4,441 miles, 20.1 mpg, 13 states, no fast food.

[RT Cruiser]

That’s the equivalent of driving from Atlanta to Anchorage without the mosquito swarms. But I still dream of driving to Alaska in the future.

In Aug I drove from Highlands Ranch, CO to Sault Ste. Marie, MI. A bit strange seeing Canada 100 yards across the river. I love the quiet of a hardwood forest. Then I drove to the beautiful beach on Dauphin Island, AL. After a week of trying to pretend the rest of the world didn’t exist, I drove back to Highlands Ranch. If you've never seen the beauty of Wisconsin and northern Michigan, you're missing out. Please don't visit Dauphin Island. The less people that visit the area the cheaper it will be for us to buy a condo there.

4,441 miles and 20.1 mpg. Not one stop for fast food. Wife is very proud of me. [To clarify: 2 Qdoba stops, 2 Subway stops (gift card), 1 Applebee's (gift card). ]

Most interesting moment: when I left Ft. Worth for Amarillo (by morning), I saw about 7 leos. After I left Amarillo for NM, I saw hundreds of Bandidos. Hundreds. That’s $millions roaring down the road. However I didn’t see one leo on a stretch of road where I’ve seen lots of leos before. Hard to believe on a Labor weekend Sunday that leos are absent. Anywhoozle...

Lots of things impact mpg like altitude, added gear, tires, etc. Here’s my breakdown:

• 2008 Land Cruiser: 275,000 miles. Purchased used in 2019 with 225,500 miles.
• Tires: Yokohama Geolander A/T G015 285/60. (Very quiet on the highway, good enough for most trails, great in rain, great for a full cargo load, ok for snow).
• Equipment: All stock except for the addition of dash cams and President McKinley cb radio.
• Load: 3rd row removed. Cargo area filled. 2 full ice chests on the 2nd row. Nothing on the roof but the cb antennae. Besides clothes, toys, and beach stuff there was a few hundred pounds of food/drinks in the cargo area.
• Driving style: rpms under 2,700 during acceleration, coasting into stops and down hills. I rarely go over 80mph. I don’t drive like Jason Bourne did in Moscow which is the most killer (literally) driving-movie-scene ever.
• Crew: I drove 100%. Wife and son were with me about 80%. Thank goodness airfare prices have come down so they could fly part of the way otherwise we would need family therapy when we returned.
• Roads: 95% highway 5% city.
• Wind: fortunately there were no strong headwinds which just kills the mpg in a 200.

Maybe this post will help another member or two.

 

[JohnnyUtah2]

This is great! I want to know more...pictures??? And so what did you eat?

 

[kwelhand]

Picture or didn't happen.

 

[bloc]

Great report, and impressive mileage, especially for a rig that is well broken in.

In my many trips across north texas I've found crosswinds hurt mileage at least as much if not more than headwinds..

 

[PhuckItImDone]

Absolutely awesome. No fast food is the best part. A buddy of mine pointed out my trash selection of food at a stop once, and since then, I've been 1000% more conscious what I grab, absolutely vowing not to stop at fast food. Ya just feel better.

 

[RT Cruiser]

This is great! I want to know more...pictures??? And so what did you eat?

If I get a chance, I'll post some pics. We always take our food on road trips. There's usually a stop or two at Costco's along the way for more groceries. During the drive there were two stops at Qdoba and two stops at Subway. During our stay in MI we went to Applebee's to use a gift card. My wife is great at packing healthy snacks for our drives. Sure, it's not as fun to eat carrots, celery, fruit, and healthy chips while driving. But we don't feel like the alien has inserted their egg into our bellies after eating McGross.

We've been to Dauphin Island 6 times staying at least a week each visit. We've never visited a restaurant when we've been there.

Maybe down the road (figuratively and literally) we'll eat out more. But if I had millions dollars (thank you Bare Naked Ladies), I'd visit a cheap hole-in-the-wall instead of a 5-star whatever.

 

[RT Cruiser]

Absolutely awesome. No fast food is the best part. A buddy of mine pointed out my trash selection of food at a stop once, and since then, I've been 1000% more conscious what I grab, absolutely vowing not to stop at fast food. Ya just feel better.

Indeed! It really is about feeling and thinking the best you can while driving especially if you're aiming to be on the road 8+ hours daily.

 

[RT Cruiser]

Great report, and impressive mileage, especially for a rig that is well broken in.

