Slide in camper owners: what's your mpg?

Cubey

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I am debating if i should stick to my IDI and get a slide in camler or if I should get a motorhome.

With my current, light weight, less tall camper, I get around 10 city/14hwy (maybe a bit better since I replaced the air filter).

Motorhomes like I'm considering would be much roomier and ve fully self contained, but they have the massive 454 Chevy gasser, getting around half of the mpg of my current setup.

When I was pulling a not very tall 27ft travel trailer, I was getting around 10mpg hwy but omg it was a slug, especially in wind. With a headwind one day, I could barely stay at 50mph on a fairly flat stretch of highway.

Mpg does matter more than speed to me however, so I was wondering what mpgs slide in owners see.

Doing the math, 12mpg at diesel prices still beats 7.5mpg at gas prices, potentially by $8 per 100 miles (assuming $2.50 for gas vs $3 for diesel). Assuming a 3 speed C6 IDI NA F250 would get 12mpg with a slide in.
 

Oledirtypearl86

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Ok so I do not own the slip in but for 150 miles I had one before n my bed on a 86 F-350 crew cab long bed with a 6.9 that has a hypermax and a 4 speed at 55 mph I got 15 mpg and that's in the mountains of Western Montana. My mother-in-law has a Chevy motorhome that's many 25 ft long with the 454 and she got like 6 mpg now that being said with my 32 ft 5th wheel camper loaded I get on average 12 mpg sometimes better pulling around the mountains and that weighs in with all my crap at 9k
 

Cubey

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Well, I really hated having a trailer. That's why I sold it after such a short time. I don't like the hassle if backing and parking with a total length of 50ft. Plus 4 more more tires to worry about and replace. Only 2 more on a dually motorhome.

I don't have turbo and I don't have the resources to rebuild the engine with head studs so that adding turbo would be possible.

I would like a single vehicle anyway, no trailer.

A slide in would probably be better mpg wise, 10-12 vs 7.5 (typical hwy for 454/th400)

But a motorhome is roomier, has more storage and is fully self contained. So it's a tough choice.

It's annoying having to go outside from the cab to go inside the living space, especially with a dog, as one must do for a slide in. Plus no built in generator, so i have to go outside, unload the generator, fuel it up, start it and hope no one tries to steal it.

So, it boils down to cost vs comfort and convenience.
 

Oledirtypearl86

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But also a motorhome is nice where else can you have someone grab you a beer from the fridge while you park
 

Cubey

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But also a motorhome is nice where else can you have someone grab you a beer from the fridge while you park

I'm straight edge and by myself, lol.

The 22ft class A motorhome I have my eye on, I might miss out on. Im having to pull strings to get money, so... yeah.

A class C might get slightly better mpg, but they aren't quite as roomy.

A slide in is what I was originally going for with this truck actually, so maybe I will try for that in a few months, if I decide against a motorhome.
 

Oledirtypearl86

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I'm straight edge and by myself, lol.
That's just fine I was just trying to say they all have. Pros and cons me personally I own a camp trailer for taking the family but want a slide in for just me also my mother in law's motor home Is a class c and it's ******* fuel I get better with my truck and trailer bit its hard parking g a 50 foot rig
 

franklin2

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I had a slide in. I also got 12 mpg with a NA 7.3 and a c6. I got rid of the slide in later, it was ok but I did not like not being able to go site seeing without taking it off the truck, or dragging the whole thing around with me. I later swapped in a zf 5 speed and started getting 15mpg. I am sure I would have gotten near that with the camper on it also, especially on flat ground down south.
 

Cubey

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I had a slide in. I also got 12 mpg with a NA 7.3 and a c6. I got rid of the slide in later, it was ok but I did not like not being able to go site seeing without taking it off the truck, or dragging the whole thing around with me. I later swapped in a zf 5 speed and started getting 15mpg. I am sure I would have gotten near that with the camper on it also, especially on flat ground down south.

Why couldn't you sightsee with it on? I like having everything with me at all times, because I live this way full time.

I always stressed about leaving my trailer in free campgrounds so I only did twice and not for very long.

A couple's popup camper they full timed im was torched by a vandal in a FL national forest when they went to town a year or so ago. They went back to Missouri and built their own light weight slide in camper for their (I think) less than 1/2 truck. It's a Honda or something like that, as I recall.

I might try to find an old Toyota Dolphin class C. They supposedly get mid teen mpgs.
 

tradergem

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What's to stop someone from swapping a idi, and transmission for the motor home engine and transmission?
 

compressionignitionrules

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this is an interesting topic!

I have no use full input, but i am looking for a truck camper for my 97 F350 crewcab 4x4 and am planning a very long road trip with it this summer with 3 kids and maybe even the dog?

everybody is telling me to get a pop up camper but we are going to be gone 4weeks and I am thinking 4 weeks cranking up the roof might get a little annoying?
my 97 gets awesome fuel economy as I'm pretty easy on the throttle , but i'm expecting a 5mpg drop in fuel economy with camper.

I've been watching for older ford motorhomes too, ripe for a diesel conversion, but then its jsut another powertrain to keep up for camping only............

I'm following this thread , hopefully i can give some helpfull input in the next few months..?
 

gandalf

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I have an 11.5 foot cabover camper, a slide-in, which I have had on both trucks. It didn't seem to effect my mileage too much, maybe 1 or 2 mpg. I'd have to check my logs to be sure, but on the current truck, '92 CC dually 7.3 NA with an E4OD, I think I was getting about 9mpg and 11 without. The weight didn't seem to matter, but the frontal area did, and driving into a headwind was a killer.

That camper is fully self-contained, bathroom with shower, 3-way fridge, hot water. The newer ones can be had with a generator mounted mounted in a little cubby, so you don't have to take it out and set it on the ground. We camped with two adults and two kids, so it would have plenty of room for a single guy.

The camper is old now, a '77 model Lance, and needs too much repair. It's on the market if anyone wants an inexpensive camper. Actually, I'd feel a bit guilty selling it to anyone here on the forum. It needs too much work.
 

franklin2

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Why couldn't you sightsee with it on? I like having everything with me at all times, because I live this way full time.

I always stressed about leaving my trailer in free campgrounds so I only did twice and not for very long.

A couple's popup camper they full timed im was torched by a vandal in a FL national forest when they went to town a year or so ago. They went back to Missouri and built their own light weight slide in camper for their (I think) less than 1/2 truck. It's a Honda or something like that, as I recall.

I might try to find an old Toyota Dolphin class C. They supposedly get mid teen mpgs.

I didn't want to completely clean up and leave for sight seeing, someone would probably take the campsite inadvertently. I did take the camper off once, what a pain that is.

A lot of people use the slide ins because they like to camp off-road in the boonies. A guy I worked with had one because he liked to pull his boat behind the camper and the truck. There are advantages. No separate tags and taxes.

I think there are a lot of people that have the same dilemma I had, that is why they pull little cars behind their big motorhomes.
 
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