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Longest you've gone without stopping for gas

Started by tidecat, February 17, 2013, 07:52:49 PM

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djsinco

Quote from: kphoger on February 21, 2013, 12:52:20 PM
I'd rather drive a gasoline truck than a diesel truck in the cold winter anyway.  Gelling up is no fun.

I don't know many (intelligent) people who have gelled up twice. You learn a lot from an experience like that.
3 million miles and counting


kphoger

Quote from: djsinco on February 21, 2013, 02:45:08 PM
Quote from: kphoger on February 21, 2013, 12:52:20 PM
I'd rather drive a gasoline truck than a diesel truck in the cold winter anyway.  Gelling up is no fun.

I don't know many (intelligent) people who have gelled up twice. You learn a lot from an experience like that.

When you rent a truck that's parked outside, you get what you get.
Keep right except to pass.  Yes.  You.
Visit scenic Orleans County, NY!
Male pronouns, please.

Quote from: Philip K. DickIf you can control the meaning of words, you can control the people who must use them.

NWI_Irish96

Our family used to have a Dodge conversion van that we took on vacations.  It had a 35-gallon tank and we regularly did 600+ mile stints without stopping. 
Indiana: counties 100%, highways 100%
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Truvelo

Looks like I have all of you beat. My car has an 18 US gallon tank and the most I've achieved is 730 miles on a very steady run. I'm shocked at how the vehicle in the post above has a tank twice the size but has a shorter range. Try driving that thing over here where it would cost you $250 to fill up.
Speed limits limit life

agentsteel53

Quote from: Truvelo on February 21, 2013, 04:00:54 PM
Looks like I have all of you beat. My car has an 18 US gallon tank and the most I've achieved is 730 miles on a very steady run. I'm shocked at how the vehicle in the post above has a tank twice the size but has a shorter range. Try driving that thing over here where it would cost you $250 to fill up.

what kind of car?  I am not familiar with vehicles that get great mileage, and have a large capacity.  I remember my little Hyundai Getz giving me 56mpg in Norway ... and having a range of maybe 800km, due to its small tank.
live from sunny San Diego.

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Truvelo

Quote from: agentsteel53 on February 21, 2013, 04:03:01 PM
what kind of car?

It's a Ford Mondeo 2.2 diesel. There's a list here of the different derivatives and the 1.6 diesel claims to have a range of over 1000 miles.
Speed limits limit life

Brandon

Quote from: Truvelo on February 21, 2013, 04:14:40 PM
Quote from: agentsteel53 on February 21, 2013, 04:03:01 PM
what kind of car?

It's a Ford Mondeo 2.2 diesel. There's a list here of the different derivatives and the 1.6 diesel claims to have a range of over 1000 miles.

There's the main difference.  Most cars in the US and Canada are gasoline (and variations such as E85) instead of diesel.  Trucks (semis) on the other hand are predominately diesel (and biodiesel).  Diesel is also used in the US and Canada on rail locomotives.
"If you think this has a happy ending, you haven't been paying attention." - Ramsay Bolton

"Symbolic of his struggle against reality." - Reg

mgk920

#32
I'm not sure on the driving distance, but I've made it from an initial fill here in Appleton, WI to the first Ohio Turnpike service plaza a couple of times on roadtrips in the late 1990s and early 2000s.  I've also made it from Appleton to Effingham, IL on one fill, but that is not particularly far.  The cars had 50 liter (just over 12 US gallons) tanks.

My worst direct OTR car driving range?  In a 1994 roadtrip to the Denver, CO area, I just made it from Omaha, NE to North Platte, NE - bucking an incredible right to left 3/4 headwind the whole way along I-80 westward from just west of Lincoln, NE

Mike

agentsteel53

#33
Quote from: mgk920 on February 21, 2013, 06:33:42 PM
My worst direct OTR car driving range?  In a 1994 roadtrip to the Denver, CO area, I just made it from Omaha, NE to North Platte, NE - bucking an incredible right to left 3/4 headwind the whole way along I-80 westward from just west of Lincoln, NE

sounds like an experience my friend and I had in Argentina.  a similar 45 degree headwind on highway 3 in Patagonia, with steady wind speeds of about 50-60mph.

we had neglected to get gasoline in Puerto Santa Cruz, assuming that our 20mpg estimate would hold up, giving us 500km of range, and therefore an easy 240 or so km ride to Rio Gallegos, where the next gas station would be. 

soon we realized we weren't getting the 30mpg we would get ideally - nor the 20mpg which was our "worst case" paved roads estimate.  oh no, we were getting about 9mpg. 

between the terrible fuel consumption of driving into the wind, and the non-trivial amount we lost attempting to fill the main tank from our jerry can, we barely made it to Gallegos.  we had maybe 40km of range left.
live from sunny San Diego.

