Now a real world response,do some research into how Germany has encouraged industry involvement in bio-diesel,through tax free fuels etc,also realize they are about 8yrs ahead of us in this?-you can actually pull up a map of Germany that shows the location of each of the 600+ stations. Ethanol is a special interest driven commodity,through pork barrel politics.E85 is just a further continuation of this policy.I find it beyound reality when news programs will cover a story about running your diesel on used fryer oil,most of the news stories I've seen should have been dumped with my cats litter.The EU's like tent camping ,but watch the "Tour" and see all the full size C's on the mountain sections. Top Gear also makes comments that they have real jungle juice not the watered down stuff like in the "States"
* This post was
edited 05/10/08 03:45am by MikeMike *
My point exactly. The manufacturers have pretty much got these engines and RVs set for the best combination of power and efficiency that they can get with todays equipment.
If the combination of power and efficiency were optimum this thread would not exist. Some class Cs run at 8 mpg, a few run at 16 mpg. A spread that large indicates that the industry is far from optimumized. That 16 mpg can be obtained from a standard engine and a slightly smaller but still standard body suggests that 20 mpg is not unreasonable with more work. But if you are happy with 8 ....
You can get an idea of "caravans" here if you are a Top Gear fan (or want to be): http://youtube.com/watch?v=0GZRmzuiig8
Top Gear is a funny show and that segment was hilarious. I am quite certain that most of the mayhem that they endured during their caravan trip was according to script however. It was a little too much like a Robin Williams movie I trust we've all seen.
My point exactly. The manufacturers have pretty much got these engines and RVs set for the best combination of power and efficiency that they can get with todays equipment.
If the combination of power and efficiency were optimum this thread would not exist. Some class Cs run at 8 mpg, a few run at 16 mpg. A spread that large indicates that the industry is far from optimumized. That 16 mpg can be obtained from a standard engine and a slightly smaller but still standard body suggests that 20 mpg is not unreasonable with more work. But if you are happy with 8 ....
Ken
Yes, you can get better mileage with a smaller RV....that isn't really a shock to anyone. I'm just saying that with a large 31C, I don't think we are going to be seeing 20 mpg. The engine/chassis combination is probably at it's optimal rating for right now. Of course, things can be improved in the future, but I don't think the technology is ready yet...at least not to mass produce. Just my opinion, and my DW tells me I've been wrong in the past
Also, wanted to toss in this video about the European view of towing. As mentioned before, they use undersize TVs, which probably get great mileage on level ground.....but then there are those hills Little car that couldn't
Enjoy
Bill
DH Bill / DW Claudia / DD Jenn / DS Chris The Paps! Sophie, Abby, Brandy, Kahlie and Annie
2000 Winnebago "Minnie" 31C, Ford V-10
Purchased April Fools Day, 2008 The Pets
Maybe we could get the railroads to load our RVs onto flatbeds and take us to where we want to go. We could kick back in the motorhome and let them do the driving.
Forgot all about the Top Gear segment with the camper,that was a pretty nice camper- the neighbors tent didn't fare to well either,I might cry a bit after fueling up in the UK and would really have a light foot on the gas.
MikeMike wrote: Forgot all about the Top Gear segment with the camper,that was a pretty nice camper- the neighbors tent didn't fare to well either,
Yeah but the "neighbors" were mysteriously absent during all the filming. I'm pretty sure that given all the devastation wreaked upon their quarters with nary a complaint that the "neighbors" were in fact the film crew! As I said, I think this piece was far more entertainment than documentary. I'm sure the plan from the beginning was to burn the trailer down, I'm uncertain if crashing it into the post at the filling station was intentional. I don't doubt that it portrays many of the common problems that RVers in the UK have to deal with. Neither do I doubt that it exaggerates them to the limit for comedic effect. On the whole the show is a delightful mix of British silliness and serious automotive reporting. It's just that the caravaning episode was more of the former and less of the latter, and undoubtedly better TV because of that.
Yes, you can get better mileage with a smaller RV....that isn't really a shock to anyone. I'm just saying that with a large 31C, I don't think we are going to be seeing 20 mpg.
Many people say that longer, heavier MHs don't carry that large an mpg penalty. I think that the results posted here tend to negate that view to an extent but if shorter Cs were getting 20 mpg then 31 footers would surely be well above 10, maybe around 15. There are plenty of MHs as small as the View that do not get 16 mpg. The View's fuel efficiency comes not from its size but the size of its smaller and Diesel engine. If you want to improve the fuel efficiency of a passenger car you use a smaller engine, you use turbocharging, you even shut down cylinders when their power isn't needed. Now if you want to tell me that class C engines are optimized for fuel efficiency show me that any of that is available in a class C. Some of it is available in a View and guess what? They get 16 mpg. Now imagine that your V10 powered 32 footer was powered by a smaller, turbocharged V8 that could run on 4 or 6 cylinders when its full power wasn't needed. That isn't sky-blue technology, it's all on the road today.
Motorhomes do not contain the best available modern technologies for delivering both power and fuel efficiency.
There are already hybrids (gas/electric) vehicles, the size of RVs, on the road today. FedEx, UPS, city trash pickup vehicles. All using them to some extent in trials. Some applications seeing 40% increases in fuel economy.
However, probably has little benefit for highway cruising. Better aerodynamic treatments are needed for highway use, but I think there's little financial incentive to RV makers to do wind tunnel testing.
Bryan
2000 Ford E350 DRW Wagon (14-pass all captains chairs)
V10 w/ Banks PowerPack, Diablo Predator, 4.56 LS, 230,000+ miles
Had: Weekend Warrior 41' FSW (still looking for its replacement)
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