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What kind of MPG can I expect?


gringostar

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Hi Guys,

I just bought a 1986 20.5' Mini-Cruiser with automatic transmission and 4 cylinders.  How much mpg should I expect.  I've been driving it around town for a few days now.  I've gone 46 miles and I've lost a quarter of a tank.  I'm getting a little worried.  I've read that the needle will go down past E and I should carry some extra gas, great idea.  What Mpg are you guys getting?

Thanks!

IMG_20160225_073928244_HDR.jpg

Edited by gringostar
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11-14 MPG with a proper tuneup, at normal Toy house speeds.. 65-70 mph cruising will result in 8-11 MPG

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11 hours ago, WME said:

11-14 MPG with a proper tuneup, at normal Toy house speeds.. 65-70 mph cruising will result in 8-11 MPG

These figures rise substantially when a for sale sign is installed.

 

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If his gauge is about the same as mine he's already getting around 13 mpg driving around town. The only way your going to know highway mileage is to hit the road. Speed is the killer of mileage. I try to stay at just under 60 for the best mileage. Any faster and I can watch it drop

Linda S

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18 hours ago, gringostar said:

Hi Guys,

I just bought a 1986 20.5' Mini-Cruiser with automatic transmission and 4 cylinders.  How much mpg should I expect.  I've been driving it around town for a few days now.  I've gone 46 miles and I've lost a quarter of a tank.  I'm getting a little worried.  I've read that the needle will go down past E and I should carry some extra gas, great idea.  What Mpg are you guys getting?

Thanks!

 

I've had two Minicruisers.  Not that I think the brand matters much.  My 1988 19 foot Minicruiser on a Toyota with a 2.4 EFI engine and auto-trans gets a best highway "average" of 14.2 MPG.  NOTE.  That is not a best "one time tank fill" like some people like to post. I never drive faster then 60 MPH.  My 1984 17 foot Minicruiser on a Datsun with a 2.4 carbed engine and 5 speed manual trans got a best average of 15.5 MPG.  By the way, do not let the lengths I posted throw you off.  My 1988 that was called a "19 footer" may be the same as 1986 that was called a "20.5 footer." Not sure how and when they measure for those ads.

IMG_20150516_105029024.jpg

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I did a trip from Wisconsin through the Rockies 18 months ago.  We covered 4000 miles and averaged 13.6 mpg.  This included going from WI, MN, SD, WY, MT, ND, and back home so we traveled through a variety of topography.  Our best milage was 15 with a tailwind and the worst was 12.5 with me driving.  

 

My daughter drove one tank of gas and had her foot on the floor the whole time while I took a nap.  We got 9.5 on that tank.  She was not allowed to drive the RV after that.  She had to drive my wife's car pulling the pop-up that our kids were using.

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  • 1 year later...

I have a 1988 21 foot Toyota Dolphin, 22RE engine, A43D automatic transmission. I typically drive 55 MPH in third running at the top of the torque curve. I will use the overdrive in situations where i have favorable wind conditions but still no faster than 60 MPH. I average 13.3 to 13.7 MPG.  

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I have driven 16,165 miles almost always hauling a motorcycle trailer and motorcycle, mostly on mountain roads in northern California and Oregon. Sunrader 22re automatic tranny. Speed range 45-65 MPH.

Average = 13.56 MPG   Highest=16.87   Lowest=9.0

Standard Deviation=1.56

Edited by Lee & Joan
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Finally an accurate description of mileage! So far in my travels around Ohio (Ohio is not flat farm country like many people believe. S. Ohio is the foothills of the Appalachian mountains) I've averaged 14.2 mpgs fully loaded! Learning to drive Grannie from other members I now downshift before the engine bogs down and use OD down hills and on flats. Guess I'm on par with others!

