I can't drive 55.

we ran a peterbuilt with a c12 cat across with a 53 trailer and 5 canams 9.5 mpg

 
Kraut_n_Rice said:
What's the name of the channel?
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RVHaulers with Gregg, he's up in Canada.

Here's one video where he compared 2 identical Volvo trucks, one with stock 3.55 ratio and the other one he swapped to 2.64 ratio. He obviously wouldn't do this if he was hauling a 40 ton load, but for a 10 or 12 ton RV trailer, it works great.


I was wrong about the empty mpg in this video, but I've seen other videos (I think by him - where he does get up in the 16 mpg range empty. One pass in this video he gets over 18 mpg, but he had a tailwind. The opposite direction he got 12.8 mpg in the same truck against the wind.

 
It always amazed me how you can have a class A vehicle for a motor home and only need a class C license. Not to mention having air brakes but not needing the endorsement. 

 
wapawekka said:
Part of me thinks I’ll find it unsafe as trucks are ignoring speed limits all the time in CA and flying by you at 65-70.
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This happens to me. I prefer to ride in the second lane over because of less potholes. Problem is i cant keep the 80mph trucker pace. Even the slow lane i feel in the way at times. Has CHP decided to ignore the 55 truck speed limit? Fine with me if they deem it safe based on a visual drive by of the truck. Brakes and technology keep improving. Dont most trucks have trackers? I heard some have devices that will apply the brakes. I think about that when a trucker dude blows my doors off and im doing 60mph. They must be independent and dont have a tracker and mean boss to answer to. 

 
Lord of the Dunes said:
There's a guy who buys used class 8 trucks, converts them to RVs for towing and changes the gear ratio to a taller one. He does YT videos showing off his fuel economy towing a 24,000 lb trailer. One truck got about 9 mpg towing and when he changed to a taller gear, it went up to 10.5 mpg. Empty, that truck got about 16.5 mpg before and about 17.5 mpg after. He got very similar results with another brand of truck. One had a 12 speed auto shift and the other had I believe a 13 speed automatic.

In addition to the obvious safety benefits, those big rigs are getting better mileage than my truck towing an estimated 19-20k. Not to mention they can carry 300 gal so you can fill up whenever you find a great deal on diesel. Regardless of where you live, you don't ever need to buy fuel in CA again. 
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That's the classic "gear fast, run slow" mantra, interesting to see mileage gains that high though. Suppose it makes sense given that the load is so much lower than grossing 80k.  Was seriously considering the Class 8 route when we were in the market for a larger 5er as buying a used Class 8 truck was cheaper than a newer diesel pickup to pull the same load, not to mention the benefits of engine braking / air brakes. Only downside was lack of off-road capability vs a 4x4 pickup, we tend to end up in some interesting places and burying a rig that heavy isn't high on my list of things to do. 

 
wapawekka said:
I normally stay around 65-68 but I’m determined this summer on our 3,000 mile trip to stick around 56-57 to see if I can’t maximize the fuel economy of the Ford 7.3L. Part of me thinks I’ll find it unsafe as trucks are ignoring speed limits all the time in CA and flying by you at 65-70.
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I've seen a couple of videos where guys have done testing and their results were to keep it right at the torque peak and that's where the engine is most efficient. Whatever the mfr says is the peak tq rpm, set the cruise at that. It might be 60 or 62 or 59, but that's where the engine is most efficient.

 
I know in the old Dodge towing the old trailer with me driving right at 72mph. It would take less then a half tank to get from the house to Toms Well road.  If I let the EX drive the same distance it would take 3/4 of a tank of fuel and we would only save about 10 minutes of time.

 
I set my CC at 62 when towing. In CA it's really hard to go 55...even at 62 everyone is blowing by me but it's a good moderate speed.

BTW I'm not in a motorhome though, truck and 16' box trailer.

I know I could tow at 11 teen bazillion miles per hour like the guy in the Izusu Pup with a 40' 5th wheel squatted so low the front tires are off the ground, but I'm just not that cool of a guy!

:bag:

 
in my 02 dodge dually if i cruise to socal from havasu at 55 i can go there and back on one tank of fuel. if i go 75-80 i cant.  my normal daily driving  (no towing) i can get close to 500 miles from a tank of fuel. if i slow down quite a bit i have gotten little over 600 before. towing.. all bets are off depending on what im towing. my toyhauler going to idaho i got 8-9 no matter how i drove (total cgvw was at 24800lbs).

 
Fuel economy is the major reason I store my trailers out near Glamis. I can drive out there with just the coolers, food, etc. at 78 mph then hook up and tow the trailer a short distance to camp. I'm sure I'd get better mpg at a lower speed, but since I'm basically empty, I'll take the hit of 16.5 mpg instead of 18 mpg at 60 or 65 mph so.

Plus it's a lot less strain on the truck not hauling that 40' trailer back and forth over the mountains.

 
onanysunday said:
Just pulled on to gecko road and the gauge is right at 3/4 or just maybe a pinch below certainly higher than it normally is halfway through the trip. Looks like it took about an extra 20 minutes. Looks like maybe a nice payday here.

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You are going to need that extra fuel to run the generator for the a/c this weekend.  Looks like temps will be in the upper 90s.  

 
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wopachop said:
This happens to me. I prefer to ride in the second lane over because of less potholes. Problem is i cant keep the 80mph trucker pace. Even the slow lane i feel in the way at times. Has CHP decided to ignore the 55 truck speed limit? Fine with me if they deem it safe based on a visual drive by of the truck. Brakes and technology keep improving. Dont most trucks have trackers? I heard some have devices that will apply the brakes. I think about that when a trucker dude blows my doors off and im doing 60mph. They must be independent and dont have a tracker and mean boss to answer to. 
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Yup. I feel like a nuisance “crawling” the speed limit when people are blowing past me.  With all the construction on the 10 east in Beaumont/Banning and the small #4 lane, it puckers my hole as I’m driving up against the k rail. 

Lord of the Dunes said:
I've seen a couple of videos where guys have done testing and their results were to keep it right at the torque peak and that's where the engine is most efficient. Whatever the mfr says is the peak tq rpm, set the cruise at that. It might be 60 or 62 or 59, but that's where the engine is most efficient.
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I’ll have to look in to this and see the peak range on the Ford. 

 
wapawekka said:
Yup. I feel like a nuisance “crawling” the speed limit when people are blowing past me.  With all the construction on the 10 east in Beaumont/Banning and the small #4 lane, it puckers my hole as I’m driving up against the k rail. 

I’ll have to look in to this and see the peak range on the Ford. 
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I'm  with you on that East bound stretch 10 freeway by Banning and Cabazon. It has small lanes with trucks fling by with k rail so close on the right side. There is no where to go if someone drifts out of there lane. Sometimes I think our mirrors are going to touch as they fly by. One time I checked the mirrors and saw a semi drifting in and out using his lane and my lane. So I hot footed it and found a break in the k rail for a short distance and then slowed to let him go by. As he went by I looked over and could see he had a pair of drum sticks in his hands as was drumming on the dash and steering with his knees.   :drummer:

Like Sammy said;

I CAN'T DRIVE 55!

 
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