Sweetbarbarablueeyes Posted November 25, 2013 Share Posted November 25, 2013 We are on our first trip in our new to us 1988 Escaper. We did maine to North Carolina and will be heading to florida as well. We expected better MPG on the highway. We were only getting around10MPG and it seemed to get worse when we hit the mountains. Wondered what other people are getting. I have a theory about what is wrong that I would like confirmed or dis confirmed. The truck seems to be running cold and from what I have read in the owners manual not letting the tranny shift into over drive. Could that be the problem? Is our thermostat stuck open or something? Any help would be great. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WME Posted November 25, 2013 Share Posted November 25, 2013 13-15mpg is "normal"for 4cylinder and a bit less for the v-6 MPG killers are 1. SPEED 55 vs 65 is about 2 mpg 2. Improper tire pressure 55-60 psi is average 3 Need a proper tune-up including a valve adjustment. If you have a 4cyl forget about the O/D on a stock unit. Improper temp can reduce the mpg some also. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MontanaChinook Posted November 25, 2013 Share Posted November 25, 2013 If the thermostat were stuck open it would take forever to warm, but would warm up and run warm eventually. It's typically a good thing to be running cool. But yeah, what WME said. Tire pressure, tuneup. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maineah Posted November 25, 2013 Share Posted November 25, 2013 A cold engine will use more gasoline, the fuel injection adjusts the mix richer if the engine runs cold. The engine has to be up to temp before the O/D will work. If the O/D light is on the O/D is off there are some that say don't use O/D some that say use it, I do and I used to do transmission for a living the only time I turn it off is when it starts to "hunt" shifting down and back into O/D usually on inclines. 10 is a bit low 13-14 is pretty normal. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stamar Posted November 25, 2013 Share Posted November 25, 2013 16.6 for my 85 auto was my record. for everyday driving with gear and people i think id expect 12. I think it gets 10 around town or really terrible. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bob C Posted November 26, 2013 Share Posted November 26, 2013 My 21' Escaper gets about 14 when doing 55-60 mpg on relatively flat roads. In the Rockies or with stiff headwinds I hope for 12.5. My trip from Wisconsin through Minnesota, South Dakota, Wyoming, Montana, and home averaged just over 13.5. My wife and I were satisfied with that and will be travelling more in the future. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DanAatTheCape Posted November 26, 2013 Share Posted November 26, 2013 I have heard that the 4 cylinders should get better than 15. I would add the oxygen sensor to your list. They do go bad over the years & they will cost you some noticeable mpg. On my 6 cylinder it was 3 mpg. Hard to troubleshoot. If I ever have a mileage issue again that will be on my list. The tuneup (points, timing, plug gaps) is where I would start though. I think you mentioned 22r-e I seem to recall means no points. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MontanaChinook Posted November 26, 2013 Share Posted November 26, 2013 Even the "late model" 20R engines didn't have points, so yeah, all 22R and REs won't have points. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
5Toyota Posted November 26, 2013 Share Posted November 26, 2013 a frozen up fan clutch will make it run cold. my 22 re dolphin has been getting 11 to 12 does have roof air. check eng light has been coming on at times. i just bought a new ox sensor not on yet we will see other then that runs great. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
waiter Posted November 28, 2013 Share Posted November 28, 2013 I have records of fuel use from the day I bought mine, Generally, 12-15. usually hangs around 13.5 - 14.0John Mc 88 Dolphin 4 Auto (For Sale) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stamar Posted November 29, 2013 Share Posted November 29, 2013 I do not believe that a single wire o2 sensor even makes any difference at all. But because it costs 7 dollars on ebay im going to replace it. I have had good luck improving gas mileage in most vehicles except this one. I had a picture in my mind that it could get 20 mpg but ive never reached 17 mpg. Ive done extensive tuning. I think i have some vacuum leak Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
5Toyota Posted November 29, 2013 Share Posted November 29, 2013 the single wire o2 senser is the older non heated style . my dolphin 22re 86 chassis uses that type. my late 87 4 w d xtra cab 22re uses the heated type and toyota moved it from that nice ex manifold mount to on top of the ex pipe clear under the truck and have to remove the seat to reach plugin up through hole in floor under seat. and cost more to buy also. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stamar Posted December 2, 2013 Share Posted December 2, 2013 all of my led clearnace lights and tail lights do help mpg. also I just cut the ac belt off thats something I forgot about. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stamar Posted December 2, 2013 Share Posted December 2, 2013 http://ecomodder.com/forum/fuel-economy-mpg-modifications.php ive been going through a few of these sites but heres a cool one. I just so happen to already have a few of the mods from all synthetic oil, to led lights and i just so happen to have cut my ac belt off yesterday. a biggie is to manually shift the auto box but all I can say is i already accellarate pretty slow so i dont actually want to slow down there. theres no such thing as low rolling resistance tires for a toyhome. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
