How much???? Motorhome MPG

Hi,
We have had our Transit based low profile for 15 months and covered 3730 miles at an average 29.73mpg but the variation fill to fill is 26.59mph low ( Thurso to Morvich in Scottish Highlands ) to 36.96 high ( Annfield Plain County Durham to Bognor at 1700 revs or 53 mph nearly all Motorway or Dual carriageway) thats a 10.37mpg or 28% variation. Fuel economy is a minefield, make savings when you can but if you like your van just enjoy it.

Clive
 
I do not know how many times I have said this
IF YOU HAVE TO ASK HOW MANY MILES DO I GET TO THE GALLON ?

May be you should not own a motorhome
Budget a figure for fuel. Say £1000.00 and spend that.
I budget £2500 per year to run my big beast a 6.5 Ltr V 8 Chevy Diesel
It works out at about £0.50 per mile

That's about 10 MPG
It's brick wall 7.5 ton
Not a mini
So MPG is never a good figure in any
Motorhome

Set your self a budget and then enjoy the freedom to go where you want
Stop taxing your over worked brain cells with mind boggling LPG rates

It's a motor home they are not cheap to buy. Not cheap to run
Not cheap to repair
Stop thinking about it. You'll grow grey and old before your time.
Lol
 
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you buy something with the aerodynamics of a house brick ,MPG is never going to be good,only relevant to other big boxy beasts.
you could have a nice big estate car 30/37 mpg then you decide to tow a caravan and lo and behold 20/24mpg (if your lucky) .
my vehicles, Vivaro 2.5 30/34mpg , Merc 508 3.7ltr om314 engine 24mpg , Shogun Pinin (its a sawn off Shogun) 1.8 petrol 24 mpg ,
Its as a previous poster said drive the thing and enjoy it,save money on non essentials ,the advantages of food are greatly excagerated, in fact foods for wimps
 
I get about 35+ mpg from my mark6, SWB, transit with a 2ltr diesel engine (if I drive it carefully, no more than 60 on motorway).
I was put off buying a VW camper when I read about their bad fuel consumption.
 
Your mpg does seem relatively low. I get more than that with a 5 ton tag axle van.

take it to a decent mechanic and see what he reckons.
 
A few years back we was on the C&CC site at Ravensglass in Cumbria.

Whist in the washing up area with the other blokes that had been banished there while the wives watch their soaps the subject of M.P.G. came up.

One guy who had an Autotrail Chieftain with the 2.8 JTD engine was whingeing away about how much fuel he`d used to get there from down south.

He`d worked it out and said it had only done 16 M.P.G. on the journey up and was not a happy chappy.

He then came out with that old classic " She`ll cruise at 75-80 M.P.H all day long, no problem ".

He genuinely couldn`t see the connection between his speed and the M.P.G and when someone suggested he slowed it down a bit he just laughed.

We all gave up ..................... LOL
 
the faster you go the less mpg but you have more time to drink beer at your destination.
 
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Motorhomelover said:
I do not know how many times I have said this
IF YOU HAVE TO ASK HOW MANY MILES DO I GET TO THE GALLON ? May be you should not own a motorhome
<snip>
So MPG is never a good figure in any Motorhome
Click to expand...

I disagree. With current fuel prices at £137.9/litre for diesel, economy is important - or at least it is for me. I need my vehicle to be economical or it would be unaffordable to travel anywhere in it and I aim to camp at least one night per week, every week throughout the year regardless of the weather in addition to longer trips. As for mpg never being a 'good figure' in a motorhome, I average 47-48mpg in my fully-laden 2-berth van, sometimes +50mpg on a long run travelling at around 60'ish.
 
LDV, LWB, Hi-Top. Tranny 2.5 non-turbo, twin rear axle. Low geared and low powered, but quite torquey off idle compared to a blower.

I work out mpg every fill up when I brim the tank since I got the van.. habit.

On S Wales lumpy roads I get 25-26 if I do 60mph and push her a bit (over 60 is getting busy, while 75mph is possible if you have zero mechanical sympathy).

Keep 55mph or under with careful throttle and acceleration, and on a run 29 to 30mpg is possible. Better mileage is achieved once out of Wales over the Bridge simlly cos the climbs arent as tough.