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jake@aaroads.com

cpzilliacus

Quote from: corco on February 20, 2013, 05:36:58 PM
QuoteA former neighbor had the same truck, except with a gas V10 motor.  He got about half the miles per gallon using regular unleaded fuel.  So even though Diesel is not the cheap fuel it once was, I'm still ahead.

I drove a loaded E-350 Uhaul with that gas V-10 a month or so ago...managed a whopping 9.3 MPG with as much torque as my grandma generates when she turns a crescent wrench from Arizona to Montana, the whole way wondering why Uhaul doesn't have diesel vans.

That Ford V-10 truck motor was described by my former neighbor as being a "pig."
Opinions expressed here on AAROADS are strictly personal and mine alone, and do not reflect policies or positions of MWCOG, NCRTPB or their member federal, state, county and municipal governments or any other agency.

cpzilliacus

Quote from: djsinco on February 21, 2013, 02:27:00 AM
U pay for gas, they pay for the cheapest engine they can get.

Yep.  A Diesel engine is an option that costs many thousands of dollars more than an "equivalent" gasoline motor.
Opinions expressed here on AAROADS are strictly personal and mine alone, and do not reflect policies or positions of MWCOG, NCRTPB or their member federal, state, county and municipal governments or any other agency.

corco

Won't a diesel last a lot longer though? Although I guess Uhaul probably gets such a good fleet discount it doesn't matter

cpzilliacus

#37
Quote from: kphoger on February 21, 2013, 12:52:20 PM
I'd rather drive a gasoline truck than a diesel truck in the cold winter anyway.  Gelling up is no fun.

I have never had a problem with Diesel fuel gelling up in the winter (about the coldest ambient temperature I have experienced with my truck is about -10°F (-23°C)).  I have had problems starting it (when the block warmer was not plugged-in) on extremely cold mornings, though it usually fires up (though it sounds like the motor wants to jump out of the engine compartment when it starts, and clouds of nasty particulate exhaust are produced until things start to warm up).

Post Merge: February 22, 2013, 10:55:44 AM

Quote from: corco on February 21, 2013, 08:00:24 PM
Won't a diesel last a lot longer though? Although I guess Uhaul probably gets such a good fleet discount it doesn't matter

I have 296,000 original miles on my truck, still going strong.

Post Merge: February 22, 2013, 10:55:40 AM

Quote from: Truvelo on February 21, 2013, 04:14:40 PM
Quote from: agentsteel53 on February 21, 2013, 04:03:01 PM
what kind of car?

It's a Ford Mondeo 2.2 diesel. There's a list here of the different derivatives and the 1.6 diesel claims to have a range of over 1000 miles.

Wish Ford would offer a Diesel motor in the Transit Connects it sells in the North American market (it has thus far declined to do so, probably thanks at least in part to lingering bad memories of the horrendously unreliable General Motors Diesel engines (in Oldsmobiles, Pontiacs and Cadillacs) of the late 1970's and early 1980's).

Though at long last, Ford will be selling the Transit van in the U.S. and Canada (it has never done so in the past), and apparently that will be available with a 3.2L Turbo Diesel.
Opinions expressed here on AAROADS are strictly personal and mine alone, and do not reflect policies or positions of MWCOG, NCRTPB or their member federal, state, county and municipal governments or any other agency.

agentsteel53

Quote from: cpzilliacus on February 21, 2013, 08:19:55 PMlingering bad memories of the horrendously unreliable General Motors Diesel engines (in Oldsmobiles, Pontiacs and Cadillacs) of the late 1970's and early 1980's).

you'd imagine Ford would play that up completely, given that GM is their marketplace rival.  "Ford Mondeo: it's not your grandpa's Oldsmobile"
live from sunny San Diego.

http://shields.aaroads.com

jake@aaroads.com

cpzilliacus

Quote from: Truvelo on February 21, 2013, 04:00:54 PM
Looks like I have all of you beat. My car has an 18 US gallon tank and the most I've achieved is 730 miles on a very steady run. I'm shocked at how the vehicle in the post above has a tank twice the size but has a shorter range. Try driving that thing over here where it would cost you $250 to fill up.

