Post your MPG

[markopolo]

Last three fill-ups in for the GM 6.5L turbo diesel were 16.10, 16.15 & 17.69 mpg (US) but this years cumulative average is only inching upward at 15.92 mpg.

It's going to be a 16 mpg year unless I get a tailwind wherever I go for the rest of the year or drive at 50 mph Average diesel fuel cost for my van this summer in the Maritimes is CDN$4.995 per US Gallon or $1.32 per liter.

[Rok]

The little readout on our 2013 GW Legend SE says it gets somewhere between 17 & 19 MPG (U.S. Gal) on most trips. I know that sometimes (er..usually) those calculations tend to be on the fudgy side, overstating the mileage by quite a bit. We've been keeping receipts for the rig, but haven't set down and done the actual calculations which will fudge the other way due to Diesel Hydronic heating.

In short, we'll never know our REAL mileage. I've heard that heating with Diesel Hydronics uses very little diesel, so the calculated MPG will be fairly accurate.

............Rocky

[gordonhks]

I use an Android App called Fuellog with 7,783 miles on the B, we have averaged 17.83. The best tank has been 20.56 and the worst was 16.61. This is on a 2013 Great West Legend SE, based on the one ton sprinter with the V6. Average cost per gallon was $3.77. Total fuel cost for the period was $1,645.

Our 2006 Roadtrek RS Adventurous averaged 22 mpg over the 35,000 miles that we drove it. It was based on the 3/4 ton I5 Mercedes Sprinter. Total fuel cost for the last 7,783 miles that we drove, based on the same $3.77 per gallon would have been $1,333 or a reduction in cost of $312 less than the cost of driving the new GWV.

So was the added $312 worth it? I can not quantify that, but the new 1 ton Sprinter with the V6 is a VERY nice ride.

[Rok]

Hey Gordon,

Since you have experience with both of the recent Sprinters, can you flesh out your comment (below) a little bit? My question is: Is there a marked improvement between the old standard non-dually rigs and the new 3500 with the duallies? If you couldn't qualify the additional $312, It seems like you might think there wasn't that much difference, but the tone of your post seems to indicate that you are happy with having duallies now.

IIRC (which sometimes I don't), when we were shopping, the Airstream salesman took us for a test drive in a 3500 based unit, ant then told us they had a 2500 based unit, new but a year old available for a much reduced price. I think both units were V6 units, but this sounds like the classic bait and switch if there is a lot of difference between the two. (We researched it and found that the load carring capacity of the earlier unit was just too close to the maximum gross vehicle weight when loaded. The later unit we now own (Great West, NOT Airstream) has a nice cushion so that we don't have to worry about load carrying capacity with normal luggage and tank fills.

I have test driven the new PW Ascent, without the duallies, and I was impressed with the handling, but it is a much shorter unit.

Under any circumstances, we are impressed with any large rig that can get the MPG's any of the Sprinters. They must have some good engineers at MB.

............Rocky

Originally Posted by gordonhks

I use an Android App called Fuellog with 7,783 miles on the B, we have averaged 17.83. The best tank has been 20.56 and the worst was 16.61. This is on a 2013 Great West Legend SE, based on the one ton sprinter with the V6. Average cost per gallon was $3.77. Total fuel cost for the period was $1,645.

Our 2006 Roadtrek RS Adventurous averaged 22 mpg over the 35,000 miles that we drove it. It was based on the 3/4 ton I5 Mercedes Sprinter. Total fuel cost for the last 7,783 miles that we drove, based on the same $3.77 per gallon would have been $1,333 or a reduction in cost of $312 less than the cost of driving the new GWV.

So was the added $312 worth it? I can not quantify that, but the new 1 ton Sprinter with the V6 is a VERY nice ride.

[gordonhks]

Rok, my comment regarding the $312 was posed in that way because to some people, $312 is a lot of money and to some it is a mere rounding error. So, I can not infer what that means to different people.

Here is what I do know. The new Sprinter drives like a dream. VERY quite, very smooth, very little movement from cross winds.

When driving the old (2006) sprinter, I often thought of it as being a bit quirky. Not bad mind you just quirky. A friend of mine drove a Saab, and he referred to it as quirky. Not bad, and in many ways a fine car...just quirky. For example what other manufacturer puts the ignition switch in the console between the two front seats?

