Back from our trip, F250 is awesome!!

[Marlin]

Just got back from our long haul trip. Uwharrie for 4 days, home for 12 hours, then headed out for KC,MO. After that we drove to Dayton, OH, and then back here.
The truck (06 F250 diesel) averaged out at 27.1 mpg!!!! Overall average speed was 61mph (total, that includes stops, running around town and whatnot)
I did notice some huge fluctuations in mileage. The only reason I can deduce is pavement material. I was getting close to 700 miles on a tank. Same fuel, same terrain, same temp, huge mileage changes. I got 29mpg in the south, 24mpg in the midwest. I think the changes in paving materials are the cause. Only thing I can think of. The south doesn't worry about freezing and whatnot, so may use a harder material, => better mpg. Midwest has to take into account freezing, so pavement needs to flex with temp changes, => softer surface, => lower mpg. This is the only thing I can think of, and it happened both ways.
Either way it was a good shakedown on the truck, I have one more uwharrie trip in Dec, then its Moab next spring, and after that Washington State.
While in Mo, I did a lot of shooting. Played with my FIL's SKS, .357 revolver, and several other rifles. I had never fired a .357, turns out, at 30 yards, I can hit the staple on a target with that gun. I do have an Expert Rifle Medal via the Navy, but nothing with hand guns. The SKS-45 was awesome. It is an original from Russia, never been fired, had all the extras that would be issued to infantry. It fires the standard NATO 7.62x39 round. Sweet gun. PITA to load though. Uses a spring clip style loader.
Took the 5 year old out shooting too, he had no hesitation, not even a flinch when firing the .22. Good times for all!
I am happy to be home again!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Two VXs have been spotted in my area, an Ebony (I suspect it was my student's, it was for sale a few days ago), and a factory Proton. My friend saw it on my street and snapped a pic. Definitely not mine, and definitely stock. Time to start stalking them.

[vt_maverick]

Good to hear you had a good trip and got home safe! Sounds like a he11 of a good time.

I do have on question though... isn't this a contradiction?

The SKS-45 was awesome. It is an original from Russia, never been fired, had all the extras that would be issued to infantry. It fires the standard NATO 7.62x39 round.

[joshi]

I have a vw jetta Turbo Diesel , im driving every day to work (40 miles ). I got 50-58 mpg during summertime (air conditioner turned off , windows down), from nov. to feb. when its get cold i got only 45-52 mpg. On a long trip to atlanta (300 miles from my location), with overall average speed of 75 mph (65mph-90mph) , my vw averaged out at 46 mpg.
I think colder air temp => lower mpg , warmer air temp (higher air humidity) => better mpg ...

[Marlin]

Good to hear you had a good trip and got home safe! Sounds like a he11 of a good time.

I do have on question though... isn't this a contradiction?

Not sure what you mean?

I have a vw jetta Turbo Diesel , im driving every day to work (40 miles ). I got 50-58 mpg during summertime (air conditioner turned off , windows down), from nov. to feb. when its get cold i got only 45-52 mpg. On a long trip to atlanta (300 miles from my location), with overall average speed of 75 mph (65mph-90mph) , my vw averaged out at 46 mpg.
I think colder air temp => lower mpg , warmer air temp (higher air humidity) => better mpg ...

colder air should get you better mpg, lower temp equals more dense equals more oxygen. The weather was about the same on my trip.
45mpg would be nice, but my truck weighs about as much as three jettas You could park your jetta in the back of the truck, and I would still get 23mpg Did I mention it has 570ftlbs of torque?

[vt_maverick]

colder air should get you better mpg, lower temp equals more dense equals more oxygen. The weather was about the same on my trip.
45mpg would be nice, but my truck weighs about as much as three jettas You could park your jetta in the back of the truck, and I would still get 23mpg Did I mention it has 570ftlbs of torque?

Too bad they don't put diesels in more stuff over here, can you imagine how much farther you could go in a regular passenger vehicle that doesn't need all that power?

