FORD V10 MPG

[1Hurrican]

I get 6 MPG with my 34 foot rig with the V10. What can I do to improve the gas millage? It is a Thor Hurricane.

 

[AbdRahim]

Slow down.

 

[Scooterfan]

It's pretty normal...IF you adhere to "AbdRahim"s advice, you'll see a sprinkling of 7 - 8 mpg.

 

[Dan_Frisbie]

I’m getting about 6 as well, 34ft Georgetown.
On state roads where I am a bit slower, I go all the way up to 6.5 mpg.

 

[Rich W.]

A banks exhaust system might help a bit but it would probably never pay for itself in savings. A more free-flowing intake/air filter will make more noise, but the factory system will flow more air than the engine can use so there is no savings there. 5 Star tuners claims some fuel savings so at around $500 that might pay for itself if it works out that way.

But the more you feed the thing the worse milage your going to get so cruising in the highest gear possible and taking grades in 3rd at 45mph instead of 5th at 55mph (and over 5,000 rpm) will make a big difference. The 6 mpg range is pretty typical but if drive at 60 instead of 65 you’ll probably be comfortably in the 7’s and might even see 8 occasionally.

 

[Scotttkd2]

I got similar on my 2017 Coachmen on the F53 chassis. I dont get a lot better than the 7ish mentioned here on the current Cummins, and diesel is a ton more expensive than gas right now. I did a 5 Star flash of the rom on the V10 to change the shift points around and it made the hill climbing much less dramatic and noisy, but I didn't see any mileage gain.

 

[osuallen]

I got around 6 in my Canyon Star

 

[gordo2050]

Just getting ready to pick up my Sportscoach with the Cumins. Kinda hoping for a bit better that 6-7, but just have to take what it does. I've had gassers, and I understand they are way better than the old ones from the 80s, but I just feel diesel is the better way to go. Sure do miss the fuel prices from 2 years ago, but don't want to get to political.

 

[Jabber Jaw]

On my 38' Canyon Star, with the "Ford Ultratune" programmer installed, I am getting from 6.5-7.1 mpg. Most driving is in the 60-65 mph range, and towing a 2017 GMC Terrain.
Based on rear end gear ratio, I believe that most F-53 chassis "Class A RV's" will get from 6.0-7.5 mpg. Doubt this will vary much, unless maybe not to exceed 55 mph, which is the engines optimal range.
Smaller, lighter RV's may get a bit better. Some may claim 9-10 mpg, etc, but I personally would have to see substantial proof to back up the claim.
My mileage is based on 23,000+ miles of driving, across all types of terrain. From sea-level to 11,000' altitude, and a time period of almost 3 years!
The main thing......DRIVE & ENJOY your RV.....whatever mileage it gets!

 

[BGMAC]

I have a 36ft Georgetown and get about 6mpg right now. I don’t travel over 65 mph and try and stay around 60mph.
I use to have a 32ft Thor. Much lighter and I did a reprogram. It got close to 8 or so, but on level terrain.

 

[1Hurrican]

Thanks for all your input. For a starter I am going to do a cold air system, upgrade the exhaust to a performance type, get a tuner, and look into the Airtabs, semi truckers reviews are saying they reduce drag increasing there MPG. I have seen a couple on coaches, but not able to talk to the owners. Any other suggestions.....

 

[BGMAC]

All I can say is do your research. I haven’t heard about airtabs till now. If they do so well we’d see them everywhere I would think. I did a little search on the exhaust and found the original exhaust works pretty well. Not much gain on the hp version. Too pricey as well. I figured, the money spent on the exhaust could go towards the 1 or 2 miles per gallon savings. Now the reprogramming was worth it for the better shift point making things much more comfortable along with a little fuel savings. I have not done it with my 2016 yet because it has a newer transition with an additional gear and it shifts pretty well. Cold air intake may bring noise levels up. I know it did in my pickup if I put any throttle in it. You could hear the air getting sucked in.

Just things to watch out for.

 

[sanda]

All the testing I've seen on Google shows no advantage with CAI but they do make more noise if your into that.

 

[Rich W.]

All the testing I've seen on Google shows no advantage with CAI but they do make more noise if your into that.

A lot more noise. On my 2010 E450 it was so loud under full throttle you could barely talk over it.

 

[1Hurrican]

I opened up my air intake. The one thing I noticed when on the highway is the transmission held it's high gear longer with out shifting down. Not long enough to record MPG.

 

[Rich W.]

I opened up my air intake. The one thing I noticed when on the highway is the transmission held it's high gear longer with out shifting down. Not long enough to record MPG.

That was one of my goals - to reduce the constant down shifting and make it pull a little longer on a higher gear on grades. With 5 star, Banks, and a free-flow intake (forget which one) I made some real progress, but when running full throttle up a hill the intake was loud.

 

[1Hurrican]

That was one of my goals - to reduce the constant down shifting and make it pull a little longer on a higher gear on grades. With 5 star, Banks, and a free-flow intake (forget which one) I made some real progress, but when running full throttle up a hill the intake was loud.

With those upgrades what was your MPG increase?

 

[DennisT]

We added a 5 star tuner to the E450 V10 we recently traded in.

As mentioned for advantages, easier to control downshift on grades etc.

We also had an increase in mpg after install - about 10% is what we saw with no other mods in play. We run between 60 and 65 on the highway normally.

From 7.7 towing our toad to 8.5 isn’t much but did make a difference for us. That was measured across the same route and about the same conditions before and after.

 

[Joe Hogan]

The Canyon Star, using Prem Fuel and quality synthetic oil, averaged 6.7 mpg over the last 25K miles. Typically the RV was at max weight, 30,000 lbs, towing a sedan on a dolly. We traveled coast to coast and border to border several times.

 

[Little Bitty Zitty]

Thanks for all your input. For a starter I am going to do a cold air system, upgrade the exhaust to a performance type, get a tuner, and look into the Airtabs, semi truckers reviews are saying they reduce drag increasing there MPG. I have seen a couple on coaches, but not able to talk to the owners. Any other suggestions.....

When I first got my Georgetown, it got about 6.5mpg at 55 mph. I made some modification to it and now get 8.5 to 9 mpg at 70 mph on my last trip of 2500 miles. I drive the same route a couple times a year to our "GO TO PLACE. "

First I did a cold air intake, a simple scoop at the front grill, directing air thu a dryer vent metal flex pipe to the intake of the stock air filter.

Secon, and the greatest improvement, was to shorten the exhaust pipe. Mine crossed over after the muffler to the driversders side from the passengers side. It now exits at midway on the passenger side. No increase in noise and about 10 foot of pipe and 100 lbs. I have also noticed less downshifting on steep grades, which I am smart enough not to be concerned about dropping speed down to 45 to get over in an attempt to keep the engine RPMs as low as possible. Remember your engine develops max Horsepower at about 4500 RPM, but it sucks a lot of gas.

Third was an filler between the front grill and radiator support at the bottom of the radiator and an air dam below radiator cross member. othe front bumper, this improves air flow thru the radiator and, I believe, reduces front end air resistance. (not wind tunnel tested).

Make sure tires are inflated to 85 psi. Lastly, plan your trip to avoid long steep grades if possible.