Successful Road Trip 5200 miles the Van and Popup

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nwjones18

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Nov 30, 2009
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Warner Robins, GA
We got done going on a 5200 miles road trip in two weeks.. Stops were St. Louis, Denver, Bryce Canyon, UT, Las Vegas, Grand Canyon, Carlsbad Caverns, NM, San Antonio and Houston then back to Warner Robins GA. Van is my friends its a 1999 Ford E-150 with the 4.6. Had over 215k on it at the end of the trip. All fluids were new at beginning of the trip oil was QSUD 10w-30. Used 4.5qts on the trip which I don't think is bad considering the van was 7200lbs and we were towing a 2700lb trailer. Did the whole trip at 60mph no O/D there were plenty of long WOT runs in second in the mountains. Over all proof that with good maintenance mileage is just a number.. We averaged 11.8mpg for the trip. Just thought I'd share. Us in Denver.
 
Nice pic, but the exposure looks like it was taken in 1977 or so. We had a popup camper like that when I was growing up. Maybe I'm just thinking of those years...
 
Nice! In a couple of years I would like to travel out west with my popup.
 
Originally Posted By: Pajamarama
Nice pic, but the exposure looks like it was taken in 1977 or so.
That is the first thing I thought as well. Nice pines there though!
 
That's a lot of miles in two weeks! I have done that in three weeks, even then I felt like I spent too much time driving. But that is a challenge when you just have two weeks off to make the trip, I guess.
 
Originally Posted By: BowNisPar
Why no O/D? Sounds like a fun trip!
Too much heat if it drops out of convertor lockup. Plus some of the early 4spd autos seem to have had weak od gears.
 
Originally Posted By: Pajamarama
Nice pic, but the exposure looks like it was taken in 1977 or so.
I thought this too. But a 1999 van in a photo from the 70's sure makes it look like the OP took a trip into the twilight zone. smile Looks like a fun trip nonetheless. 4.5 quarts isn't too bad given the situation. Lol.
 
Originally Posted By: supton
Originally Posted By: BowNisPar
Why no O/D? Sounds like a fun trip!
Too much heat if it drops out of convertor lockup. Plus some of the early 4spd autos seem to have had weak od gears.
Not to say "I know that", but I know that... I can't imagine that popup would kick into and out of OD on the highway, but I've never been in a big Econoline towing a popup, so it is just speculation.
 
My friend took the picture and it had some sort of filter on it to make it look that way... At 60mph the van doesn't have enough torque to pull itself up a hill in O/D much less be loaded and tow anything..
 
Originally Posted By: nwjones18
My friend took the picture and it had some sort of filter on it to make it look that way... At 60mph the van doesn't have enough torque to pull itself up a hill in O/D much less be loaded and tow anything..
Word. Sounds like an awesome trip, overdrive be [censored].
 
Originally Posted By: BowNisPar
Originally Posted By: supton
Originally Posted By: BowNisPar
Why no O/D? Sounds like a fun trip!
Too much heat if it drops out of convertor lockup. Plus some of the early 4spd autos seem to have had weak od gears.
Not to say "I know that", but I know that... I can't imagine that popup would kick into and out of OD on the highway, but I've never been in a big Econoline towing a popup, so it is just speculation.
Yeah, it doesn't seem like a big load. But it is an older OD. Also, that van weighs 7200? Seems rather heavy. Add up to nearly 10k and then add an early 4.6 with some highway gearing, and it probably couldn't do OD anyhow. 30seconds of google didn't find it for me, but I think it was around 200hp.
 
According to what I could find the van weighs 6000 empty and according to the door sticker the GVWR is 7000 so we were a little overloaded. We had the whole thing weighted on a CAT scale just out of curiousity. Yeah the 4.6 isn't going to win any races in the van for sure, but if you keep it revved up it has enough power to get the job done. At low RPM's (60 in O/D) it has no power at all. I looked it up. 220hp/265ftlbs
 
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