles 93.5 gallons = 7.8 mpg

this was with a severe wind penalty.

buckeyeduffer · 10-20-2009, 10:09 PM

Just completed a 500 mile run in fairly windy conditions, operating mostly at 62-63 mph in faily stong winds and produced 7.2 mpg. Kinda dissapointed but we only have 3.0k miles on the engine as of last evening. Looking to get lots better.

This was our shake-down and really a lousy trip equipment wise. Both AC's shut down and would not operate on shore or generator power. leveling contol panel seized with all indicator lights flashing, one of the leveler hydralics was peeing fluid all over the ground, HW heater wiring harness was not connected to control board, referigerator would not operate on propane, right front brakes squeeling like crazy and headlights very far out of adjustment. That is in addition to a 40+ item punch list from the PDI that is still being resolved.

We are still pleased with the Damon, but wondering about our dealer pre-delivery prep.

cfsoistman · 10-21-2009, 10:09 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by buckeyeduffer

Just completed a 500 mile run in fairly windy conditions, operating mostly at 62-63 mph in faily stong winds and produced 7.2 mpg. Kinda dissapointed but we only have 3.0k miles on the engine as of last evening. Looking to get lots better.

This was our shake-down and really a lousy trip equipment wise. Both AC's shut down and would not operate on shore or generator power. leveling contol panel seized with all indicator lights flashing, one of the leveler hydralics was peeing fluid all over the ground, HW heater wiring harness was not connected to control board, referigerator would not operate on propane, right front brakes squeeling like crazy and headlights very far out of adjustment. That is in addition to a 40+ item punch list from the PDI that is still being resolved.

We are still pleased with the Damon, but wondering about our dealer pre-delivery prep.

Sorry to hear about your problems. Sounds like it was good thing you didn't go farther than 500 miles. That's really a shame that you have so many issues with a new RV. Unfortunately you're not alone when it comes to problems. I really don't believe it matters who built it because you hear the same thing from all types of RV owners with different products.

Quality Control is long gone when it comes to the RV Industry. It appears that all they all are concerned about is getting it out the door. I guess unless they slip on the hydraulic fluid they never checked for leaks. That gives Made In America another kick in the chops. Maybe we need a RV Czar to oversee this industry as well.

Always-RVing · 10-21-2009, 10:19 AM

Everyone lost 1-2 MPG when the Ultra-Low Sulphur diesel came out
Elevation affects MPG since you lose horsepower
Going West is going up-hill
Each motor has its own optimum speed and RPMs for optimum horsepower, torque and MPG

powerboatr · 10-21-2009, 01:22 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by buckeyeduffer

Just completed a 500 mile run in fairly windy conditions, operating mostly at 62-63 mph in faily stong winds and produced 7.2 mpg. Kinda dissapointed but we only have 3.0k miles on the engine as of last evening. Looking to get lots better.

This was our shake-down and really a lousy trip equipment wise. Both AC's shut down and would not operate on shore or generator power. leveling contol panel seized with all indicator lights flashing, one of the leveler hydralics was peeing fluid all over the ground, HW heater wiring harness was not connected to control board, referigerator would not operate on propane, right front brakes squeeling like crazy and headlights very far out of adjustment. That is in addition to a 40+ item punch list from the PDI that is still being resolved.

We are still pleased with the Damon, but wondering about our dealer pre-delivery prep.

you sure did have your set of "crapgoingwrong"
the a/c units, did they keep tripping the breakers?
and were you running them on the genny, then shut off the genny before you turned off the a/c units? if so it will trip both breakers and very often the gennys main breaker, and the breakers dont look tripped. Ours did it a few times until i figured out what was going on.

not to change this posts subjects but the fridge if its not been run on propane in a while it has to purge the air and will go to lock out and you have to reset it by a button sequence on the front panel.
its in the book for the fridge and at dometics web site
hope it helps

DBOL · 10-22-2009, 07:59 PM

Buckeyeduffer can you tell me more about the HWater Heater problem and how did you find out about the harness.

DBOL

buckeyeduffer · 10-24-2009, 12:32 AM

DBOL:

I stopped at an RV repair facility and as the tech was troubleshooting the heater he found that the wiring harness was not connected to the electronic control board. I had looked at it the evening before but missed it as well. The connectors and wiring were stuffed up behind the pressure relief valve.