The old Sprinter sounded to me like a roller coaster going up hill...kind of clack clack clack. Not bad mind you just quirky.

It also reminded me a delivery van. Not bad, but a delivery van nonetheless. No tilt wheel, the old style Mercedes HVAC controls, which I have never figured out.

That all having been said, I really enjoyed driving it for the 30,000+ miles over a two year period. But....The new one drives Much Much better... more like a luxury car and less like a delivery van.

[Davydd]

Originally Posted by Rok

IIRC (which sometimes I don't), when we were shopping, the Airstream salesman took us for a test drive in a 3500 based unit, ant then told us they had a 2500 based unit, new but a year old available for a much reduced price. I think both units were V6 units, but this sounds like the classic bait and switch if there is a lot of difference between the two. (We researched it and found that the load carring capacity of the earlier unit was just too close to the maximum gross vehicle weight when loaded. The later unit we now own (Great West, NOT Airstream) has a nice cushion so that we don't have to worry about load carrying capacity with normal luggage and tank fills.

When the second generation Sprinters first came out all the converters except Pleasure-way as I recall tried to continue with the 2500 model. I wondered why Pleasure-way was essentially handicapping themselves competitively with the 3500 since they cost more, and you have to admit duallies are more of a pain to deal with. As it turned out all the other converters quickly had a come to Jesus. Four Seasons and Winnebago had even gone a step further initially offering the extended body (24') on a 2500. Four Seasons dropped out of the market almost immediately and Winnebago suspended selling their ERA for a year before coming back as a 3500. Not a lot was said by the converters in regard to the conversion to a 3500 but I am willing to bet there might have been some quiet behind the scenes issues. Bottom line I would not take a chance on one of those 2008-2010 2500 Sprinter Bs. Saying that, I've seen a few on the road and even met their owners and they seemed to have no issues with them.

[Rok]

Gordon,

I had forotten about a chance encounter Maggie (my wife) and I had with an older (70+) couple: We were on "Artist's Drive", a scenic loop in Death Valley. At one of the overlooks, we stopped to the couple who owned an older Road Trek Sprinter-based Class B motorhome. We were new to it all, and they were obviously experienced, and we struck up a conversation. We could tell that they wanted to see the inside of our 2013 GW Legend SE, so we invited them in for the "tour". They were amazed at the accessories in our rig compared to theirs. Two things that I found stunning in the conversation were (1) The visors in their Sprinter couldn't be used for the side windows, and (2) their seats didn't adjust.

I was amazed that MB would even design a rig without those features. Now we understand that the older Sprinters were indeed designed to be delivery vans. We are certainly glad that they have evolved to where they are today.

.............Rocky

Originally Posted by gordonhks

Rok, my comment regarding the $312 was posed in that way because to some people, $312 is a lot of money and to some it is a mere rounding error. So, I can not infer what that means to different people.

Here is what I do know. The new Sprinter drives like a dream. VERY quite, very smooth, very little movement from cross winds.

When driving the old (2006) sprinter, I often thought of it as being a bit quirky. Not bad mind you just quirky. A friend of mine drove a Saab, and he referred to it as quirky. Not bad, and in many ways a fine car...just quirky. For example what other manufacturer puts the ignition switch in the console between the two front seats?

The old Sprinter sounded to me like a roller coaster going up hill...kind of clack clack clack. Not bad mind you just quirky.

It also reminded me a delivery van. Not bad, but a delivery van nonetheless. No tilt wheel, the old style Mercedes HVAC controls, which I have never figured out.

That all having been said, I really enjoyed driving it for the 30,000+ miles over a two year period. But....The new one drives Much Much better... more like a luxury car and less like a delivery van.

[gordonhks]

Rok,

I had forgotten about the visors that did not adjust for to block the sun coming in from the side. I had to have a hat with me and have it pointed to the side like a young kid does. Either that or purchase a pair of cataract sunglasses. I thought those looked cool, but Joni vetoed that.

The seats did kind of adjust up and down and tilt. All bad though. I had one position that was comfortable, and if it changed it was hard to find again.

All in all just a little bit quirky.

