2014 Itasca Sunstar - MPG

[gcbartman]

I recently returned from my maiden voyage in my "new" 2014 Sunstar. Curious what kind of gas mileage others are getting. I was disappointed i got an average of 7.0. I was hoping for something closer to 9 or 10! :-) Misery loves company!! :-) TIA

[theSane]

You got that great Ford Triton V10 engine and will get close to 8 mpg with a tailwind, and 6 mpg against the wind. Slow and steady will win your race. The closer to 60 mph you are, the better your mileage will be.

Edit: In personal experience, bringing a toad does not change the mpg all that much. Hills, speed and windage matter more.

[macnut]

I had one for 5 years and got an average of 7.5 when not towing and 7 when towing. Lots of hills and mountains out here in the west, which may have reduced our mileage a little. I also drive about 60 on the freeways. Wishing you safe travels this summer!

[powercat_ras]

My long term average for 50,000 miles on my 30' Winnebago Vista 27N, always pulling a car that weighs about 4,000 lbs. is about 7.2 mpg. For sure you can help the mpg if you can drive 60 mph vs. 65 mph. Higher tire inflation helps slightly, too. I try to always be a few PSI above the Winnebago recommended tire inflation pressure sticker. Winnebago says 82 cold I run 85 cold.

Some other things that can slightly degrade fuel economy:
- dirty air filter
- engine oil / filter run past recommended intervals
-

[creativepart]

I’ve tracked every mile and every gallon of gas put into my 2017 Adventurer 37F and have an average of 6.3 mpg. I drive no faster than 63 mph and we tow a 4400 LB toad 99% of the time. My RV has approx 44,500 miles on it.

I have never attempted to figure out my actual driving mpg. My mpg average includes all idling and generator running. It’s just every gallon put in the RV divided by the actual miles driven.

The highest individual numbers I’ve seen at a fill up is 7.1 mpg and the lowest is 4.5 mpg.

My RV’s Xite infotainment system has a fuel tracking mileage app built in and we started always filling up the tank each time we’ve added fuel and recording the gals, miles and cost from our very first tank of gas and so far have never missed one fill up in 5-yrs.

PS. I’ve never been tempted to see what all that gas cost me. I don’t want to know.

[danhannah]

7 mpg is the best I have ever seen... usually 6.5 or so, so you are doing okay!

[jmo01830]

Which Sunstar....numerous models. We have a 2014 26HE, gross weight, towing? not towing? lots of unanswered questions. Towing our Equinox I'm happy with 7.5 in the hills of the northeast. Flatlands down south I'll get closer to 8. Towing an open trailer with our trike on board up north about 7.8, staying off the highways and towing nothing i can get close to nine. Lots of variables.

[DustyDude]

Originally Posted by theSane

You got that great Ford Triton V10 engine and will get close to 8 mpg with a tailwind, and 6 mpg against the wind. Slow and steady will win your race. The closer to 60 mph you are, the better your mileage will be.

Edit: In personal experience, bringing a toad does not change the mpg all that much. Hills, speed and windage matter more.

x2 - Hills, speed and wind matter most and I find that wind from any direction (except directly behind, which rarely occurs) is the biggest culprit. My old 2016 w/V10 got between 7 and 9 MPG (towing a Jeep 90% of time). My 2022 w/V8 gets about the same, but weighs 4k more. Funny thing on our recent trip from El Paso to Glacier we got our best mileage on the small winding roads in the mountains. The only thing I can figure is we drove a little slower and had protection from the wind. Took the Million Dollar Highway from Ouray, CO to Durango and on to Albuquerque and got 8.2 MPH. The first 23 miles took an hour, but south of Durango we drove 65.

[Harvey2]

7 with the TOAD, 8 without, 9 downhill with a tailwind. I wish it was better too, particularly these days with $5/gallon gas!

[creativepart]

Originally Posted by Harvey2

7 with the TOAD, 8 without, 9 downhill with a tailwind. I wish it was better too, particularly these days with $5/gallon gas!

It would help a ton if you told us what RV, model, year, chassis you have and what toad you tow as well.