Whats a good fuel efficient motor home under 10K?

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jmar896

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Joined
Jan 30, 2014
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5
Hi
Im new to RV's and Ive been looking at them for the past few weeks getting ready to buy. I am looking for a cheap one (Under 10K defiantly, prime is 5-7K) thats decent on fuel economy. Ive looked at some Lesharos (they get 22MPG, im looking for better than 13MPG) but there small and odd, and hard to get parts for. If you guys have a recommendation please let me know, Class doesn't matter, If it seats 6 thats great. I dont want to go past 30ft really though too. Thanks
 
Sounds to me like you are really shooting for the moon.
Under 10K is not going to get you much
Good fuel mileage and motorhomes don't really belong in the same sentence
Seats 6 also means a larger unit.

Good luck on your quest
 
jmar896:

Ignore these guys.  You probably want to get something made in the 80's through 90's built on a toyota p/u frame.  My dad had an old Chinook built on a 79 toyota frame, put over 150,000 miles on it and it probably got around 14MPG.  Be aware that these MH's do not have a lot of power (slow crawl uphills).
 
Thanks for the help. I might look at an areo cruiser on craigslist w/ gear vendors over drive that he says gets 14MPG, Ill see how that goes  :) Thanks
Just saw your reply Moebelly, ill take a look at those, as long as i can go 60 its not gonna kill me, the lesharo has awful power, and if i needed to live with it i would.

80s or 90s is fine with me, i dont care
 
You can find stuff in your price range under 30 feet that will seat 6, and sleep 6. But fantastic gas mileage with all that too... in your price range is not going to happen in all honesty.

Getting great gas mileage is going to be ridiculously hard in that price range assuming you want to find a motorhome that is functional in all other aspects.

However, you don't have to go far and wide to have fun in a motorhome. Go to google maps, type in your home address, then at the top type in campgrounds, you might be surprised how many are in your area that have a lot to offer. I've careened from campground to campground, sometimes only moving 20-30 miles down the road to another awesome place on a lake, river or ocean.

My gas mileage in a 1994 Class C that sleeps 5 adults and seats 6,  gets 7-8-9 miles per gallon fully loaded. I travel with full gas, propane, and water tanks. My pantry is overstocked and everything I own is traveling with me including the dog, bicycle, outdoor furnishings, tool box and a hefty cargo carrier hanging out back on the hitch.

I try to stick mostly to the bways where speed is 45-55, but if forced onto the interstate, I might be going 70 if traffic is thick and swift, otherwise I try to hover around 60 on interstates. My generator sucks fro the same gas tank, so that makes my perceived mileage cost fluctuate some. I try to run the generator every month to keep it happy. In the summer when I am stopping to shop and doggy waits in the motorhome, he is cooled by AC and generator where as the rest of the year, he can deal with open windows for air.

I do keep a log book of all my gas purchases, my overnight stays and their cost. My gas mileage varies because of terrain and the speed factors.

Some campgrounds I just never get tired of because of their awesome beauty and location, so those that I love, I plan long stays there. This lessens my gas cost, because getting there costs the same whether I stay 1 night or 14 nights.

You may have to compromise on the gas mileage you are seeking. It all just depends on your use of the RV, what your intentions are. You can make it work with lower gas mileage. Think shorter drives and longer stays, you might be pleasantly surprised.
 
When I see the argument about fuel mileage and how bad you need to have it, I would propose a little exercise.

Try to gather the overall cost of ownership, both fixed and variable, and compute it for a year's operations. Be sure to factor a fuel mileage at  some price per gallon for the number of miles you propose to travel. When it's all done, change the miles per gallon number downward, leaving all other things the same.

You may be shocked (or not) at the ratio of that increase in expense of fuel to the overall expense. It's possible that the percentage increase is just not that important. Then, for grins, shorten up the mileage to be traveled, and rerun the numbers using the worse gas mileage. An interesting trend may appear. Longer stays on a shorter route don't cost more, they might be almost the same.

Bottom line is that is possible to make your "magic number" work out by being more careful in your trip planning, and you will get the same adventure in a larger coach that doesn't have the "perfect" gas mileage.

The devil is always in the details. Don't focus on one particular thing, like gas mileage, that precludes an informed decision using all the other factors. Yep, one size does not fit all, nor is one solution right for everyone. They are way too many variables in the enjoyment of the RV lifestyle to let one variable drive the whole experience.

One man's opinion.
 
I'm not sure if the OP is still considering this thread, but I'll give my 2 cents to anyone who wants to listen.

There seems to be a disconnect between those who argue for shorter trips with lower MPG and those who want the better MPG while not spending a lot on a rig. 

When I consider travelling, I want to travel!  That means movement which means burning gas.  Even when I take a plane somewhere I want to rent a car and see all the different things that are around.  I simply cannot stand still.  But I have a limited budget and therefore consider fuel economy since I will be putting the miles on.

There are MH's out there that have better MPGs than the typical rig.  Unfortunately, newer ones cost so much that they are out of reach for those with a limited budget.  So you have to look at 20-30 year old models that fit in your price range.  They are out there if you look.  If your willing to put up with smaller and older and all the nuisances that come with it, so be it.  Besides, some people are willing to take on the extra work for upkeep and like it.

