4 replies to this topic

[KevinQuinlan]

I have not yet had a chance to use my 2007 180 Challenger but will be putting it in the water in two weeks. I have seen contradictory infomation regarding how much gas these boats eat. I have seen a few people write that they can spend half a tank of gas on 4 - 6 hours of use but I just saw something from boattest.com on YouTube that says they only get 3.15 MPG. If that is the case you would only get 2 - 3 hours of use on an entire tank.

What type of use have people typically gotten out of a tank of gas?

[RichC]

I have not yet had a chance to use my 2007 180 Challenger but will be putting it in the water in two weeks. I have seen contradictory infomation regarding how much gas these boats eat. I have seen a few people write that they can spend half a tank of gas on 4 - 6 hours of use but I just saw something from boattest.com on YouTube that says they only get 3.15 MPG. If that is the case you would only get 2 - 3 hours of use on an entire tank.

What type of use have people typically gotten out of a tank of gas?

Hi Kevin-
I also have an '07 180. We average about 6-8 hours at a time on the water. Usually takes 14-17 gallons to refill afterward.
I installed a fuel flow meter. At full speed, (44 mph by gps), with 4 adults and all the crap my wife insists we bring, it shows 3.8 gallons per hour. But if I throttle back, I can still do about 23 mph, but the flow drops to 2.1 gallons per hour.
Quite a difference. Hope this helps.

[FJtoy4me]

First post! First boat!! Love this thing!!! We just picked ours up this last weekend (for an INCREDIBLE deal BTW), and we took the Doo out for a spin. I too am quite curious what real-time mileage is and should be. Our initial weekend we were able to get up to 2 hours. Started with a 1/4, added a 1/4 before starting and got on the water. By the end of the trip we got the infamous blow horn warnings (scary, each and every time!), LOW FUEL. With a 28 gal tank, taking half of that (and I am doing a ROUGH estimate), thats 14 gal. In 2 hours? seems a bit off, but these are very early observations I will be following. One more thing that I'm SURE threw off my mileage was a trip of towing a stranded boater from one end of the lake to another. I'm pretty sure that trashed my mileage (PS - what are the recommendations on towing another vessel, before and/or after the break-in period?). I would love to see this post grow with other users experiences.

[keviseeb]

First post! First boat!! Love this thing!!! We just picked ours up this last weekend (for an INCREDIBLE deal BTW), and we took the Doo out for a spin. I too am quite curious what real-time mileage is and should be. Our initial weekend we were able to get up to 2 hours. Started with a 1/4, added a 1/4 before starting and got on the water. By the end of the trip we got the infamous blow horn warnings (scary, each and every time!), LOW FUEL. With a 28 gal tank, taking half of that (and I am doing a ROUGH estimate), thats 14 gal. In 2 hours? seems a bit off, but these are very early observations I will be following. One more thing that I'm SURE threw off my mileage was a trip of towing a stranded boater from one end of the lake to another. I'm pretty sure that trashed my mileage (PS - what are the recommendations on towing another vessel, before and/or after the break-in period?). I would love to see this post grow with other users experiences.

The SCIC engines have a break in program that increases fuel flow and retards timing for the first 7 hours of operation. Between that and recommended break in procedures 6 to 7 gph is not uncommon. Once its broken in we can confirm the 2.5 to 3.5 gph useage as being normal. With respect to towing with a recreational vessel the common rule of thumb is to never tower a vessel larger or heavier than you. You should not tow a boat during break in, if it is critical and absolutely necessary to do so then vary the RPM's as much as possible. Congratulations on your purchase!

Kevin Seeber
Kingsland Marine

[jeepster]

I got an 05 one, in 05 the gas tanks were only 20 gallons....i think the newer C180 boats have 28 gallons fuel tank so if i ride with my family smoothly....let's say i ride 3-4 hours on my 20 gallons tank riding smooth at aroun 6K and about 25 mph GPS, then i can ride continuously for about 4-5 hours.....but if i step on the throttle and beat it like crazy, doing slaloms, and pulling some riders behind...i can easily burn up to full tank in only 1.5-2 hours....so it is all in the way of driving it.....beware of the comments some have 20 gallons other have 28 gallons tank....not the same for your pocket when you fill up...!!!

I have not yet had a chance to use my 2007 180 Challenger but will be putting it in the water in two weeks. I have seen contradictory infomation regarding how much gas these boats eat. I have seen a few people write that they can spend half a tank of gas on 4 - 6 hours of use but I just saw something from boattest.com on YouTube that says they only get 3.15 MPG. If that is the case you would only get 2 - 3 hours of use on an entire tank.

What type of use have people typically gotten out of a tank of gas?