How do you guys estimate Fuel Mileage?

Brenden Burnham · December 15, 2021

I track my miles using the app "Gridwise". Just make sure is on"tracking" as soon as you turn on the vehicle and is accurate. Should help.

Transient · December 17, 2021

On 12/15/2021 at 4:58 AM, KARNUT said:

I probably put close to 2 million miles in the seat of a truck. My personal favorite is an avalanche. My wife drives a sport sedan. My preference for cruising across country would be a medium to full size car. You can get a well appointed car for the price of a work truck. And still buy a decent used truck to do truck stuff around the house with the savings. You get the benefit of a car and still have a truck. The benefits you may ask? Fuel savings, better handling, stability in bad weather and passing a semi. Ease of entering and exiting the interior. Back in the day people were pretty resourceful. They put a hitch on their sedan to pull their trailer to the dump, Home Depot and even their camper. The auto makers got smart a couple decades ago. Realizing the profits in a regular work truck after adding doors. They dressed them up a bit and advertise them as dual purpose and raked in the money. The next big sellers coming are the maverick and Santa cruise. They both are lowered about 5 inches and smaller. Basically sedans with beds. And priced about the same as mid sized sedans.

Market coming full circling again. El Camino and Subaru Brat, then the Ford Explorer SportTrac and Subaru Outlook Baja, now the Ford Maverick and Hyundai Santa Cruz. The little car trucks are passing fads. Always have been, and will continue to be.

Transient · December 17, 2021

On 12/15/2021 at 7:11 AM, KARNUT said:

I take several trips across country yearly. It never fails during the trips I come across bad weather. During high winds and down pours high center vehicles are dancing all over, drivers chasing their vehicles. Or there’re pulled over. Cars no problem. I’ve been there done that. As far as crash safety it’s debatable.

I've been in cars that were being pushed all over the highway by strong wind, etc. It's all in how the car is made. One of the reasons I won't buy a Toyota is the way the vehicles drive make me think the sway bars are too thin. I've noticed a lot of lean in corners. A strong cross wind will have any vehicle that's not well planted pushed all over the place. You have a solid point about give profile vehicles, but it can happen to lower profile vehicles, too. Nonetheless, if rather have a 3 row crossover SUV or a diesel Suburban as my long trip vehicle. The roominess makes a huge difference, especially if you end up pulling over in a small town where some "convention/rodeo" is happening and the hotels are booked up. If rather sleep in my car at a rest area and shower at a truck stop the next morning than pay $300+ for 1 night in a motel.

Btw, best wind storm I've ever been in was in Kansas. I was driving an 88 Fiero on I-70. Strong sustained winds, but the gusts were a real treat. They were so strong that they'd flex the hood downward and pop up the headlight covers. If have to slow down to get the headlight covers to go back down again.

Transient · December 17, 2021

On 12/15/2021 at 7:33 AM, swathdiver said:

Before they changed their website, my 2009 GMC had zero fatalities on record with the IIHS and the others like it and yours are minimal as well. Our little Kia on the other hand, it was the highest rated for deaths last time we looked!

Curiously, I've had no issues in high winds or driving through tropical storms in the Yukon. The right tires mitigate most of that.

I endured a category 2 hurricane with a 2007 Tahoe. Truck was solid, until the engine failed on a cross country trip, lol. Lots of confidence in Chevy because of that. I've been in a tropical storm in Southern Nevada in the Trail Boss. I could feel the wind, and the mpgs sucked, but it was planted and went through the tumbleweeds just fine.