What's the best way to increase my MPG?

[dennis45]

Originally Posted by Unplanned

Dennis, if you are saving so much fuel, and passing by Kamloops, stop in for a visit. I may even break out the good stuff.
Happy Glamping.

Maybe an Unplanned stop. [emoji106]

[Unplanned Tourist]

Originally Posted by dennis45

Maybe an Unplanned stop. [emoji106]

Best kind. We have lots of room for an overnight stop. 5 acres.

[Wavery]

I just bought my 1st (and last) Ford V10...... 2005 Southwind 32V.

I thought this thing would SURELY get better MPG than that gas sucking 460 V8 that I had in my '98 Winnebago Adventurer 33'. I even installed the Banks PowerPak headers and intake (ZERO mpg improvement).

My V10 gets 5.0 MPG making the same trips to the desert that I did with my old 460 V8. These V10s suck!

BTW...... I changed all the fluids (5W20 Mobile1), new air filter, appropriate tire pressure (per wt in each corner)....... no difference...... what's up with 5MPG..... anyone else doing that poorly? I got 7.5 with my old 460 V8.

[Russ Silber]

Originally Posted by Wavery

I just bought my 1st (and last) Ford V10...... 2005 Southwind 32V.

I thought this thing would SURELY get better MPG than that gas sucking 460 V8 that I had in my '98 Winnebago Adventurer 33'. I even installed the Banks PowerPak headers and intake (ZERO mpg improvement).

My V10 gets 5.0 MPG making the same trips to the desert that I did with my old 460 V8. These V10s suck!

BTW...... I changed all the fluids (5W20 Mobile1), new air filter, appropriate tire pressure (per wt in each corner)....... no difference...... what's up with 5MPG..... anyone else doing that poorly? I got 7.5 with my old 460 V8.

6.5 - 7 mhp with gen running towing CRV with Cricket in crv. From Melbourne fl to Cornish NH and back. 63 mph using cruise on flats gas peddle and shifting in mountains. Using tow mode only going up and down mountains. Hardly youched brakes on entire trip. Never expected to get better mpg. Unless strong tail wind. Trip was last August.[emoji33]

[Russ Silber]

Originally Posted by Russ Silber

6.5 - 7 mhp with gen running towing CRV with Cricket in crv. From Melbourne fl to Cornish NH and back. 63 mph using cruise on flats gas peddle and shifting in mountains. Using tow mode only going up and down mountains. Hardly youched brakes on entire trip. Never expected to get better mpg. Unless strong tail wind. Trip was last August.[emoji33]

RV is 1999 Dutchstar 36ft.

[530ktm]

Originally Posted by Wavery

I just bought my 1st (and last) Ford V10...... 2005 Southwind 32V.

I thought this thing would SURELY get better MPG than that gas sucking 460 V8 that I had in my '98 Winnebago Adventurer 33'. I even installed the Banks PowerPak headers and intake (ZERO mpg improvement).

My V10 gets 5.0 MPG making the same trips to the desert that I did with my old 460 V8. These V10s suck!

BTW...... I changed all the fluids (5W20 Mobile1), new air filter, appropriate tire pressure (per wt in each corner)....... no difference...... what's up with 5MPG..... anyone else doing that poorly? I got 7.5 with my old 460 V8.

I agree, that is not good mileage. In my opinion, none of the crap does anything noticeable better than stock. I did intakes, exhaust and other stuff to previous coaches including the 5 Star on my last V10 and I never noticed anything except how much it cost to do these mods. After last mod on 2014 F53 I would usually get 6.8 mpg which never impressed me. Perhaps if it would have run the hills better or done anything better it would have made me feel like it was worth something. I also once had a pick up with the 460 in it and I needed to take a gas station along with me.

[steve52]

Synthetic oil gained me 1 mpg in my truck, a 2006 2WD Silverado with 6 liter. About a 7% gain. Not bad.

Going from the tractionless highway tires that GM put on the truck, to a set of BF Goodrich All Terrains, took it back to where it was. Oh well. Better to not get stuck, IMHO.

[Wavery]

Originally Posted by steve52

Synthetic oil gained me 1 mpg in my truck, a 2006 2WD Silverado with 6 liter. About a 7% gain. Not bad.

Going from the tractionless highway tires that GM put on the truck, to a set of BF Goodrich All Terrains, took it back to where it was. Oh well. Better to not get stuck, IMHO.

A 2006 2WD Silverado with 6 liter was designed to use synthetic oil.

[nathaniel]

You want to talk about bad gas mileage? My Harley Dragster gets 1 mile per gal. LOL and its 12.00 per gal. It's all about the adventure cant worry about MPG if that's the case why buy the coach in the first place. I have yet to see a dealer have the MPG posted on the window of a MH. I was told by an older couple I met camping one time that if you have to ask what milage it gets then you shouldn't buy it. Have fun life is short

[chunker]

Originally Posted by Wavery

I just bought my 1st (and last) Ford V10...... 2005 Southwind 32V.

