Vehicle type and fuel mileage?

[captainkettel]

Looking at maybe changing my setup with a newer vehicle and better fuel mileage. So what kind truck are you driving with your ATC/FWC and what kind of fuel mileage are you getting? Is it gas or diesel? We probably all agree fuel prices suck!

 

[Tomas Tierra]

Depressing thread

I get about 17 mpg without the camper,and about 14 with the camper on. ANY headwind at all drives it way down. I did a check on one tank with a stiff headwind, maybe 20 k's on the nose, and I was around 10mpg, and I only had the headwind for a little over half the tank.

I drive a '02 V8 Tundra 4x4.

TT

 

[Marc]

I have an 07 F350 with the 6.0 PSD and carry a ATC Couger fulll time. In town I average about 12.5 mpg and on my last trip through Yosemite and the Eastern Sierras I averaged 17.2 mpg for the entire trip. I have found that the sweet spot for my rig is 60-65 mph.

Marc

 

[Jack]

Mileage

We get 16 to 18 mpg with our Tacoma w/Eagle. It has the 4 cyl engine and we installed a fairing on the cab.

 

[bobg333]

mileage

I got 18 on my last 500 mile outing which was about 70% on the fwy at 70mph. I plan on slowing down on the next run to see if I can do a little better. I haven't checked it in the city yet. - Dodge 2500 4x4 diesel with Grandby.

 

[5 Speed]

I have a Tundra 4x4 access cab with a 5 speed manual V-6. I would say speed that has more to do with mpg than just what type of vehicle. I drove the truck camper for 4 months and over 20K and what I found was that if I kept it 55mph and under that I got 20 mpg traveling the whole time. I was going to and in Alaska so this was about as fast as I could go safely. I was loaded and one time about 1000lbs over gvw, not something I am proud of but I thought I could go up to each axle max weight, didn't realize until later that the combined cant go over gvw. Found a scale in Canada and with the conversion of Kg to lbs plus could only weigh each axle I was a little slow. Now I know you all would probably go crazy going 55 but I went 502.4 miles on one tank on about half paved half dirt roads. Deadhorse to Fairbanks with a single tank, probably could have gone farther but didn't feel safe where I would have run out of gas. Now when I drive 65-70 the mpg starts to drop to 16 and with a headwind or speed at 70 it will drop even lower. I find it interesting to watch my scan gauge and you will see the sweet spot for mpg

 

[Quint]

I just returned from driving from New York state on a 800 mile trip. On the highway I got an average of 22mpg best tank was 24 mpg. This is with a 2004 Nissan Frontier 2.4L 4cyl manual truck and a '07 ATC Bobcat shell kept light. The truck gets 27mpg unloaded. I haven't calculated city mileage. Something that helped mileage was maxing out my tire pressures on the road (44psi front and back). Also, I don't use my ac most of the time, just open the windows slightly. I also drive 60-65mph.

 

[EdoHart]

I can get as much as 18 mpg with my Chevrolet 2500HD diesel on level ground at highway speeds while carrying my Hawk. Once I hit the more interesting roads (i.e. back roads, mountain roads, or dirt roads) the MPG drops to 16 or even 14. I record detailed numbers. My best tank was 17.8 MPG over 311.7 miles with an average speed of 54 MPH, my worst was 13 MPG over 97.7 miles with an average speed of 32 MPH.

 

[EdoHart]

I examined the numbers for my Dodge.

My '99 Dodge Ram 4x4 w/360 CID (5.9L) engine carrying the same Hawk came to an average or 11.7 MPG, the best tank being 12.9 MPG over 238 miles at an average speed of 52 MPH, the worst tank was 6.6 MPG over 24.9 miles with an average speed of 24.9 MPH. That particular tank of gas was consumed going up and coming back down a road so steep that I used 4x4 low range just to get there and to keep my truck from running away from me on the way back. The second worst MPG I got was 8.7 over 82.8 miles with an average speed of 30.9 MPH. Unfortunately, I didn't make any notes about the driving conditions I encountered on that particular tank of gas.

 

[DirtyDog]

CK - is your Sportsmobile a diesel?

Marc - How has that 6.0 diesel engine been for you? I have read a lot of horror stories about the earlier version of that engine and am wondering if they have worked the kinks out.

