Cruising Speed

[WHOOVER770]

I have 2005 Country Coach 40 foot with tag. 60-65 tops. My fuel mileage is six to seven mpg. As someone else stated I don’t think the fellow was being honest with you on 12 mpg.

[bbill66]

I drive a 2004 Sprinter upfitted by Forest River I purchased used. Since 100,000 miles I have recorded every drop of fuel I have added. I set the cruise at 65 mph using the GPS not the speedometer for accuracy. After the most recent trip the cumulative fuel economy for over 30,000 miles was 20.49 mpg.

Occasionally when I have to get away from some yahoo who insists on riding 25 feet behind me in the left lane, I will kick it up a notch. That has gone as high as 78 mph, but only for a few minutes. On rare occasions I have cruised at 60 mph for as long as 350 miles.

If you do not average several tanks of fuel, in my opinion, you really have no idea what your actual mileage really is.

YMMV

Bill

[ItalGerBrit]

Originally Posted by Texas John

We cruise about 60 mph in the right hand lane. I know many go faster. But our trip is about the journey as well as the destimation and we are comfortable at 60. We also limit our daily progress to about 250-300 miles or six hours max. Try to stop by 4:00 but no later than 5:00 to get camp set up!

For many years I drove the same speed as the 4wheeler traffic and I did that pulling either a 20 ft stacker with one or two cars in it or a heavy utility trailer with a Hummer(H1) on it. 10 years in a 43ft diesel pusher and more recently, a 43 ft truck conversion, 70 to 80 mph. Always had at least two blow outs every trip on the trailers. The runs were always 500 to 1000 miles. Got really fast at flipping on spares but finally said to Hell with that. I reluctantly slowed down to 65, got the highest rated tires I could find, carry 4 spares and no more blowouts. Last trip from S La to Moab, Utah before slowing to 65, three trailer blowouts and a wheel ripped off the hub.
BUT, 60 is TOO slow. If you are in Florida, the average driver is used to dodging poky old people in RVs(yes, I too am very old, but not pokey). Out west you are 20 mph slower than average traffic. I would keep the hazard lights on like truckers do when they are moving slower than expected on the Interstate. Sure you might pinch out a sandwich worth of gas mileage every few hours on the road but I think moving close to the average speed of others is worth a sandwich for safety. Go faster and forget the gas mileage!

[DennisZ]

Originally Posted by FlatsixV2

For What it's worth -

I have a 42' diesel pusher with 400HP Cummins...

My mileage is probably 6.5 to 8.5 MPG 85% of the time at 62 MPH.

Good Luck with your new rig!

Same results with my 400 ISL.

[Escape42]

We generally cruise at between 60-65 or 65-70, depending on the speed limit and traffic flow along Interstates. Our gas mileage averages around 6.7 MPG, not great but th elife-style makes it worthwhile.

[StageCoachDr]

I pull a 35ft Montana and I set my cruise control on 60. I get 8.1 MPG. You will probably never see 12 MPG in your Monarch unless you're going down hill with a tail wind.

[lrsses]

We average between 7 and 8 MPG best is 8.9 on I10 between Baton Rouge and Pensacola at 65 above that it goes downhill. On 2
I-20 7.5.

[wfterry]

Originally Posted by Farkey

Being new in the RV world I have numerous questions and here is my latest.

At what speed do you people usually cruise on an interstate highway?

I travel at about 60mph because the previous owner said that was the best speed for fuel economy and he would average 12 MPG on a trip.

On my last trip of just under 500 miles, I tried to cruise at 60mph and at the end I got 8.2 MPG. Now mind you that was through the hills in the Finger Lakes, but still getting almost half of what he did.

Unfortunately, I can't ask him any questions because he passed away just after selling me the rig.

So I will be very appreciative of all what you have to say on this subject.

Thank you

I have a 2000 34' gasser V10 Ford andvthecprevious owner told me he could get right at 10 mpg.
He had the Banks Exhaust and Cold Air Induction added and chipped, it has tonnes of power and there have been several times on level highway runs cruising between 62-65 mph I have got 10 mpg (no tow) but through hills and such I am glad to get between 8.5 & 9 ish.. 12mpg ain't no way.

[bluegrassrv]

When I had my 2006 Chevy Duramax dually pulling a 30’ tt I set the cruise on 74 and got around 8 mpg. My 2004 Country Coach Intrigue, C13 525HP, towing a 2007 Chevy 1500 4X4, I tried to set the cruise at 62 or so to save fuel. I’m too impatient. On interstate I set the cruise at 75 and got 5 mpg.

[MarcM]

Our Newmar diesel gets between 8-9 mpg depending on the terrain and our speed. As for what speed to cruise, that largely depends on the road I am driving as well as the winds and how far we have to go on a given day. I have had it up to 75-80 on flat interstate in Utah with no wind, but typically do about 65-70 mph most of the time.

[helferdm]

55 mph in a 44' diesel pusher towing a CRV on a dolly = 8.4 mpg. 60 mph = 7.0 mpg.

[jhaig99]

For my 2013 Tiffin 34’RED, 62 to 65 mph

[georgeduncan]

I have a2017 Thor class c MOTORHOME when we went cross country we got 10 mpg. The cruising speed Was 60 mpg The one time I filled up I drove around 65-70 and my mileage dropped to 8 mpg.

[JD11]

Gas mileage is not our primary concern. We’d both rather “get there” as we are vacationers and weekenders. I set the cruise at 70 for the highways, and adjust for conditions like rain or high winds.

Our ‘16 Miramar rides pretty well so it’s not a white knuckle experience. We are disciplined about vehicle weight, both the coach and toad, and I set the tire pressure to the weight, according to Michelin’s numbers, not Thor’s sticker.

We also have a TPMS so we can keep an eye on temp and pressure on every trip and we check it regularly.

The one challenge I haven’t figured out? How to deal with the morons merging into the traffic flow who pay zero attention to the situation.....