24+ MPG in a 2000 Dodge Caravan

[101Volts]

The latest fill up for this 3.0 Litre 2000 Dodge Caravan read 25.02 MPG at 124.9 miles; 4.992 gallons were added. I wasn't the only driver since the last fill up on August 28th. The roof-rack and the bug shield were removed a while ago and the spark plugs and air filter were replaced with new one, Plus an oil and filter change in May. We did have pizza pans on the van for some months, We don't have them on now though - Two fell off, After that I took the rear two off.

We didn't always get fuel economy this high, Though: We had a rear brake dragging a wheel which was a major hit in the fuel economy and we also had a wheel strapped to the roof rack. We didn't track the fuel a while back either and the ScanGauge II wasn't calibrated for fuel consumption for months. We also didn't fill the tank up for a while but that habit of not filling up and not tracking the miles since the last fill up has hopefully changed now.

The gauge did read as high as 38.5 on one uncalibrated trip after the brake was repaired but when we had a wheel strapped to the roof, And with 45 (Or so) PSI in the tires when hot. That "38.5" figure was unrealistically high, But even then it was a large improvement compared to seeing it only go above 30 without the tire on the roof (But with the brake dragging if I remembered it right) once before and it was inspiring.

Thanks, People of the eComodder community; It's fun doing this.

Here's a link to the modding thread for this particular van:

http://ecomodder.com/forum/showthrea...van-25296.html

[jared1970]

I'm thinking about buying a 1997 Chrysler Town and Country. It has the 3.8, so this wouldn't be exactly apples to apples, but I'd like to hear of any updates you have. If I buy this minivan I'm curious to see what kind of mpg it can deliver.

[101Volts]

I have to say that I was reading the FE according to the on-board fuel economy meter. I have to see if it reads too high on a trip.

*Edit: There is no on-board fuel economy meter in this van. I typed "Fuel economy meter" But meant Odometer.*

If it does, At least realizing that will help me realize actual MPG increases if I see them. I do think we got 24 MPG in the van in a tank, But I don't live in Pittsburgh; Most of the driving is not stop-and-go though there's some of that. It is hilly around here, Though.

Also, As of 2013-09-13 the ScanGauge II was reading wonky; 2.3 or 2.6 MPG, Over 4,000 or so miles traveled, (Letter)(Three-digit-number) RPM, Etc.

[jcurtice]

That's pretty good for a caravan. I have a Caravan too, but it's a 1999 3.3L and just had my personal best tank of 498 miles from 18.593 gallons. That's 26.78 mpg. My goal for this green machine is 30mpg.

Great to see another Caravan owner hypermiling like me.

[roosterk0031]

My SGII would get some add data with the Stratus occasionally, must be a Dodge thing never done it in any of the other cars.

[101Volts]

Originally Posted by roosterk0031

My SGII would get some add data with the Stratus occasionally, must be a Dodge thing never done it in any of the other cars.

Maybe or maybe not; I'm not sure of the cause as I've only had it act odd once it was in this van, But prior to using the SG2 in this van I had it plugged into a 1997 Plymouth Voyager and a 2000 Dodge Caravan 3.3 Litre; I also didn't reset the SG2 before putting it in this van, So was I carrying old data in the SG2 because of this? I reset the SG2 on 2013-09-17 and it's been working fine since then but I haven't had a fill up since that day.

Also, If the SG2 doesn't act strange in future fill ups I might write the trips down along with more tank data.

[101Volts]

We had another 24+ MPG tank, With a partial fill up.

I was hoping for a higher figured average, But eh - It's not much lower than the previous fill up. I had trouble with the ScanGauge II again so I had to reset it to factory defaults, Again.

Maybe having a fuel injector cut-off switch will help; It certainly helped Diesel Dave.

[101Volts]

We got 25.84 for this latest fill up, But did not fill up at the same GETGO Gas Station and a significant amount of this was HWY driving. The tire PSI was at 50ish.

[101Volts]

24.54 for this tank. I've been using some pulse and gliding and it's mostly been accelerating downhill and having a speed to not go below up hill.

[plasticuser]

My 99 3.3L Caravan used to regularly get 25 mpg, just hypermiling with no mods. I traded it for a 20053.8L Town and Country, and with the stow-and-go seats removed and replaced with a 1/2" ply false floor, no other mods just hypermiling, I would consistently get 28 mpg and my peak was a tank at 30.9 mpg.