Sunseeker 2400R Fuel Economy during 2015

[ericlakin]

I just entered all of my fuel receipts since we got our 2400r in May of 2015. Attached is a graph of the MPG for anyone who is interested. We have been mostly flat-towing a 2014 CRV, and the driving has been mostly highway with a mix of hills and flat land with 2 adults, 1 child, and one small dog. We carry about 1/2 tank of water and all manner of lawn chairs and other equipment between the coach and the toad.

[MiataHoarder]

Before retirement, I used to maintain dozens of spreadsheets for work. Thanks for sharing the outcome of all those tedious key strokes!

I have a 15 Solera and tow an 09 Smart Car. Our similarly loaded Solera weighs in at 11,000 lbs. The Smart adds 1,950 lbs, might be about 1,000 less than your CRV toad. After 12,000 miles mostly along I-5 we get a consistent 14.5 mpg towing the Smart at 55 to 60 mph.

Sometimes, conditions are perfect for an experiment. After a fill up in Corning, CA we got about 100 feet behind a semi traveling south at 58 mph. The first bar on the fuel gauge dropped at around 52 miles ... usually drops at around 42 miles. We drafted the truck for about 80 miles before it pulled off at an exit. We filled up again after 200 miles, 80 of which were drafting. We got 15.7 mpg. During our 2,800 mile trip, we had two more opportunities to draft semis at a reasonable and relaxed speed. Both times our mpg number was 1 or more mpg higher than we typically achieve.

You can tell an adequate drafting distance when you feel a slight "buffet" of air, like a slight wind gust, then back off about the length of your RV. You do need to pay attention to maintain the distance and to be able to brake in time if you need to. The attached photo shows approximate drafting distance - each stripe is 10 feet long and each gap is 30 feet

Drafting isn't for everybody and 1 mpg doesn't appear to be a big deal. However, with 30 gallons of diesel, its like getting an extra 30 miles or about 2 gallons of free fuel. One day I'd like to get a shot at drafting for a long distance, perhaps in a caravan of Sprinter RVs?

[ericlakin]

Here's a bit more detail from Fuelly.com

[Pod2Vibe]

Great info.

Wondering how much you used your Diesel Genny?

Cheers,

[ericlakin]

25 hours on it so far. Mostly road side or rest area use when making meals that require the microwave. I'm really glad we got it over propane.

[Pod2Vibe]

Thanks again for the info.

So maybe about 12 gallons of your Diesel went to the generator, or less. Not bad at all.

I have the larger AC unit with Heat Pump, so stuck with the LP generator. Wish a Diesel was available for the larger AC unit, which is needed in CA during the summer. I use the Heat Pump quite a bit when on shore power, in fall and winter, to save on propane.

[ericlakin]

I do think the diesel generator is just about at its limit with the AC on while doing other things like running a toaster and a hair dryer. I can imagine the extra oomph of the propane model would be nice at times.

[RedLdr1]

I haven't added our "W" to Fuelly yet but here are my 2015 spreadsheet results:

Best Trip: 15.5MPG
Worst Trip: 12.4MPG
Overall: 13.1MPG

That is with No TOAD, nearly empty water tanks, full fuel, two passengers, and our "normal" load. CAT Scale weight is 11,040 pounds.

The "Overall" includes 7 hours of generator set time and a lot of wasted fuel while at the M-B dealership having the DEF system issues addressed.

[john.tucson]

Our experience has been that mileage is greatly influenced by the fuel available.
We tow a 2004 Wrangler SE and when we can obtain 5% diesel versus the B20 fuel there is an obvious decrease in power and a loss of about 2 MPG with the B20.

[Still Kickin]

Originally Posted by john.tucson

Our experience has been that mileage is greatly influenced by the fuel available.
We tow a 2004 Wrangler SE and when we can obtain 5% diesel versus the B20 fuel there is an obvious decrease in power and a loss of about 2 MPG with the B20.

Wait, how can this be... you mean bio has less energy than pure refined dinosaur juice. So, it takes more energy to produce less efficient diesel, who lets this happen. How can we burn more fuel and expel more exhaust to achieve the same end. Someone needs to be told the experiment isn't working!

[john.tucson]

My guess is that the "right people" are making and sharing a lot of money and do not care about us little people.

[Wolverine 1945]

Originally Posted by MiataHoarder

Before retirement, I used to maintain dozens of spreadsheets for work. Thanks for sharing the outcome of all those tedious key strokes!

I have a 15 Solera and tow an 09 Smart Car. Our similarly loaded Solera weighs in at 11,000 lbs. The Smart adds 1,950 lbs, might be about 1,000 less than your CRV toad. After 12,000 miles mostly along I-5 we get a consistent 14.5 mpg towing the Smart at 55 to 60 mph.

Sometimes, conditions are perfect for an experiment. After a fill up in Corning, CA we got about 100 feet behind a semi traveling south at 58 mph. The first bar on the fuel gauge dropped at around 52 miles ... usually drops at around 42 miles. We drafted the truck for about 80 miles before it pulled off at an exit. We filled up again after 200 miles, 80 of which were drafting. We got 15.7 mpg. During our 2,800 mile trip, we had two more opportunities to draft semis at a reasonable and relaxed speed. Both times our mpg number was 1 or more mpg higher than we typically achieve.

You can tell an adequate drafting distance when you feel a slight "buffet" of air, like a slight wind gust, then back off about the length of your RV. You do need to pay attention to maintain the distance and to be able to brake in time if you need to. The attached photo shows approximate drafting distance - each stripe is 10 feet long and each gap is 30 feet

Drafting isn't for everybody and 1 mpg doesn't appear to be a big deal. However, with 30 gallons of diesel, its like getting an extra 30 miles or about 2 gallons of free fuel. One day I'd like to get a shot at drafting for a long distance, perhaps in a caravan of Sprinter RVs?

Very nice looking rig !!!
Looks like you have a winter home in the Desert ???

[ericlakin]

Pretty sure it isn't an experiment any more than the addition of emission controls to gas engines was in the 1970s. Everyone had a conniption back then, too, but the systems became more reliable over time and now they are no big deal. We could always just switch to gas, I guess. That would suck.

[nusslejj]

Originally Posted by ericlakin

I just entered all of my fuel receipts since we got our 2400r in May of 2015. Attached is a graph of the MPG for anyone who is interested. We have been mostly flat-towing a 2014 CRV, and the driving has been mostly highway with a mix of hills and flat land with 2 adults, 1 child, and one small dog. We carry about 1/2 tank of water and all manner of lawn chairs and other equipment between the coach and the toad.

I just purchased an AUTOMATIC ODB2 Adapter to connect to the Sprinter and my iPhone 6 when I get my Solera out this Spring. It will not only display and record mpg and driving habits, but I configured it to also upload every trip (including a map of my routes) to Microsoft OneNote, and my Gmail calendar using something called IFTTT (IF This Than That). In addition, the AUTOMATIC will allow me to use DashCommand at the same time - which gives me all the real-time engine information I could ever want.

[ericlakin]

That's slick. You could probably start an entire thread just to share how you did all of that!

[nusslejj]

Originally Posted by ericlakin

That's slick. You could probably start an entire thread just to share how you did all of that!

I created this view-only link to show you what I post from the 'Automatic' adapter to my free Microsoft Outlook account using a little bit of internet automation and OneNote (also free).

http://1drv.ms/22N1w8X

Note that I am just testing right now, so it is around town driving with my VW. The capabilities and results will be the same with the Solera when I move the Automatic adapter to it.