Suspicious Mileage??

[madman]

Well I been looking at a Motorhome for heading west. Found one and was told it gets 12 miles per gallon?? Any of yo uguys have a idea if this is a true mileage or ??step it up a notch to sell it mileage. Heres details thanx Mike
1997 REXHALL CLASS A DIESEL PUSHER

35' Motorhome with many extras right from factory.
Freightliner Custom Chassis
Air Suspension
Air brakes
8.3 L Cummins turbo-charged 300 HP diesel
Jacob's Extarder exhaust brake
Allison 6 speed World transmission
Rear Granning air suspension w/Eaton rear axle
New front tires
Backup cameral w/sound
Custom installed captains' chairs
Dual facing sofa bed
Separate 12 gal drinking water system w/filter
GE microwave/convection oven
Side by side refrigerator w/ice maker
Free standing dinette w/3 chairs
Built in central vac
Double wardrobe closet in hallway
7000 Watt PTS diesel generator w/remote start
Queen size bed
13" TV in bedroom
Two roof-mounted air conditioners
100 gal water tank
Forced air furnace
Full awning package
Trailer tow package
Two roof-mounted 8.8 amp solar panels w/20 amp controller
5000 Watt inverter/130 amp charger

[J. Randall]

My guess is that is probably the best it has ever done, in ideal conditions. I would highly doubt that it would average that.
James

[wierdscience]

I have a neighbor with a 38' Allegro sp? diesel pusher with the same engine/tranny.His averages 11-12mpg so I would say it's probably right.One thing for sure that diesel is one hell of a lot better than any gas burner ever thought about being.

[Willy]

You may be able to squeeze 12 mpg out of it occasionally, and I'm assuming you are talking the roughly 20% bigger imperial gallons and not a US gallon.
In the real world I would expect closer to 8-10 MPG.
The biggest factor is how and where you drive.
Speed and mountains will kill the 12 mpg dreams fast.

[John Stevenson]

Shìt get better than that out of a 44 tonner

[flylo]

I get 23MPG in my Heavy(11,000)GVW 2500 Cummins/Dodge 4x4. 17-19MPG towng heavy. I think it may be true. Can't beat Cummins!

[flylo]

Madman,if you pass on that please send me the contact info if it's in the US. Thanks!

[saltmine]

The laws of force & motion relegate you to "X" number of pounds of fuel to move "Y" pounds down the road. Anything between 5-8mpg would be realistic. You might be able to squeeze more mileage out of it, but, who wants to drive several hundred miles at 45mph? On a positive note; taking into account the poor fuel economy, and the hideous prices fuel is going for now, you should be able to pick up just about any kind of motorhome for next to nothing. I've seen quite a few motorhomes locally that are for sale for pennies on the dollar. Some have opted to "sit on them" until the market improves, not knowing that these machines tend to deteriorate rapidly if they're not used occasionally. Some come out of long term storage with a value less than scrap prices, due to the enormous amount of money it would cost to bring them back to working condition.

Many years ago, a close friend was lucky enough to come into a large sum of money. He wanted to take a road trip and "see America". His original plan was to obtain a motorhome to travel in, and hopefully save money on lodging and meals. Once he returned from his quest, he intended to sell the coach and recover some of the purchase price.
I told him the resale value would be practically nil for a used motorhome, and sleeping in it would not be as "cheap" as he thought, nor would preparing meals onboard the coach. And he would still have to buy fuel, oil, and tires to keep the beast going, not to mention all of the other "incidentals" that would inevitably fail during the trip. After crunching the numbers, he decided to take a completely different track.
He purchased a good road car, with high resale value, and drove around the Country, staying in nice hotels, eating in restaurants, and buying new clothes whenever he needed a change of clothes. His trip was a success, and he sold the car for 80% of what he paid for it. Needless to say, he came out ahead of the game.

A word of caution. Having been unfortunate enough to have worked on several of these monsters, and knowing the construction methods used in their manufacture, I'd advise anyone to stay away from ANY motorhome. Trust me, you're taking your life in your hands.

[jdunmyer]

Well:

We've been RV'ers for about 13 years now, and probably close to 100,000 miles. Not a lot, but not noobs, either. Our rig is a 1975 28' Avion travel trailer, pulled with a 2001 Dodge w/CTD and 6-speed manual. We normally stay in the trailer 80+ nights/year. It will do 12 Mpg at 63-64 Mph, up to 14+ at 60- Mph. That's checked over several tanks, including a trip to Alaska in 2009. I find the claimed mileage on that motorhome to be a bit on the optimistic side.

However, it isn't all about cost, either. Was chatting with a fella once who had the same philosophy as S.M.'s friend. I asked him when he was staying in a motel, when was the last time a neighbor knocked on his door and offered him a beer. Of course, he looked at me like I was speaking Japanese, knowing full well that if such a scenario would come to pass, he'd probably call security. Yet, you are EXPECTED to act like that in a campground.

Plus, if you would like to travel with a pet(s), it's much easier with an RV. Certain activities are more enjoyable if you can stay on the grounds: antique engine/tractor show, BlueGrass festivals, and of course, RV rallies come to mind.

If you're thinking about an RV, you need to carefully weigh all the options and the relative ramifications of each. MH vs. TT, vs. 5'er, each has advantages, depending on what you want to do.

[lynnl]

Regarding the fuel consumption issue, it's easy to overlook a lot of the external factors, or assume they're not all that relevant. Not so.

I was once driving from Idaho back to Alabama in a 1981 Olds Cutlass. I typically got 20-22 mpg in that car. But I filled the tank somewhere in Colorado, shortly west of the continental divide, and when I checked the mileage at the next fillup, somewhere in Kansas, it was somewhere between 33 and 34 mpg. I was shocked. Thought I must've made a mistake.
Then I remembered, I'd been driving downhill almost that whole tankfull, PLUS there was a good strong westerly wind blowing all day.

You tend to think of the wind effect as almost negligible, but considering it can be working either 'for' or 'against' you with every rotation of the wheels it does add up over the 3 or 400 miles of a tank of gas. With a big profile like an RV the effect could be huge.