Not as good as newer similarly sized van conversions... but the price paid differential buys a LOT of diesel to make up for it.

Overall I'm pretty satisfied with the way the LDV goes and the running cost, it runs and drives a lot better than you might think, esp. With the way van drivers slate the LDV.

I wouldnt mind it if it did 35mpg though!
 
Nobody said motorhoming would be cheap!

I must admit; if I had to think just how much fuel I was using I probably wouldn't have started in the first place! Even driving at 56 mph for most of the time my two year old Tribute Transit still seem like a deranged alcoholic compared to a car! Lets face it though the whole idea of of a motorhome is not driving up and down motorways all day; its getting from A to B! Not that we can't enjoy the drive unless your in a gale force wind; but my idea is to get to B; park up for a few days or even a week; and enjoy the scenery!
Must admit I have lived in my motorhome for the last 3 months; so have not done much wild camping; spending most of my time on various Camping and Caravan club sites with electric hook ups! Sorry; am I allowed to use the words CCC here! Anyway with age concession rates through winter its cost less than nine pounds a day! Once I bought an electric ring I have never had to use gas; saving pounds! I digress; the point I was trying to make is that you have to average out the cost of a motorhome; and if you want to drive it like a car; then you may as well have a car! Not so comfortable when you park up for the night though ;)
 
kangooroo said:
I disagree. With current fuel prices at £137.9/litre for diesel, economy is important - or at least it is for me. I need my vehicle to be economical or it would be unaffordable to travel anywhere in it and I aim to camp at least one night per week, every week throughout the year regardless of the weather in addition to longer trips. As for mpg never being a 'good figure' in a motorhome, I average 47-48mpg in my fully-laden 2-berth van, sometimes +50mpg on a long run travelling at around 60'ish.
Click to expand...

If your going to quote something DO NOT cut it down to be taken out of context
It's not intelligent to do so

You Obviously have no need to as to your MPG costs ( which is good for you )
However if any one has to ask how many miles per gallon am I getting. Really does need to ask whether they should be running one

We all have budgets. Some more than others. In every case. It is only the disposable income of the individual that will allow them to have the pleasures of running a motorhome

So I stand by my FULL post in context
 
Well my original post certainly stirred up some interesting and informative and sometimes controversial discussion here.

I don't expect a 3,800kg vehicle to be economic but it was a shock to find that a fairly modern diesel was only giving 20mpg when I was driving it on a motorway at around 60 - 63 indicated mph.

I was expecting closer to mid-20s to be honest so it was a surprise to me. We all have our own budgets and this is certainly not enough to stop me enjoying my motor home but in this day and age it is a wake-up call. It's swings and roundabouts, what we gain by wild camping or staying on sites, we pay out on fuel to enjoy our lifestyle.

Anyway, it looks like my motor home circumstances are about to change due to an issue with my own MH which means it will be going back to the dealer who supplied it, (for a reason totally unrelated to fuel consumption you'll be pleased to know), and he is going to exchange it for a different vehicle, so it will almost certainly have a different base vehicle and motor, don't know what it will be yet though.....
 
Mine`s a Low Profile and one of the reasons why i think it does so well on fuel as will the A Class ones.
 

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Speed and MPG

High Speed and "slow slow quick quick slow" driving style adversely effect MPG
Speed also increases tyre wear
So I stick to 50-55 mph but I do occasionally travel over 65 (eg on my way to Dover)..
As has been identified in this thread an increase of 10% in speed causes a 20% increase in air resistance.
Air resistance being the main factor in MPG
In effect 10% increase in speed = 10% decrease in MPG.
Hills bends etc further reduce MPG. BUT improve the holiday.
Thus take care with speed but after all we have motorhomes to enjoy..

So ENJOY
 
Quick update on my M.P.G.

Up in Scotland at the moment, up to now we`ve covered 816.4 miles and used 128.33 Litres / 28.22 Gallons of fuel.

That works out at 28.92 M.P.G. which is very good considering we went right down the Kintyre Peninsular to Campbeltown and back via Carradale.

Anyone that knows the area will know the roads and especially some of the hills we`ve encountered.
 
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