Real MPGs for your rig?

Raul

Adventurer
Driving around town 11.2
Long trip Houston to Crested Bute, CO average 10.2 mpg at 75/ 85 mph. Four people with ski trip luggage.

E350 EB 4x4 5.4 with 206k miles
 

Bikersmurf

Expedition Leader
Latest tank - Highway: 210 miles / 13 US gal = 16.2 mpg +/- or 14.8 l/100 km. Traveling on the I5 @ 70ish mph average.

I'm sure economy would have been much better at 65 mph, but this trip it always seemed we were trying to catch up to the rest of our group that were hours ahead of us.
 
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jronwood

Adventurer
That kinda mileage would pay for a 6.9/7.3 non PowerStroke swap in short order. The 4.10 geared and carb'd 400Ms, 460s, Dodge 400s, and 454s were the worst guzzling motors I've ever driven esp when coupled to non OD, non lock-up automatics............but they got the same 6-9 mpgs regardless of what you are doing, and they last forever with minimal maintenance.
If she's just a driver and doesn't tow a heavily loaded trailer all the time, regearing to 3.5x or numerically lower, or an auxilliary OD unit can work if it does see big loads, can improve the gas station situation a bit.
Considering just that in a 1990 460 powered E250 Quigley. Thanks for the input.
 

jronwood

Adventurer
1989 E-150 2wd Sportsmobile Penthouse with just paneling and insulation, no interior fixtures. 4.9L, C6, 3.08 R&P, 225/75-16 tires. I keep it full of construction tools. Typical daily weight is 6-7,000 lbs.

17 mpg highway, 14 city. I drive 65ish on the interstate, just get to the speed she's comfortable and hold the pedal steady mostly. Drops to 60 on most hills and hits 70 or so going down.

Expecting the M5OD swap (with 3.55 R&P) I'm working on to improve mileage a bit (20 mpg hwy is my guess) but mostly doing it for fun and to keep a 30 year old automatic transmission from ruining my day.
This helps me.... thinking about a 4.9 in a 1990 e250.
 

Mwilliamshs

Explorer
This helps me.... thinking about a 4.9 in a 1990 e250.

That E4OD you're considering with 3.54s and 245/70-16s is very very similar to my plan of an M5OD and 3.55s with my 225/75-16s. I'll turn a bit more RPM with my .80 OD vs your. 71. At 70 mph I'll be at 2,281 and you'll be at 2,004. Bet you'll be around 19 mpg hwy and 15 or so in town. If I ever get to travel the Panamerican I'll probably go to 235/85-16 for a touch more ground clearance and better all-terrain tread availability. That'll drop me to 2,105 rpm at 70 mph but that extra inch of ground clearance and higher rolling resistance will probably hurt mileage a full digit or so.
 

Rico24/7

New member
This seems like a (relevant) Thread for the Base Knowledge that I seek. I get a bit snippy myself on other forums which I participate in, when Posts occur that CLEARLY came from someone who didn’t bother to Search. Well, I’ve spent the better part of the afternoon searching, LEARNING, absorbing ...

I’m not clear that I’ve gained critical knowledge that will ‘set me up for success’ as I embark on this (reluctant) ‘transition’ to Van life. I LOVE reading Build Threads, and inspiration is always Good. Forums have greatly aided in several Builds of my own (mostly hot rods).

Try to resist Flaming me, as I’m genuinely here to LEARN. Here are my ‘particulars’ AND objectives, and you experienced Overlanders can (kindly) tell me if it is Unobtanium .... please:

~Western USA (so those COOL non-dm vehicles won’t help).
~Experienced in finish carpentry & general mechanics (maintenance)
~Can weld. Selling off tools by necessity, and will Soon have no place for
wrenching.
~Budget-CONSTRAINED

Objective:
Full-sized, or close, VAN (ideally sub-$10k)
Will be outfitted for one (older) male & his Boxer ....(my Labor)
Capable in off-road, but NOT hardcore or rock climbing, etc
Not a ‘Maintenance Pig’, or insanely expensive Parts
**** here’s where I might’ve inhaled too many solvent fumes: Very Close to, or Exceeding 20mpg combined, mostly rural driving.
No plans to ‘Tow’
Needs to be able to Pass Inspections (currently CA), so Swaps are pretty much out ....


Is it even achievable ?!

I thank you in advance for being patient enough to read this ... bad tendency to be ‘verbose’. Moderators, if this is an inappropriate Thread to Post on, I Apologize. I’m still New here.
 
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Mwilliamshs

Explorer
Rico,

I really tried but cannot get through that. I'm sure it's my shortcomings that make reading your random punctuation and capitalization mind-numbingly distracting. My advice is start your own thread and use ordinary sentence-structure and keep it simple. A good title might be something like, "Are these van goals realistic?"
 

whith

Active member
I think I understand but I don't think this fits in the current location. It should likely be in its own spot with the above suggesting title. Capable off road is pretty subjective. Specifically, do you want 4x4?
 

iggi

Ian
After about three months in my rig I've been pretty much averaging 15 MPG on mixed driving.
Up to 17mpg if I"m on slow secondary highways without big hills or strong headwinds.
Down to 12 MPG if I"m hammering it at 75-80mph into a headwind.

2009 E350 Ambulance.
6.0 Powerstroke
2WD
5R100
4.11 Dana 70 rear
Stock dually setup. 225/75R16

Load doesn't seem to affect mileage much. Recently moved my parents and stacked to the roof with their furniture and books and dishes and I didn't see any real difference in economy.

IMG_0461.jpg
 

Redheddedwonder

Active member
2013 quadvan 5.4 with 4.10 gears
Just got back from about a 4000 mile trip from WA to CO, all around CO, and then back to WA. Lots of mountain passes and freeway cruising.
I averaged about 12.5 mpg mostly. Sometimes 13. I cruise at 70 on the freeway though, right at 2000 rpms.
 

oddball4x4

New member
After about three months in my rig I've been pretty much averaging 15 MPG on mixed driving.
Up to 17mpg if I"m on slow secondary highways without big hills or strong headwinds.
Down to 12 MPG if I"m hammering it at 75-80mph into a headwind.

2009 E350 Ambulance.
6.0 Powerstroke
2WD
5R100
4.11 Dana 70 rear
Stock dually setup. 225/75R16

Load doesn't seem to affect mileage much. Recently moved my parents and stacked to the roof with their furniture and books and dishes and I didn't see any real difference in economy.

View attachment 531609
Iggi, 2 questions for you...

1. What rpm are you running at 70mph?
2. How heavy is your rig?

I have a 2006 e450 6.0l ambo currently averaging around 12.5mpg cruising between 65-68mph. When I cruise at 70 mph the engine spins at 2500rpm. Current weight is right at 11,000lbs.

Just wondering if the size of ambulance is making the difference in our mpg or if there is something else going on.
7dabfd0ecaae145a397334a15802ab9b.jpg


Sent from my SM-G950U using Tapatalk
 

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