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Old 12-24-2016, 09:24 PM   #1
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New and curious

How many times have you heard this" I just retired bought a used 40'DP off of e-bay and headed to Mexico" never even rode in an RV.
Curious what kind of fuel mileage will get with Turbo 330hp Cat???
Any advice would be most welcome.

Alaskanloggr
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Old 12-24-2016, 10:39 PM   #2
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Mileage will vary greatly. Speed will kill your mileage. At 60 mph, you'll be good to get from 7~9 mpg. Mexican diesel fuel will probably not be low sulfur fuel, check the requirements of your engine.
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Old 12-24-2016, 10:54 PM   #3
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300 hp Cummins. I get around 11 mpg.
If you "never" been in one read up on how to drive one, better yet take a course on driving one especially if it has air brakes.
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Old 12-25-2016, 06:30 AM   #4
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First, what year, make, model and specifically CAT engine.

But from Camp Freightliner:
The sweet spot is 1620 to 1670 RPM
Transmission 6th with economy mode on. Now you are going to ask what is "economy" mode. Call Freightliner 24/7 hotline.
Also Latch or Unlatch mode - gotcha
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Old 12-25-2016, 09:32 AM   #5
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Hi ! Welcome to IRV2! We're sure glad you joined the gang!

Ours is a 350 Cummins so don't know how the mileage compares with a Cat, but we average 8 MPG.

Good luck, happy trails, and God bless!



Merry Christmas!
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Old 12-25-2016, 10:10 AM   #6
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Welcome, Loggr.
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Old 12-25-2016, 11:05 AM   #7
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Quote:
Originally Posted by alaskanloggr View Post
How many times have you heard this" I just retired bought a used 40'DP off of e-bay and headed to Mexico" never even rode in an RV.
Curious what kind of fuel mileage will get with Turbo 330hp Cat???
Any advice would be most welcome.
Alaskanloggr
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In '01, (when our 5 year old, 27,000 mile, used coach was new to us), the first trip we took was from WI to San Fransisco and back, (4500 miles).
If I had it to do over again I would have learned more about the coach, (and about RVing), beforehand.

My 1996 250 hp 3126 Cat powered 35' Safari has averaged nearly 8.5 MPG over 150,000 miles.... (most towing a Saturn sedan).
150,000 miles divided by 17,733 gallons of diesel fuel used = 8.458 MPG
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Old 12-26-2016, 05:29 PM   #8
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Curious

Thanks for the replies.The MH I bought is a 2004 " ALFA See Ya" 40' DP WITH 48,000 miles with Turbo Cat 330hp.Looks like I will get about 7 miles per gallon.I have owned a lot of Log Trucks both off highway as well as highway trucks.Hauled on the logging roads of S.E.Alaska,so the driving part won't be hard to get used to.All the different systems in the RV can't be to hard to learn.I have joined Alfa See Ya club,has to be a lot of knowledge there.Looking forward to meeting some of you,and after 43yrs of living in Alaska I'm also looking forward to getting out of here for the winter.

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Old 12-27-2016, 12:20 AM   #9
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Quote:
Originally Posted by alaskanloggr View Post
Thanks for the replies.The MH I bought is a 2004 " ALFA See Ya" 40' DP WITH 48,000 miles with Turbo Cat 330hp.Looks like I will get about 7 miles per gallon.I have owned a lot of Log Trucks both off highway as well as highway trucks.Hauled on the logging roads of S.E.Alaska,so the driving part won't be hard to get used to.All the different systems in the RV can't be to hard to learn.I have joined Alfa See Ya club,has to be a lot of knowledge there.Looking forward to meeting some of you,and after 43yrs of living in Alaska I'm also looking forward to getting out of here for the winter.

Alaskan Logger
Alaskan Logger,
First off, congrats on your purchase. You state your coach is an '04, correct? Well, depending on your chassis production date in late '03, it may or may not have the C-7 version CAT 330HP. If it was produced primarily before Sept of '03, it's highly possible you're going to have the 3126 version of the CAT 330HP.
There's some differences but, not too many. Both are very good motors and, run just about the same in all aspects. Now, you also state your coach is a 40' one. Well, in all reality, don't expect too much over 7 mpg out of it at all. In fact, it will primarily hover around 6.5 - 7 for most of the time, depending on driving habits, what you're towing, WHERE you're driving, i.e. up a lot of grades, and a lot more.

Now, a couple of very important points here. With either the C-7 or the 3126, you want to make darn sure that you know just EXACTLY how much oil is either put in at oil change, or is in it now. About 99.99% of the C-7s came from the factory with the smaller, steel oil pan. If yours is one which, I highly expect it is, the max oil your engine will take after an oil change is NINETEEN QUARTS (19). There were bulletins etc. for this issue from both CAT and Freightliner about this.

If the incorrect amount of oil, as in too much is added to the engine after an oil change, the result was splashing and foaming of oil in the crank case and, that lead to oil being inserted into the blow-by system. When that happens, you now have excessive blow-by exiting from the blow-by tube. When that happens, guess what, your toad get's an oil bath. Good for rust prevention but, looks like crap and is a pain to get off.

So, that's something for you to investigate. When 19 quarts are installed, the dip stick is marked for the correct amount so you have a reference point to use for checking and service.

That leads to the next point. CAT and Freightliner both sent that chassis to your coach builder with a blow-by tube that is possibly at the incorrect length. There were recalls and bulletins about that too. Kits were designed to lengthen those blow-by tubes and extend them to the rear of the coach.

IF, that coach of yours has been operating with the Blow-by tube as sent from the factory, it's quite possible that you have the cooling fins on both the CAC and the radiator massively coated with blow-by mist and road and dust debris. That will lead to over heating on even the slightest of hills/grades.

If, your blow-by tube has been extended, and the proper maintenance has been performed on the radiator and CAC for cleaning, you might be in perfect shape and have no heating problems what so ever. You'll have to inspect all of what's been described to see where your coach stands.

If your engine is the earlier 3126 330HP CAT, it will have a zerk fitting on the fan hub housing. That zerk is quite often over looked and, it's a very, very important lube point to keep your engines fan hub from grenading at any given time. Some on here have created a special addition little hose that extends that zerk fitting to a more easily accessed point for lube purposes. That zerk is one pain in the a$$ to get to. Something else to check.

One more thing. Because your coach was built in the time frame it was, you may or, may not have only ONE FUEL FILTER. It will be located at the rear of the coach, visible from the back. But, it's also possible you can have two. The other one will be tucked into the engine compartment. That one is a bit of a pain to change but, doable. The one on the rear is easy.

There's a bit more to advise you on either of the version CATs but, that's enough for now for you to browse around and check on. Good luck with your new coach, have a great time using it and do enjoy getting in to warmer climates. "Ice Road Trucker"..
Scott
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