[markopolo]

Last four fill-ups were 16.28, 16.06, 16.26 & 16.47 mpg.

Average fuel usage for the last 5190 Kms or 3225 Miles is 14.66 L/100km or 16.05 MPG (US).

Price of fuel
US Gallons
Best........CDN$/US Gallon $4.879
Average....CDN$/US Gallon $5.048
Worst.......CDN$/US Gallon $5.289
Liters
Best........$/Liter $1.289
Average....$/Liter $1.333
Worst.......$/Liter $1.397

Cost for fuel has been $0.194 per kilometer or $0.312 per mile.

[Mike]

Originally Posted by markopolo

Last four fill-ups were 16.28, 16.06, 16.26 & 16.47 mpg.

Average fuel usage for the last 5190 Kms or 3225 Miles is 14.66 L/100km or 16.05 MPG (US).

Price of fuel
US Gallons
Best........$/Gallon (US) $4.879
Average....$/Gallon (US) $5.048
Worst.......$/Gallon (US) $5.289
Liters
Best........$/Liter $1.289
Average....$/Liter $1.333
Worst.......$/Liter $1.397

Cost for fuel has been $0.194 per kilometer or $0.312 per mile.

OMG, where did you pay those prices for a US gallon? California?
Or is that what an American would pay in Canada, for a US gallon equivalent???
Sorry, I'm confused possibly by the wording, or the breakdown in US gallons and litres.

[markopolo]

oops - the way I (mis) worded that was confusing

I edited the post

You are right, that is what an American would pay in Canada using CDN dollars, for a US gallon equivalent.

[Mike]

Originally Posted by markopolo

oops - the way I (mis) worded that was confusing

I edited the post

You are right, that is what an American would pay in Canada using CDN dollars, for a US gallon equivalent.

Not going to help tourism much, is it?

[Davydd]

Last summer diesel was considerably cheaper than regular gas in the western Canadian provinces. About 30-40 cents per US gallon. That is just about the opposite situation in the USA. Prices varied a lot between provinces but that comparative ratio stood up.

Edit: Summer of 2012.

[Mike]

It's currently C$1.119/litre in Edmonton. That works out (math not guaranteed ) to about US$4.10/USgal with the exchange rate included. Diesel is currently US$3.99/USgal across the river in Port Huron, MI, so it's still pretty good comparatively for a diesel user. Calgary and Lethbridge are both slightly higher, so buy your diesel in Edmonton.

[markopolo]

Originally Posted by Davydd

Last summer diesel was considerably cheaper than regular gas in the western Canadian provinces. About 30-40 cents per US gallon. That is just about the opposite situation in the USA. Prices varied a lot between provinces but that comparative ratio stood up.

Edit: Summer of 2012.

This summer it was a treat to get diesel cheaper than gas on our trip to Nova Scotia. Around here (NB) there wasn't much difference in diesel and gas price this summer. They were close whenever I looked. Now, with cooler weather coming, diesel is a fair bit more. 13% more expensive today I've noticed that diesel costs more than gas every winter.

--------------------

Diesel is around US$5.042/gal here so the US$3.99/US gallon in Port Huron, Michigan looks fantastic Mike.

[Mike]

http://auto.howstuffworks.com/fuel-effi ... r-fuel.htm

The prices for both across the river are usually pretty good. We've paid as low as US$3.19/USgal up to closer to US$4.00/USgal. Beats anything in Canada that I'm aware of. The Midwest (which is where we live) has one of the lowest average fuel prices in the USA. This is a good website to follow US fuel trends by geographic region.

http://www.eia.gov/petroleum/gasdiesel/

Of course, it's temporarily offline, because of the US government's "issues" right now.

[Mike]

I got thinking about the whole fuel economy subject, and the topics of some of the threads on here recently, and came to the conclusion that it's not as important to me, as it might be to others, any more. I guess when you own an aging class B van, and realize that fuel economy is what it is, and that you can only do so much about it, it sort of pales by comparison to some of life's other challenges.

Actually, I think I get pretty good gas mileage for a "loaded to the stops" whale of a cargo van, that isn't terribly aerodynamic, weighs more than a Smart Car, and is definitely not running the most technically up to date engine and transmission (what the heck, call it the whole drive train and suspension) combination to provide me with the greatest fuel economy.

