Pop-up camper and fuel mileage

ArtC2

Explorer
With the price of fuel I thought it would be interesting to see what other people are getting with their truck and camper combinations.

I have a 2009 Dodge 2500 4 door 4x4 short bed with a Cummins 6.7 liter diesel, 34” Toyo Open Country tires and a Carli starter kit suspension with their long travel air bags. For my camper I have a loaded Hallmark UTE . Total weight of the pair is about 11,400 pounds (yes I know I am over the truck's GVW). I run the tires at 46 in the front and 64 in the rear based on the Toyo load chart (wear is even after 20K miles). On my recent 1,600 mile trip to the Overland Expo from the Bay Area I averaged a disappointing 11.8 MPG going the speed limit which was generally 65 to 70 mph.

Obviously shedding weight and driving slower would help. Does anyone have any experience running the tires higher or using the economy setting on a programmer?

picture.php


Art

2009 Dodge 2500/Buckstop baja bumper and Warn winch, Hallmark UTE/Highly modified 2006 Jeep Rubicon LJ
 
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Regcabguy

Oil eater.
I just returned from a 2000K run through northern AZ and southern Utah. I've got 285-75-17 Toyo MT's. I keep the tires @ 65 psi and lower them to 35 psi in the dirt. My Viair pump can refill all four in 15 minutes. Lots of freeway,hills and about 100 miles of dirt. Speed was 70-75 mph on the highway. My G-56 w/0.79 final drive mimics 4.10's. Northstar weighs 1800# wet. Total vehicle weight w/two occupants is about 9000#. We averaged just over 12.5 mpg. The MT's killed a full mpg over my former AT's of the same size. We had ton's of head/crosswinds. I run my Smarty on sw # 3. Vehicle sits 3" higher than stock.

I'm dreading the fuel bill total,but accommodations were minimal.:sombrero:

Beautiful trip w/19* night@ Grand Canyon and 85* days@ Escalante.

I wish the tire guys would release an E rated 275-80-17 for this beast.
 

stevec

Adventurer
Mine is not a pop-up camper, but a regular cabover camper ('03 Alpenlite 850) on an '01 Ford Superduty crewcab. Loaded weight is probably 11-12K. Without the camper, I get 17mpg no matter what I do; towing a (6-7K) loaded car trailer it drops to 14-15mpg, with the camper it drops to 13mpg, and with camper and trailer it drops to 11-12mpg. However, a few years ago we took the truck and camper to Vancouver Island, and never drove it above 55mph, usually around 45-50; we averaged 15.5mpg for that trip.

I expect most modern diesels will be the same, and gassers may be too: the weight of the camper has a relatively small impact on gas mileage, compared to the wind resistance of the camper. After that trip I have slowed down on the freeway; I usually keep it at or below 65, regardless of the speed limit (traffic permitting of course)
 

OTR

Adventurer
Not a diesel but here is my numbers and set-up:

Set-up:
Truck: Tundra Crewmax Limited 4x4
WEIGHT AND CAPACITIES Per Toyota
Curb weight (lb.) 5645
Gross Vehicle Weight Rating (GVWR) (lb.) 7200
Maximum payload [2] (lb.) 1555


Camper: Northstar TC650
Estimated weight loaded with supplies
Camper 1400 lbs
30 gal H2O 250 lbs
cloths and gear 100 lbs
ARB fridge and all food total 150 lbs
misc 75 lbs
10 gal extra fuel 65 lbs
Total= 2050 lbs

I know that I'm over weight by 500 lbs or 33%. I have added E-Rated tires and Airbags to assist in properly balancing the weight.

I average around 10-11 mpg or so on the hwy with headwinds and hills/mountains driving 65 mph.
 

Pest

Adventurer
I don't have exact figures, but I thought I'd chime in...

2005 Ram 2500 5.9L
2010 Custom Phoenix Popup

Truck is totally stock suspension wise and engine wise.
Haven't had the camper weighed, but we estimate its about 1300-1600 lbs loaded.

On our last trips last summer driving the interstates, state highways, and a little off road through the Rocky mountains to get to hiking trail heads, we averaged 19MPG loaded.

I keep a very light foot, and on the freeways cruise at 55, sometimes 60, but its rare.

I think the biggest help is the slower speeds, stock tires, and the aerodynamic nose of our Phoenix.
 

sarconcepts

Adventurer
I've got the '08' Sterling Bullet 5500 4x4 with the Cummins 6.7 myself, probably the exact same motor, I don't know about your electronics, mine are Chrysler, absolutely not the same frame & suspension, & 35" tires. I think I weighed 8900 lbs fresh from the dealer, so far I'm up to 13,240 lbs with the camper, & get 11 mpg or so around town.
It looks like we have about the same cabover height, similar widths, & although I can't give an accurate highway mpg yet, (I only have 1900 miles on mine so far-just a baby) I will be keeping track memorial day weekend for its first out of town trip (its first sleepover!) -which should be 700 miles or so. As far as I've been watching, highway is somewhere around 14 mpg. I'd really like to squeeze another 4 mpg or so out of it, by programmer, but I know I should still get better mileage as it breaks in.
I will get you a more accurate number in a couple weeks.

