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Old 02-06-2011, 09:49 AM   #21
sreigle
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Bill & Cindy, you will find those who swear the wind deflector helps and those who swear it does not. Over the years I've seen two magazine tests and in both cases they said 1) if you mount it at exactly the correct angle for the application it will help slightly, but probably not enough to pay for the purchase and installation, and, 2) if you do not have it at that exactly correct angle it is going to reduce your mpg.

I can't vouch for the accuracy but that's what I've read.

Michael and Camilla, good point. There's probably 4,000, maybe 5,000 or even more lbs difference in weight of the rigs for which mpg is quoted here. While wind resistance, a major impact on mpg, is pretty much the same, weight definitely plays a role. Even with the same year and model fifthwheel the weight can vary significantly, depending on equipment and loading.
 
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Old 02-18-2011, 04:50 PM   #22
johnpjpa
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Well ,we made the trip to Muskegon Michigan this past week there was a few days of nicer weather
And we decided to go for it and pick up our new 2010 Montana 3400 RL'
We left Monday feb 14 2011 at 10 am from Topeka Kansas with our 2008 Laredo and travel around 350 miles at 58 mph exactly
And our fuel mileage was 12.8 MPG ,I was very happy about that,until we decided to stay and spent the night at the love,s
Truck stop in wiliamsville ILL. Wanted to find a camping place ,none open this time of year going east.
First I get in the 2008 Laredo to move the slide a little, just enough to uncover the heating ducts to have heat during the night.
Well that did not work as planed the slide moved about 5 inches and that was it, Battery completely dead ,so we decided to stay in our truck,
With engine running and trying to charge the Laredo Battery in same time enough to close the slide
I bet not to many of you have spent Valentine Night in your truck ,with your wife , dog ,and engine running on a21 degree night ( not recommended)
But after 43 years of marriage you need to try new thinks !! Wife and I have pretty good sense of humor , it does help in sticky situations sometimes
anyway's the battery recovered enough to close the slide and I decided to just keep on driving until I needed more rest again.
So we did this for most of the night ,drive 80 to 100 miles then rest a couple hours etc etc .
Due to lot,s of resting time with engine running my mileage came down to 12. 3MPG by the Time we arrived at the dealership in Muskegon
At 8.15 am Tuesday the 15 .
Needless to say BoB "the Montana salesman " looked surprised to see that we got to his place of business ahead of him by 45 minutes.
When we where expected late afternoon.
We took delivery of the Montana later in the day ,some finishing touch needed to be done and BoB graciously proposed for us to spent the night in the Montana
On the dealership lot, having almost no sleep at all the night before we accepted and started back for our 750 miles home trip with our new toy in tow the next day
Wednesday the 16 .
I was of course as happy as a kid in a candy store and set the cruise control at 58 mph ,after about 250 miles of mostly flat roads my mileage was 12.3 MPG , 0.5
Mile less then the Laredo and towing over 4000 pounds more weight ,I was amazed and extremely happy.
We spent the night Wednesday at a rest area and continued to Topeka the next day Thursday starting at 6.00 am
The last 350 miles were the most difficult due to strong wind and my mileage started to drop from 12.3mpg to 10 .9 MPG
I love the new Montana ,and would recommend Lakeshore RV to everyone for the OUTSTANDING service and super deal I received from Bob Woodard
I am Retired from 45 years in the automotive business,, all with Mercedes Benz starting out a tech and owning my independent Mercedes sales and service
DealershipFrom 1981 to 2006 then passing it down to my son.
My recommendation is only my opinion but 45 years in the business should be good qualification.
John Vanhollebeke
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Old 02-19-2011, 01:32 AM   #23
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Great post and quite a travel log of your venture. Glad you are home with the new rig and can start enjoying it. I'm confused on the last line of your post. Are you recommending the RV dealership or the Valentines night in the Love truck stop. I want to be sure before I talk to the wife. Jim
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Old 02-19-2011, 06:25 AM   #24
johnpjpa
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Quote:
quote:Originally posted by stiles watson

That reduced speed you are talking about will help a lot with your mileage. In fact, it might be enough of a difference to off set the difference in weight. I met a guy towing a tri-axle toy hauler, towing with a new 6.7 L F350 and complaining because his mileage wasn't any good. In the conversation, he revealed he was toying between 70 and 80 MPH. Well, duh.

