Jump to content

Leer Camper Shell And Mpg's...


Recommended Posts

Hello,

The family and I recently made a road trip to Oregon from Idaho for Christmas. I just bought this truck the day of the trip and it came with the camper shell on it. It is a 2005 GMC Sierra, 5.3L, Z71 4x4 crew cab. The tires are the stock 265/70/R17. I checked the fuel economy button and it was reading 15.4 mpg's at 75 mph. Had a great dane, and 2 mini doxies loaded back there in the bed for the trip as well. Is the camper shell really that heavy or is there in underlying problem? I figure I should get way more than that you know. Another thing, on a full tank of gas it's telling me I can go 420 miles before another refill!? What!? Really!? I'm at 180 miles now with a little less then a quarter tank gone. Fuel range is saying another 240 miles. Just want to understand, thanks in advance...

Link to comment
Share on other sites

That's about right. Best I EVER did in my Z71 (no camper) was almost 22. But that was on flat ground with the cruise set at 60. MAN that trip took forever. Same stretch of road, same truck, going 75-80 for the same distance I got around 14-15.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Sounds pretty good actually. As stormrider said, I also get really crappy mileage on Winter fuel compared to summer blend. That of course combined with cold weather driving doesn't help. Until the truck is warmed up, it uses a lot of fuel, even when your not on the gas hard. I usually get around 15 on my daily commute during the winter and 17 during the summer.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

ok, seems like everyone is getting about the same. i'm interested in the "summer blend" gas, what's that all about?

 

They change the mixtures of gas and additives according to the season. Summer or Winter blends. All about the emissions. This has been done for quite some time now.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I have the ARE Z-series on my 02 ECSB 2wd 5.3L 3.73 since it was a month old. Average 20 at 75 on highway, 21-22 at 65. In town is 16-17. Along with the weight of the topper, I have the bed/tailgate coated with Line-X. So whatever weight that is along with my fat A55 doesn't seem to vary far from the 16-19 EPA sticker.

 

I do have to add that the truck has a Wester's Hot tune with 70/30 biased towards mileage, also I run Chevron or Shell 91 octane.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

ok, seems like everyone is getting about the same. i'm interested in the "summer blend" gas, what's that all about?

 

They change the mixtures of gas and additives according to the season. Summer or Winter blends. All about the emissions. This has been done for quite some time now.

 

it's cut with a min. of 10% ethanol in most states. ethanol only has if i remember, a 60% VE of gas. so if you are getting say 20 mph on regular gas, you will louse about 1.5-2.0 mpg with the E-10 mix :lol: the price we pay for clean air.. :lol: some states force feed it to customers all year round. weather it is doing any good, i do not know, but i hate spending $3.00 per gal and getting less mpg for my money,.. :(

 

:lol:

Link to comment
Share on other sites

ok, seems like everyone is getting about the same. i'm interested in the "summer blend" gas, what's that all about?

 

They change the mixtures of gas and additives according to the season. Summer or Winter blends. All about the emissions. This has been done for quite some time now.

 

it's cut with a min. of 10% ethanol in most states. ethanol only has if i remember, a 60% VE of gas. so if you are getting say 20 mph on regular gas, you will louse about 1.5-2.0 mpg with the E-10 mix :lol: the price we pay for clean air.. :lol: some states force feed it to customers all year round. weather it is doing any good, i do not know, but i hate spending $3.00 per gal and getting less mpg for my money,.. :(

 

:lol:

 

 

can i get a "amen!"

Link to comment
Share on other sites

i've got a continental cab-height top on my 2wdxcab5.3 (3.42's) and i 've yet to get as high mileage #'s as i did prior to installing it. My MAX. highway mileage now is bout 19 or a tenth or two more. I used to get those same #'s nearly every tank. Highway speed was never below 70 unless it's some kind a const. zone ,etc..

i seen a truck test on highway mileage once w/ the tailgate up or down which is best theory and the best mileage was achieved w/ it UP. they claimed that the wind was like pushing on the tailgate , which would make you think that if you had a topper glass for wind to push on too that it would help but it don't seem too help the factory aerodynamics any from my experience. I don't think the weight is holding your mileage down as much as the other factors. My friend has a 05 4x4sltcc w/ 4.10's and he gets 16-17 hwy w/ no topper, turning more rpm's than you at 70.

Also 420 highway miles is about right for one tank 420 miles / 23 gals.( not incl 3 gal reserve) = 18 1/4 which sounds right to me.. Check your mileage manually you may be surprised..

Link to comment
Share on other sites

ok, seems like everyone is getting about the same. i'm interested in the "summer blend" gas, what's that all about?

 

They change the mixtures of gas and additives according to the season. Summer or Winter blends. All about the emissions. This has been done for quite some time now.

 

it's cut with a min. of 10% ethanol in most states. ethanol only has if i remember, a 60% VE of gas. so if you are getting say 20 mph on regular gas, you will louse about 1.5-2.0 mpg with the E-10 mix :fume: the price we pay for clean air.. :sigh: some states force feed it to customers all year round. weather it is doing any good, i do not know, but i hate spending $3.00 per gal and getting less mpg for my money,.. :banghead:

 

:seeya:

 

 

E10 is the same year round. Winter fuel has additives to help with cold starting, keeps the fuel from freezing, etc. etc. Summer fuel has different additives to keep the fuel from evaporating quickly but the additives have less of an effect on fuel mileage than the winter blend. Every state uses a summer and winter blend.

 

Here is a more thorough explanation of it: http://www.zhome.com/ZCMnL/PICS/winterGas/winterGas.html

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I'm getting between 14 and 16 depending on a few factors

1. the biggest one being remote start time, it just loves to drink idling

2. time spent in 4 mode versus 8 mode (speed related, use down hill to your advantage :banghead:

3. brakes vs coasting

4. tire pressure this is a pretty big one too +/- 2mpg 24-26psi vs 38-40psi

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.

  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.
  • Forum Statistics

    245.8k
    Total Topics
    2.6m
    Total Posts
  • Member Statistics

    333,235
    Total Members
    8,960
    Most Online
    fasal a
    Newest Member
    fasal a
    Joined
  • Who's Online   2 Members, 0 Anonymous, 659 Guests (See full list)



×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

By using this site, you agree to our Terms of Use.