douglitas Posted December 2, 2013 Share Posted December 2, 2013 in our 87 Seabreeze we consistently get 13 mpg. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derek up North Posted December 2, 2013 Share Posted December 2, 2013 I'm looking forward to seeing a picture of an 18' Sunrader that isn't a rear dinette. Will sure be a useful addition to any new Buyers Guide. I'd like to propose we call it "The Complete Idiots Guide to...". Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mobilehippo Posted December 3, 2013 Share Posted December 3, 2013 I've heard so many people advertise these Toy get 20mpg on craigslist. I guess that is just fantasy right? I think mine gets about 13-15mpg. Mine has a performance carburetor which I've heard drops the mpg quite some but has anyone ever got 20mpg? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
linda s Posted December 3, 2013 Share Posted December 3, 2013 I've heard so many people advertise these Toy get 20mpg on craigslist. I guess that is just fantasy right? I think mine gets about 13-15mpg. Mine has a performance carburetor which I've heard drops the mpg quite some but has anyone ever got 20mpg? An 18 ft Sunrader lightly loaded in perfect condition with a manual transmission can get 20. I have gotten almost 19 in mine with automatic right after a valve adjustment and tune-up. Speed is what keeps me from getting that more often. I just can't slow down. Every MPH faster is a MPG less past 60. My sweet spot is 58 MPH but I usually drive 65 Linda S Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stamar Posted December 9, 2013 Share Posted December 9, 2013 btw i went ahead and asked and i was suprised but load range d tires with 60 psi will definitely get better gas mileage than load range c with 45 psi. for some reason i was thinking the extra unsprung wieght would reduce gas mileage but they increase gas mileage a lot. in our purposes it should be noticable. lnda with the same drivetrain i cruise at 60 but i suppose the extra weight keeps me from 65. I tihnk the 18 foot sunrader is just the right weight for the power. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sailfritz Posted December 17, 2013 Share Posted December 17, 2013 all of my led clearnace lights and tail lights do help mpg. also I just cut the ac belt off thats something I forgot about. How do changing to LED lights improve gas mileage? Where can I get them for my 85 dolphin? Thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bob C Posted December 17, 2013 Share Posted December 17, 2013 LED's use less electricity and the alternator does not have to work as hard resulting in slightly better mpg. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
darrel Posted December 17, 2013 Share Posted December 17, 2013 Changed the oxygen sensor on my V6 and gained 1.97 MPG. From 13.4 to 15.37 driving at 52-55.MPH. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derek up North Posted December 17, 2013 Share Posted December 17, 2013 LED bulbs use watts. THEORETICALLY, less watts used will require the alternator to consume less power to supply these watts. But don't hold your breath being able to measure any change to your MPG in PRACTICE. I've never heard anyone claim to get better MPG driving during the day with no headlights on (which consume way more than your running lights). Well, maybe the fanatics on Ecomodder, but they get excited by an improvement of 0.01MPG! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stamar Posted December 18, 2013 Share Posted December 18, 2013 How do changing to LED lights improve gas mileage? Where can I get them for my 85 dolphin? Thanks im not really in the mood to explain but definitely whenever the alternator is charging it takes hp and burns gas. I dont personally care but i think if anyone does care how much its easy to look up. anad i definitely recomend looking it up as opposed to asking me to I think actually getting the toyota truck running when its literally not recharging the coach battery makes more mpg difference than the lights but they are all related. as far as where to get all the led lights, ebay. get the bulbs numbers and then search for led xxxxx running the truck during the day absolutely will give you better mpg than the night. your best guideline in anything is just to assume anything dotn says is probably mistaken. http://www.motherearthnews.com/green-transportation/100-mpg-liquid-light.aspx#axzz2no1leBdjhttp://www.motherearthnews.com/green-transportation/100-mpg-liquid-light.aspx#axzz2no1leBdj just a low estimate using 15 mpg headlights use apx .,10 mpg you dont need to really do any algebra really i never do. i end up trying to give some seriously challenged people some figures . eerything thats good and cheap you do it on your own time. ive found that the biggest gas hog for my toyhome is that when its driving around its charging a battery full force I give you a reasonably low estimate that while your toyhome has fully charged batteries it must get more than 1mpg better. and for a long time i drove it exclusively with it needing to recharge batteries. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stamar Posted December 18, 2013 Share Posted December 18, 2013 unfortunately there arent ant led headlights in use on toyhomes. i can remember talking about it here like a year ago i do believe just using a modern alternator over the oem very durable one wll increase mpg a lot but people here are simulataneously decreasing their toyhomes highway mpg with a heavier alternator but perhaps saving lots of gas from charging batteries quicker Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
