Actual MPG for your cabover?

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becida

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I was looking at an RV consignment lot and really liked at some of the cabover campers, and wondered what kid of mileage do they get?

This seemed like a good place to ask!   What kind of mileage do you actually get?

Truck, make, size year and what kind of camper you have would really help. If I'm not asking the right questions please feel free to straighten me out.

Thanks.
 
The one I had was from the 60's It was a 3/4 ton Ford camper special. It had the 390 cu" v8. I got 6 mpg. I took the camper off and it got 6 mpg. I guess it had more to do with gearing than being under a load. Unless the camper is ultra lite, a 1/2 ton truck is not going to handle the load. 3/4 tons generally weigh more and have a higher drive gear ratio for pulling loads. They tend to have larger engines as well. Today's trucks do much better than my old one, but I think if you are getting 10 mpg you are doing good. My 1/2 ton with a 4.7 v8 pulling a heavy trailer gets 10mpg. Uphill maybe even less.
 
with a modern day camper I personnally would expect a lot more then 10 miles to a gallon. A friend of mine has a Ford Transit mid 2000.s with a cab over sleeper, diesel and he is getting as much as my Dodge Caravan around 10 liters per 100kms, 28 mpg imperial, about 24 mpg US. I would be disappointed if I bought a modern camper and wasn;t seeing 20 mpg.
 
I'm running a 2002 3/4 ton Dodge/Cummins diesel with a fairly loaded down Capri Rodeo Deluxe camper. It's a short bed camper in a truck with a long bed. I use the gap between the cab and camper for storage, fuel cans, water cans, etc.
I carry around 40 gallons of water, 35 gallons of fuel with a full tank, plus extra fuel, generator, tools.
Right now I'm averaging 14-15 mpg. Normal cruise speed is 65mph.

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psytechguy said:
I'm running a 2002 3/4 ton Dodge/Cummins diesel with a fairly loaded down Capri Rodeo Deluxe camper.
Right now I'm averaging 14-15 mpg. Normal cruise speed is 65mph.

I like the storage in short camper with the long bed, a fine idea! The mpg & what you're driving is what I was looking for, thank you!
 
becida said:
I like the storage in short camper with the long bed, a fine idea! The mpg & what you're driving is what I was looking for, thank you!

Well, it wasn't actually a planned out thing! That particular bit of storage space just sorta worked out that way.

When putting this rig together, I literally put the cart before the horse. I got a great deal on the camper,
then had to find a truck to put under it.

Once the camper was on the truck, I looked at the gap left in the truck bed and
thought "Hmmmmmmmmm..... now what can I do with that?"

... then, a few minutes later "Ooooh! Ooooh! Jerry cans will fit in there PERFECTLY!" <happy dance>

It's one of the RV Commandments, no?
"Any empty nook or cranny becomes "Storage Space!""

:D
 
psytechguy said:
It's one of the RV Commandments, no?
"Any empty nook or cranny becomes "Storage Space!""

:D

Exactly!!

There are more nooks and crannies in the van than I originally planned on and with every one of them I look at them and ponder on what would fit in there best.... :D

There's a one inch gap between the bottom of the lowest drawer in the pantry cupboard and the floor and it's about the only place I haven't figured out what to cram in there.. :rolleyes:
 
flying kurbmaster said:
with a modern day camper I personnally would expect a lot more then 10 miles to a gallon. A friend of mine has a Ford Transit mid 2000.s with a cab over sleeper, diesel and he is getting as much as my Dodge Caravan around 10 liters per 100kms, 28 mpg imperial, about 24 mpg US. I would be disappointed if I bought a modern camper and wasn;t seeing 20 mpg.

Diesels will get you better fuel mileage, They will also cost you a lot more to purchase and if it breaks outside of warranty, It could cost more to repair than the vehicle is worth, (it happened to me).  Look at Craigslist, not many diesel trucks for sale with 300,000 miles on them, (yes there are a few, but what were the repair costs to get them there). This tells me most don't make it that far. Lots of gas trucks with 200,000+ miles. The warranty on a diesel is no better than a gas engine. If the diesel trucks went 500,000 like people like to say, why don't the manufacturers give you a 300,000 mile warranty? They know what it would cost them.
I went with a friend to get a load of firewood from his dad. He had a Dodge diesel and we were pulling my 18' trailer. Empty we got great mileage, but once under a load the mileage dropped dramatically. No something for nothing deals here. If you are using energy, you will be paying for it. The truck had a computer. Going uphill I checked it once to see what under load mpg was getting. 6mpg. On the flats it did well. More like 15mpg.
 
Almost There said:
Exactly!!

There are more nooks and crannies in the van than I originally planned on and with every one of them I look at them and ponder on what would fit in there best.... :D

There's a one inch gap between the bottom of the lowest drawer in the pantry cupboard and the floor and it's about the only place I haven't figured out what to cram in there.. :rolleyes:

I would say cutting boards, but maybe not right down by the floor. Whisk broom?
 
