Mileage Maximisers
November 10th, 2008 by Alex Jeffery
Smaller, lighter, more fuel-efficient motorhomes are the trend for 2009
Imagine, if you would, a stroll through an RV show two or three years from now. There’s an abundance of motorhomes built on chassis with familiar names — Freightliner, Roadmaster, Spartan, DynoMax, Workhorse, Dodge, Ford and Chevy. But there are also a few that you’re seeing for the first time.
Although there are some traditional 45-footers decked out with granite floors, five slide outs and triple rooftop air conditioners, most have a smaller footprint and, in some cases, a different look and style. And almost every one that you walk by offers better fuel mileage than you were used to seeing in the past.
That scenario is not as far-fetched as it might seem as the 2009 model year heralds the beginning of what some in the RV industry see as a major shift — triggered by elevated fuel prices — toward smaller, lighter motorhomes that provide better fuel mileage.
“I call it a tectonic plate shift,” said Luc van Herle, marketing director for Fleetwood Enterprises’ motorhome division. “The RV industry is in the midst of changing and I think its forever.”
That doesn’t mean that Fleetwood’s 45-foot, quad-slide luxury American Coach diesel-pusher is going to be miniaturised anytime soon.
But major manufacturers that include Fleetwood, Winnebago Industries, Monaco Coach and Coachmen RV have all introduced Class B and/or Class C motorhomes on the high-mileage Dodge/Freightliner Sprinter chassis, powered by a 154-hp, turbocharged Mercedes-Benz diesel engine that Dodge estimates gets between 16 mpg to 19 mpg of fuel.
They join Airstream and Canadian B-van manufacturers such as Pleasure-Way, Leisure Vans and Roadtrek Motorhomes, who have been building on the Sprinter chassis for several years.
And in the big picture, that just might be only the beginning as others — including Monaco, Gulf Stream and Damon Motor Coach — have announced they are working with alternative C- and A-body chassis trying to achieve the same goal: higher fuel mileage.
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