Miles per gallon seem to be on everyone’s mind, in and out of the RV world. In fairness, M.P.G.’s should play a role in the decision process we undergo when purchasing any motor vehicle. After all, miles cost money. Fuel isn’t free. No way around it.
Earlier this summer I paid over 5 dollars a gallon for diesel and biodiesel. It starts to add up when you fill a 60-gallon Transfer Flow fuel tank, while logging a weekly average of 1000 miles. At that price, as you can imagine, a nice-sized credit card bill at the end of each month.
Even with the Green RV and its abilities to gather “free energy” from the sun and the wind, there was an upfront cost to collecting these complimentary sources of power. The photovoltaic cells (solar panels), wind turbine, wiring, mounting brackets, batteries, charge controllers and inverter all add up to bucks; in my case, about 10,000 bucks. Though it may take me a few years to recoup my investment in the technology, the places I’ve dry camped have been well worth the dollars I invested in my Green technologies. In my time-share with Nature, I’m way ahead.
Here’s the thing. Over the last year, I’ve explored some pretty amazing places, off the road, off the beaten path and in some cases, off the charts. Without the average cost of hooking up at established campsites, boondocking has tremendously aided both my budget and my brain. I can’t even begin to put a price tag on my Unplugged Explorations.
In the end, it’s not the miles per gallon I focus on but the Memories Per Getaway that keep my attention.
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Harry Leech
! hqave a 96 Newmar Mt Aire and from the time it was new I got 6.5MPG I spent over $3000.00 on gadgets that didn.t work to get better miliage. 3 years ago I started expermentint with some Ideas of my own. Lats year on a 9000 mile trip I got 7.16 miles per gallon, Thats a 10% increase. Not much but at todays and fordcast gas prices it makes a differance.
If any one is interested contact me at [email protected] and I will send further details
Harry Leech in Brownsville TX.
Lee Rothrock
I have switched from MPG to “Cost per Mile”. Last year because of gas prices we changed our camping style. Instead of going from place to place we choose to stay at campgrounds longer and travel less. We scheduled our summer around Corp parks and stayed the 2 week limit. We mixed in private parks and found the convenience of full hookup s was worth the extra money. This year we plan on staying at several researched parks for a month.
When you figure the distance between parks and the lesser miles it just seems to work out being a cheaper way to go, at least in our minds. Last year we would go from one camp site to another and fill up at the cheapest station I would figure the “cost per mile” and it would be around $.50 per mile ($4 ,00 per gallon plus). If we drove 150 miles it would be $75.00. This year with the cheaper gas it should work out to be much less.
I guess this turnaround is because we have seen most of the country and with age it’s more relaxing to just stay in one place and enjoy the areas’ attractions.
We live in Florida in the winter and go north in the summer for 4 Months.
Happy Camping, Lee and Cleo
bob
How about how the wind affects mpg. My rig’s mpg goes up 2-4 mpg if the wind is behind us. Likewise, it drops that number when we go into the wind. Stay put on those days when bucking a big wind.
GMAs
I find it truly amazing that almost all the time when one makes camp the gas mileage issue comes up.
Yet when you enter discussion about how bad it is… within the same breath most say well we have the rig packed with all the com-forts of home. When you look over you see a whopping bigg’n and wonder why they are even conserned about the gas mileage. When you suggest that they might get better mileage if they lighten the load… whooo bud ain’t going to happen.. they can’t do without all them extras… a generator which tips the scale at just over 500 lbs, … a air Conditioor that is another 300 lbs when dressed. And lest we forget all the paper products which add up to a lot of weight very quickly.
When its all said and done.. if you got out the scale and weighed all the stuff you stuff into the rig you would be suprised at the amount of weight your hauling down the road… rig be known.
