I know that we've all known that just slowing down when driving our RV's around will save fuel. Thats a no brainer. But my daughter pointed something out to me recently that popped my eyes right out of my head! It comes under the title of "how much junk in your trunk!"
I've long known that driving slower improves mileage. We all get that! I keep it to between 55 and 60 here in California. Keeping clean air filters and quality oil in an well tuned engine, driving on properly inflated tires, even a clean and waxed truck also improve fuel efficiency. A popular car magazine did a long distant coast to coast hyper mileage non-stop (practically!) car test, in which they even taped all of the cars hood and door seams to improve airflow! We can save at least several hundred or even thousands of dollars (full timing)on fuel.
Southwest Airlines has started flying just slightly slower, 532 MPH instead of 542 mph...and will save $42 million in fuel this year by adding one to three minutes to the arrival time. Northwest Airlines flight from Paris to Minneapolis, flying slightly slower the airline saved 162 gallons of fuel, worth $535.
OK so far, now the interesting part! JetBlue's aircraft are 1,079 pounds lighter after removing extra trash bins, flight kits, supplies and seats -- "all the little things that, when combined, make a decent difference," JetBlue spokesman Bryan Baldwin said. The weight loss will save the carrier roughly $16,000 for a three-hour flight.
From RVTRAVEL.com "So in an RV, lighten your load, too! Do you really need all the wrenches in your tool box, or that heavy frying pan in the kitchen that could be replaced with a lighter one? How many towels and blankets could you leave at home? Do you really need four flashlights? Will one or two do? Toss what you absolutely don't need. In the end, by using every creative trick in the book, you might just save yourself enough in a year to pay for an extra tank or two of fuel!"
I went thru my Jayco 5er, which I love for the reason it has storage space for so much, well...ahem!...stuff! And removed all of the surplus stuff I've always carried with me camping, and virtually never used! The EZ-Up awning is heavy @60 lbs. All the wood blocks and lumber I never use anymore to level 45 lbs. I've got 11 folding aluminum chairs, 30 lbs. A toster oven, 2 crock pots. And a big box of assorted pots and pans, never or rarely used...46 lbs. All the glass plates (we use foam or paper now!) 10 lbs. A bunch of comforters, throws, sleeping bags and blankets ( Why? Come on..this is SoCal after all!) now being left behind, 30 lbs. You get the idea, 220 lbs so far! My water tank, 50 gallons is not filled anymore when on the road, just 25 gallons and a campsite usually with full hook ups (and a good PUR water filter!) A 30ft length of tow chain and a big roll of heavy rope, (those things I have no idea why I have them!) So around 500 lbs now left at home. Not too bad! I don't know what that will equate to in fuel savings...not much...but saving a dollar here and there (and oil supplies, too!) all adds up. Especially when multiplied by 600,000 RV's in the USA!
What kind of "precious junk" do you need to leave at home...and no swipes at leaving the DW, DH or the kids standing by the road allowed! I already thought of that and got my "kabookie" kicked!
JetBlue's aircraft are 1,079 pounds lighter after removing extra trash bins, flight kits, supplies and seats -- "all the little things that, when combined, make a decent difference," JetBlue spokesman Bryan Baldwin said.
Seats?
Looks like I won't be flying with JetBlue! I can't stand for that long of a time!!!
Barney
2004 Sunnybrook 30FKS TT
Hensley "Arrow" 1400# hitch
2002 Ford F250 Super Duty, 7.3L PSD
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I get the same 11 MPG towing our 14K 5'er that we got towing our 7K TT. Guess I'll just keep things the way they are.
Happy camping!!! See ya'll down the road!!!
AIR FORCE RETIRED "EITHER LEAD,FOLLLOW,OR GET OUT OF MY WAY"!
2006 GMC 3500 SLT CC DRW 4X4 D/A LBZ,PREDATOR & FS2500 OIL FILTER
2004 HR PRESIDENTIAL 30 SCD 5'ER.
CHEROKEE & CHEYENNE, MINI DOXIE'S
LOADED LIKE A FREIGHT TRAIN, FLYIN LIKE A JET PLANE!!