After towing over 15,000 miles, I have established that 58 MPH is the optimum for getting the best mileage. My Big Sky 340RLQ is roughly equivalent to the 3400. I get 9 to 9.5 with a 4:33 rear end. Strong head winds can knock me down to around 8 MPG.




Hello: we made it to Muskegon on tuesday and got back to Topeka thursday after taking delivery of our new Montana 3400 RL
I did drive t 58 MPH all the way and pulling the Laredo on the way up we got 12.8 mpg and on the way back ,the first 300 miles we got 12.3 MPG pulling the Montana 4000 pounds +more weight then the Laredo ,we started to have lots of wind close to St louis all the way to Topeka and mileage did go down to 11.5 mpg ,like you mentioned 58mph is the best speed for economy and i am pleased with the results ,.
Thanks again for the info ,and hope to meet you sometimes on the road
John
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Old 02-19-2011, 10:09 AM   #25
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Sounds like quite an adventure! At least you could spend Valentine's Day (night)....at LOVE'S!
I seriously considered buying from Lakeshore RV as well, but found a similar deal closer to home (still pretty far tho).
As you found out, the additional weight may have some effect on mileage as does rolling resistance, but the biggest factor will always be speed (actually wind resisance). Depending on your specific tow vehicle (engine, gearing etc.) you can maximize mileage by finding the best towing speed. Obviously, lower is better...up to a point.
Glad to hear your story on picking up the trailer, my own story will happen in the next few weeks!
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Old 02-20-2011, 05:15 PM   #26
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Johnpjpa; we have a 2007 3400RL, towed with a 2008 GMC K3500 (four wheel drive) rig. My policy for driving has been thus......
The Duramax's peak torque is at 1600 RPM. I try to keep it around that range. What I've found is, if on level road (freeway) and no headwind, I run with the Allison in "normal" (i.e. not in tow/haul mode) and we are running about 62 MPH (6th gear). If we run into headwinds or a steep hill, I activate tow/haul, which keeps the speed the same, but the RPM goes up to around 2000 RPM (now in 5th gear). Worst mileage ever......10.2 MPG, going over a mountain. Best milage ever......13.5, running on the freeway.
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Old 02-21-2011, 12:44 PM   #27
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Terry
I think you have touched on something here. Any engine gas or diesel gets its best fuel economy at its peak torque RPM. Thats not to say your trucks best mileage, but your engine is runnings at peak efficiency. Also something to remember, it takes 8 times the power any time you double the speed. A standard 400 HP Corvette will go 175 to 180 MPH but it takes a ZR1 Corvette with 639 HP to go 202 MPH. An extra 239 HP for about 25 MPH.
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Old 02-21-2011, 03:28 PM   #28
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Congratulations! You're gonna love the 3400RL. Our rig "feels" most comfortable on the interstate at 65mph. It may not be the best fuel economy (avg 11mpg) but it's very comfortable for going up and down overpasses and small hills. I think I'll try the 58mph and see what happens. After talking to a friend with the same truck and similar fiver, I just ordered the Diablosport Predator. Curious to see what that does for mpg.
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Old 02-22-2011, 12:03 AM   #29
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I picked up my new to me 2009 3665RE yesterday. 140 miles traveled back from there and I averaged 14.4 MPG traded an Excel RT and basically had the same milage going up. But I do have a Dodge. The montana is taller and heavier so I expected worse milage... no problem though..
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Old 03-02-2011, 04:29 AM   #30
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I too have a 2010 Montana 3400 and I too drive a 2009 Chevy HD w/Durmax.

I drive mostly in Louisiana, which is flat.

If drive 65 I average between 10 - 11. I I get it up to 70 that drops it to around 9.
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Old 03-03-2011, 09:18 AM   #31
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we run 62/65 mostly 62mph towing a fairly heavy 06 3400. The truck is a 08 F-350 Ford 6.4L with a 4:10 diff. Conditions vary greatly but we can count on @ 10mpg at the end of the day...sometimes 11, sometimes 9mpg. We are satisfied with that mpg pulling this weight.
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