Ridiculous Mileage From My Trusty '95

For me, this is one for the record books so I thought I'd share.
Every few weeks or so I make a trip to Amsterdam, NY, where my parents live to visit, hang out, help out around their place, etc.
From door to door its 175 miles one way.
I'm always doing whatever I can to take the sting out of the cost of fuel on these trips, ...increase tire psi, the tailgate thing (or not), speed, coasting, etc.
but anyway...
This time, I drove from my place in Andover, NH, to my Dad's place in Amsterdam, NY, made one trip to a buddy's house there, drove to meet my sister for dinner in Schenectady, NY, and back to the 'rents...then drove back to Andover. ....418 miles....on ONE tank. No lie. Seriously.

2.7liter, 4x4, 5 speed, 220,000 miles on it. 87 octane gas from Irving,
40psi in all four, Castrol synthetic, as much coasting on the VT downhills as possible, shifting as short as possible, going no more than 5 over the limit.
Here's the real kicker...on the way home I had 2/3-ish of a full load of split/dried hardwood on the back, plus a couple of sledgehammers, assorted fishing tackle, etc....on the way there it was empty.

This is the best mileage I gotten since the truck had 50K on it and we were driving across I-10 in Texas, which is a flat as a pancake in comparison.

 

wanta sell her?

 

How many gallons of fuel used?

-Dan

 

This last weekend I was amazed to get 825 kms (512.631 miles) from one tank of regular gas (and it was not bone dry) 66.25 litres (14.575 gallons)
2008 2.7 2WD automatic!! woo hoo! like 35 mpg I don't blame you if you don't believe me I can hardly believe it myself.

ggparts

 

Actually, I think about selling her occasionally but right now I can't afford anything reliable/efficient enough to replace her, even if I got high book. I'd take a 2WD or a Corolla/Tercel right now but even a 2000 isn't affordable...at least for me.

I'm guessing there was between 15 and 15 1/2 gallons in the tank when I started out. I filled the tank but didn't wait for it to fill up and pop the trigger on the pump handle. It read "over" full on the guage...and I believe its a 15.5 gallon tank but I'm not positive. Either way it read "empty" when I got home but knowing how the guage reads I know it will still go 10 miles or so.

...and I believe the story about the 2WD in Canada...one of my friends has a 2004 2WD that ALWAYS gets better than 30mpg...and he hauls a ton with it too...got extra spring leaves installed...doesn't even budge under a full load of tools, etc.

 

It happens. A couple of summers ago I drove my '02 Extended cab 4x4 to Grand Junction, CO from Albuquerque. I filled up in ABQ, then proceeded with the trip, expecting to fill up along the way. I drove through Durango, Silverton, and Ouray, with all the winding roads and mountain passes, and made it all the way to Grand Junction on one tank of gas. 16 gallons to fill up, over 410 miles. Mine has the 3.4 V6 with auto.

Funny thing - I usually get about 16-18 mpg in town, but when I took it in for an oil change at 30K a few weeks ago, I asked the service person what other service needed to be done at 30K. He said all he thought it needed was to change the spark plugs, so I had them do that. Ever since they changed the plugs, I've been getting 20 mpg around town...didn't think that would make that big a difference, but I guess so...I'm happy...

 

lol I have 6" lift and just drove down to drop off a dana 44 axle i sold... cant remember the miles but it was 3hr each way...stop go,freeway mixed driving...down and back I used like 12.03 gallons (filled at station along freeway before leaving and re-filled at same station on way back) I got 20.6 mpg on the trip not bad considering the lift, tires and the fact that I had complete axle hub to hub in bed on way down (drove around DC too UGH)

 

At least in the case of my truck, lots of little things make a difference. For example, if I can get Chevron gas it will run a LOT better...and get better mileage too. Its a shame we don't have that around here, but we do have Irving which works great too.
Changing the air filter after every summer season helps.
The tire psi thing works but I've gotta go back to 30psi in all four. With 40, if I forget to slow down before a stretch of washboard, its downright dangerous, especially with an empty bed.
It actually rides best in the winter when I've got some snow in the back or a couple bags of kitty litter for weight.
I think the best thing for this truck though is to get into 5th as soon as possible and keep it there, for the best mileage.

 

It's good to know that you like Chevron gas, there's plenty of stations around here, one right by my house. I use them pretty much exclusively, since I have their gas card...

 

You would be a fool to sell her.

 

I know it.
Most likely a time will come when I'll want a daily driver that gets better mileage and is also a blast to drive on the road. Then I'll probably get myself a "summer" car and modify the Taco for winter/off road.
When I first bought the Tacoma I also had a 87 Jetta and I know its strange but I drove the Jetta in the winter and the Tacoma in the summer. From 97 thru 2002 it never saw snow...same for 04-06 when we lived in Oregon. That's probably why I CANT SELL IT BACK. That and it gets washed every time it rains.