Bongo Fury

Just calculated the mpg on my 4wd diesel, 31 mpg, I can live with that I was expecting the low 20's.
Suppose keeping the revs down to under 2000 and having a light foot is the way to go.

I have found on a run, driving sensibly, I can get 29 MPG but when I'm towing my trailer and the Bong is fully loaded for camping it drops to 24. I have not been brave enough to check what it does around town

Cashew wrote:Suppose keeping the revs down to under 2000 and having a light foot is the way to go.

I've been told that you should rag her every now and again to keep her regular, prevent build up of deposits in turbo, etc... Not sure how true that is, though.

Dont forget remove all not needed weight, keep all tyres up to regular psi, all helps with fuel economy.

Driver+Passengers wrote: I've been told that you should rag her every now and again to keep her regular, prevent build up of deposits in turbo, etc... Not sure how true that is, though.

This advice echoed in my ears on a recent trip whilst returning from Pembrokeshire The van didn't feel that stable at 85 I know I didn't, but I think I got rid of any deposits.

Cashew

David Edwards wrote:Dont forget remove all not needed weight, keep all tyres up to regular psi, all helps with fuel economy.

That includes Gas & water bottles if you are not using them.

Not much point in doing that unless you use a full camper every day which I don't. My water tank is built in and rarely used as a 5 litre plastic bottle regularly topped up at the campsite does me fine. Gotta leave my gas bottle in as I would be lost without my cuppa.

Most of us with diesels save a few pennies by topping up the tank with a few bottles of veggie oil when it is cheap. The cost of veggie oil used to be very cheap at one time but these days the price fluctuates. At the moment it is http://www.igmaynard.co.uk/bongo/forum/ ... 73&t=57515. These days I add between 6 and 10 @ 3 litre bottles of veggie oil to a tank full but some use more. Some people say that their diesel runs smoother as a result.

Another use for veggie oil is to bung some in and give your Bongo an Italian tune up down the motorway before taking the MOT emmission test. My bongo has never failed the test in the 5½ years that I have owned it.

Tony

I know that in the interests of fuel economy (especially around town when it is all accelerate then decelerate) that I shouldn't keep half my camping stuff in the Bongo. But even though I rarely use it at present, I love the idea that I have all I need with me, should I desire to go somewhere on a whim (you know, the 4 min warning sounds, advising that your town is going to be nuked - who you gonna call? ). But seriously, I can pretty much turn left out of work and go home, or turn right and go camping without a second thought (well, almost!).

So I live with the minor hit on MPG, because I want an MPV, otherwise I'd have bought something else that was more frugal on fuel.

But that's just me

Which ones Mike?

Just done Home to Rushden then Portsmouth docks & return to home...... 30% veg mix (Olympic brand oil....no jokes) and returned 32.82 mpg ...... Brimmed and using Bongo calculator

New tyres 2 weeks ago, Assymetric type (treadwear 400 rather than previous 360 )rather than the directional ones I had before (seems to have helped the economy by 2 mpg since fitted) all round at 40 psi ....
Most of the trip was a steady 56-60 mph where possible and traffic caused standstill creeping along both ways....

Fuel used with the 30% veg was Morrisons Diesel

mikeonb4c wrote:............, I love the idea that I have all I need with me, should I desire to go somewhere on a whim (you know, the 4 min warning sounds, advising that your town is going to be nuked - who you gonna call? ). But seriously, I can pretty much turn left out of work and go home, or turn right and go camping without a second thought (well, almost!).

So I live with the minor hit on MPG, because I want an MPV, otherwise I'd have bought something else that was more frugal on fuel.

But that's just me

That's how I travel ready for the unexpected, from a sudden sunny day day trip to the beach....all the way to WROL/SHTF/Alien Invasion
Proved a good thing on my last trip when the Bongo broke down ....had plenty of snacks, drinks, clothing, coolant, tool kit etc etc
My other vehicle is very fuel efficient .......a BICYCLE

29.8 Mpg on a long motorway and dual carriageway trip doing either 70mpg on my own, or 60-70 behind lorries and coaches respectively. I probably slip streamed about 30% of the journey.

In town. 20 ish, at a guess - it's horrific. Super light foot is the key.

2.5TD 4x4 with full side conversion, and all the crockery etc associated with camping, plus a full fridge of food, plus other stuff - chairs, gazeebo, charcoal, bbq etc.

Interesting thread. I'm with the nihilists. What I love most about the Bongo is having all my 'stuff' with me. I do a lot of dog training and so have a wide range of extra clothing on board. Plus coffee/tea and emergency food. I keep my water tank 1/4 full. So am set for day camping.

For overnight I need to add bedding, & fore/aft screens - but that's about it.

For summer camping - a table to go outside and a BBQ.

When I'm driving down rutted tracks to my dog training events any passengers do comment that my kitchen stuff sounds a bit scarey - but it's soooo nice to be able to have a hot chocolate or coffee.

rhino-wayne wrote:

mikeonb4c wrote:............, I love the idea that I have all I need with me, should I desire to go somewhere on a whim (you know, the 4 min warning sounds, advising that your town is going to be nuked - who you gonna call? ). But seriously, I can pretty much turn left out of work and go home, or turn right and go camping without a second thought (well, almost!).

So I live with the minor hit on MPG, because I want an MPV, otherwise I'd have bought something else that was more frugal on fuel.

But that's just me

That's how I travel ready for the unexpected, from a sudden sunny day day trip to the beach....all the way to WROL/SHTF/Alien Invasion
Proved a good thing on my last trip when the Bongo broke down ....had plenty of snacks, drinks, clothing, coolant, tool kit etc etc
My other vehicle is very fuel efficient .......a BICYCLE

Great to read the ranks of the nihilists are swelling. And its a funny thing, but it was only because of the Bongo that I met some electric bike owners on a campsite. I bought one cheap on eBay, used it for work, and offset my Bongo fuel costs by saving about 2k in fuel costs. Such is the nature of serendipity ha ha.

My other vehicle is very fuel efficient .......a BICYCLE

The Bongo is a luxury, the bike is the weapon of commuter choice (although I appreciate this isn't possible for many).

30mpg on a long run, dread to think on the shorter around town runs (2wd though). Having said that, our car is a common rail diesel with a particulate filter and I'm happier taking a hit on fuel economy than the more costly long term service implications of using the car for short journeys.