I don't think we should be telling those who are looking for a certain type of RV that they can't get it.  I don't find the OP's considerations unreasonable.  He may have certain expectations that he'll discover can't be meant.  That's part of the learning process and there's no better way to learn than to do.

<rant over>
 
skyking4ar2 said:
When I see the argument about fuel mileage and how bad you need to have it, I would propose a little exercise.

Try to gather the overall cost of ownership, both fixed and variable, and compute it for a year's operations. Be sure to factor a fuel mileage at  some price per gallon for the number of miles you propose to travel. When it's all done, change the miles per gallon number downward, leaving all other things the same.

You may be shocked (or not) at the ratio of that increase in expense of fuel to the overall expense. It's possible that the percentage increase is just not that important. Then, for grins, shorten up the mileage to be traveled, and rerun the numbers using the worse gas mileage. An interesting trend may appear. Longer stays on a shorter route don't cost more, they might be almost the same.

Bottom line is that is possible to make your "magic number" work out by being more careful in your trip planning, and you will get the same adventure in a larger coach that doesn't have the "perfect" gas mileage.

The devil is always in the details. Don't focus on one particular thing, like gas mileage, that precludes an informed decision using all the other factors. Yep, one size does not fit all, nor is one solution right for everyone. They are way too many variables in the enjoyment of the RV lifestyle to let one variable drive the whole experience.

One man's opinion.

Exactly!  My wife and I take our rig out at least once a month for at least three days.  In those three days, we spend money for food, camp site costs, fuel and that's it.  If we stayed at home, we would spend a lot more money on things like eating out, entertainment and trips to the store.  Our rig which has a V-10 Triton averages about 7 to 8 mpg which is not bad considering the size and weight of my rig.

I doubt that an old Toyota Class C gets more than 11 or m12 mpg, and it is a small, under-powered, heavy and expensive given what you are getting.
 
I don't think we should be telling those who are looking for a certain type of RV that they can't get it.  I don't find the OP's considerations unreasonable.  He may have certain expectations that he'll discover can't be meant.  That's part of the learning process and there's no better way to learn than to do.

Aren't those two statements (see colored highlights) fundamentally opposite?  When folks say "that RV cannot be had", they are just saying "your expectations cannot all be met". We would all love to have a roomy RV that gets excellent mpg and costs less than a small sedan, but that ain't happening.

However, I agree, that doesn't mean he shouldn't be looking and comparing and evaluating the tradeoffs. I don't think anybodywas saying to stop searching, but they are saying "revise your expectations a bit".
 
Finding the balance between the emotional component of an RV purchase (I want this, this and this and won't be happy until I find it) and the practical component (I can spend this amount and that's the limit) is a never ending exercise in research, compromise, and common sense. Sometimes the numbers work out with considerable effort and other times it just is not going to happen.

If you do not seek, you will not find.  8) However, I do subscribe to the concept of a needle in a haystack.  ;D
 
Just keeping you guys updated tomorrow im going to look at an areo cruiser 23Ft, and on Sat. I will be going to look at a Toyota Dolphin, both in my price range and what i need for it, i dont need the newest features and everything and im honestly not that picky so chances are ill pick one of those. If i do ill let you know. Thanks MoeBelly for the toyota suggestion, I didnt see them before since there is very few here around me (New England).
Thanks
 
MoeBelly said:
Sorry Gary - I was just a little angry about the links to yugos and defunct pontiacs.

No one should be offended by the link to the Pontiac. The experience of the trip is the same regardless of the unit taken.

I can't speak about  the Yugo, though.
 
Another motor home to look at is the Revcon that was produced during the late 1960s and early 1970s.  It preceded the famous GMC motorhomes by a couple of years and uses the same kind of semi monocoque construction, but the Revcon sells for considerably less than the iconic GMCs.

The Revcon used the same Oldsmobile Toronado front wheel drive powerplant as the GMC until the Toronado was discontinued.  Then Revcon developed their own front wheel drive setup using the engine, transmission and front axle assembly from a 4WD pickup.

The advantage to the Revcon and GMC is not having a drive shaft running from front to back means the floor is considerably lower than a regular mobilehome, and even with 6'6" interior headroom this means lower height and less wind drag.
 
Lou Schneider said:
Another motor home to look at is the Revcon that was produced during the late 1960s and early 1970s.  It preceded the famous GMC motorhomes by a couple of years and use the same kind of semi monocoque construction, but the Revcon sells for considerably less than the iconic GMCs.

The Revcon used the same Oldsmobile Toronado front wheel drive powerplant as the GMC until the Toronado was discontinued.  Then Revcon developed their own front wheel drive setup using the engine, transmission and front axle assembly from a 4WD pickup.

The advantage to the Revcon and GMC is the lack of a drive shaft running from front to back means the floor is considerably lower than a regular mobilehome, and the lower height improves fuel mileage by reducing the wind drag.
Hows the MPG on those? I saw one on my local craigslist the other day
 
MPG is probably close to the Toyota at similar speeds, since they both have roughly the same weight and frontal area.  The difference is the Revcon has much more power and can hit close to 100 MPH - the later version with the 454 Chevy engine set the motorhome land speed record at Bonneville in the early 1970s.
 

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