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Old 01-30-2008, 12:12 PM   #1
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MPG of diesel 4X4 van

I am trying to find out what kind of MPG I should expect from a diesel 4x4 Sport mobile with an RB-50 conversion (no extras). I am looking into having a diesel chevy van built with a 4x4 quigley conversion and I was told from my dealer (who wants to sell me a truck) that I should expect 12 MPG. I imagine most people will have diesel ford but they should be comparable (from what I hear, the duramax should get a few miles more).
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Old 01-30-2008, 12:34 PM   #2
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I weigh 11K fully loaded with my 6l PSD and have averaged 13.1 over my first 21K miles. I drive with a very heavy foot and pretty much drive it like a stole it. I think you will find many Ford owners getting 15 or more.
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Old 01-30-2008, 12:40 PM   #3
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Use the search function and you'll find a lot of threads on this.

I've also got 21k on my 06 PSD SMB and have averaged about 16. I drive like a grandma heading to church, about 60-62mph. Probably 85% of my mileage has been at highway speeds. Around town, I get about 14.

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Old 01-30-2008, 01:42 PM   #4
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Over 49K I've averaged 16.4mpg. I track and record every fillup. We had 14K on the van before we did the 4wd conversion, and the difference is less than 1 mpg 2wd to 4wd.

The SMB trailer has a bigger effect on mileage.

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Old 03-05-2010, 04:13 PM   #5
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Re: MPG of diesel 4X4 van



So, I'm driving my new '09 Diesel RB across the country with nothing better to do than pay attention to the milage during highway conditions. Here are surprising results:

1. If you "go it alone" and run at about 70-75 you can expect about 16.5 mpg give or take.
2. If you slow it down to 65, you get a nice bump to about 18 mpg.
3. Here's the big surprise for me, slip in behind a big rig running about 70 mph and it jumps to about 20 mpg! That's a solid 15% gain. Not bad for a full-sized vehicle.

A couple of observations:

1. Safety tip: Part of my surprise was that I don't need to be as close as I thought to realize the benefit. I've been hanging out about three van lengths back.

2. Safety tip: Three van lengths back is not the time to be distracted by, oh I don't know, answering the phone, texting, screaming kids, that deep conversation your wife wants to have (I'm just say'n). Three van lengths back is a good place to focus on staying three van lengths back vice three feet into if you get my point.

I actually took the time to thank one of the truckers at a truck stop. He said he didn't mind at all and thought I was leaving him plenty of buffer.

3. Longevity: Besides the obvious fuel savings I gotta think it implies the engine and transmission are not working as hard either. That can only be good over the long haul.

4. Aerodynamics: I can tell you that as you double your airspeed, your parasite drag quadruples (mathematically speaking). My results (and common sense) suggest that the van is much higher on drag than the average car. Add to that going shopping at Aluminess and the drag likely becomes extremely significant. I'm guessing that means an even larger percentage gain from "drafting" with a "completed" van.

No surprise, I'm planning a long road trip once the van is finished at Sportsmobile. I will report back on any noticeable changes post 4x4 conversion.
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Old 03-05-2010, 05:43 PM   #6
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Re: MPG of diesel 4X4 van

I get about 16 in my EB50.
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Old 03-05-2010, 06:04 PM   #7
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Re: MPG of diesel 4X4 van

I get a solid 16mpg in the Fat Kid.
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Old 03-05-2010, 06:48 PM   #8
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Re: MPG of diesel 4X4 van

Update: 20.7 mpg from east side of NM to west side of AZ on I-40 "drafting" the whole way.
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Old 03-05-2010, 07:49 PM   #9
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Re: MPG of diesel 4X4 van

Here's the doing fuel economy while drafting a semi.

They were using a car at 55 mpg and got 20% savings at 50 feet. Pretty close to the results you saw. Using the show's numbers that means you could have gotten around 27% at one vans length away.

If you survived it that is.
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Old 03-05-2010, 11:25 PM   #10
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Re: MPG of diesel 4X4 van

I get 9999 mi per gal going down hill and abour 2.5 going up a really steep grade pulling my SMB trailer....Yeah, about 16 on a flat grade just over 60....sometimes
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