In my many trips across north texas I've found crosswinds hurt mileage at least as much if not more than headwinds..

So true. Thanks for bringing this up. On one trip (in our Subaru Outback) the crosswind was so bad we changed our route in KS (35 south instead of 70 east).

 

[Sandroad]

Glad you made it to the Soo. Lots of history there too. I appreciate the food comments. Ever since we got our Dometic cooler several years ago, we’ve taken our food with us and avoided fast food like the plague. Saves on gas

 

[LC CT]

Awesome trip! I can attest to the mileage if done correctly. Drove from west palm beach FL to CT. As the highway travel went I averaged 20 mph no problem. It was as soon as we left the highway things went south lol. Glad you made it without fast food, so bad for you anyway, sounds like a fun trip!

 

[USMCVader]

I dream of 20mph, best I have done is just over 18. Since I just put a TJM bumper on last weekend, I expect I may not see 18 again. Congratulations on what sounds like a great trip!

 

[lx200inAR]

If I get a chance, I'll post some pics. We always take our food on road trips. There's usually a stop or two at Costco's along the way for more groceries. During the drive there were two stops at Qdoba and two stops at Subway. During our stay in MI we went to Applebee's to use a gift card. My wife is great at packing healthy snacks for our drives. Sure, it's not as fun to eat carrots, celery, fruit, and healthy chips while driving. But we don't feel like the alien has inserted their egg into our bellies after eating McGross.

We've been to Dauphin Island 6 times staying at least a week each visit. We've never visited a restaurant when we've been there.

Maybe down the road (figuratively and literally) we'll eat out more. But if I had millions dollars (thank you Bare Naked Ladies), I'd visit a cheap hole-in-the-wall instead of a 5-star whatever.

The only place you need at Dauphin Island is that fresh seafood market at the main intersection. I have 5-6 trips there in the books as well. Nice and quiet.
This spring we went to the Gulf Shores State Park Lodge on the other side of the bay. It’s actually awesome as welll. TheY have a long stretch of the beach where there are no giant Condos and there is a huge park and trails behind it. Plus easy access to the residential side of gulf shores where you can go to some nice places that aren’t super touristy.

 

[RT Cruiser]

Glad you made it to the Soo. Lots of history there too. I appreciate the food comments. Ever since we got our Dometic cooler several years ago, we’ve taken our food with us and avoided fast food like the plague. Saves on gas

Fortunately the property my wife inherited in the Soo is on Sugar Island. Unfortunately it's going to take a lot of work and more road trips up there. Did you know the Soo Locks' ship came in by means of a huge funding project to redo the locks? There's an influx of people into the Soo to which we will parlay the property renovations unto them.

It's so much rewarding, cheaper, and faster to take your own food on road trips. Good for you. Each time I tell myself to make room for beer but the wife always finds a way to fill every hole... right?

 

[RT Cruiser]

I dream of 20mph, best I have done is just over 18. Since I just put a TJM bumper on last weekend, I expect I may not see 18 again. Congratulations on what sounds like a great trip!

hahaha! But your rig is looking sweet! I hope someday we can meetup and I can dream of the potential of what a 200 can look like and you can see the boring life I lead . I told you I thought about getting BB sliders but that's going to wait.. My only mod is the cb radio but I'm really proud of it!

 

[RT Cruiser]

The only place you need at Dauphin Island is that fresh seafood market at the main intersection. I have 5-6 trips there in the books as well. Nice and quiet.
This spring we went to the Gulf Shores State Park Lodge on the other side of the bay. It’s actually awesome as welll. TheY have a long stretch of the beach where there are no giant Condos and there is a huge park and trails behind it. Plus easy access to the residential side of gulf shores where you can go to some nice places that aren’t super touristy.

We stay at the Beach Club which is the condo unit between The Inn and The Holiday Isle. We were there last year during Hurricane Ida. We were the only people at the Beach Club. Most everyone in the other condos and rentals on the west end left the island. It was cool seeing 15-20' breakers hitting the 2nd sand bar from the beach. When the storm went north, we were the only ones on the beach for two days. So a mile to the east and a mile to the west... just our family!

Are you referring to Skinners? We either go to Zirlotts which has the huge big deep red shrimp (5-6") for $8.50 lb or a place in Bayou La Batre (Run Forest, run!) that has the medium for $5.50 lb. We've thought about to the Gulf side but we want to be close (relatively speaking) to the Mobile Costco. The membership truly makes you addictive to the store.