[joshi]

Marlin - "colder air should get you better mpg" I think is not right ....
The drag has to do with the weight of the air that has to be pushed aside and pushes against the vehicle motion. Take for example, swinging you hand through water, a very dense fluid, versus air, a much less dense fluid. As the air gets colder and colder, it becomes denser and like water, becomes harder to move through.
Air becomes more dense as temperatures drop, which increases air resistance. For every 10° F drop in temperature, aerodynamic drag increases by 2%. Thus, fuel efficiency will drop by 1%. Overall, fuel economy tends to be higher in the summer than the winter. According to North American Truckload Fleet Data, driving in the summer increases fuel mileage by 8 to 12% over driving in the winter months.

[joshi]

"You could park your jetta in the back of the truck, and I would still get 23mpg Did I mention it has 570ftlbs of torque?"
I know that , trust me btw , there is my f250 6.0 power stroke , and my vx I can park the vx in the back of the truck well..maybe not , i have a short bed

[Marlin]

"You could park your jetta in the back of the truck, and I would still get 23mpg Did I mention it has 570ftlbs of torque?"
I know that , trust me btw , there is my f250 6.0 power stroke , and my vx I can park the vx in the back of the truck well..maybe not , i have a short bed

Dude, your truck is almost identical to mine! Mine is an 06 Lariat, supercrew/short bed. Had any problems with yours? My speed sensor died on the way to missouri. No big deal, it just scares you when it kicks off the cruise. Then the ABS light locks in. 200 bucks to fix. No problemo.

[joshi]

Dude, your truck is almost identical to mine! Mine is an 06 Lariat, supercrew/short bed. Had any problems with yours? My speed sensor died on the way to missouri. No big deal, it just scares you when it kicks off the cruise. Then the ABS light locks in. 200 bucks to fix. No problemo.

Mine is a 2006 King Ranch , and i hade a few problem with it , but everything was covered by the factory warranty. Around 65k miles, my EGR coolers , valve , headgasket has been replaced by ford dealership.

[Marlin]

Marlin - "colder air should get you better mpg" I think is not right ....
The drag has to do with the weight of the air that has to be pushed aside and pushes against the vehicle motion. Take for example, swinging you hand through water, a very dense fluid, versus air, a much less dense fluid. As the air gets colder and colder, it becomes denser and like water, becomes harder to move through.
Air becomes more dense as temperatures drop, which increases air resistance. For every 10° F drop in temperature, aerodynamic drag increases by 2%. Thus, fuel efficiency will drop by 1%. Overall, fuel economy tends to be higher in the summer than the winter. According to North American Truckload Fleet Data, driving in the summer increases fuel mileage by 8 to 12% over driving in the winter months.

Hmmm, I was thinking the mpg drop for winter driving had to do with the transition to winter diesel. They add the anti-gelling junk to it, and thus raise the price They already had it out in Missouri. It was 3.19/gal there versus the 2.89-2.99 I pay here

[Triathlete]

I do have an Expert Rifle Medal via the Navy

I don't know why...but this makes me LOL!


Marlin...not by any means a diesel expert but I think diesels like to be hot. They run more efficiently that way...thats why big rig drivers leave 'em running when they make stops.

[Marlin]

I don't know why...but this makes me LOL!


Marlin...not by any means a diesel expert but I think diesels like to be hot. They run more efficiently that way...thats why big rig drivers leave 'em running when they make stops.

Truckers leave em running because starters cost far more than fuel. A diesel works on combustion based on compression vice spark, so the starter has to do more than just move a piston, it has to compress fuel. Plus, diesels have a rough time starting when its cold.
Once they are running, I don't think it makes any difference.
As for the Navy thing, there are more Navy personnel deployed on land than marines. We come off of deployment, and then they send us to Iraq to fill in for army and marines. No boot camp, just, "here is your new uniforms, the Army needs ya!"

[vt_maverick]

Didn't realize Russia was part of NATO.