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Hypermiling the 22R?


Tundrawolf

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Hi,

I am in the middle of rebuilding a 22R, and I have had to go .50 over. I just rebuilt the carb, but... Does anyone have any recommendations on hypermiling this motorhome? I have a 20 foot Dolphin.

Things I have done,

Balanced piston assemblies to within 1/10 of 1 gram, balanced conrods.

New clutch, (Everything, German quality) and also the addition of a W50 5 speed trans.

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I have read stories in here from mechanics that changed and added all kinds of things to their engines, transmissions and exhaust. In the end only driving habits and drafting improved mpg. 55, accelerating downhill while easing off gas uphill until needing to throttle to avoid lugging or risking life behind a truck are the only ways I'm afraid.

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I have a hybrid Honda Civic and it seems to reach max MPG around 45 MPH (60 MPG). On the interstate, I can draft behind a Semi Truck at 65 MPH, using the two second rule and get about 70 MPG. I do draft with my RV, still using the two second rule. I have one those "I'm not tailgating, I'm drafting" bumper stickers on the back of the RV.

In city traffic, I leave a lot of following distance and time the lights.

I wish the camper had an MPG meter like my Civic. Actually, if every car in had an MPG meter, driving habits might change enough to make a significant reduction in energy usage.

My 91 Winnebago seems to have excellent aerodynamic braking. I rarely use my brakes as that means wasted gas. I do accelerate on the downhill and use the momentum to get up the next, letting off the gas as I near the top to recoup the dynamic energy. Also, I don't want to go too fast down the next hill.

I turn off my cab AC when possible but especially when accelerating or going uphill. The AC is probaly about 5 HP and the alternator 1 HP if charging both batteries.

I read about one Toyota RV owner who said that his camper would get better MPG when pulling a trailer. Makes sense aerodynamically as the drag from the vacuum bubble would be reduced. Installing a wing style racing spoiler on the top rear of the camper may also produce similar results. And it would look kind of cool. If I see one at a junk yard, I might go that route.

I need my air conditioner but my plan is to install one of the lower style units. Another consideration would be one of those mini split ductless air conditioners. I could remove the cabinet next to the refrigerator and install the inside unit there. The outside unit could go on the back of the camper but would be vulnerable to theft. Or it could go on top, since the AC hookup is already in place. Oriented like a fin, maybe, and add a nose and tail cone to it to help streamline it.

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I wish the camper had an MPG meter like my Civic. Actually, if every car in had an MPG meter, driving habits might change enough to make a significant reduction in energy usage.

I agree. I've a Ford 'Exploder' with the gauge that displays Instantaneous MPG'. I often glance at it and make minor adjustments to the accelerator which boosts the MPG without (seemingly) to affect my MPH. This, plus as vacuum gauge with HUD would be very useful. :)

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Hi,

I am in the middle of rebuilding a 22R, and I have had to go .50 over. I just rebuilt the carb, but... Does anyone have any recommendations on hypermiling this motorhome? I have a 20 foot Dolphin.

Things I have done,

Balanced piston assemblies to within 1/10 of 1 gram, balanced conrods.

New clutch, (Everything, German quality) and also the addition of a W50 5 speed trans.

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Not sure but it seems to me I remember reading somewhere about ppl retrofitting the 20R cylinder head onto the 22R for increased hp. Will not work on the 22RE.

Derek can probably verify this fact.

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I'm no Toyota Guru but I believe this mod is commonly called a 20R/22R 'Hybrid'. From what I've read, the 20R head has smaller combustion chambers so the hybrid will have a higher compression ratio. Possibly port design is better too. That said, the power characteristics might not work better in a Toyota MH. I don't remember anyone with a MH having done this mod.

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I agree. I've a Ford 'Exploder' with the gauge that displays Instantaneous MPG'. I often glance at it and make minor adjustments to the accelerator which boosts the MPG without (seemingly) to affect my MPH. This, plus as vacuum gauge with HUD would be very useful. :)

wow so amazing. good thing you didn't post the "boost" I have the epa website on speed dial now thanks to your link. :)

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I agree. I've a Ford 'Exploder' with the gauge that displays Instantaneous MPG'. I often glance at it and make minor adjustments to the accelerator which boosts the MPG without (seemingly) to affect my MPH. This, plus as vacuum gauge with HUD would be very useful. :)

My 3.8 V6 Dodge (now Fiat) Grand Caravan shows 6 MPG whenever I'm climbing the hill slowly to my house at 10 MPH. If anything, looking at that is depressing. It's gets 22 MPG overall and I don't worry about it and pretty much stopped looking at the BS read-out. I call it "BS" simply because many people have boasted of great fuel mileage based on the highest readout they've seen instead of how many gallons it took to go X amount of miles. Same van can get 45 MPG on the read-out when coming down the same hill.

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Interesting presentation:

DOE’s Effort to Reduce Truck Aerodynamic Drag through Joint Experiments and Computations

Base Flaps, those flaps we are starting to see on the back of semi-trailers, give a 4% improvement in fuel economy.

Trailer Skirts, yield a 6% improvement.

However, greatest improvement is from reducing speed.

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I kind of think it's funny hypemiling a Toy home. I understand trying to do better on fuel and I guess if you gain a mile or two per gallon that's a pretty good jump . The only way I ever got better mileage was to slow down.Doing performance up grades will give you more power but usually at the expense of mileage. Down hills and tail winds are good, I had a friend with a Volvo wagon that I used to call the "turbo brick" and it sort of resembled the Toy home on a smaller scale.

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Here's something ambitious for you to try:-

http://ecomodder.com/forum/showthread.php/aero-rv-custom-boat-tail-95-ford-e-18151.html

I suppose you could make the new 'back wall' open-able to store your bicycles. Toyota MH with attached garage.

Or maybe build a custom trailer:-

http://ecomodder.com/forum/showthread.php/full-boat-tail-trailer-gap-fillers-toyota-t-7839.html

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Well, guys, I know a racing stripe will add power and speed, but I'm not sure what it will do to mileage. I think the rebuilt engine should net me around 400MPG in town, and slightly more on the highway, if I keep it under 100MPH. (That's 300KMPH for you British people...)

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A 'For Sale' sign in the window is typically good for 2-3 MPG. :)

But your best bet would be to install the complete powertrain from a Ford Explorer. Based on my experience, you'll get 'up to 99 MPG'.

Huh, 99MPG? What, are we in the dark ages, still? No, I'm only interested in three digit MPG's. Going uphill. I'll take your advice on the for sale sign. Hey, if I put them in every window, is that good for 2-3MPG total, or each sign?

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