Expo Vehicle MPG

[ReluctantTraveler]

One of the things I constantly wrestle with is the balance between mobility, space and comfort, and fuel economy in an expedition vehicle or camper.

I know a lot of folks here don't feel the same way, but as the world burns, I feel less and less comfortable with a vehicle designed to explore the world (or country) that hastens its demise with excessive emissions.

Thinking through the options...

• A RTT or ground tent provide the best fuel economy, but least comfortable/amenity-rich.
• A pop-top truck camper keeps the fuel economy good, but is often lacking in space.
• Campervans seem to get shockingly good MPG, but are narrower and better suited for 2 people than a family.
• A hard-side truck camper or expedition vehicle has comfort and space in spades, but guzzles gas.
• A travel trailer can get better MPG with the right setup, but now you're stuck towing a big thing.

Am I missing anything? Are there hard-side campers that do better than 12-15 MPG? Pop-ups or campervans that aren't cramped with a family?

I also suspect this actually belongs in a different channel than DIY, but couldn't figure out the right place for it. Admins, feel free to move it!

 

[Ozarker]

What happened to your hard sided camper project?

Life is full of tradeoffs, let's address all of them.

 

[ReluctantTraveler]

What happened to your hard sided camper project?

Life is full of tradeoffs, let's address all of them.

Money (or the lack of it) happened. My industry took a really fun nose-dive around February 2023.

 

[Victorian]

I get asked about the fuel economy with our Ford Transit camper and the GMC Top Kick quite often. The transit looks big but actually has a lower fuel consumption than a 2023 F150 we owned for 1 year. At 16L/100km I think the transit is pretty sweet.
The GMC being a much heavier vehicle is usually running with 23L/100km . Certainly not going to be a daily driver.

These days, most 1 ton pick ups and SUV's getting very ************ millage . Putting a camper in the back or mounting a roof top tent doesn't really make a massive difference.

Totally different story if you are going fully electric and need to watch your range....

 

[rruff]

Am I missing anything?

Of all the compromises that must be made in optimizing a camping rig, MPG is pretty trivial. There is very little cost savings to be had, and you will compromise a lot for that very little. Things like space, payload, offroad ability, power, convenience, etc.

Note that Victorian's van is a 3.7l NA V6 2WD and he gets ~15mpg. A high top van with the same engine or newer NA V6 would be a bit better, but have less room.

I get 15 mpg in mine (average of 4 long trips), and that is big camper with supposedly the worst mpg V8 of all half tons, 4WD, big AT tires and a lift. That's about 2mpg less than I got with the empty truck.

Was reading up on the Maverick, as you can get AWD with the hybrid now, and thought it might be cool minimalist rig. One guy made a small camper to go on his 2wd hybrid, and his highway mpg dropped from high 30s to low 20s. I wasn't surprised, because I discovered that building a standup and large camper on my old Toyota 2wd PU dropped the mpg from ~30, to <20.

I'd advise you to quit waffling and buy a 1 ton+ truck, and a big slide-in camper and go have fun. 10-12 mpg? Maybe a little better. Prices are far less ridiculous than they were a couple years ago. Northern Lite and Bigfoot or usually well liked.

 

[ReluctantTraveler]

Of all the compromises that must be made in optimizing a camping rig, MPG is pretty trivial. There is very little cost savings to be had, and you will compromise a lot for that very little. Things like space, payload, offroad ability, power, convenience, etc.

Note that Victorian's van is a 3.7l NA V6 2WD and he gets ~15mpg. A high top van with the same engine or newer NA V6 would be a bit better, but have less room.

I get 15 mpg in mine (average of 4 long trips), and that is big camper with supposedly the worst mpg V8 of all half tons, 4WD, big AT tires and a lift. That's about 2mpg less than I got with the empty truck.

Was reading up on the Maverick, as you can get AWD with the hybrid now, and thought it might be cool minimalist rig. One guy made a small camper to go on his 2wd hybrid, and his highway mpg dropped from high 30s to low 20s. I wasn't surprised, because I discovered that building a standup and large camper on my old Toyota 2wd PU dropped the mpg from ~30, to <20.

I'd advise you to quit waffling and buy a 1 ton+ truck, and a big slide-in camper and go have fun. 10-12 mpg? Maybe a little better. Prices are far less ridiculous than they were a couple years ago. Northern Lite and Bigfoot or usually well liked.

Remind me again: you're in a RAM 5500, right?

 

[rruff]

Remind me again: you're in a RAM 5500, right?

No, it's in my sig.

 

[ReluctantTraveler]

No, it's in my sig.

How the heck did you build an expo vehicle on a Taco?!?!

 

[tacollie]

Drive slower. Our Tacomas got 11 MPGs at 80 and 20+ at 60 mphs. Our thirsty 6.2L F250 on 35s will get 15 mpgs at 60 mph.

Drive less. In 4 years we've only put 30k miles on our F250. When I was young I would drive 30k miles in a single year just for work.

You could get a 1/2 ton truck with a small displacement diesel for better MPGs. You will
always be up against the payload though. Anything that's going to get you off the beaten path is not going to be great on fuel. That's just the nature of the beast.

Honestly you can probably do more for the environment by eating less meat and growing as much of your own vegetables as you can.

 

[ReluctantTraveler]

Drive slower. Our Tacomas got 11 MPGs at 80 and 20+ at 60 mphs. Our thirsty 6.2L F250 on 35s will get 15 mpgs at 60 mph.

Drive less. In 4 years we've only put 30k miles on our F250. When I was young I would drive 30k miles in a single year just for work.

You could get a 1/2 ton truck with a small displacement diesel for better MPGs. You will
always be up against the payload though. Anything that's going to get you off the beaten path is not going to be great on fuel. That's just the nature of the beast.

Honestly you can probably do more for the environment by eating less meat and growing as much of your own vegetables as you can.

You aren't kidding about driving slower!

Our last trip with our travel trailer, I kept the RPMs below 3k as much as possible (even bleeding speed uphill like 18-wheelers sometimes do). Made a HUGE difference on MPGs!

 

[86scotty]

How the heck did you build an expo vehicle on a Taco?!?!

Tundra, not Taco.

Of all the compromises that must be made in optimizing a camping rig, MPG is pretty trivial. There is very little cost savings to be had, and you will compromise a lot for that very little. Things like space, payload, offroad ability, power, convenience, etc.

This. I don't know why some pick a Unimog to travel within the U.S. but I also don't understand why people will try to live in a Subaru.

 

[ReluctantTraveler]

Tundra, not Taco.

Damn, my reading comprehension is abysmal today!

 

[gator70]

I'm thinking 10 mpg is the norm. The solution is drive less camp more. Once you get to the camp, stay longer, and limit driving days.

 

[rruff]

How the heck did you build an expo vehicle on a Taco?!?!

It's a Tundra with a 164" wheelbase... but a lot of people do build on Tacomas and smaller trucks.

I'm thinking 10 mpg is the norm. The solution is drive less camp more. Once you get to the camp, stay longer, and limit driving days.

Good points! Even when I lived in my rig, I drove ~12k miles/yr and a lot of that was gratuitous. That was ~600 gal/yr and I spent $3k/yr total to live in the 90s, with ~$600 being gas. It's a pittance even now since the US$ is worth about 2.5x less, so gas isn't much more.

The price of fuel will be a small fraction of your total cost for owning and running a vehicle.

 

[ReluctantTraveler]

Just to clarify: I'm not asking about cost. It's about emissions and the impact of that on the environment.

Yes, I could drive less and stay at camp longer. That's not how I like to explore. Frankly, I find "camping" boring.