10 Tips for Boosting your RV MPG
04-04-2016
Author: in RV Tips & Education
Unless you have bottomless pockets it always helps to know how to save a little at the pump.
I’ve pulled together some of our favorite tips for boosting your RV MPG. Check them out, some of them might surprise you.
You need to know how many miles you get to the gallon. If you aren’t sure, the math is pretty simple.
Do you have any favorite tips for getting better gas mileage in your RV? I’d love to hear them so share in the comments!
I’ve pulled together some of our favorite tips for boosting your RV MPG. Check them out, some of them might surprise you.
- Keep your vehicle properly tuned up – Regular tune ups will help significantly with fuel economy. You take a 10% to 20% hit on fuel economy when your engine is poorly tuned.
- Keep your emissions and oxygen sensor in working order – A faulty oxygen sensor or if your emissions are off it can reduce your fuel economy by a whopping 40%. Now THAT is enough to keep that baby in top working order!
- Keep your tires properly aired up – When your tires are not properly inflated you not only get reduced fuel economy, you also get tires that wear out faster. Get a tire pressure gauge and learn how to use it. A tire monitoring system is also a good investment if you spend a good deal of time on the road.
- Keep those maintenance and service schedules – Keeping clean filters and changing your oil regularly as well as other scheduled maintenance will go a long way in helping improve your fuel economy. You can get as much as a 10% boost in fuel economy just by changing your air filter.
- Keep idling to a minimum – If you are going to be sitting for more than about two minutes, shut it down. There is no sense in burning fuel when you are getting nowhere, thus getting zero miles to the gallon. Try looking at it that way.
- Keep it legal – Rapid acceleration and speeding are big time fuel wasters and will cause a 5% to 33% hit to your fuel economy depending on how heavy that foot is.
- Use synthetic oil – You’ll get a 2% or even more bump in fuel economy with this smart move.
- Avoid rush hour routes – Take the time to plan your trip so that during rush hour you are routing around cities during the heavy traffic of rush hour or just plan to take a break for dinner or to see the sights during that time. I’m sure you can think of much better ways to spend an hour than idling in traffic.
- Cut the fat – The weight, that is. Cut the weight in your RV wherever you can. If you don’t truly need it, leave it. The beauty of RVing is that you live the simple life so travel light.
- Just cruise – Whenever you can, use your cruise control. It will help keep your RV at a constant speed as opposed to the speed bursts and variable speeds. You’ll find this most effective when you are on the interstate or highway – at higher speeds like 60 or 70 mph.
You need to know how many miles you get to the gallon. If you aren’t sure, the math is pretty simple.
- Write down your odometer reading when you fill up your tank.
- Fill your tank the next time you stop for fuel
- Divide the miles you traveled from the first fill up until the next by the gallons of fuel you purchased at your second fill up
Do you have any favorite tips for getting better gas mileage in your RV? I’d love to hear them so share in the comments!
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Author: Stephanie A. Mayberry