I'm pretty sure I can improve it somewhat by my driving habits, by where I drive meaning the geographical and geological area and terrain, by using better quality or higher octane fuel, by keeping it as well maintained as possible, watching the tire pressure and their condition, try not to add too much extra stuff on the outside that might create extra drag, keep the weight under control (reduce overall cargo and run with empty F/G/B tanks when possible), but there's not a lot more that anyone can do that's going to make a huge amount of difference to the overall average, that I know of.

I know even a tiny bit of savings adds up over time and miles, but the only way to really improve the fuel economy of anyone's RV is to never leave the driveway. Like the folks in some of the various Yahoo Class B RV Groups that sound like they mostly do nothing but meaningless tweaks and mods to their vans all day, but never seem to go anywhere in them. At least they don't talk about their trips as much as the new curtains, or the water bottle holder they added to the countertop, or the fridge fan mod, the new hanging coffee maker, and the lists go on and on. They probably never worry about fuel economy because I don't think the majority of them ever go anywhere. They've got it figured out, "don't start the engine and you'll maximize your gas mileage".

Sorry, if my monologue offends anyone, I intend no offense in any of my posts.
My point is, that I'm convinced you gotta break some gas mileage (for a start) eggs to make an RV adventure omelet happen, and I just hope we don't lose sight of that. Life can be overly complex, and unexpectedly short at times, and I wouldn't want to see anyone short change themselves when it comes to RV-ing, and getting the most out of the many adventures that await us, if we'd just put the damn keys in them, and some fuel, and get going.
And that's my take on it, for what it's worth.
Now, all of you, get out there and travel (safely, of course) !!!!!

[AK49er]

Way to go Mike! I wanted to post "something" close to what your feelings are about this' but would not have done it as well as you did! I think that sometimes there is more to life than miles per gallon.

[markopolo]

Class B owners are a very diverse group that happen to have a common interest - Class B RV's.

We're not all going to be interested in curtains or solar panels or batteries etc. I'm interested in seeing just about all the modifications people post. I learn and get ideas from them. That goes without saying though as that interest is a reason why I started this forum.

Myself......... I've changed a lot over the years and so have my interests. For instance, I'm just now getting very interested in the mechanical side and expect to learn a lot going forward. I wasn't that interested in crawling around under my three previous RV's.

Same with MPG. I didn't track it regularly in my other RV's. I don't track it for my car. I track it completely for my current van. DW asked me "Do you have to write it down every time?" my answer: Yes. Will I track it forever? I don't know. I enjoy tracking it. It is not a chore and a spreadsheet does all the hard work.

I wish more Class B owners would accurately track and post their MPG numbers. I wish more of them would post their van weights. I wish more people would post about their trips. Wishing doesn't make it happen but I'll continue to encourage it.

Also, when you have accurate info it helps put things in perspective. Diesel is about $1 per gallon cheaper in Port Huron than here. My tank capacity is 31 gallons so $31 difference. A full tank at my current 16 MPG average is 496 miles. So, even with that massive price difference per gallon it is only $31 over almost 500 miles (800 km). Just think of what you could see and do on a 500 mile trip.

I'm with you on the get out there and enjoy life and will continue to track and post my MPG and my trips

[Mike]

I hear you both.
That's the hard part.
Being torn between wanting to know everything about everything, including all there is to know about improving your fuel economy, and getting out there and knowing that if all I do is think about it while I'm traveling, I may miss something really important. Trying to enjoy my travels, and forgetting about the mechanics of the medium for a while. Seeing the forest, and forgetting about the trees.
As I get older, I guess my perspective changes on some things, and I just needed to verbalize what I happened to be feeling last night. Call it cathartic, or what you will, but recent life events have changed the way I view it. Hopefully, mostly for the better.
As I said, and for no particular reason, I think I needed to verbalize my thoughts (I always think better in print or with a pencil), and one of the reasons I like this forum is that there are many diverse opinions and experiences and knowledge on here, and just as many like minded people as those who might disagree. Certainly I take full advantage of listening/reading the opinions of others, pro or con, and that's what makes this place great.
I am "Mike" on ClassBForum, and I approve this message.