waiter Posted December 18, 2013 Share Posted December 18, 2013 SInce Stamar invited anyone to lookup the data, I took him up on the offer. ( I do this BSFC calculation two or three times a day for aircraft fuel usage)Assume you are driving down the road at 60 miles per hour, and to keep the math simple, you get 15 miles per gallon, If you cover 60 miles in that one hour, and you get 15 MPG, you will burn 4 gallons in that hour. While your running down the road - you have your exterior driving lights on (clearance / tail lights). Questions: 1) What impact does this have on fuel economy if you have regular bulbs?2) What impact does it have if you have LED bulbs? ****************************** 746 watts per HPexterior bulbs draws (excluding headlights) about 10 amp, so thats about 120 watts (LEDs draw about 1/5th that, so about 20 wattsConverting that to HP (HP = watts /746) >> Bulb = 0.16 HP >> LED = 0.026 HPUsing the Brake Static Fuel Consumption (BSFC) of 0.36 lbs per HP per Hour, and Gasoline weighs about 6lbs per gallon. Gasoline usages (one hour) for Bulb = 0.057 lbs = (0.0095 Gallon / hour ) >> LED = 0.00936 lbs = (0.00156 Gallon / hour)In our initial Assumptions, we said we burned 4 gallons in one hour,No Lights = 4 gallons in one hour (15 mpg)Bulb = 4.0095 gallons in one hour (14.965 mpg) thats a 0.035 mpg differenceLED = 4.00156 gallons in one hour (14.994 mpg) thats a 0.006 mpg differenceBy converting your Bulbs to LEDs, this will get you a 0.029 mpg difference.WHY WOULD YOU CONVERT TO LEDsConversion to LED lamps should be considered, not to conserved fuel, but to conserved battery / alternator / charging system capacity, not only in the coach, but on the exterior running lights.A standard Toyota has a 55 amp alternator. The exterior running lights require about 10 - 12 amp. (headlamps are about 10 amps) by converting the driving lights to LED, this can reduce their consumption down to about 2 amps, thus freeing up 8 amps of alternator capacity.JOhn Mc Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WME Posted December 18, 2013 Share Posted December 18, 2013 Ain't numbers wonderful. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derek up North Posted December 18, 2013 Share Posted December 18, 2013 Not for the algebraically challenged! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stamar Posted December 18, 2013 Share Posted December 18, 2013 like karin corbin or a few other people. I see people so lost im literally looking up their questions for them when i dont personally care. I feel like a personal googler every time i roll here with the regulars i think id like to make a sticky for how to type a question into google. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stamar Posted December 18, 2013 Share Posted December 18, 2013 waiter who on the other hand is the best user of this forum i think explained why you use leds, which is to keep your coach battery charged. If you use lights inside your rv a lot, then you will have a discharged deep cycle battery a lot. then when you are driving and recharging that battery, you are losing mpg. Not a trace amount, A LOT. So I know its not going to compute with the regulars who are confused, but for most toyhome owners the INTERIOR lights are actually going to save them the most mpg. i will not figure out how much for you because its impossible its something that has a variable based on how much you use the lights. it could be a lot. Recharging a whole deep cycle battery even while driving a 100 mile trip will burn a lot of extra gas. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
douglitas Posted December 18, 2013 Share Posted December 18, 2013 I always charge up the batteries at home via shore power before we leave so alt is not working extra on our trip out. We use the lights and water pump and heater and then the next day I hook up the solar panel and recharge the batt...the return trip (if we leave early in the morning) would put an extra load on the alt. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
linda s Posted December 18, 2013 Share Posted December 18, 2013 So is this saving the alternator in some way? I just replaced mine a couple of years ago from the original so it was already over 25 years old. I think that is plenty long enough for an electrical generator to work. Linda S Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
douglitas Posted December 18, 2013 Share Posted December 18, 2013 Linda..when the alternator is charging at a higher rate, it puts more of a drag on the engine, reducing fuel mileage. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MontanaChinook Posted December 18, 2013 Share Posted December 18, 2013 Did you even read your heroes post? We are talking .0xx mpg. Why don't you stop telling us we're dumb and look in the mirror. You are the classic Internet know-nothing bully. If it were my site you would have already been on a temporary suspension and be in a consideration for BANNED status. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derek up North Posted December 18, 2013 Share Posted December 18, 2013 Agreed that the alternator draws power (No Free Lunch Theory) but I see no flaws in the figures that Waiter posted. So in this case, lunch consists of a few crumbs, despite the unsubstantiated claims by the Algebraically Challenged. "i will not figure out how much for you because its impossible..." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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