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We're thinking of changing our motorhome but are slightly concerned about fuel economy on longer trips for a coachbuilt or a low profile van
We've got a old shape LWB Hi roof Transit but it seems to average ~30mpg. I think that's quite good for something 2.85m tall shaped like a pointy brick that weighs 3ton
What fuel economy do you get from your motorhome?
Currently get about 26 mpg out of ours (2 year old Rollerteam TLine 590)
Majority of that is driving on motorways with cruise control set at just over 60. Set at 70 it drops to about 23mpg.
Coupled with the fact that it's only got a 50 litre tank, you do end up at the petrol station with a a fairly depressing regularity.
Had our hi-top, LWB 2.3ltr 160bhp Ducato for almost 12,000km (was new when I bought it, 7km on the clock).
For the majority of those kms it has been fully loaded (probably over loaded at times). Avoid motorways for the most part. Rarely exceed 90kmh. Lots of mountainous roads and gravel tracks.
9.3l/100km which equates to ~30mpg (UK).
The van is almost 3m high with roof rack. If I stick to flat roads and 70-80kmh it'll drink 7-8l/100km on a run.
I feel its acceptable.
Chausson 718 on a Transit chassis. Came with a 155hp 6 speed manual box. 7.5m x 2.95
Bought new in 2015 and done 55k averaged 26.4mpg
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@Tracey - that's not bad for such a big van. I'm quite keen on the small Transit based Chausson so that's good to know.
Not alot of difference weight wise between the shortest and the longest. The garage on ours will take 4 29ers with the wheels still on and still have alot of storage.
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3.5 ton, 7m Ducato based motorhome, 2.3 l, 130bhp. Bought new late 2019, 20,000 miles with indicated average of 27mpg. Usually driven close to fully loaded on a mixture of non-toll roads.
I used to have a transit pick up new from 2016 and the average mpg over 36000 was 26.3 mpg then the 2018 one same 3500 gross weight it's 33.5 mpg but loves to drink adblue at £2/l
Our 07 plate overcab Ducato coach-built with diesel & manual got about 18mpg on a proper motorway run worse on the payage, it was upsetting. The new converted lwb mid height Ducato diesel auto is doing ~30mpg which whilst still painful is a lot less upsetting although I'm not sure it's running fully efficient as it's drinking adblue, might get bettered if I can get that sorted.
That's about what I get towing a caravan with bikes on the car, interesting.
Our Transit is 140bhp manual but the 6spd box helps on long runs
Yeah, about 24mpg from an 06 coach built with a bunk above the cab. The only fuel saving is that unlike staying in accommodation you can usually stay near where you're doing stuff and don't have to drive back to a base everytime (much easier than pitching/unpitching a tent and less issues finding somewhere to stay).
7M A class weighing 4 T on a 2.8jtd base is returning between 23 & 26mpg depending how its driven.
I get well over 40mpg from my LWB vivaro and I’ve had a bed in the back of that.
@Tracey out of interest, how do you use that thing? Of course it looks amazing in front of an Alp, but I guess most people are not #Vanlife people that live out of it all the time. Do you use it for a few weeks in the summer and then store it the rest of the year or do you use it all the time?
We use it all the time throughout the year both in the UK and Europe. We bought it when our daughter started racing in Europe. It was the cheaper alternative to flights and hotels.
@ampthill no, not me!
@superficial our motorhome is similar to Tracey's (only 6m long though) We lived in ours for 2 years whilst doing a barn conversion (wouldn't recommend)
We use it year round though for weekends/holidays. Just back from a few days in the Lakes, we go skiing in it too. We're hikers/climbers rather than cyclists really, it makes a great base for trips like that. It's fairly faff free for us tbf as we're on a farm so store it at home and can dump waste water/toilet etc
We absolutely love ours, but often think a decent Tesla (or other electric car) plus hotels/air BnBs would probably make more financial sense!
Mid to late 20’s from a 7.5m A class on the Ducato 150 2.3 manual getting on for 4.8 tonnes when fully loaded.
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Living full time in ours...
Diesel/night heater and the Wallas cooker/hob runs off diesel. They use a negligent amount, but it's less hassle filling up with diesel than having to source a gas bottle (plus the associated tests that are necessary in Germany).
VW T4 based 2.5tdi, 30mpg up to 38mpg on a long run. Speeds above 70 and it will drop to late 20's
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My inlaws have a 7m motorhome, coachbuilt. 2.8 litre fiat engine.
They get mid 20's mpg most of the time.
On long drives they can tell the difference head/tail wind based on the fuel consumption...
Thanks everyone
Fiat 3.0l auto A class just under 7m getting around 25mpg.
7.4m long x 2.85m high Benimar coachbuilt here on a Ducato 2.3 150bhp running at bang on 3.5t.
Anything between 26 and 28mpg depending on type of roads. 19 plate done just shy of 20k miles.
Peugeot Boxer 2.2 150hp, 5t horsebox (basically motorhome with big garage) - 8.8m long. averaging 28mpg. Used for bikes, motorbikes and horses
6m panel van, about 25mpg but seen it down to 18mpg towing a horse trailer.
In all honesty, most campervan and coach-builts do so few miles I don't think it's a significant cost issue after the other running costs.
Mine does about 6k/mile per year because it does extra duties towing and is my daily driver on the odd occasion I can't use my wife's car so it's a bit more significant than campers that just get used for holidays/days at the beach etc.
2005 2.8 twin turbo Ducato coachbuilt, 6.9m x 2.5m. Usually fully loaded and we get 26 - 32mpg depending on my right foot and weather conditions..
There are some nice vans up there
I suppose my concern around mpg is that a panel van conversion is expected to be similar to what we've got but a low-profile is a wider van. In the next van I'd prefer a garage for bikes and dirty stuff (BBQ, walking boots) and sub 6.5m which means a low-profile or we'll have to get a LWB Sprinter/Crafter style van to get the bikes inside.