I thought this thing would SURELY get better MPG than that gas sucking 460 V8 that I had in my '98 Winnebago Adventurer 33'. I even installed the Banks PowerPak headers and intake (ZERO mpg improvement).

My V10 gets 5.0 MPG making the same trips to the desert that I did with my old 460 V8. These V10s suck!

BTW...... I changed all the fluids (5W20 Mobile1), new air filter, appropriate tire pressure (per wt in each corner)....... no difference...... what's up with 5MPG..... anyone else doing that poorly? I got 7.5 with my old 460 V8.

Perhaps you stated in another post but how fast do you drive? Are accelerations WOT? A breadbox on wheels will never get good MPG and the only way to really improve is stay in the flat and drive slower. Different subject but tires on the same axle should be the same pressure, not individually set per each axle weight.

A diesel's efficiency is different in that it sucks fuel while accelerating and is most efficient at steady speed and throttle. Plenty of comments already on this thread how to optimize MPG with the diesel and driving in general. I get 7. I can get higher by driving east in west TX (typical westerly wind) but eventually I run out of even TX. I get passed a lot at my 62-65 but I don't fret about it. I'm not sprinting and my trip isn't a race to get there. Too many people always in a hurry with a "need to be there yesterday driving method".

[Soppy]

Install a good set of headers and free flowing exhaust. Install a good free flowing air intake . Use only premium fuel and then get your ECM custom tuned for maximum fuel mileage. It won't be cheap , but you will get a little better mileage.

[EdInArk]

Originally Posted by RoadDogYVR

Both in my personal life and professional life (Fuel Tanker driver with a GVW of 140,000 lbs), I'm a little obsessed with fuel mileage, even when I'm not paying the fuel bill. "Hypermiling" is achieved by using physics to your advantage. Acceleration and deceleration are the biggest consumers of fuel. Keep a larger following distance from the vehicle in front of you and if you need to slow down for any reason, take your foot off the throttle and use up the space between you until required to brake and then only threshold brake to the point where you are no longer closing on the vehicle in front of you. Roll onto the throttle slowly and accelerate at the lowest safe speed given traffic around you. Most drivers demand more torque and horsepower from their engines in any given scenario than necessary. I approach driving "heavy" much the same way that my pilot buddy explained setting power in an airplane to me - figure out how much power you need and govern yourself accordingly. See grades (up and down) before you get to them and get your power management in-line before you get there. Big uphill grade ahead? Gear down or use the throttle appropriately shortly in advance of the grade to make sure you are in the power band just as you hit the grade. Let off the throttle in advance of a big turn and roll onto the throttle at the apex gently. Not only will you have better fuel economy by not braking willynilly, you'll be more stable on the road as a result.

Also, don't travel in stop-and-go traffic if you are concerned with fuel economy. Starting earlier or waiting an hour or two can greatly affect your fuel consumption.

Ethanol blended gasolines also affect fuel economy. My previous daily driver was a Subaru Forester with a 2.5 litre engine. In that scenario, my fuel economy decreased in direct proportion to the percentage of ethanol in the fuel. We have Chevron Supreme Plus 94 octane available here which contains no ethanol. Our regular 87 octane is 10% ethanol. My fuel economy got 10% better with zero ethanol in that application. But since the fuel was ~15-20% more expensive, "economy" was relative. The Subaru had no turbos and didn't benefit at all from the higher octane; the only improvement was the lack of ethanol.

My current bi-turbo F150 with 2.7 litre ecoboost loves premium for power especially in demanding grades but my fuel economy suffers.

Long winded but I hope a little insight beyond "get a cold air intake and a tuner" helps.

ADDENDUM: my Class 5 driving instructor way back in 1988 was a city bus driver. He told me to imagine there is an egg between your foot and the throttle pedal and when accelerating "don't break the egg". Stays with me even today.

Long winded maybe, but you hit all my points. I'm a little obsessive about not using my brakes and accelerating gently.

RVBlogger, I agree with the folks saying to count your blessings. If you're at 8.8 that's quite good. I got 8.5 for the first several months of ownership, but I'm down to 8.2 or so; I've just started driving the rig faster.

Even if you could improve it, which I find doubtful, how much are you willing to spend to try to save a few gallons of gas a year?

[Bob Hyatt]

I have a new V10, have put 6,000 miles on it so far in a 34' long Tiffin Class A. We are averaging 6.5mpg over that 6,000 miles, towing a 2011 Honda Accord on a tow dolly. I always run in tow-haul mode and use cruise control except when in traffic. I drive at 62-63 max.

You can't expect a lot more when hauling around 21,000 pounds of stuff in a 13' tall cinder block with a flat front.

[Bob Hyatt]

Originally Posted by Soppy

Install a good set of headers and free flowing exhaust. Install a good free flowing air intake . Use only premium fuel and then get your ECM custom tuned for maximum fuel mileage. It won't be cheap , but you will get a little better mileage.

Those will only help in the upper RPM band, beyond 5,000 or so. Who drives there? Headers and intake are wasted money for a heavy towing vehicle unless you run it at drag-strip RPM levels. At sub-4000 RPM speeds, the throttle body butterfly is the restriction.