 

[Marc]

DD,

So far i haven't had any problems what so ever and couldn't be happier. It wasn't until around 20,000 mi. that my hwy. mpg improved. Prior to that 14.5 was the best i could get. I've been told that 20,000 is some what the break in period. I also have a friend that has an 06 with over 160,000 mi. and it too has run flawless. From what I've read it was the first couple of years where their were turbo and head gasket prblms. Prior to this truck I had an 97 F250 with a 7.3 PSD that also ran great, however the the 6.0 has alot more power and torque and is also quieter.

Marc

 

[captainkettel]

Smb

DD, no my 1994 Sportsmobile has the famed Ford 7.5L GASSER! That's a 460 cid. I get 11.3-11.8 on Hwy miles. A little less driving off road. That was after switching to a K&N Air Filter, using Royal Purple motor oil and 3" exhaust. I was thinking about maybe getting a smaller Tacoma Toyo 4X4 with a Eagle FWC or something to get better fuel economy. But I REALLY do enjoy all the room and comfort that my Sportsmobile offers. Even with gas at $4.39 a gallon! Just means I need to stay camped longer and bring my 1970 Honda Trail 90 with me. So I could drive to town if not too far away. But that is usually the case. I like to "go where no man has gone before". If you know what I mean. Like others have said...it's the journey...

 

[bobg333]

Ed, Do you know what rear end ratio your Dodge had? ~ Bob

 

[EdoHart]

Ed, Do you know what rear end ratio your Dodge had? ~ Bob

It's 3.55.

 

[ColoradoGuy]

My mileage took a hit

My Toyota Tacoma got 22 mpg on the trip to California last summer to pick up our Eagle shell. On the return trip, we got 17 mpg burning unleaded regular. I'm running the six-cylinder engine.

 

[Jon&Sue_DeArman]

Speed definitely makes a difference. My FWC Ranger on a 95 T100 V6 w/ FWD averages 10-20 mpg over 4000-5000 mile trips of western states driving. I keep it 55-60 mph. Of course FWD-engaged & 50 mph Montana head winds are a lot less. At $3 a gallon, everybody passed me last summer. Already this summer, I am having to pass others, especially the big RV rigs. I didn't buy it for the gas mileage; but it sure is a nice plus.

 

[davinski]

well, here is my 2cents worth.

96 dodge 4x4 ext cab short bed with hawk shell. 5.2l 8 cyl gasser. get 18 mpg all around without camper. about 13 average with camper. not sure the best speed overall yet, but guessing about 60 or so probably helps. Still working on that part. Either way you look at it, not pretty/.

I don't think there is much you can do unless you really want to give up something. Oh well. Anyone find a great combo out there, do let us know.

dave in seattle

 

[buzzman]

This is an interesting thread. I think my ancient piece of equipment is actually right in line with what most of you are getting for mpg. My 1977 Chev 1/2 ton 2wd, has a carbureted 350 c.i. (5.7L) motor, a 700R4 trans (it has a 30% overdrive), 3.4 rear end ratio, and gets 16 1/2 to 17 mpg without camper and 14 with the FWC Grandby fully loaded. This is on the typical midwest flat highway driving 65-70 mph. I have not taken this set up to the mountains yet and experienced the thinner air. I'm curious to see what it does then. This old truck did not come with an overdrive originally and the best I could do then was around 12-13 mpg.

Unfortunately I have to use premium fuel. It sure hurts to fill up both my 20 gal fuel tanks.

 

[chnlisle]

Ouch!! D2 was $5.16 in Pasadena yesterday. I'm glad I flew into Burbank.





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[Stan@FourWheel]

My 2000 Ford F-150, Ext.Cab, Long Bed, 4x4 has the 5.4L Gas Engine.

Empty freeway driving @ 65 mph I get about 14 mpg.

With a Grandby Model on it I average about 12 mpg.

With the Six-Pac (hard sided) cab-over camper I get about 10 mpg.

We just went to Bodega Bay / Russian River this weekend.

266 miles round trip -- used 25 gallons of gas -- $ 116.00 to fill the tank back up !



It won't stop us from going on the trips, but it sure hurts to fill up.





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