Eco-RV thoughts?

[freebeard]

They are out of production. How's the availability? The GMC Scenicruisers are few in number, but they have those stainless steel body panels.

Things you could look at: A through-the-road hybrid conversion and plasma generators to wrap the air around the back.

[ChopStix]

I would think a roof spoiler like what is used on semi trucks would help your mpg. Based on the camping rig in the first post. Something like this: LINK

Then something like this on the rear: LINK

Or you could fabricate a full aero package like aerohead's image: LINK

Lastly, I have a standard sized Chevy Astro camper van as a daily driver. I'm getting around 28mpg right now (when not hauling junk) and its still got all the factory RV accessories like AC power, bar lighting, fold down bed, toilet, etc still in it. I'll be over 30mpg in the near future thanks to the advise of this forum! I don't know your situation. But picking up a smaller camper van like mine could save some cash, if the smaller size works for your needs.

[ctmaybury@yahoo.com]

I'm with you about all the comforts of home being more important than squeezing into a phone booth for the night. My wife dog cat and I spent 4 out of the last 6 months in our 25 ft tt and loved every minute. Hotels are a good for a few days max. My truck is he same gen dodge as your 01 (mine is a 98 24v). The single best mod for mileage is lpg fummigation. In about 4k miles going 75, I averaged abot 11 mpg. If I can adjust the nut behind the wheel, I hope to be able to approach 20mpg. It's hard for me to drive 60 when my truck has so much power (aprox 350 hp 750 ft lbs ). I'm still modifying the multi stage lpg for max mileage. Any direct injection turbo diesel can benifit from lpg fumigation. I plan to do a full write up on this forum soon. I'd love to see what lpg could do to a tdi jetta (harder to find a good place for the tank).

[redpoint5]

I travel in a Prius, which can be slept in if needed. So far I haven't spent a night in it, but instead have booked a few AirBNB homes. Prices range from cheaper than a motel, to more expensive than a penthouse suite of a 5-star hotel depending on what you are looking for. It's easy to find affordable places that offer a private kitchen, bath, bed, and living room.

Seeing the sites is easier when driving the Prius since I don't have to limit myself to places with RV parking. Sometimes I just pull onto the shoulder of a forest road to park and hike around.

My wife and I have vowed to never haul a house around with us, but I can see that it makes sense for those who spend several months out of every year away from home.

[mwilliamshs]

I have a Sportsmobile EB Ford with their Penthouse roof and the 4.9L I6 with a c6 and 3.08 gears. I get 18 hwy mpg when being careful. I think one of these with a 4bt Cummins could do 25mpg easily and with OD and tuning, perhaps 30.

I currently have zero aeromods and zero mechanical mods installed. Totally stock.

[ctmaybury@yahoo.com]

4bt looks like an excellent engine. I've seen half ton pickups in magazines with a 4bt transplant getting 35 mpg with 300 hp. If I had the money and time, that would be one of my projects.

[Hersbird]

I just got 10.4 mpg towing the new travel trailer 84 miles gaining 2000 feet at about 65 mph. I need to fill up again to check the downhill to get the average ( I will guess an average of 11 for now). This is a new, tall and wide, standard travel trailer (although not very long and under 6000 pounds). We still have the Hi-lo which with the same truck over the same course and speed would be about 14 mpg. So for the added room, if we travel 2000 miles a year we will use an extra 40 gallons of gas. I looked at getting an Ecodiesel Ram which would get much better MPG, but it just never would make up for the extra cost over the $10,000 Hemi Aspen. Those Ecodiesels are at least $25,000 used.
If one went further distances, or if gas gets back up to $5/gal then fighting for those 5-6 mpg might be worth it, but for now, we will just take the $100/year hit on the extra gas and sleep 7 in comfort instead of 4 in misery.
I still will look for some low hanging fruit, I wish somebody would make a simple ABS fairing for the A/C unit. The factory is so clueless, there is a bubble over the shower (for extra headroom) shaped perfectly like the template... It's just on there backwards!

[saturndude]

I'm on my third Toyota motorhome and you cannot beat them for price, reliability, amenities, and economy.

The pop ups (Chinook) can get 20+mpg

My current rig is a 1990, 21' 3.0 v6 automatic and it gets about 15mpg so far. 22re 4 cylinder is a little more bullet proof but the v6 gives a little more power without affecting mpg much at all.
Sleeps 6, full kitchen, full bath with separate shower (not a huge fans of wet baths for long term use)

My current v6 rig cost $5600

My first Toyota Moho was 1987 22re auto 21' 13-16mpg $2500

Second rig (which I gave to my parents) 22r 4 speed 18' molded fiberglass sunrader 14-17mpg for $4000

Good luck and happy camping. An alternative to the Toyota would be a vw class c (big $) or an old domestic diesel (not great mpg or reliability) or a sprinter (big $) or a camper van that may not be as liveable.

[slowmover]

As to motorhome economy, granted. But for an automotive RV nothing beats one of the all aluminum travel trailers such as Airstream. A turbodiesel tow vehicle covers the economy angle best, and also suits best as daily driver. The lifespan of the trailer is indefinite, nearly an irrelevancy given a maintenance program. The Toyo moho simply isn't built to that standard.

But I'd sure rather rehab one than try to start from scratch.

[saturndude]

Yes an airstream (or any aero travel trailer) with a turbo diesel is a great setup, but that's gonna set you back a minimum of $20k (and that's for something that needs allot of work. Some of the Toyota motorhomes are built to a very high standard (sunrader, Chinook) and the Toyota drive train is much easier to work on with common parts compared to a turbo diesel.

And for me in particular, I prefer to fit in one parking spot, which the Toyotas do to allow for easy parking anywhere in every city or park. Having used a travel trailer and tow vehicle setup for several years, I switched back to the Moho for this reason