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When I first picked up our rig we were averaging high teens - that was with just me and two kids (3 & 7 at the time) - no gear, no extra food, no full water tank etc.  Now with the whole family we have been avging mid teens.  That's 5 of us in the camper, lots of gear, 4 bikes + bike trailer, full water tank, and no shortage of food!!  We stick to 60/65 on hwys and keep to the speed limit on 2ndary rds.  I've been keeping track on Fuelly:
http://www.fuelly.com/car/toyota/pickup/1986/maineerik/453511

Edited by MaineErik
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How can you get such better mileage than the rest of us especially driving that fast??

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8 minutes ago, markwilliam1 said:

How can you get such better mileage than the rest of us especially driving that fast??

I assume that message was aimed at me.
I'm guessing that our 319 is a smaller rig, and prob weighs several hundred lbs less than most others.  It's only 20ft long, bumper to bumper.  I keep meaning to weigh it, one of these days we will stop at a weigh station --- does one just stop at the stations along the highway?  Are they public?  

Edited by MaineErik
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Mine is 20.5'. I'm sorry no offense to you but I just don't buy that kind of mileage especially having a rig as loaded as yours and driving over 60 mph. I've done Everything to try and improve my mileage by even 1 mpg! Never drive over 57mph. Downshift when necessary. OD on when going downhill and on flats. I've replaced all wiring and vacuum hoses. Plugs, distributor cap and rotor. K& N air filter.Complete tuneup with valve adjustment, all new brakes, fuel filter, etc. My rig  only has 37K miles on her. Oh well your rig must be magic LOL!

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2 minutes ago, markwilliam1 said:

Oh well your rig must be magic LOL!

This is the 2nd time I've shared my mpg on this forum and someone has questioned my numbers.  I really don't think it's all that amazing what I am getting, folks are always advertising better than that in sale flyers - obviously some of those numbers are exaggerated, but generally these rigs are renowned for efficiency.  If I tried to hypermile I think I could stick to high teens all the time - but with a coach full of kids I usually try to get from pt A to B as quickly as possible!!  That's not to say I am gunning it nonstop, but I certainly would drive a bit easier if it were just my wife and I.  
Maybe your rig has a chevy 454 under the hood and you just don't know it yet :P

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Of course when someone is selling on Craigslist the mpgs are dramatically increased. None get high teens unless its a little Chinook, maybe a shortie or driving down hill, possibly a stick shift. Do you have a 22RE Auto? People question because what your stating is unbelievable. I've got the same engine as yours! Have fun. No disrespect just don't believe it but maybe others will.

Edited by markwilliam1
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Looks exactly like my Granville Derek! Manufacturers gas mileage estimates usually aren't known to be very accurate LOL!

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18 minutes ago, markwilliam1 said:

Looks exactly like my Granville Derek! Manufacturers gas mileage estimates usually aren't known to be very accurate LOL!

Looks like a independent magazine review - or you think it's a paid advertisement?  Either way, 19.5mpg seems magical to me even :sorcerer: 

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That was back in the day when gas was really gas. Mileage for all of us would have been better. No ethanol. Also Maine has done quite a bit to limit ethanol in fuel. Maybe cleaner gas explains some of his improved mileage.

Linda S

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Maybe so but not that much improvement....upper teens?? I won't comment anymore on his unrealistic mileage claims. I just wish him the Best!

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3 hours ago, Derek up North said:

Perhaps the shape of the Winnebagos offers a fuel economy benefit compared to others.

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Winnie 319RB Fuel Consumption.jpg

Do you know what the pickup truck mileage was shown at for that year, engine and transmission? I had a Toy pickup with automatic from around that era that might have got those numbers. I also remember lots of bitching about advertised mileage vs actual mpg. 

EDIT! Why ask Derek,  I have Google.       https://www.fueleconomy.gov/feg/bymodel/1986_Toyota_Truck.shtml

Edited by jjrbus
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I had a SR5 truck with the 22R and a stick shift long bed and got around 20 mpg but that was without a 5000 lb on its back!

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1 minute ago, Derek up North said:

I doubt you drove it at a cruising speed of 55mph on level ground. :)

Wasn't the US national speed limit 55 back in the day? So all the mpg's being looked at were with a national speed of 55?

