Road Trip Photos (it's not Ouray and Moab, but...)

[linuxgod]

Just got back from a 12 day road trip on Sunday night. The Badlands, Mt Rushmore, the Black Hills, Devil's Tower, Yellowstone, and Grand Teton. We towed our 24' trailer and camped along the way. 3740 miles, including driving some scenic routes and trails without the campering. We averaged 9.9MPG (high of 10.9 MPG when my wife towed through Nebraska, and a low of 6.5 MPG as we climbed into central SD with ~30-40 MPH headwinds.

I'll attach some photos shortly.

 

[linuxgod]

Sheep Mountain Table in the Badlands:

Sunset at Keyhole State Park near Devil's Tower:

Summit of the Beartooth Highway:

Glacial Lake along the Beartooth:

One last stop along the Beartooth:

 

[linuxgod]

Stopped along the way from Norris to Mammoth in Yellowstone (this one is my favorite):

One last shot along River Road (4WD-only) in Grand Teton. The CCD on my Nikon has unfortunately accumulated some dust by this point:

We passed another family from West Virginia heading the opposite direction on the 4WD road, in a silver 200. "Just out for a Sunday drive".

 

[Swampmonger]

It's not Ouray or Moab so I'm not lookin'!

j/k

Looks like a ton of fun. I haven't been on an old-fashioned road trip in ages. I don't envy your long spans through the plains. Of course, to get anywhere from PHX I have to drive through miles and miles of desert.

Also, it's neat how your gold 200 looks silver in certain light.

 

[TexAZ]

How'd the 200 do towing? what is the weight of your trailer?
Amazing trip to see some of America's timeless beauty!

 

[linuxgod]

It's not Ouray or Moab so I'm not lookin'!

j/k

Looks like a ton of fun. I haven't been on an old-fashioned road trip in ages. I don't envy your long spans through the plains. Of course, to get anywhere from PHX I have to drive through miles and miles of desert.

Also, it's neat how your gold 200 looks silver in certain light.

The driving wasn't too bad. The LC is amazingly comfortable on a long trip (unlike my old Acura MDX which left my legs and back aching after a few hours). Breaking up the kids fighting was probably the worst of it!

The gold/tan color has definitely grown on me. Some of it is the low/high sun and some of it is poor white balance that I haven't tried to correct yet.

 

[linuxgod]

How'd the 200 do towing? what is the weight of your trailer?
Amazing trip to see some of America's timeless beauty!

Phenomenal, except for gas mileage. The Firestone airbags were a big help, IMO. My trailer is 24' and about 5000# when loaded (based on a prior weight station visit). I would put the hitch at right about 500# on this trip (no bicycles this time) though we didn't stop at a weigh station to confirm. I had cruise control set to 76 MPH most of the trip, and had it up to 80 a few times. It was very stable under normal circumstances, though I slowed down to ~65MPH in South Dakota when the wind was strong (it was easily 30-40MPH sustained when I stopped for gas!) Admittedly my trailer sits 6-12" lower and has a lower center of gravity than many - total height including the low profile A/C is just under 9' tall, so that likely helps a little.

Based on our trip I would be willing to tow up to about 6000# and ~26'. The LC could do 7000#+, but around some of the switchbacks on the Beartooth "Highway" (which are 10MPH and at about 9000' elevation) I was running 1st gear and heavy on the gas to keep up speed. "Normal" mountain driving around 6000-7000' in Yellowstone was a non-issue though. BTW even in 2nd or 3rd when climbing mountain passes for sustained lengths of time the A/T pan temp never got above ~210F and the TC topped out just under 225F for a few moments. On the highway in 4th the temps ran 198F-203F consistently whie driving 75MPH depending on the outside temp and altitude. I'm at 58k miles now and will do an A/T and diff flush when I hit 60k, but based on temps I suspect the LC is overengineered for transmission cooling and the fluid is still in good shape.

 

[SchobTime]

200s are towing machines - I pulled my fj40 2700 miles from Yuma, AZ to VA, averaged ~9.5/10mpg and about 70mph.I was probably around 5500lbs as well with the 40 and trailerr. Very impressed with the towing capability, much better than expected.

 

[ryanCA]

Beautiful pics thanks for sharing.

We took our 200 from Los Angeles to Grand Teton, yellowstone, and Glacier last year. What a fantastic trip.

 

[linuxgod]

Beautiful pics thanks for sharing.

We took our 200 from Los Angeles to Grand Teton, yellowstone, and Glacier last year. What a fantastic trip.

I hear Glacier is awesome. I so need more vacation time.

 

[ryanCA]

I hear Glacier is awesome. I so need more vacation time.

To me Yellowstone is over rated. Glacier is the best as far as going up there. Flathead lake is stunning. I get 18 weeks a year a now. My previous job I used to get 32 weeks a year.

 

[cmkzLCmama]

Beautiful pics! Polebridge and Bowman Lake was our favorite spot in Glacier. Can't wait to make a trek back up there!

 

[Dan Higgins]

We did our first tow of our Lance 2285 trailer (24' body, 27' total, ~5600# loaded, 700# tongue weight) on Sunday from Buena Vista, CO to South Fork, CO. Going over Poncha Pass (south on Hwy 285 out of Poncha Springs) we climbed from ~7,500' to ~9,000' in ~ 8 miles. No problem keeping the speed limit or recommended speed (plenty of curves.) Put our 2-week old 2016 LC in S6, turned on ECT Power and let it do it's thing. Didn't need to "floor it". It kept the RPM between 2800 and 3200 which, I think, is the sweet spot for torque. I didn't need to do any manual shifting and it didn't do any "hunting". On the flat, straight portions of the drive we settled in at the 65mph speed limit on that 2-lane highway and found it almost relaxing. (We had some wind but we have a Hensley hitch so felt no sway from either the cross winds or passing RVs and trucks.) This was what I was hoping for and the reason we switched to an LC. Very, very pleased!

 

[Dan Higgins]

Oh, and of course when we drove around that area all day yesterday (Creede, CO, dirt FS roads, etc.) I was reminded of the great road trip vehicle this is as well as its manners and handling for at least light off road. While driving the Bachelor Scenic Loop around Crede this is one steep section with loose rock that we had been "warned" about. I large (double wheel) pickup truck went up ahead of us and when they hit the loose rock they were bumping and scrambling and sliding side to side. When we went up I simply dropped it into 4L and S4, put it in Loose Rock mode, and mozied on up with nary a slip or a concern. Not exactly technical offroad but it was simple in the LC.

We love doing road trips (living in CO with family in Seattle makes it a no-brainer for us.) The LC will be ideal. Elevated seating position. Large windows for viewing. The adaptive cruise control is great. All very nice.