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slowmover · 08-30-2011, 12:40 PM

After three weeks of serious work, the result was zilch. No gain whatsoever, and I wouldn't be surprised if I lost a tiny bit.

I'm sitting here debating . . do I slap the boy, or hand him a cold beer? Maybe both unless he's bigger than me and depending how spry I'm feeling that day. Buddy, you're not only on track, you're succeeding!

Did I miss it or were temps, altitude and winds reported?

All play a role in highway FE. The last, I strongly feel, will -- in the form of crosswinds -- prove the effort of the bellypan a success in the miles to come:

1] by keeping the average mpg higher than otherwise; "smoothing" the airflow from multiple directions.

2] by maintaining easier steering control (the reduction of steering input per 100 miles [cit. ref. Cummins and Kenworth].

3] an alert and rested driver being more sensitive over a longer period of time/miles; being able to maintain a higher level of fine inputs versus gross corrections over the course of the day, thus keeping or further accumulating those elusive tenths and hundredths.

And I'm tempted to post this to one of the RV boards where the iron hand of conventionality rules. None will believe 16.5 mpg . . an error in thinking, calculating, out-and-out lying, etc will be cited as "reasons". Or, photos criticized, etc.

Orbywan, I'm a third generation owner of all-aluminum aerodynamic trailers and I can tell you without doubt that anyone who can achieve 16+ mpg with a turbodiesel tow vehicle and this trailer type is at the near upper end of the scale for a "big" RV, single or combination. I suppose we can compare weights, square footage, storage, equipment, etc, to arrive at some rough comparison, but the fact remains that you've done a heck of job (liberal use of emphatic profanities, here). Motorhomes, moho's, just don't enter into the FE equations for low cost, independent travel (for the most part). They stink.

One has to move to Euro TD SUV's with sub-27' aero trailers to see 18+ averages (highs may be 20+, but averages tell the story for coast-to-coast travel). Or teeny moho's, barely converted vans with no space for extended travel supplies.

Alternately, you go out there and find me the IFTA reports of guys running otherwise comparable expeditor rigs (even smaller than yours) with that kind of mileage. Their experience, their skill, and their determination not only eclipses yours, it makes a mockery of what you bring along when behind the wheel. (I may be stretching, but not to hyperbole.)

Back to RV's, as you know, there is not nearly the "jump" in live-ability from your size rig to a 45' Newell as there was from one smaller up to your size (for extended travel in four seasons over thousands of annual miles); as soon as one has the supplies/clothes for year-round travel, more space is redundant. You've staked out an "important" position, and beaten expectations.

So, altitude, temps, and winds? Please expand your reporting to accommodate extended continent-wide travel under these headings. While you may only travel the desert SW and the Inter-Mountain West, comparisons by others can be made (why else do we post except that our experience/examples may be relevant to others?) for their rigs.

I'd say that not only is the experiment doing well -- the hoped for results -- but that 850-miles is proving the work done to be correct (and cheap).

Bring the driver skill up some more and you'll find the consistency that "proves" efficacy.

And let's "cheat" a little. Many commercial drivers see the same routes over years and decades. You can use one of the "tricks" I used as a new big truck driver under pressure to show low fuel use: don't fill the fuel tanks until past 30-miles of warm-up, and refill at least 30-miles out from a major metro area having already covered 200-miles plus between those points on the open road. (my distances were greater; I had to use a bit of subterfuge and some cash of my own to keep idle time costs lower: the quarterly bonus more than paid it. I never won, but I never got reprimanded either; none of which are your worry).

You can find a 400+ mile roundtrip that can be taken over a days length with appropriate fuel stops, and, over a familiar highway, learn what your highest possible mpg may be (given road, load, conditions and weather) that will consistently report the "racetrack numbers" (no warm-up or metro traffic involved). The more you use the route -- the more easily the mental map comes to mind -- the better will be your judgment of your efforts.

And here's beer numero tres.

.

