The family and I will be leaving soon for a 3,000+ mile road trip. I love taking such trips and one of the things I am looking forward to on this one (apart from the scenery, much of which will be new to me) is seeing how the Burb handles it and how it does in terms of fuel economy with so much of the trip (90%+) being highway travel.
The route is from southern California, north through Salt Lake City, east across southern and central Wyoming to northwest Nebraska, north to Mount Rushmore, south to Denver and Colorado Springs (where there will be 3-4 days of city driving), west across Colorado and Utah, and finally shooting south to get back home. Unfortunately, we will be driving interstates as much as possible (15, 80, 25, 76, and 70), as the destinations, rather than the travel, are the goals and the vehicle will be occupied by four children under the age of seven. Future trips a few years down the road will be more drive/sites driven.
The Burb runs pretty well and only shows its 12 years and 135,000 miles in a few ways. The spark plugs and wires, engine air filter, and tranny fluid (Dexron III) and filter have all been replaced within the past two years. Three months ago the engine coolant was replaced when I did the water pump and yesterday I just finished changing fluids in the transfer case (ACDelco Auto-Trak II) and front and rear diffs (Renewable Lube 75W-90), and topped off the day with fuel filter and oil (G-Oil syn 5W-30) changes. Tomorrow I am having the front alignment done.
The Burb is EPA estimated at 12/15/13 mpg (4WD, non-flex fuel) and we normally get 12-13, but will be loaded down with ~500 lbs of people and another couple hundred pounds of luggage, snacks, games, etc. I drive conservatively and will be sticking to the speed limits, which I assume will range from 65 to 75 mph, but my wife tends to drive 5 mph over. We will be crossing the Continental Divide twice. The tires are slightly oversized (1" taller than stock) and will be inflated to 40 psi (door placard is 35 psi, IIRC). I plan on dosing the gas with 1 oz TC-W3 per 5 gallons for the full trip and only using Top Tier fuels. The way I will calculate average fuel economy is by dividing the total number of miles driven (corrected for 3% taller tires) by the total gallons consumed, using the same gas station and pump near home for the first and final fills. With all of those variables and fresh lighter-end-of-the-spectrum fluids, I am thinking 16 mpg is doable. The weights and mountain climbs keep me from realistically estimating 17 mpg.
Anyone else care to guess as to that final mpg number?
The route is from southern California, north through Salt Lake City, east across southern and central Wyoming to northwest Nebraska, north to Mount Rushmore, south to Denver and Colorado Springs (where there will be 3-4 days of city driving), west across Colorado and Utah, and finally shooting south to get back home. Unfortunately, we will be driving interstates as much as possible (15, 80, 25, 76, and 70), as the destinations, rather than the travel, are the goals and the vehicle will be occupied by four children under the age of seven. Future trips a few years down the road will be more drive/sites driven.
The Burb runs pretty well and only shows its 12 years and 135,000 miles in a few ways. The spark plugs and wires, engine air filter, and tranny fluid (Dexron III) and filter have all been replaced within the past two years. Three months ago the engine coolant was replaced when I did the water pump and yesterday I just finished changing fluids in the transfer case (ACDelco Auto-Trak II) and front and rear diffs (Renewable Lube 75W-90), and topped off the day with fuel filter and oil (G-Oil syn 5W-30) changes. Tomorrow I am having the front alignment done.
The Burb is EPA estimated at 12/15/13 mpg (4WD, non-flex fuel) and we normally get 12-13, but will be loaded down with ~500 lbs of people and another couple hundred pounds of luggage, snacks, games, etc. I drive conservatively and will be sticking to the speed limits, which I assume will range from 65 to 75 mph, but my wife tends to drive 5 mph over. We will be crossing the Continental Divide twice. The tires are slightly oversized (1" taller than stock) and will be inflated to 40 psi (door placard is 35 psi, IIRC). I plan on dosing the gas with 1 oz TC-W3 per 5 gallons for the full trip and only using Top Tier fuels. The way I will calculate average fuel economy is by dividing the total number of miles driven (corrected for 3% taller tires) by the total gallons consumed, using the same gas station and pump near home for the first and final fills. With all of those variables and fresh lighter-end-of-the-spectrum fluids, I am thinking 16 mpg is doable. The weights and mountain climbs keep me from realistically estimating 17 mpg.
Anyone else care to guess as to that final mpg number?
