Real life camper van fuel consumption figures
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A question that crops up on the
SBMCC forum quite often is about
what type of van to buy for a self build motorhome conversion, of course the
answers were mainly down to personal preferences, but one thing did crop up, the
surprising difference in the amount of fuel different vans used, manufacturers
official fuel consumption data is more often of no use to someone building a
motorhome, as the data assumes part of the vans life will be spent driving
around empty,
When the van is a motorhome, it will always be a certain weight, (check yours
out at your local weigh bridge, only costs about £2.50 for a printed ticket, it
may surprise you), someone mentioned it would be good for people to post their
consumption figures, to help people decide if they could afford to run the van
they are thinking of buying, once it's converted into their dream motorhome.
With this in mind, I decided to make a table that lists the fuel consumption figures people get from their motorhomes in real life situations, this is with the van in camping condition.. i.e. water tanks full, food on board, people and their possessions in it, even the kitchen sink :), you can look down the list for the van you are thinking of buying, and see what it gets to the gallon in real life once its got all the weight of a conversion in it permanently, and also see if you get better or worse consumption figures compared to people with the same type of van as you.
| Name | Motorhome conversion details | Fuel consumption figures | ||||||||
| (sbmcc name) | Make | Model | Year | Engine Size | Weight Tons | Body Type | Engine Type | Average | Best | Worst |
| Dave B Hampshire | Bedford | PJK BUS | 1982 | 5.8 | 6.2t | Low Top | Diesel | 15 | 18 | 11 |
| ICLT | Dennis | AV1 | 1959 | 3.33 | 2.6 | Low Top | Diesel | 28 | 31 | 24 |
| Ed | Ford | Transit | 1990 | 2.9 | 3.5 | Luton | Petrol | 17 | 11 | 19 |
| Frankie | Ford | Transit | 1992 | 2.5 | 2.8 | Luton | Diesel | 23 | 25 | 23 |
| Happybonzo | Ford | Transit 100 | 1997 | 2.5 | 2.25 | Diesel | 22 | 27 | 20 | |
| Malc | Ford | Transit 160 | 1991 | 2 | 3 | High Top | Petrol | 19 | 19 | 19 |
| Sparky (From Australia) | Ford | Transit 175 | 1973 | 4.1 | 3.0 | Box | Petrol | 14 | 17 | 11 |
| Iain | Freight Rover | 310 | 1990 | 2.5 | 3.1 | High Top | Diesel | 26 | 30 | 22 |
| Kryten1 | Freight Rover | 250 | 1980 | 1.7 | 3.0 | Luton | Petrol | 17 | 22 | 11 |
| Iveco-man (new forest) | Iveco | Daily 35-10 | 1996 | 2.5 | 3.3 | High Top | TD | 30 | 34 | 29 |
| Simon | Iveco | Turbodaily 35-10 | 1998 | 2.8 | 3.5 | High Top | TD | 34 | 38 | 29 |
| Zaphod | Iveco | Daily LWB | 1997 | 2.8 | 3.2 | High Top | TD | 31 | 34 | 27 |
| Big Ian | LDV | 400 | 1996 | 2.5 | 3.2 | Low Top | TD | 21 | 24 | 20 |
| Darren Hall | Mercades Benz | 508D | 1982 | 4.2 | 4.8 | High Top | Diesel | 24 | 29 | 18 |
| CAM | Mercedes | 207D | 1988 | 2.4 | 2.1 | High Top | Diesel | 26 | 29 | 25 |
| Radiator Ray | Mercedes Benz | Sprinter 312D | 1996 | 2.9 | 3.0 | High Top | TD | 30 | 35 | 28 |
| Derek | Renault | Traffic | 1990 | 2.1 | 2.2 | High Top | TD | 30 | 33 | 28 |
| EdWebster | Renault | Traffic | 1992 | 2.1 | ??? | High Top | Diesel | 30 | 36 | 27 |
| Mat | Renault | Master MWB | 1999 | 2.5 | 3.3 | High Top | Diesel | 28 | ?? | 26 |
| Dave in Wales | Vauxhall | Midi SWB | 1994 | 2.0 | 1.8 | Petrol | 26 | 32 | 23 | |
| CampinGazz | Volkswagen | LT 35 | 1989 | 2.4 | 2.9 | High Top | Diesel | 21 | 24 | 17 |
| CampinGazz | Volkswagen | LT 35 | 1989 | 2.4 | 2.9 | High Top | TD | 24 | 26 | 19 |
| Richy Herbert | Volkswagen | T4 | 1991 | 2.4 | ??? | Diesel | 28 | 34 | 20 | |