MPG Surprise!

[onenationundergoat]

I've never been able to definitively measure our fuel mileage, due to a couple of reasons. Our tank is very slow to fill and we're never quite sure if it's full because after waiting a while for it to drain down we can usually add an extra 7-10 gallons. We changed the rear gears and the odometer is no longer accurate.

But by using a GPS and waiting a long time for the tank to drain down so we could get it as full as possible, I discovered that we're getting 13-14 MPG on flat ground!!!!

I thought that couldn't possibly be right, but even adding an error allowance of 50 miles it's still close to 13 mpg! Here we thought we were getting 10 mpg all along.

Now I wonder what we get going over the Rockies...

[turf]

cool to hear!

i bet its that aerodynamic snub nose!

while i drive my brick down the highway, i see those aero trailer tails and wonder how i could adapt one for the bus.

congrats on the mileage!!

[Hvbuzz]

Originally Posted by onenationundergoat

I've never been able to definitively measure our fuel mileage, due to a couple of reasons. Our tank is very slow to fill and we're never quite sure if it's full because after waiting a while for it to drain down we can usually add an extra 7-10 gallons. We changed the rear gears and the odometer is no longer accurate.

But by using a GPS and waiting a long time for the tank to drain down so we could get it as full as possible, I discovered that we're getting 13-14 MPG on flat ground!!!!

I thought that couldn't possibly be right, but even adding an error allowance of 50 miles it's still close to 13 mpg! Here we thought we were getting 10 mpg all along.

Now I wonder what we get going over the Rockies...

I thought of this thread today.

I too have had a hard time getting a true MPG for alot of the same reasons as you. I have changed rear gears and different tire diameters. So knowing my odometer reading is off. How have you gps's your miles? I have a gps but haven't really played with it much. I mostly use it as my speedometer. I did figure out today though, how much my tank holds for fuel, or at least how much fuel it takes to fill it up, after you run it down to were it dies... Pretty sure I'll never hear the end of it from my wife. 39.129 gallons at an uncorrected 286 miles (7.3mpg). Any one know how to figure real numbers?

[onenationundergoat]

What I did was:
Filled up the tank as full as I could (waited ten minutes and kept pumping til it was really full)
Put our destination in the GPS
Noted that it said we were so many miles away
Filled up again all the way when I got there
Calculated based on GPS predicted trip miles and gallons put in at the pump

[cadillackid]

Originally Posted by onenationundergoat

What I did was:
Filled up the tank as full as I could (waited ten minutes and kept pumping til it was really full)
Put our destination in the GPS
Noted that it said we were so many miles away
Filled up again all the way when I got there
Calculated based on GPS predicted trip miles and gallons put in at the pump

I could believe it... my DT-360 in DEV is averaging upwards of 11 and my bus is a high top and the windshield has zero slope to it.. and ive a GVWR of 27500.. its a heavy bus for being a shorty..

my old mechanical DT-360 i think gets better mileage than the newer, Lighter, shorter electronic T-444E does in the bluebird.

im a DT-360 fan...

-Christopher