Average size of a RV gas Tank (And its relation to mileage)

Average size of a RV gas Tank (And its relation to mileage)
Average RV gas Tank Size

You are probably here to know how many gallons can your new rv gas tank hold. Average gas tank size for RV depends on the type of motorhome it is. Traveling long on a camper or RV is a great fun and a lot of people do it not only as an adventure but also to cut on those high flight fares. With campers you also get to save on high restaurant bills as you can cook your own food while enjoying the road travel along with your family. You buy a RV on a good deal that helps saving on these things but then comes the fuel to keep it running.

Gas needs of RV would cost you handful of dollars and although you thought you would save much on RV travelling, you tend to pay much more than what you were expecting. A RV normally gives a mileage that is much less that 20 mpg. Rv lifestyle is considered less costly as compared to other vacation travels even with gas cost.

A gas tank in RV ranges from 25 gallons to 150 gallons on an average. It all depends on what type of rv you have. A class A  type rv will have the biggest of them all.

While planing for a long travel with your RV, you need to make checklists of various things. You need to prepare the food items list that you would need, clothing, bathroom list and may other things. While travelling long, one thing you need to pay special attention is how much gas you would need, what is the capacity of your RV gas tank and with full tank, how many miles you can travel without refiling it. These things are important while you are traveling long and you always need to plan for this, so that you can refill on time.

Mileage of the RV depends on lot of factors and if you have been driving RV for long, then you would have a fair idea how “much it would travel with a full tank”. However, there are some other factors that also need to be considered. For example, the terrain through which you would be travelling, whether the roads are smooth or not. There will be more wear and tear when roads are mountainous and will hit your mileage.

Class A Motorhome gas Tank Size

Class A type rv’s are the most luxurious types available in the market and are obviously the costliest ones. These luxurious homes away from home can cost you in anything greater than $70000 to $10,00000. These are also the most powerful ones with engines mounted in the front. Class A motorhome tanks are of good size and you can expect them to be anything around 80-150 gallons capacity. However not all class A motorhome will have this size and will vary with brand, year of manufacturing and size of the RV. With the advances in manufacturing, the fuel capacity has also increased significantly. Class A motorhomes are also costly, very large and thus their tanks are also bigger than any other rv’s.

Class B Motorhome gas Tank Size

Class B motorhome are less luxurious as compared to class A motorhomes and thus they tend to cost much lesser than class A motorhomes. A class B motorhome would normally not cost more than $75,000 and their minimum start price is around $35,000. It would normally come with fresh water hook up, an extension to provide more head room, sleeping arrangement and is generally built on a van. 25 gallons is the average fuel tank capacity for Class B motorhomes. This is much lesser than class A motorhomes. Here again, the size, make year of the motorhome may decide the fuel tank capacity. Class A motorhomes have large gas tanks and thus need to be filled less often. But, they are costly in comparison to class B motorhomes.

Class C motorhome gas Tank Size

Mini sized mobile homes or “Class C motorhome” are  priced little below class B motorhomes. They would normally have a cab attached to the van structured motorized rv. They can cost you anything lesser than $ 40,000 and thus provide you with luxury that is nothing in comparison to class A or B motorhomes. A fuel capacity of class C motorhome remains in the range of 40-80 gallons.

Average mileage of different RV types

Rv’s have mileage per gallons which is considerably low as compared to cars, obviously because they are heavier, lengthier. Not all rv’s will give you same mileage and it depends on the size, length, model year that defines the mileage you may get. It is also very much dependent on the way you have been treating your Rv, a well maintain Rv is likely to give you more mileage. A neglected, less maintained RV will punish you in terms of gas it consumes.

On an average a new models class A motorhome should give you about 9-10 mpg, class B motorhome around 14mpg and class C too, little above 15mpg, again these are pretty average numbers and can vary for most. Don’t be surprised if the mileage of your RV comes down heavily at times or gives a significant high mileage. There are lots of factor that defines your RV’s mileage.

How many Miles can you go on full gas tank

If you want to calculate how many miles you can travel without refiling your tank then read on. If you own a Class A motorhome then with a 100 gallon tank filled, you can expect to travel for around 1000 miles. A motorhome of type B, with a 25 gallons of capacity would give you 400 miles while a class c with 25 gallons can give around 450 Miles of travel without refiling. This calculation again is average and will vary for most people.

It is always better to refill the gas tank once you see a gas station. Once it gets to 3/4th level you should be looking for a gas station, especially if you are travelling far. Some generators in the rv auto switch off once the gas reaches 1/4 and you definitely don’t want that to happen.

How can you lower down the RV gas costs

When it comes to saving on RV lifestyle there are lots of small things one can do. Gas cost has large impact on the overall RV lifestyle costs. Gas is definitely one of the factors that impacts the overall spending on RV lifestyle. Saving on RV gas expenditure is an important thing if you are looking to reduce the overall expenses in a Rv travel. Gas consumption by Rv is not by default. It does not start giving less mileage suddenly and you won’t get good mileage by luck. Its a mechanical engine that functions and consumes for reasons. You can reduce the gas costs by doing some simple and yet effective things. This will help you stay in your budget and also save some money for your next trip.

Read : Average miles per gallon for different RV Types

1. Take care of your Rv engine.

Do regular maintenance and try to tune it with the help of RV professional to get maximum efficiency. Few technical things like setting correct tire pressure helps reducing the gas consumption. A low tire pressure can result in high fuel consumption. And thus, you may want to make sure the tires carry right pressure; not too low nor too high. A good tire pressure check before you start the travel should do a lot of good to your pocket.

2. The gas consumption depends a lot on the weight it carries.

Taking cue from this simple fact you can increase the mpg of your RV, by reducing the weight on it. Remove unnecessary things from Rv and carry only the absolutely necessary ones. You should try and make your Rv as lighter as possible. This should take care of mileage of your Rv to some extent.

3. Drive at a speed that is economical.

Driving fast reduces the Mileage of RV. Similarly driving too slow is also not good and reduces the mileage. Every vehicle has a particular economical speed. Running at economical speed reduces the fuel consumption.

4. Plan for travels that are short yet adventurous.

With campgrounds available almost everywhere, you need not chose very long travels unless you have some very specific plans. This will lower down your gas costs and save some money for next travel.

G. Yoganand

A RV enthusiast who spends countless hours researching and learning various things related to RV camping. He believes in spending time doing Outdoor activities.
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