older motor homes-jamboree, Tioga etc.

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desertguy24

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Oct 17, 2017
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It seems as if these sorts of RVs only get 10-15 mpg. Even an older ford Brougham I looked at fetches 10-15. Should I be happy with that? The alternative seems to be Road Trek, so you lose all the living space and are stuck in a van with two people but you gain mpg. Or is there another way to approach this? Road Treks have such a crazy asking price....Isn't there an older RV which obtains decent mileage? I can't believe people drive around with Rvs which top out at 5 mpg. That's nuts...
 
desertguy24 said:
I can't believe people drive around with Rvs which top out at 5 mpg. That's nuts...

While there have been improvements efficiency, it all comes down to a math problem. It still takes a lot of horsepower (i.e., fuel) to move a heavy, large vehicle down the road.


What sort of mileage does your house get?  ;)
 
desertguy24 said:
It seems as if these sorts of RVs only get 10-15 mpg. Even an older ford Brougham I looked at fetches 10-15. Should I be happy with that? The alternative seems to be Road Trek, so you lose all the living space and are stuck in a van with two people but you gain mpg. Or is there another way to approach this? Road Treks have such a crazy asking price....Isn't there an older RV which obtains decent mileage? I can't believe people drive around with Rvs which top out at 5 mpg. That's nuts...
Call me nuts if you want but my condo gets 8-9 MPG (over the last 4600 miles). My toad gets 30+ I go to a new area and explore with the toad.
I bet in reality the old Ford only gets 9-10. By the way I am leaving on another trip Thursday. Yep I am nuts but I am traveling.
By the way welcome to the forum. :))
Bill
 
Isn't there an older RV which obtains decent mileage? I can't believe people drive around with Rvs which top out at 5 mpg. That's nuts...
Short answer is NO. Smaller van or pick-up styles do better, but anything with a substantial house is going to be in the 8-10 mpg arena. If on an 80's vintage vehicle chassis, probably 5-8 mpg.  Medium and heavy duty trucks got 4-6 mpg back in that era.  Weight (which creates tire rolling resistance) and frontal area (wind resistance) makes for hard work!

The good news is that bigger ones aren't any worse - 40 foot diesel coaches still get about 8 mpg.
 
Garry, It won't help the OP but the new diesel's running DEF are getting better mileage because they don't have to dial back performance for emissions. Some were running up to 40% EGR. One of the members in a club I belong to is getting 12 in his 40 ft. coach.
On the other side I had a class C with a thirsty 460 that got 4-6 mpg less in town.
desertguy24, The newer coach you can buy the better mileage you will get. you want all the improvements you can get. Better engine. fuel injection more gears
6-9 in a gas coach is about what reality is.
Bill
 
All figures below interstate driving at or about 65mph and all with 6.8L Ford gas.

2016 Class C 27 ft = 6-8 mpg towing.  Best mileage was 9.2 w/o towing and 30mph tailwind for an entire day.
2016 Class A 38 ft = same as above (I was surprised too...figured a larger coach would be less mpg)
2018 Class C 33 ft = same as above

All numbers hand calculated using actual miles divided by gallons.

Bottom line is 3 different units and nothing under 6 and nothing substantial over 9.  Can you get better mpg with a small coach w/ diesel?  Sure, but they cost more so I'm not sure it's a real form of savings when you pencil it out.

If gas $$ are that important, you may get better than 9 but you'll have to drive 50-55 mph....and that is a maybe.  I used to cringe the first few times I filled up.  Now I just consider it the cost of doing business.

If the money spent on gas is a concern, probably should look at another form of fun.  RV'ing isn't cheap.

And, I don't need a wind tunnel or a PhD to prove a brick has horrible aerodynamics  ;D
 
I have never checked the mileage on my house....My goal is to avoid the Ford 460 motor. Nearly every older motor home I see seems to have that very engine.
 
