11.6 mpg what??? Fun vacation

OK pic and title for attention!

Just did a trip from Chicago to west Virginia, my first long trip loaded w trailer w 2 quads, and hitting the mountains.


Taco did great pulled the trailer up the hills great, managed to kept it at 70 75mph going up the hills (BTW I have a 6sp Mt).
I was able to back up the trailer on a hill on dirt gravel and not feel it under power as it has been mentioned here multiple times.
Highest mpg I saw was 13, obviously as the picture shows I was between 70 n 75mph all the way a few times 80 but rarely just cause I didn't want to get pull over.
When my gas light went ON I thought the 25miles left would get me to a gas station but those mountains sucked me dry in no time and when I was at 2miles left before empty and the nearest gas station was 5 miles away! Lol


My buddy w a 2016 chevy broke down in ohio on a 1 lane construction zone very narrow street, we were able to get it going and drive it up to the nearest chevy dealership, alternertator went out.

So he ended up w a 800 bill to get it fix and a 400 bill to rent a uhaul so we could keep going.


We arrived to WV and had a great time, first day we rode for 80 miles exploring and taking it easy as 2 of my friends had 3 wheelers, 2nd day my buddy and I hitted harder and rode 100 miles a lot more aggressively. 3rd day was more chilling riding the mountains on the main roads (legal there) and a few smaller trails.





beautiful state, great views, awesome trails, great people, super friendly, they all went out of their ways to help us out whenever we needed something.
Made it home last night with a big smile on my face.

 

Looks like a awesome trip beside the awful fuel economy & a dead alternator in the Colorado. It is a shame that the Tacoma does get such terrible fuel economy towing a light load. A modern turbo/4 cylinder engine would suit the Tacoma much better I think. It would have torque were it is needed at least.

 

That's fast for a Taco ! (70 - 75 mph). Even when unloaded mileage tanks at that speed.

I tow 4000 lbs at ~90 km/h and its not too bad! Keep your foot out of it Man!

 

Empty I get 19—21mpg even at 75mph.

 

How many miles were on that Colorado? Does not look that old.

 

How accurate is your fuel light?
I find when mine gets to zero I still have at least 2 gallons of fuel left. I've driven down to 10 miles of range a couple times and only had to put in ~18 gallons of gas.

 

What part of WV were you in?

 

11MPG is what I get empty on road trips

 

2016 w 80k

 

When my computer says empty I find I still fill up only 18.5 gallons leaving 2.5-ish gallons left in the tank. I think they're trying to save folks from running out of gas. Also I find it hard to get a good fuel avg if you start in the hole - Try to get the best fuel economy right after filling up and it seems easier to maintain the higher fuel economy. Or turn that damn thing off and just use the old fashioned fuel gage and fill up when low LOL. That computer can mess with your head.

 

I literally don't like to drive them till they are dry so I pulled over under the shade I didn't know it would still go even at 0.
This is my first time ever in over 20 years of driving that I have to pull over cause of no fuel! Embarrassing.

 

Right at the border with Virginia we kept crossing over. Anawalt was the town.

 

Know it well....have family that live down in McDowell Co. Were you on the Hatfield/McCoy trails?

 

Yes I was awesome place.

 

We took our quads to WV a couple of years ago and it was absolutely fantastic. It was a long drive up there from GA, but it was totally worth it. We stayed in Ashland Resort to ride some of the Hatfield-McCoy trails. I averaged anywhere from 11 to 14 mpgs for that trip and the truck did great going through the mountains. This year we took our side-by-side to Windrock Park in TN.

Sounds like you had a fun trip! I'm looking forward to going back up there. Were you riding the Hatfield trails? If so, which trail systems did ya'll hit?

 

Tons of fun riding and scenery along the HM trails. Glad you had a good time

 

Did y'all hit JP's bar on the trails? Awesome little hangout spot.

 

Nice thread. It looked like a great trip other than that alternator issue. It's cool seeing folks still riding trikes.


We all have a 21.1gal fuel tank. With a couple hand calcs when you fill up, you can determine how accurate your reported MPGs are. From there, you will know your real range, if you ever need it.

I rarely fill up with miles showing on the Distance to Empty.

 

I find my computer is usually under by 0.5-1 mpg. The only time it over estimated was once when my truck sat idling for quite some time, computer said 18.7 mpg after 200 miles and actual after filling was 17.9 mpg.

 

No man we didn't. Saw a lot of people talking about outlaw bar but by the time we got back to the cabin it was beer time and relax.