airflow caravan design some are more face on some more laid back and rounded lots of things lighter does not mean less drag just means less strain to get going but as you said its bigger so more air to catch so adds more strain to maintain the high speeds. out old van was heavy but small out new van is wider and a lot longer yet lighter we see more miles lost do the extra drag.
Thanks guys, I shall ask the hubby to see what kind of figures we get on our next trip out -
Kevin - I shall find out for you what the mpg of our grand vitara was with the County Dorset - It was a fabulous 1st caravan for us, and we are sad to see her go.
I always start out saying i am going to keep my speed down and see if that helps economy but the speed soon starts to creep up until i am keeping up with the traffic flow.
Quote: Originally posted by tykey on 13/7/2009
It really doesn't make sense that you tow a lighter van and get a "dramatic" increase, does it. My fuel consumption increased by 10/15% when I used the air-con, is this the explanation, perhaps?
You do get some increase though in fuel consumption with weight, Shell claim that for every extra 45kg of weight you carry you reduce your consumption by 1-2%. That must be true also when towing a caravan, so a heavier caravan will increase consumption. It also makes sense to leave the MIL at home. Shell also claim air con can increase consumption by 8%.
Legsdownkettleon is right, wind resistance makes quite a difference. With our pop-up, it can make up to 6mpg difference between a strong following wind and a strong head wind. I have yet to work out how the wind direction always seems to change to ensure we have a head wind. Logically therefore, there must be others that always have a following wind.
I have seen no mention on this forum for some time about slipstreaming. You can still stay a safe distance behind a tall HGV and get a considerable improvement in mpg, especially in a headwind, though get too close and it is not only dangerous, but you get buffeting. Mythbusters did something on this once. You can also feel the tug when a bus or an HGV overtakes at speed in a headwind.
Finaly after much experimenting on quiet motorways on the continent, I came to the conclusion that cruise control did not make any difference to consumption, though driving was much easier.
i thought something had gone drastically wrong with our fuel consumption on the last trip to cornwall , realised later that i had converted litres to us gallons not imperial
i thought something had gone drastically wrong with our fuel consumption on the last trip to cornwall , realised later that i had converted litres to us gallons not imperial
Quote: Originally posted by YVONNE130 on 14/7/2009
Hello again,
The only reason we noticed, was because a journey that normally takes quarter of a tank, took nearly half a tank -
oh well, here's to the next trip out
I had a car which the top quarter got me 100 miles, the second one got me 70miles, the third one about 40 miles, and the last one only 10miles. With any luck, your next trip will only use about 1/8 of a tank, lets hope so
Yvonne, Baileys are much more upright at the front than most, it gives you more headroom inside, but it must make it more suceptable to headwinds.
I tow my Pageant with three bikes on the roof (of the car) and if I have a head or cross wind I am only getting 22 mpg towing. On calmer days I can get upto 28 mpg.
Our new van weighs 1483 mtplm compared to 1250 mtplm for our previous van and the economy didn't alter that much so I concur that air resistance has more effect that weight.
That makes sense - the bailey is definately a different shape to our old one. We are out again at the weekend, so we shall see how it goes - it was just a bit of a shock lol x
Has anyone tried fitting a Diesel Tuning Mod or Chip as these are supposed to improve MPG.
Ive just fitted to my Toyota Hilux Invincible which is 3.0L. Drivig solo there is loads more torque and power, less gearing down up inclines etc. Spec's say BHP increased from 171 to 220 and torque from 343n to 440n.Not towed with the mod fitted yet but will let you know how it gets on and if theres any improvment for MPG.
i used to travel from swansea in south wales solo ,to Farnborough in Hampshire , a distance of 168 miles , most of the journey is the M4 , so going by what some people are saying i should get the same MPG reading on every journey , well the MPG varied on every trip
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Topic: Increased fuel consumption help!