Hear is a good buy for the money.
https://www.pplmotorhomes.com/used-rvs-for-sale/class-a/1999-fleetwood-bounder_rv-37024
No slides but it does have new tires. The Ford V10 is a great engine.
Tell me what you think about it.
Bill
 
That 1999 Bounder does look good, the mileage is about average and the price is right.  The only thing that I'm not crazy about is the material used on the sofa, chair and drapes. 
 
i appreciate the link but I really don't like Class A motor homes...They always remind me of Greyhound and I doubt I could drive one without piling it up. I really want a class c or a class B.....we used to have  a Toyota Dolphin which was actually a Toyota pick-up truck with a manual tranny so putting gas in it was not scary. Trouble was, pulling that Camper shell, so to speak, was crazy and horribly under powered.
I think I achieved about 13.5 mpg. That was fine. My concern about buying this motor home is that we live in a time of fracking and petroleum glut. That won't last. gas is reasonable now but.....next year could be different. I guess i should be content as the guy who wants to sell me this retro Ford brougham says he gets between 10-15 mpg.  I would think those would be good mpg owing to the fiberglass,,,,
 
I have never checked the mileage on my house

Dang!  What fun are you?  ;D Here I was looking for a really interesting number....

Desertguy24, if you get over 8mpg in any '80s motorhome I'd be surprised.  We had three gas Cs with Chevy, Dodge 440, and Chevy 454 engines between  1972 and 1999 and I don't recall much under 8mpg unless going downhill with a tailwind!  One year up in Newfoundland we paid US$6/US gallon for our diesel pusher.  Definitely not cheap!  But we sure had a great trip.  If the cost of fuel is going to be stressful, then having a motorhome might not be for you because it should be fun.

By the way, as I recall those Toyota Dolphins were grossly underpowered and easily over weight.

ArdraF

 
desertguy24 said:
i appreciate the link but I really don't like Class A motor homes...They always remind me of Greyhound and I doubt I could drive one without piling it up. I really want a class c or a class B.....we used to have  a Toyota Dolphin which was actually a Toyota pick-up truck with a manual tranny so putting gas in it was not scary. Trouble was, pulling that Camper shell, so to speak, was crazy and horribly under powered.
I think I achieved about 13.5 mpg. That was fine. My concern about buying this motor home is that we live in a time of fracking and petroleum glut. That won't last. gas is reasonable now but.....next year could be different. I guess i should be content as the guy who wants to sell me this retro Ford brougham says he gets between 10-15 mpg.  I would think those would be good mpg owing to the fiberglass,,,,
Did you bother to look at the class C coaches on that site?
Bill
 
The only thing that I'm not crazy about is the material used on the sofa, chair and drapes.

Fabrics can be changed as can flooring materials and things like sofas.  You should check out our Remodeling your RV board to see how much can be done.  If you find a floor plan you both love and feel like it could be home then you're on track and can make cosmetic changes.  If there are too many negatives or impossible structural changes, then you need to keep looking.

They always remind me of Greyhound and I doubt I could drive one without piling it up.

They're all boxes and we can't do much about that, but As often are easier to drive than Cs.  I've loved all our motorhomes (both Cs and As) but love driving our As.  And you certainly get more bang for your buck especially in terms of livability and storage which you will need fulltiming.  We've never been full-timers but we often spend months at a time traveling so as part-timers know the importance of comfort and livability features - whether a C or A.  I wouldn't recommend a B for full-timing although some people do it.  Just not my ideal.

ArdraF

 
10 to 15 mpg? Not even my 2016 Buick gets that good a mileage. My Class C Tioga gets about 7.5 to 8 mpg on a mirror glass surface and without any bumps, and driving at 58.5 mph
 
This guy is just telling you what you want to hear. There is no way you are getting anywhere near 10 to 15 miles per gallon in anything bigger than a stripped down B class. My tundra barely gets that if it does most of the time. Dont be scared of an A class. They are just like driving a car, only a bit bigger. lol  C class mhs are  just as wide and usually just as long as a smaller A. Good luck and happy travels.
 
desertguy24 said:
I have never checked the mileage on my house....My goal is to avoid the Ford 460 motor. Nearly every older motor home I see seems to have that very engine.
They ran neck and neck with the Chev 454, which was a POS in my opinion.  The primary failure on the old Fords was the transmission, and the GMs was the engine and that 454 was expensive to replace and even find.
 
The Toyota dolphin was grossly underpowered.....Imagine a 4 -cylinder motor trying ti pull that weight. it did get you there after a while.  My memory is of 13.5 mpg.
 

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