Fuel mileage questions

lilsid · 03-03-2014, 05:52 PM

I have a 2013 Sports Coach 405FK with a 340 Cummings Diesel. On our first long trip I got 10.6 MPG heading south (NJ to FL) and 10.5 heading north. I kept the cruise set at around 68 MPH w/o toad.
What type of fuel mileage is everyone else getting? Also if you have a toad what does it drop down to? When I tow my Grand Cherokee (sort trips) I get around 9.0
Last question, is there any chip or anything other then slowing down that will allow me to get better fuel mileage?
Thanks for your input.

CSMRetired · 03-04-2014, 06:49 AM

Haven't had the opportunity to check fuel mileage yet, our first longer trip will be in about 6 weeks. We will be heading to Georgia with our Wrangler toad. I certainly will post the results.
It's good to know from my stand point what your results were, pretty encouraging.

go6car · 03-04-2014, 08:14 AM

I'm in a gas rig, so whole different animal, but I've read for better diesel mileage to drop down a few mph, into the low 60s. Not sure how much that will gain for you, though, since you seem to be right about where most are - give or take.

TURBS · 03-04-2014, 08:20 AM

10.5 seems pretty normal.
My boss gets 8 -10 with his Cummings in his 40' mh.

TURBS
Sabre owners united!

CSMRetired · 03-04-2014, 08:21 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by go6car

I'm in a gas rig, so whole different animal, but I've read for better diesel mileage to drop down a few mph, into the low 60s. Not sure how much that will gain for you, though, since you seem to be right about where most are - give or take.

65 is my max speed, when I was in a gasser and now the diesel. I liked the looks of the 10+ mpg, we are hoping for 9 with a toad. Our gasser was at best maybe 6.5 with a toad, 7.5 without. We are looking for longer distances between fuel stops and better milieage....even with diesel being more expensive, we 'should' do better $$ wise with diesel.

But then again, if you are concerned about fuel cost.....DON'T BUY AN RV!!

rzrnaz · 03-10-2014, 10:23 PM

10 no toad, about 9 to 9.5 with toad

mvpmich · 03-14-2014, 09:26 AM

At Camp Freightliner we were told to run at 1750 rpm which is normally between 63 and 65 mph. With our toad, which GM states should not be towed faster than 63 mph, we are in the 10.5 range. Actually experienced 11+ in the Colorado mountains this past summer. We have a Cummins 340 hp.

lilsid · 03-14-2014, 11:01 AM

Thanks MPVMich, that's helpful information. I'll try slowing down but that's going to be hard.

CSMRetired · 03-14-2014, 11:43 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mvpmich

At Camp Freightliner we were told to run at 1750 rpm which is normally between 63 and 65 mph. With our toad, which GM states should not be towed faster than 63 mph, we are in the 10.5 range. Actually experienced 11+ in the Colorado mountains this past summer. We have a Cummins 340 hp.

1750 rpm it is.....We are in no hurry anyway... 10.5 is excellent with a toad!
I like it!

mvpmich · 04-06-2014, 07:26 PM

We get an average of 10.5 mpg with our 2012 Sportscoach. It has the same chassis and diesel as yours. We have travelled through most areas of the country and haven't seen any substantial differences. Mike at Camp Freightliner advised us that the optimum performance of the engine was obtained at 1750 rpm. For us it equates to 63-64 mph. Factory recommends that our Saturn Vue not be towed over 65 mph, so it all works for us. We are very happy with the Freightliner/Cummins combo.

lilsid · 04-24-2014, 06:07 PM

Just returned back from a trip to Florida, just over 2200 miles. Round trip averaging 66 -68 MPH we got a total of 11.0 MPG. Needless to say I'm very happy with that. (no toad)

CSMRetired · 04-24-2014, 06:56 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by lilsid

Just returned back from a trip to Florida, just over 2200 miles. Round trip averaging 66 -68 MPH we got a total of 11.0 MPG. Needless to say I'm very happy with that. (no toad)

That's great
We just got back from a just under 1500 mile round trip to Georgia and got 10.0 mpg at 1750 rpm (63 mph) with a toad. We are extremely happy with that

Hugh R · 04-27-2014, 04:30 PM

When you tow a vehicle (toad, I assume), you need to think differently about mpg.

If your toad gets 20 mpg when driven, not towed, and your RV mileage goes from say 12 to 8 mpg when towing, you need to factor in the gas for the towed vehicle you didn't use.

Say you get 12 mpg on a 120 mile trip, then you tow a car that when driven gets 20 mpg, if you drove both to the location you'd use 10 gallons for the RV and 6 gallons for the car or a total of 16 gallons to travel 240 miles, giving you 15 mpg effectively for the two vehicles. If you towed the vehicle and got 8 mpg then you'd use 15 gallons, for both vehicles to get to the same place or the equivalent of 16 mpg for the two vehicles to travel 240 miles together.

afd51 · 11-09-2014, 03:36 PM

Just purchased a 2014 405FK. So far we've put about 3000 miles on it. We average about 9.5 mpg thus far, with no toad. Not sure if it will improve as the break in process continues. Will have to wait until spring to see the impact of the tow dolly and vehicle.

CSMRetired · 11-13-2014, 04:36 PM

Welcome to the forum, Nice coach!

I get on average with a toad 10.5 to 10.9, towing at 63 mph (1750 rpm)
got just under 10,000 miles on the odometer. Purchased in February of this year

lilsid · 12-02-2014, 07:54 PM

afd51 when ours was new we also got around 9.5 - 10, but I was going 68-69 mph. We have 13k miles on it now and getting 10.5 towing. Two pieces of advice, first enjoy the coach, second and most important, keep you list of warranty issues and plan a trip out to Indiana, have the factory do the repairs. The repairs will be done correctly and you will save yourself countless hours of aggravation. They have free RV sites to stay at, you drop your coach off in the AM and pick it up every night so you can sleep in it. We spent a week there and they couldn't have treated us better. I know CMSRetired will agree. Good Luck and Enjoy.

CSMRetired · 12-03-2014, 08:34 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by lilsid

afd51 when ours was new we also got around 9.5 - 10, but I was going 68-69 mph. We have 13k miles on it now and getting 10.5 towing. Two pieces of advice, first enjoy the coach, second and most important, keep you list of warranty issues and plan a trip out to Indiana, have the factory do the repairs. The repairs will be done correctly and you will save yourself countless hours of aggravation. They have free RV sites to stay at, you drop your coach off in the AM and pick it up every night so you can sleep in it. We spent a week there and they couldn't have treated us better. I know CMSRetired will agree. Good Luck and Enjoy.

and I do.....completely

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