The Excuse: A 4400 Mile, 12 State Adventure

[PetitFrereArmada]

With a 220 mile range we are never far from a gas station.

Nice road trip.

Wondering about what you said there about 220 mile range. Is that what your full tank of gas on your Tacoma gives you? Only 220 miles? Why is that? How many miles per gallon?

Just curious since it looks a bit low. Well, I am kind of seeing that recently on my QX since I just switched from 32 inch stock tires to 35 inch mud tires. My 35 inch tires are really big and heavy, but I also attribute my loss of mileage to switching my oil from manufacturer recommended 5w30 to 10w30. I think the thicker oil might be affecting my gas mileage along with the heavy and huge mud tires that I just put on my suv. But I plan to go back to 5w30 a week or so before I leave on my own road trip next month.

 

[ljrunner05]

Nice road trip.

Wondering about what you said there about 220 mile range. Is that what your full tank of gas on your Tacoma gives you? Only 220 miles? Why is that? How many miles per gallon?

Just curious since it looks a bit low. Well, I am kind of seeing that recently on my QX since I just switched from 32 inch stock tires to 35 inch mud tires. My 35 inch tires are really big and heavy, but I also attribute my loss of mileage to switching my oil from manufacturer recommended 5w30 to 10w30. I think the thicker oil might be affecting my gas mileage along with the heavy and huge mud tires that I just put on my suv. But I plan to go back to 5w30 a week or so before I leave on my own road trip next month.

Thanks!

So, I average around 240 miles to a tank. Somewhere around 14.5 mpg on average. Now that's not 100% accurate because with the larger tire size I am going further per revolution. So with the +7.2% It's closer to 260 which is around 15mpg. Also like you said, larger and heavier tires make a huge difference along with the and air resistance of the of the rack and tent. Then you add in all the extra weight of the rack, tent, armor, winch, and camping gear my MPG drops even more. So depending on the terrain I was getting between 220 to 240 miles to a tank. I had an extra 10 gallons with me just in case we needed.

 

[Leonmac]

Hi Mate.
I have just joined this forum and this is one of the first things I have read and really impressed with your coverage of the trip and post trip reports.
The scenery was fantastic, I'm not an American but have traveled to the states a few times for work and holidays and really want to do some back country travel there in the future. After looking through your trip I'm even more excited thanks for sharing it with us. BTW, I'm a Kiwi (New Zealander) and planning on building an Expedition camper that is why I have joined this site, to get all the info I can. Again thanks, Cheers Leon.

 

[ljrunner05]

Hi Mate.
I have just joined this forum and this is one of the first things I have read and really impressed with your coverage of the trip and post trip reports.
The scenery was fantastic, I'm not an American but have traveled to the states a few times for work and holidays and really want to do some back country travel there in the future. After looking through your trip I'm even more excited thanks for sharing it with us. BTW, I'm a Kiwi (New Zealander) and planning on building an Expedition camper that is why I have joined this site, to get all the info I can. Again thanks, Cheers Leon.

Hey Leon!
Well you just made my day! Glad you enjoyed this trip, I have another big one planned in October of this year so I hope it will be just as exciting. (With less mud) ;-)
There are some incredible builds, so I'm sure you'll find plenty of ideas.
And New Zealand is on my wife and my todo list sooner than later. The mountains there look incredible.

 

[Leonmac]

My wife and I have done the Rockies in Canada, Vegas, California and Seattle. I have been to Houston, Denver and Calgary for work but managed a few days tour around Denver in the mountains and up to Banff and Jasper. Just day trips but it really impressed me. We are lucky here in NZ to be able to have a wide range of landscapes in a small country so its easy to get around and free camping is easy but you have to be properly set up with self containment, they are pretty hot on that now. To give you an idea of our size, you can drive from the East Coast to the West coast in six hours from sandy beaches through snow covered mountains back to beach, from top to bottom in 3 days with stops.