Smoker is absolutely correct about the weight issue and when you COMBINE it with slowing down significant savings are available. Making the effort on my last trip increased my mileage by over 2 MPG over my previous best with my current towing combination.
It is amazing the amount of stuff we keep, in our cars, campers or houses.
Our eyes were opened to this when we moved both sets of parents to smaller homes, we came home and started finding other homes for anything that we haven't used in a couple of years. It is amazing, we carried around a cast iron dutch oven in two pups and two hardsides and only used a couple of times 15 years ago, when we tented.
DW said she had a quick way to get rid of about 230 pounds. I said, " great" then I saw the way she was looking at me!!!!
Me, a curmudgeon of sorts
One Dear Wife - I mention "one" since this is Utah
Max the Maltese
2005 Nissan Titan, Offroad Crewcab 4x4
FunFinder X-210
Lots of goodies
Aloha Utah wrote: DW said she had a quick way to get rid of about 230 pounds. I said, " great" then I saw the way she was looking at me!!!!
I have been carrying a big tub of firewood since last Labor Day...and the time I don't have it will be the time that everyone wants a fire
Steve & Tracy Webber
'07 F250 6.0PSD LariatFX4,AirLift,Edge,IFW BedSlide
'07 Jayco Eagle 314BHDS "The Cramalot Inn II"
ReeseDCHP,Atwood 3500#,FlushKing,WeberBabyQ Our Pic's We do not stop playing because we grow old, We grow old because we stop playing!
While reducing weight is good and makes things easier on the brakes and transmission it will only show a very slight inprovement in MPGs if any. Once the vehicle is moving aerodynamics becomes the major factor in the amount of fuel used unless you are going slow in stop and go traffic then the amount of weight that you have to get moving comes into play.
Comparing an RV to an airplane really doesn't work well. The airplane is designed from the ground up for aerodynamics so the only improvement they can get is to slow down and reduce weight. No matter how you look at it we are trying to drag a billboard through the air and by far the best MPG improvement is to reduce that air pressure by slowing down.
USN Retired
2007 Cedar Creek 30 RLSTS
2008 F350, DRW, V-10, B&W hitch,
Pressure Pro, JT Strongarms
I agree with fpresto. Weight is actually a critical item for an airplane, because the airplane has to expend energy to lift that weight into the air, and to keep it there (by generating lift to overcome the gravitational pull on the mass of the airplane). With land-bound motor vehicles, weight is only a factor in fuel mileage when you are accelerating and when you are climbing hills. If you are mostly cruising flat roads at a constant speed, you can add or subtract 1,000 pounds or more and it won't make a noticeable difference in your fuel mileage. What WILL make a difference is: (1) going slower; and (2) improving aerodynamics. Of course, if you will be driving in mountainous terrain, then lightening your rig will indeed make a significant difference (and will also help save your brakes and transmission).
One ridiculous statistic I heard on a car TV show was that every 100lbs you removed would improve mileage by 1MPG. Sure, whatever.
More believable, from a much more reputable source, is that every 100lbs of weight removed equates to 1/4MPG. This I believe and have proven, at least to myself.
This is in a passenger car, though, not a truck with a trailer. I'm sure that you'd need to remove a LOT more weight from the rig than 100lbs to see any measurable increase in fuel economy.
HOWEVER, every 1/4MPG on a vehicle that is only getting 10MPG is a 2.5% increase in fuel economy. Over 1000 miles, that's 2-1/2 gallons of fuel, about $10. Improve by 1MPG, 10 gallons of fuel, $40. Not much on the surface, but it's measurable, it adds up over time, and it's $40 that the oil cartels and government aren't going to get their mitts on.
There's also the added benefit of better performance from the vehicle, and less wear and tear on driveline components and brakes.
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