Yet everyone wants abetter more fuel effecent engine… going hybred is not the answer… we played with that issue when we went to cal tech and had the hybred car designed back in the 60’s.. so today its not anything new for us… but when they show the thing getting plugged into the house… well we laugh.. after all one can do the numbers on effecency… and believe me pluging your car into the grid is not. It actually comes out to be less effeicent than the old gas engine. (I.E. when it takes 1.5 times the amount of energy… to what you get out that… is not good … and add up all the losses from the powerplant to the car.. ouch.. yet they have you believe its good for the earth… really and who is buring what to make the powerplant turn the gen? and at what demand load excess factor as well.. Al doesn’t want you to think about that…)
It is amazing that when we get the gas mileage up… the gas companies raise the price . If you plot it out… they make the same , if not more money, while you downsize. Its as though they want so much money per day and don’t care how much fuel your using… the law of supply and demand doesn’t apply here. When oil had been 120 bux a barrel.. but now is orbiting around 40 bux a barrel… and yet gas prices have gone back up to over 2 bux a gallon at the pump… something is way wrong… yet we look into it and find the politicans are using a velvet glove on us to keep the tax money flowing in on the price/gallon rate. (I.e you use 10 gal of gas per week… you pay 10 cents on the dollar.. if gas cost 1 bux a gallon then you paid 1 bux in sales tax… but if you still need the same amount 10 gal… and now they keep the price up to 4 bux a gallon… you now pay 4 bux in taxes for the same amount… and it cost less to make today… so your giving the government a whopping 3 bux more for the same amount you used… get the picture)
I used to think it was the gas companies that were ripping us off.. but now I have other thoughts about the government being the bad guy here….all to fund their pork barrel items… like the speakers (plosie) new jet so she doesn’t have to refuel …going out to SFO …. oh and don’t even think of her getting into a commercial airliner… that would be discusting and beniteh her statur ..all)
So the greening is nice but, when all said and done… actually is less effecent and cost more to impliment than to contenue using our present day methodes… Yes the engineers back in the homeland design pit of the manufature…is always trying to improve and make a vehicle that WE would want to buy… Of course at what price? Doesn’t make sense to go out and buy a 60,000 bux vehicle only to improve the gas mileage (going from gas to diesel) from 12 to 15mph.
I am amazed that more people don’t use them free hand calculators to punch in and get the numbers of which is more effecent and a savings… remember present value , present worth , future value and future worth…then throw into the mix what you have saved if you go new.
I recently was asked which would be better to get… a new ford diesel truck (price 52,000 out the door) or a used gas one (4,000) . Gee I said let me think on this one… on one hand you will have a diesel that will make oh say 15 mpg… on the other hand you have a gas 460… same 3/4 t truck but older…that makes 11 or 12 pulling the same load… with 4mpg different you would have to drive how many miles to just break even with the new truck… no maintenance added… well at the rate given… if gas is 2 bux a gallon and your only making 12 vs 15… your only saving 3 cents per mile with the new one… so you would have to drive the new truck over a 300,000 miles (figutively) to for it to result in a savings for the new truck…vs old…. and at that mileage you can bet the NEW old diesel is going to be worn out… if you have enough money to support it… so the better savings would be to go with the old gas 460 (which really had the same torque as the diesel did in 95… so don’t say the diesels put out more) Currently I went back to the 96 ford pu with the last of the good 460 engines… with a few mods now done… I can out pull hour for hour a diesel… in hp and torque.. be lighter in weight and enjoy the cheaper gas prices… (by the way mine now makes 18 mpg empty and 14 pulling the AS… my friends new ford F250 diesel pulls the same trailer and only makes 15 mpg… darn I missed by 1 mpg… but, consider the price to aquire.. ahhh really makes him steam)
But, one has to look at the status of the new vheicle… vs the older ones… but as I say to others.. once your inside the thing looking out it all looks the same… but, I whistle all the way to the bank… when I think I only paid 5,000 for a truck thats in a different metal wrapper and his new one only has a few more gadgets on it…(that are nice but do you really need ’em?) And his cost 50,000 or 10 times as much.. as mine… really miffs the owners of the new ones off too when you pass ’em on the hills… and don’t smell like your burning a dead skunk….
Get smart and do the math.. is what I tell the kids.. it will lead you to your savings… (and yes sometimes othere factors make it more economical to buy new)
happy trails…