so, just for comparison, my 2001 Toyota 4x4, with a 3.4 liter gas engine, & a four wheel camper loaded at around 5400 lbs total, gets about 16 mpg
even if I can equal that with this 14,000 lb beast, i'll be happy

www.bulletxv.wordpress.com
 

OTR

Adventurer
Not a diesel but here is my numbers and set-up:

Set-up:
Truck: Tundra Crewmax Limited 4x4
WEIGHT AND CAPACITIES Per Toyota
Curb weight (lb.) 5645
Gross Vehicle Weight Rating (GVWR) (lb.) 7200
Maximum payload [2] (lb.) 1555


Camper: Northstar TC650
Estimated weight loaded with supplies
Camper 1400 lbs
30 gal H2O 250 lbs
cloths and gear 100 lbs
ARB fridge and all food total 150 lbs
misc 75 lbs
10 gal extra fuel 65 lbs
Total= 2050 lbs

I know that I'm over weight by 500 lbs or 33%. I have added E-Rated tires and Airbags to assist in properly balancing the weight.

I average around 10-11 mpg or so on the hwy with headwinds and hills/mountains driving 65 mph.

I forgot to add that these figures are with a 3" lift, 33.5" Goodyear MT/R Kevlars, Road Armor bumper and a 12,000lb winch. This by all account does not help with the overall mileage.
 

UglyScout

Observer
In my old 1995 Dodge CTD 2wd low rider I got about 17-18 on the highway with my FWC. The camper fully loaded weighed about 1500 pounds. I think the keys were - low, 2wd (lighter truck to start with), AT tires and being able to hit the sweet RPM range at highway cruising speeds.

I am not looking forward to the mileage with my new-to-me 2002 Duramax - it weighs an easy 1000 pounds more than my old truck and is taller, 4wd, larger tires, longer, etc, etc, etc....
 

bob91yj

Resident **************
With my '06 Dmax, 315/75/16 tires (35's) and a Sun Lite pop up camper (approx 1200 lbs) I get 11.5MPG overall, can get it up close to 14MPG freeway driving.
 

Regcabguy

Oil eater.
I recently checked out a 97 Dodge CTD extracab w/an ATC shell. He had radiused the front corners of the camper to streamline it enormously. I'd love the manufacturers to follow this owner's lead and also that of Phoenix's nosecone feature.
 

kingb

New member
I'm getting 20.5 with a 2003 Dodge Cummins H.O. and FWC Grandby. These are mostly highway miles at 60-65 mph.

The truck is quad cab, long bed, 4WD, 6-speed manual, 3.73 axle.

The FWC is raised a couple inches above the bed/cab, so maybe the MPG could improve by lowering it or adding a fairing.
 

1stDeuce

Explorer
I have an '06 GMC K2500 CCSB with the duramax stock except for 285 BFG's. Just went from Fort Collins CO to Grand Junction CO to pick up a '94 hallmark Ute. I got 19 mpg on the trip to GJ, and filled up when I loaded the camper. I got 16.5 mpg on the way back. Miles/gallon at fillup, not DIC calculation. 70mph max, or about 2mph over the limit if it was posted lower.

Soft side camper of course. Think it weighs about 1500 lbs.
Might even do a little better once I pull the jacks off the sides!

I think the key is keeping the speed low... 68mph seems to be the sweet spot.
Chris

EDIT 6/27/11: I just checked again over a real trip, with stops for the dog to pee, some city driving, and some gravel roads, mtn roads, and highway driving in Wyoming with of course, wind... Average for the trip was about 14.5. I expect if I took out the non-highway driving (mud, mountain roads, etc.) It could bump it to 15.5mpg, but 16.5 might be best case, no stops, low speed, and tailwind. ??
 
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J Rod

New member
I got 13.5 mpg with my GMC 1500 Sierra, 4x4, Nothstar 650 Pop Up. I kept it under 65 mph. Coming home against the wind, I only managed to get 12 mph.
 

OTR

Adventurer
I just did a trip with my Tundra and camper from Fairbanks->Anchorage->Valdez->Homer and averaged 12.3 mpg at an average speed of 55 mph. I believe I have around 2,000 lbs total weight in the bed with the camper, water, and gear. Overall I'm alright with the average, of coarse a higher mpg average would be easier on my wallet at $4.50 a gallon.
 

tdi2cummins

New member
With the price of fuel I thought it would be interesting to see what other people are getting with their truck and camper combinations.

I have a 2009 Dodge 2500 4 door 4x4 short bed with a Cummins 6.7 liter diesel, 34” Toyo Open Country tires and a Carli starter kit suspension with their long travel air bags. For my camper I have a loaded Hallmark UTE . Total weight of the pair is about 11,400 pounds (yes I know I am over the truck’s GVW). I run the tires at 46 in the front and 64 in the rear based on the Toyo load chart (wear is even after 20K miles). On my recent 1,600 mile trip to the Overland Expo from the Bay Area I averaged a disappointing 11.8 MPG going the speed limit which was generally 65 to 70 mph.

Obviously shedding weight and driving slower would help. Does anyone have any experience running the tires higher or using the economy setting on a programmer?

picture.php


Art

2009 Dodge 2500/Buckstop baja bumper and Warn winch, Hallmark UTE/Highly modified 2006 Jeep Rubicon LJ

Is your truck in stock format exhaust and egr wise?
 

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