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greynomad View Drop Down
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Joined: 20 May 2012
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Posts: 22 		Direct Link To This Post Topic: Gas Mileage
    Posted: 07 Jun 2012 at 7:40am
I have a Toyota Tacoma 4WD 2011 6 cyl and I had a Northstar pop-up truck camper and my mileage would average around 15. After buying the RPOD my mileage has dropped to 9-10 miles to the gallon.
The truck is rated to pull 6300 lbs and the model 177 runs weight wise with all of my trash around 3 grand or better. I have a shell that fits on the back of my truck and I am thinking it just might help on the wind resistance when fitted. Wink
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TIDALWAVE View Drop Down
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Posts: 315 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: 07 Jun 2012 at 10:29am
greynomad...don't expect much of an improvement.  The most important aspect of the aerodynamics of the Pod is the space between the tow vehicle and the front of the Pod.  The curved front roof of the Pod allows a lot of turbulent air to flow between the TV and the Pod.  I tow with a Chevy Silverado.
I first towed the Pod with an open truck box and then with a truck box shell.  I could find no evidence that my mileage increased by having the shell on the truck.
TIDALWAVE
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320 View Drop Down
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Posts: 5 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: 18 Jun 2012 at 11:49am
back in the 70's one of auto magazines did a test on vans when converting them was all the rage. they tested body shapes, ground effects, etc. the only mod that achieved a net gain was removing the rear view mirrors.

too much frontal area equals less mileage.

i try keeping my truck between 2000 and  2500 rpm. in overdrive that's about 70mph and 12-14mpg.
in hilly or windy conditions i run in drive...60-65mph and 7-12mpg with an old (2000) chevy 3/4 ton 4x4 350.

the sad thing is that when pulling a 24 foot fifth wheel the mileage was the same.

considering towing miles versus using miles i don't worry about it very much. i'm lucky to get 15mpg not towing anything.
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Footslogger03 View Drop Down
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Posts: 362 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: 18 Jun 2012 at 11:56am
Originally posted by 320

back in the 70's one of auto magazines did a test on vans when converting them was all the rage. they tested body shapes, ground effects, etc. the only mod that achieved a net gain was removing the rear view mirrors.too much frontal area equals less mileage.i try keeping my truck between 2000 and  2500 rpm. in overdrive that's about 70mph and 12-14mpg.in hilly or windy conditions i run in drive...60-65mph and 7-12mpg with an old (2000) chevy 3/4 ton 4x4 350.the sad thing is that when pulling a 24 foot fifth wheel the mileage was the same.considering towing miles versus using miles i don't worry about it very much. i'm lucky to get 15mpg not towing anything.



================================

I drive by the "tach" too. Old habits die hard. I also have been able to stay with standard transmission so far (2011 Tacoma 6Cyl - 6 Spd), which makes keeping it rolling at around 2,000 a lot easier.

MJ
Livin' the Dream    ...'Slogger
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Seanl View Drop Down
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Posts: 633 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: 18 Jun 2012 at 3:56pm
Originally posted by Footslogger03


================================

I drive by the "tach" too. Old habits die hard. I also have been able to stay with standard transmission so far (2011 Tacoma 6Cyl - 6 Spd), which makes keeping it rolling at around 2,000 a lot easier.

MJ

I wish I had a 6 speed in my jeep even a 5 speed would be better than the 4 speed I have. The shift from 2nd to 3rd is way to tall. I do well if I keep in 3rd but if the automatic drops to second on a hill it revs the heck out of the engine. 4000Rpm which is in the Jeep's power band but uses way to much gas. 
Sean, 2011 Rpod RP-173,2009 Jeep Liberty Rocky Mountain Edition
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Keith-N-Dar View Drop Down
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Posts: 1447 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: 18 Jun 2012 at 6:25pm
In April we went to Kentucky at 70-75 mph and got about 10 mpg.  Last week I went to Washington Island, WI and back at 60 or less and got about 15 mpg.  I am happier at 15 than at 10.
Keith-N-Dar
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Bill-GA View Drop Down
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Posts: 214 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: 21 Jun 2012 at 9:48am
Going from GA to PA.  Fully loaded (est. 4300#) I got about 10 mpg through the hills of North GA, SC, NC, VA doing 65 mph using my Tow/Haul(T/H) switch (high xmission shift points) - BTW a pleasure to drive.  As the roads leveled out in Northern Va and Pa I think I'm getting around 13 mpg T/H switch on.  It's REALLY been a joy to tow (TV rated at 9000+).  My wife who had 20 minutes driving on my TV last week (she calls it tne BFT) towed the Pod on the Interstate for 1 hr plus ... No complaints and said she'd do it again.
Bill & Bev
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2010 RP-176T (tent & slide-out)
2011 Toyota Tundra 2WD TV
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techntrek View Drop Down
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Posts: 9062 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: 21 Jun 2012 at 10:51am
Good deal!
 
I'm hoping my wife will do the same in the future with our new TV, she said she will.  Still no way she'll be able to back it in once we get where we are going, but I'll just be happy to take some breaks in the right seat on long trips.  Last year we took 2 days going from MD to FL (and 2 days back), then later that summer 2 days from MD to ME (and back), and 100% of it was with me in the left seat.  Tiring.
Doug ~ '10 171 (2009-2015) ~ 2008 Salem ~ Pod instruction manual
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philstat View Drop Down
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Posts: 13 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: 03 Aug 2012 at 10:33am
Cindy & I took a 3000m trip this  winter with our 011'  177 and a 011' Grand Caravan. Kayaks on roof and van loaded with bikes, clothes, BBQ, water jugs, etc. Like having another complete room for the Pod. Tranny set to max 5th gear (out of 6), avg 62mpg mostly I road, avg mpg=13.3
High of 15.4 lo of 9 into 30mph= headwinds and driving rain/snow.
Trip this summer, no yaks on roof, all else same avg 13.8mpg. No towing, the Dodge avg mpg hiway is 27mpg.

Phil
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