I see these in most forums I go into, so I thought I'd start it here. What kinda gas mileage are y'all gettin in your RamVans? Post some specs, driving style, freeway or city driving, etc.

Myself, I seem to get getting mid-high 12's (last two fill-ups were 12.61 and 12.69mpg), taking it easy on country roads and in town with rolling hills, occasionally using a/c, and frequently using cruise. It's about 1-1.5mpg below where I thought I'd be, but I think a lot of that is due to the tall (well, relatively) 3.55 gears. It's probably about time for a tune-up, as well.

I have gotten a high of 14.2mpg on a 4-day trip to Dallas and back, total of 417 miles, about 50/50 freeway/stop-and-go driving.

 

I'm glad you brought up this topic

I have a 99 1500 360 too. When I bought it in Michigan to drive back to Indy I got about 12mpg. So I decided this vehicle was begging for a boost.

I was interested in testing out hydrogen boosting the gasoline so I bought a hydrogen generator from a guy in Canada.

I have been keeping records and I only use the Van for trips and towing my 22' sailboat.

Last trip to Springfield Missouri from Indy 4 weeks ago without boat. - 19.2mpg average.
Last trip towing boat from Indy to Lk. Munroe (about 2 hours each way. Some start stops and hills to climb) 17.4mpg

My van is begging for a tune. spark wires leak so I think when I get the time to put new plugs, wires, and probably replace the plenum gasket, I will get slightly better.

I don't know what the diff ratio is.

 

I am getting only 11MPG with my hightop 87 Ram 250 Van 5.2L. Now 145,000 miles and running strong but sometimes some smoke on startup. I also pull a 25 ft sailboat with it (MacGregor 25) http://naval.com/van

 

I get high 9's low 10's depending on how much Highway I do...Its worse on the highway, but I think that is the auto tranny (no overdrive) and the stock exaust. I was pulling 12-14 with my 83 the standard (OD4), and seperate dual exaust. I could also use a tune up Im sure. I do have lots of things on this van to increase the wind load...lights, multiple antennas, GPS receivers, that kind of junk.

 

This post has got me to thinking why such lousy gas milage and another post reminded me that aerodynamics has a lot to do with it. Hell I am a private pilot, why didn' I think of that...duh ! My Van is a 19ft extended with a hightop and an ac unit on top of that. Its an aerodynamic truck load of coal. A lot of wind resistance to say the least. This is probably why some seem to do a little better around town than on the hwy. I seldom go over 55 as the wind will have me weaving around a bit and at 62 yrs old, who needs the extra stress. So 11 mpg is max. Hey its time to get some shocks I think... some creaking and groaning from front and back pas sides. They looked kind of old and tired lasts time I had the beast on a lift. Try and find a local lift that is outside and can take a hightop with ac on the roof. I know not about shocks... would like to have a nice safe ride and look forward to any comments. Or did the last turkey who did a grease job miss some nipples? Did they have nipples in '87? Shocks..gas/oil etc. Tell me what you know. Ebay is my baby.

 

Just filled up today, saw a slight improvement to 12.897mpg (362 mi / 28.068gal), but am not sure if that's due to using a different pump at a different station or if driving to the tach actually got me that good mileage. Actually it should have been right around 13mpg, but I had a few indiscretions with the throttle . I thought it was decent considering that and the mileage it had been getting before (around 12.5), but I still think there's another .75-1mpg in this machine.

Lifetime average is now 13.353, apx. 20% highway / 80% stop-and-go (1323mi / 99.075gal), typically pretty easy on the throttle, keeping revs under 2k, using cruise often, and using a/c only at higher speeds.

 

Muskrat, I am impressed that you can do that with the 360 on a hightop. Do you have dual exhausts? I heard that can add a bit to the mpg. A friend told me that the noises i am hearing is not shocks but old bushings on the suspension and to ignore. Ok i will ignore for a while.. but next time on the hoist i will ask and look for grease nipples !! No sway or diving to indicate shot shocks and I dont know how old they are just that they look really old. Next job after replacing the valve cover gasket is to find out where tranny fliud is escaping to mess up my driveway... takes 3 or 4 qts per 1000 miles now.

 

I joke that I drive a box kite AKA "The Blue Whale", AKA "Wire Brush". My wind load is different but still there. I'm up to 4 antennas soon to be 5 all but one of which are mag mount (plus the AM/FM), some GPS Pucks, a yellow teardrop in the front and 2 rotator yellow bar in the back. The lights top out at 7'2" and the antennas make me about 10' tall. Parking garages are something I can not do. Overhangs are fun - drive throughs are the best j/k.

I'm certain the rusty roof isnt helping any, not to mention the places it looks like I was shot with a Rust Gun. I took all the peeling paint off the drivers side with a razorblade it was that loose. Oh and then under the van I have my plow mount....putting the plow on that is wind resistance in the extreme. Basicly a 2' by 7.5' air dam/scoop in front of the radiator. Heat works well in the winter though.

Shocks I know nothing about, well almost nothing, I know I probably need them too. I know I need to see about heavy duty ball joints as well since the van was not designed to have the weight of a plow hanging 3 feet off the front. I also know that putting the sway bar back in would help considderably with the ride if I could only drill out the hardened bolts that broke when I took it off. The links were rusted through. Im still finding nightmares left by the last owner. He had a penchant for Hard Expando Foam so all of the factory anti vibration foam has been pulled apart from the roof and side surfaces. One of the rear roof members was cut 90% though. he obviously knew almost nothing at all about electronics. I should probably look for another 87 Ram Van to put the manual tranny back into, but I have no place to store it for the next couple of years. and by then they will be really hard to find in any kind of shape. What can I say I enjoy vans.

Yep grease fittings all over something like 12 or 14 total. I cant remember where they all are. Upper and lower ball joints on both sides(4), the drive shaft u-bolts(2), steering linkages. (2-3), tie rod ends(4), When I put the OD4 in, there will be one on the shifter as well.

 

Actually, it's a lo-top model, it's kind of the base model of conversion vans. Still quite comfy though. I don't have duals, but that's something I'm planning on doing. If you upgrade carefully (including catalytic converters, etc.) yes, it can add slightly to your gas mileage.

 

Yeah, yeah, it's me again.

I took a trip down to Temple and back this weekend. Here's the result:

362.6 miles on 23.106gal = 15.693mpg. Had a new air filter, drove on the state highway, set cruise at 60, only had ca. 50 miles of in-town driving and very little a/c use. Rolling hills and a headwind set it back a little, but still not too bad considering.

Lifetime: 13.801mpg on 65 / 35% in-town / highway driving.