It also has a much larger engine displacement - 7.3L V8. 

Compared to its gasoline/petrol-powered peers, it is an econobox.
Opinions expressed here on AAROADS are strictly personal and mine alone, and do not reflect policies or positions of MWCOG, NCRTPB or their member federal, state, county and municipal governments or any other agency.

cpzilliacus

Quote from: agentsteel53 on February 21, 2013, 08:21:11 PM
Quote from: cpzilliacus on February 21, 2013, 08:19:55 PMlingering bad memories of the horrendously unreliable General Motors Diesel engines (in Oldsmobiles, Pontiacs and Cadillacs) of the late 1970's and early 1980's).

you'd imagine Ford would play that up completely, given that GM is their marketplace rival.  "Ford Mondeo: it's not your grandpa's Oldsmobile"

That might be a good line, especially given  that GM abandoned the Oldsmobile nameplate quite a few years ago (I rather liked some of the last of the Olds cars - but the GM Diesel engines for passenger cars ranks right up there with the Chevrolet Vega,  Chevrolet Chevette, the Chevrolet Citation (and its idiotic twin, the Cadillac Cimmaron) and the Pontiac Aztek as some of the worst things that the company has ever put on wheels). 

What was especially strange about the GM Diesels for cars was that (back then) GM owned Detroit Diesel, which had been building robust (and robustly reliable) Diesel engines for trucks and buses for many decades, yet it seems that GM management did not bother to talk the design of those new Diesels for passenger cars over with its in-house Diesel engine experts.  What GM did was to try to adapt gasoline engines for use as Diesel, starting with the 350 cid gas motor as a basis for a Diesel (the gas 350 was long a mainstay at GM).  But the clowns at GM apparently did not understand that a Diesel engine has a much higher compression ratio than a gasoline burner, so cylinder head failures or cylinder head bolt failures (after a very few miles) happened to nearly every one of those vehicles.

Also curious that Ford has never bothered to use the Mondeo nameplate in North America for some reason. 

The current Mondeo is sold west of the pond as the Ford Fusion (IMO, not a bad looking car either).
Opinions expressed here on AAROADS are strictly personal and mine alone, and do not reflect policies or positions of MWCOG, NCRTPB or their member federal, state, county and municipal governments or any other agency.

Brandon

Quote from: mgk920 on February 21, 2013, 06:33:42 PM
My worst direct OTR car driving range?  In a 1994 roadtrip to the Denver, CO area, I just made it from Omaha, NE to North Platte, NE - bucking an incredible right to left 3/4 headwind the whole way along I-80 westward from just west of Lincoln, NE

Mike

My worst was just Tuesday morning from Joliet to Pekin for a job site.  Fought a 30 mph wind the whole way there along I-55 and I-74 and literally watched the gas gauge move from full to half by the time I got there.  :verymad:

Headwinds suck, crosswinds suck even more with a trailer.  Did that Monday in Nebraska and Iowa.  The car got a mere 11-12 mpg through that crap while barely able to safely maintain 65-70 mph.  Finally got over 16 mpg in eastern Iowa once I got out of the flipping wind.  Same wind caught back up to me Tuesday morning.  X-(
"If you think this has a happy ending, you haven't been paying attention." - Ramsay Bolton

"Symbolic of his struggle against reality." - Reg

djsinco

Quote from: Truvelo on February 21, 2013, 04:00:54 PM
Looks like I have all of you beat. My car has an 18 US gallon tank and the most I've achieved is 730 miles on a very steady run. I'm shocked at how the vehicle in the post above has a tank twice the size but has a shorter range. Try driving that thing over here where it would cost you $250 to fill up.

I say "shenanigans." You live in the UK, and have a tank that is measured in US gallons?
3 million miles and counting

djsinco

#43
Quote from: agentsteel53 on February 21, 2013, 06:58:13 PM
Quote from: mgk920 on February 21, 2013, 06:33:42 PM
My worst direct OTR car driving range?  In a 1994 roadtrip to the Denver, CO area, I just made it from Omaha, NE to North Platte, NE - bucking an incredible right to left 3/4 headwind the whole way along I-80 westward from just west of Lincoln, NE

sounds like an experience my friend and I had in Argentina.  a similar 45 degree headwind on highway 3 in Patagonia, with steady wind speeds of about 50-60mph.