TMG51 said:
I would say cutting boards, but maybe not right down by the floor. Whisk broom?


It might well become my spare map storage area for my large Rand McNallys' since the only other area large enough to take those is on the front doors where they'd get wet opening them in the rain.

The whisk already has a home in the cubby hole created by my floor extension at the rear side cargo door...lol.
 
The benchmark state atlases always need a home, a not too far out of the way home.
 
There's a one inch gap between the bottom of the lowest drawer in the pantry cupboard and the floor and it's about the only place I haven't figured out what to cram in there..

Maybe $100 bills?
 
I have a 2005 Dodge 3500, Cummings diesel  5 speed crew cab with 8ft bed....on my last trip from Florida to Yuma AZ....with a 8ft Truck Camper and towing a 16ft enclosed trailer with motorcycles gross weight 2500 lbs....I averaged between 15-17 mpg....I try not to  exceed 60 mph. at this speed the engine is turning 1700 RPM
 
I run a 98 Dodge 3/4 ton diesel 5spd 4x4, std cab, long bed. This past summer carrying a 8 ft. cabover and towing a Jeep Cherokee, driving 50 to 55 mph I averaged right at 15 mpg. In the mountains less on the flats more, hence the average. One of the things often overlooked in this lifestyle is we don't commute so mpg isn't as great a factor for us as it is for the stick and bricks people. In 6 months this summer it was rare that I would drive over a hundred miles in a day. I often laid up for two weeks with no driving at all. Many in this life move from low to high in the spring and don't really move that much until fall when it's time to go high to low. Hope this was helpful.
 
buckwilk said:
I run a 98 Dodge 3/4 ton diesel 5spd 4x4, std cab, long bed. This past summer carrying a 8 ft. cabover and towing a Jeep Cherokee, driving 50 to 55 mph I averaged right at 15 mpg. In the mountains less on the flats more, hence the average. Hope this was helpful.

It was helpful, thanks!
 
"There's a one inch gap between the bottom of the lowest drawer in the pantry cupboard and the floor and it's about the only place I haven't figured out what to cram in there."

might be a good place to put a sticky pad to catch any wayward rodents that find their way inside. :)
 
2001 Silverado K3500 dually Duramax/Alison carrying '98 Bigfoot 3000 series truck camper.  Camper gear and fuel about 4500 lbs loaded, only 5 gallons of water.

I use Optilube XPD fuel lubricant.

Fuel economy goes down about 1 mpg per 1000 lbs.

Best unloaded mileage is 19 mpg at 55 mph,  loaded  15.5 mpg

Driving faster 65-70 it drops to 17.5 unloaded, 12.5-13 loaded

While i bought mine new, I would not hesitate to buy a higher mileage duramax.

Some issues.  Add a 2 micron pre-filter for the fuel. Otherwise they typically need new injectors because the stock filter allow 6 micron particles would fit in the gap between the piston and cylinders of the injectors, causing them to wear out.  Cost for new injectors is about $2200. If you can find one with replaced injectors, grab it.  Look up Nictane Filter Kit.

Stock "drivers side" exhaust manifold has a restriction.  It was made to provide clearance for the steering column.  Chevrolet later decided to add the Alison transmission and put on a body lift.  So the notch was no longer needed.  They did not fix the exhaust manifold.  So many people put on an unrestricted manifold which helps efficiency a small percentage and provides an EGT port.

Modern diesel fuel lost lubricity with the sulfur removed.  Adding a lubricant like Optilube, biodiesel, or 2 cycle oil (ashless), make a big difference on diesel performance--about 10-15%.

To improve performance under heavy loads, a larger exhaust, or less restrictive air cleaner--which lets in more dirt.  I choose not to go this route, but these do yield improvements at faster speeds and while towing heavy loads.  I may rethink this as I plan to tow a boat in the future. 

Using a boost gauge helps mileage.  Low numbers are more efficient.  I try to run at 1600 rpm with boost numbers 1-2, and up to 6 or more on hills.  It helps to back off on the throttle.

Final thoughts:  I have no problem parking anywhere.  My only stealthy qualities are low level lighting when parked.  I have no slide outs, R12 insulation, and have camped out in 9 deg weather.  I worry a bit about water freezing, but have not had any problems yet.  No one ever bothers me anywhere in cold weather.  I burn a tank of propane in a 1 to 1.5 days in these temps.  A little prep--improving insulation, and perhaps a trailer with a big propane tank and I could easily camp for extended periods in extremely cold temperatures.  Try that in a van.
 
Kurbmaster,  I agree 1000% I drive diesels for a living,  every one of them have had big, expen$ive problems.  I also bought a brand new 2006 Ram CTD Megacab. TOTAL NIGHTMARE.  The only Ram I would consider is a mid 90s, 12 valve mechanical injection with a 5 speed manual.  I would do the KDP and 5th gear fix and you would have a solid,  affordable keeper.  Engineer out some of the low end factory stuff when worn out with the aftermarket as well.
 
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