08-30-2011, 12:40 PM	#72 (permalink)
slowmover Banned Join Date: Oct 2009 Location: Fort Worth, Texas Posts: 2,442 2004 CTD - '04 DODGE RAM 2500 SLT Team Cummins 90 day: 19.36 mpg (US) Thanks: 1,422 Thanked 737 Times in 557 Posts	After three weeks of serious work, the result was zilch. No gain whatsoever, and I wouldn't be surprised if I lost a tiny bit. I'm sitting here debating . . do I slap the boy, or hand him a cold beer? Maybe both unless he's bigger than me and depending how spry I'm feeling that day. Buddy, you're not only on track, you're succeeding! Did I miss it or were temps, altitude and winds reported? All play a role in highway FE. The last, I strongly feel, will -- in the form of crosswinds -- prove the effort of the bellypan a success in the miles to come: 1] by keeping the average mpg higher than otherwise; "smoothing" the airflow from multiple directions. 2] by maintaining easier steering control (the reduction of steering input per 100 miles [cit. ref. Cummins and Kenworth]. 3] an alert and rested driver being more sensitive over a longer period of time/miles; being able to maintain a higher level of fine inputs versus gross corrections over the course of the day, thus keeping or further accumulating those elusive tenths and hundredths. And I'm tempted to post this to one of the RV boards where the iron hand of conventionality rules. None will believe 16.5 mpg . . an error in thinking, calculating, out-and-out lying, etc will be cited as "reasons". Or, photos criticized, etc. Orbywan, I'm a third generation owner of all-aluminum aerodynamic trailers and I can tell you without doubt that anyone who can achieve 16+ mpg with a turbodiesel tow vehicle and this trailer type is at the near upper end of the scale for a "big" RV, single or combination. I suppose we can compare weights, square footage, storage, equipment, etc, to arrive at some rough comparison, but the fact remains that you've done a heck of job (liberal use of emphatic profanities, here). Motorhomes, moho's, just don't enter into the FE equations for low cost, independent travel (for the most part). They stink. One has to move to Euro TD SUV's with sub-27' aero trailers to see 18+ averages (highs may be 20+, but averages tell the story for coast-to-coast travel). Or teeny moho's, barely converted vans with no space for extended travel supplies. Alternately, you go out there and find me the IFTA reports of guys running otherwise comparable expeditor rigs (even smaller than yours) with that kind of mileage. Their experience, their skill, and their determination not only eclipses yours, it makes a mockery of what you bring along when behind the wheel. (I may be stretching, but not to hyperbole.) Back to RV's, as you know, there is not nearly the "jump" in live-ability from your size rig to a 45' Newell as there was from one smaller up to your size (for extended travel in four seasons over thousands of annual miles); as soon as one has the supplies/clothes for year-round travel, more space is redundant. You've staked out an "important" position, and beaten expectations. So, altitude, temps, and winds? Please expand your reporting to accommodate extended continent-wide travel under these headings. While you may only travel the desert SW and the Inter-Mountain West, comparisons by others can be made (why else do we post except that our experience/examples may be relevant to others?) for their rigs. I'd say that not only is the experiment doing well -- the hoped for results -- but that 850-miles is proving the work done to be correct (and cheap). Bring the driver skill up some more and you'll find the consistency that "proves" efficacy. And let's "cheat" a little. Many commercial drivers see the same routes over years and decades. You can use one of the "tricks" I used as a new big truck driver under pressure to show low fuel use: don't fill the fuel tanks until past 30-miles of warm-up, and refill at least 30-miles out from a major metro area having already covered 200-miles plus between those points on the open road. (my distances were greater; I had to use a bit of subterfuge and some cash of my own to keep idle time costs lower: the quarterly bonus more than paid it. I never won, but I never got reprimanded either; none of which are your worry). You can find a 400+ mile roundtrip that can be taken over a days length with appropriate fuel stops, and, over a familiar highway, learn what your highest possible mpg may be (given road, load, conditions and weather) that will consistently report the "racetrack numbers" (no warm-up or metro traffic involved). The more you use the route -- the more easily the mental map comes to mind -- the better will be your judgment of your efforts. And here's beer numero tres. .