My friend rented a U-Haul to go from Denver to Lompoc, CA. He filled the tank in Green River, UT, and ran out of gas on the 8-mile downgrade just before Salina. There was a fierce headwind the whole way, in addition to the tough pulls. The fuel mileage on the trip westbound across UT was under 5MPG. The next day, to add insult to injury, the engine blew up just past Baker, CA on the way back up. He had to offload all his belongings to the replacement truck in 100 degree heat.The tow truck showed up with the new truck for him after only 14 hours (from Barstow.) Guess who will never rent from U-Haul again?  :banghead:
3 million miles and counting

Truvelo

Quote from: djsinco on February 22, 2013, 03:03:17 AM
Quote from: Truvelo on February 21, 2013, 04:00:54 PM
Looks like I have all of you beat. My car has an 18 US gallon tank and the most I've achieved is 730 miles on a very steady run. I'm shocked at how the vehicle in the post above has a tank twice the size but has a shorter range. Try driving that thing over here where it would cost you $250 to fill up.

I say "shenanigans." You live in the UK, and have a tank that is measured in US gallons?

The tank is 70 litres but for the benefit of people on this forum I converted it into US gallons.
Speed limits limit life

agentsteel53

Quote from: Truvelo on February 22, 2013, 04:22:26 AM

The tank is 70 litres but for the benefit of people on this forum I converted it into US gallons.

I've been mixing units pretty badly too - distances in Argentina in kilometers, fuel capacity in liters... consumption in miles per gallon.
live from sunny San Diego.

http://shields.aaroads.com

jake@aaroads.com

agentsteel53

I do wonder why more US research in diesel motors has been neglected, especially given the anecdotal consensus that diesel motors run "forever".

<conspiracy>because they want you to buy a new car every 100,000 miles.</conspiracy>
live from sunny San Diego.

http://shields.aaroads.com

jake@aaroads.com

corco

I've gotten down to 9 or 10 MPG in my Jeep Liberty heading westbound from Cheyenne to Laramie, and that's even keeping the speed down to 60-65 because I felt like I'd blow the transmission up if I tried to go faster- headwinds can be gnarly.

Brandon

Quote from: agentsteel53 on February 22, 2013, 09:43:56 AM
I do wonder why more US research in diesel motors has been neglected, especially given the anecdotal consensus that diesel motors run "forever".

<conspiracy>because they want you to buy a new car every 100,000 miles.</conspiracy>

1. Diesels are perceived as heavy duty engines for big rigs.
2. The bad experience of the GM diesels of the 1970s-1980s that did not work properly.
3. Diesels are also perceived in small cars as the realm of either europhiles (Jetta, Golf) or hippies who make fuel out of vegetable oil.
4. Let's be honest, it does get colder in the US and Canada overall than in most of Europe.  Who wants to gel?

That pretty much sums it up with the GM diesels leaving the worst impression overall.
"If you think this has a happy ending, you haven't been paying attention." - Ramsay Bolton

"Symbolic of his struggle against reality." - Reg

1995hoo

In addition, the average American consumer looks at the price per gallon and sees that a gallon of diesel usually costs more than a gallon of gasoline (regardless of grade) and thus considers diesel "too expensive" (regardless of whether the increased fuel economy might negate the price-per-gallon differential in actual driving).

I'd cite the higher sticker price for many diesel models (a price differential whose benefit in fuel savings takes a lot longer to occur in your daily driving), but I suspect most people don't get as far as looking at the sticker because they just automatically rule out diesel cars.

There's also a perception that a lot of filling stations do not carry diesel. I'm sure some don't, but just based on my observations when I pull up to the pumps it seems to be a lot less of an issue than it was 30 years ago.

I drove a right-hand drive VW Passat turbodiesel with a five-speed manual as a rental car in Scotland a few years ago and loved it; depending on reliability ratings, that's absolutely a car I'd consider for purchase someday (though no doubt the model has changed since then). I've also driven a Vauxhall Vectra diesel in England; while my impression of the car itself was less favorable, I thought the fuel economy was outstanding (and it had no trouble hitting 100 mph on the M4).
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