 

 

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Yeah your probably right! Young, dumb and stupid in those days. Probably got more like 25 mpg. I do think the national speed limit was 55 back in the day and now that's what I drive again LOL:-)

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When I bought my rig the first owner keep MPG logs, and he was getting more like 16.5 to 19.5 MPG. These looked like legit logs he kept to see what his MPG was. Now this was in the 1980's like Linda said, and gasoline was 100% gasoline. Now I am not going to downplay Ethanol, but I think they should give that to you in a shot glass and put the gasoline in the camper, you know. "here's your gallon of pure ethanol everclear for your kitchen, and here's your 9 gallons of gasoline for your motor home". Go on vacation and come home with a years supply of pure corn mash booze.

I have an 86 Toyota 22re 4x4 extra cab that gets 19 MPG until I put my bike trailer on, then it gets 17 MPG. So If I can pull that trailer with my Sunrader and get 13.5 MPG, and have a place to sleep and cook in, well that's a great deal.

After looking at all my trips and trying to figure out why I got high or low mileage on certain segments of the trip I generally came to no conclusions. Except headwinds and tailwinds which you can't do much about. For every up there is a down, low MPG on the way up, great MPG on the way down. Some of the steepest climbs gave me some of the best MPGs, go figure!  High speed on freeways with headwinds were the worst. But high speeds on freeways with a tailwind were pretty good MPG's. Rural two lane slow roads generally gave good MPG's, even when having steep (slow) climbs.

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Ill post this again. I used to drive a 1984 Dolphin, 22r with a 4speed. Bought it with 78,000 miles. Drove it for 58,000. Went to Yellowknife, Bella Coola, Alaska, up and down i5, Utah, Arizona and many other places. 

I got an average of 17.43 mpg. My top end speed was 53mph.

Slow down.

Now driving a 1994 Warrior. It had 36,805 miles on it when I bought it. It now has 79,998 a as of last fill up.  I am averaging 12.443 mpg. I try not to go above 62. Prefer 58. I use OD when I can.

Slow down.

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Just to give everybody a warm fuzzy feeling. I averaged 9.1 mpg on my last vacation.

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But that's driving your 300' new rig right?:-)

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Ethanol has heat value (it burns, case in point it's used in race cars) so even @ 10% you overall loss is not much greater than 3% in a mileage hit. If you want mileage slow down take the back roads and drive 50. Wife and I went to Down East Maine awhile back with our camper up I95 came back home on US 1 a 2 MPG increase over the highway and it was a far nicer trip.

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Some mpg food for thought:

1) In addition to staying on top of all other mechanical maintenance, if you advance your ignition timing you'll get both better power and better mileage, just don't advance it so far that your engine pings, or so far that you don't pass your smog check (I'm in CA). Related: if you use higher octane fuel, you can advance your timing further before the engine will start to ping.

2) Aerodynamic drag increases approximately linearly below 45mph, but starts to increase exponentially above 45mph. So, as many here have mentioned: slow down your highway driving and your mpg will improve. 

3) If you can figure out how to shed weight reasonably, this will improve your mpg. 

4) This last tip came from a tire & alignment technician with 25-30yrs experience: Increasing tire pressures by 5-10psi (even going over your tire rating) may give you some mpg gains. This is also counter-intuitively good for driving through the desert so that your tire sidewalls flex less to prevent blowouts. It is the flexing combined with the hotter road that causes blowouts. 

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Darrel, I have a 92 warrior, I get identical avg. mpg. 12.5-- sometimes I've got 13 and sometimes 12. mostly it is right at 12.5. as far as driving choices, I prefer staying off the interstate as much as possible. I have no urgency to get anywhere anymore. to me the journey to the destination, is just as rewarding as the destination. I want to enjoy the scenery afforded by NOT being on interstates.  slow down, have fun, get there safe. repeat. joe from dover.

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