Gas and holiday weekend hiking

[peakbagger]

I would like to reinforce, Neil's comments. Yak racks and Thules are removable. Leaving them on all the time affects gas mileage especially at highway speeds. Slowing down from 85 to 65 makes a big difference also. Probably worth doing a cost benefit analysis to see how many dollars per hour someone can save by getting up earlier for a day hike so they could drive up to the mountains at a slower speed

 

[MadRiver]

I feel fortunate that I work 10 miles from home and the Pemi is only 20 miles away. I do have to head to CT several times this summer as well as a Baxter trip in Oct. Other than that I will limit my driving to closer peaks.

 

[Quietman]

I feel fortunate that I work 10 miles from home

I went from a daily 120 mile commute to working from home in March. Had to take a pay cut, but I'm feeling pretty good about filling up once or twice a month instead of 3 times a week!! I'll still be hiking locally this weekend.

 

[moonrock]

I'm flying up to Syracuse for a wedding in VT late June.
I'd love to dovetail hiking UWJ and Armstrong (my #45 and #46 !), but key friends are unavailable to share the experience then.

To drive the ~1600 miles round trip (Scion Xa) would cost me $200. My airfare is around $220. Plus the intangible cost of sitting in Detroit airport for 4.5 hours.

BTW on much of Interstates 95 and 81, it's near-impossible to attain 70 mph anyway - thanks to semis, and the "entitled" habits of other drivers.

FMI: What does gas cost along the NY Thruway? In another century, I once paid $0.97

MR

 

[DrewKnight]

Tire pressure, and other tips

I would like to reinforce, Neil's comments. Yak racks and Thules are removable. Leaving them on all the time affects gas mileage especially at highway speeds. Slowing down from 85 to 65 makes a big difference also.

Also -- check your tire pressures... take them at least up to factory recommended pressure (usually on the driver's door jamb), and seriously consider pumping them up to a higher pressure (though never any higher than the limit on the sidewall -- COLD). Increasing tire pressure decreases rolling resistance, and can improve highway mileage by as much as 5%.

Disadvantages: it will make your ride noticeably harder, and, if you over-inflate, can cause odd tire wear.

I run my Volvo's tires in the high 30PSI range all the way around, have no issues with tire wear, and consistently see highway mileage at the top of the EPA rating for the car, which isn't typical for the older rating system.

There are other, common-sense, no-cost and low-cost things you can do, too:

*Don't run the air conditioner if you don't need it. Most newer cars automatically with electronic A/C turn on the compressor when you hit "Auto". The A/C can cost you 1-3mpg on the highway (though there's the perennial debate of whether driving with the windows open causes more drag...)

* Make sure your air filter is clean and breathing properly. If it's been a while, check to see the tune-up interval for your car -- most newer cars, it's 60k or more miles -- but when spark plugs start to go, mileage plummet.

* Use cruise control and leave a good buffer between you and the vehicle in front of you on the highway, so you're not constantly adjusting your speed. Slowing down and speeding up is a terrible waste of fuel. Drive like you paid dearly for every bit of acceleration -- you did.

* Don't carry excess weight (more weight=more energy to move it) -- so you can probably ditch those two sandbags from the back of the pickup.

 

[BlackBuffalo]

Well today in CT I paid 4.05 for 89 octane. Granted due taxes and it being right near a mall. So it was alarming.

In Feb I got a lite SUV (Pontiac Vibe), got 36 mpg last week. So I will be taking road trips every week, but fewer long ones.

 

[una_dogger]

, but I think my dream of hiking Saturdays in the far north and being at home to bike ride on Sundays may be shattered if we hit $5.

Nah, we'll just carpool and keep the speed at 55mph.


No need for drastic lifestyle changes, just being careful with other purchases and driving conservatively will help.

 

[griffin]

Like cbcbd, the crowds on the roads and the trails on holiday weekends does more to keep me close to home than the price of gas.

I'm lucking in that I take the T ("subway" to some of you) to work, so the gas prices aren't hitting me as hard. At least not directly.

Oh, and once the tires on your better-mileage vehicle are properly inflated, you've slowed down a notch, and you've removed the roof-racks and other crud - gasbuddy.com can help you find the cheapest gas prices near you or where you're going.

 

[MichaelJ]

Nah, we'll just carpool and keep the speed at 55mph.

55? Yer killin' me!!!


Okay, real question ... do roof rack fairings really increase mpg? There's no way my bike racks are coming on and off; we use them too much in the summer.

 

[kmorgan]

On Long Island $4.09 to 4.29/gal for regular. $5.15 and up for diesel. Unfortunately my Passat wagon is a turbo and requires 91 min octane (I've tried 89 with bad results), on the flip side I get 32 to 34 highway mpg....

Then there's the tolls just to get OFF Long Island!

 

[Dugan]

Toyota Highlander Hybrid (getting about 25mpg highway so far). We still wanted the ability to carry 7 people, and at least modest "soft-road" capability

Well, strike the Highlander Hybrid from my list. I don't need to carry 7 people, but I'd been considering the Highlander because we have 2 large dogs and do like to ride with them in crates, which takes up significant space. My Forester (1 crate + 2 passengers or 1 dog seatbelted + 3 passengers - though it has held about 8 people super-packed for a car spot once!) routinely gets 29-32 mpg. I can't justify such a sharp decrease in mileage sheerly for the sake of fitting 2 crates in the car at all times.

55 really does help. Lowest possible speed in highest possible gear maximizes mileage, as does shifting into neutral for those nice long downslopes. Those steady highway speeds help too. 53 to 55 mph for most of my work commute yields 31-32 mph. Recent other commutes at 45-50 non highway - more stops - yielded 29-30. If I'm on 93 or 91 for extended periods (65 or more), I drop as into the 27-28 range.

Then again - how much does that crate weigh? Maybe it should just come out...

 

[halia and flammeus]

Flammeus and I are definitely planning our routes more carefully, all the time. We live deep in the forest and it takes at least 15 minutes to go anywhere! Luckily we both work close enough to home that we are purchasing an electric scooter asap (anyone have any knowledge or recommendations?), because flammeus drives a big manly truck.

I drive a vw jetta wagon (diesel) and get 45 mpg around town, 50 on the highway. I plan to make biodiesel for it... again - anyone with experience in this department drop me an email.

We are working our way through the catskill 35, and currently are fretting about the hikes we want to do that involve spotting a car. Despite living inside the blue line, we still face long drives (often an hour or more) to get to trail heads. Add to the mix that we hike with our dogs... that means that there will be no scootering to trail heads (nor carpooling, unless we find hikers who can deal with our dogs ...)

gotta rise to the challenge -
Halia

 

[MichaelJ]

as does shifting into neutral for those nice long downslopes

According to a little web research, "modern fuel injection systems will cut off all fuel in an over-run situation, which is when the engine is being driven by the wheels/transmission at a speed higher than idle, such as when coasting down a hill. Only below (or approaching) idle speed will they fuel up to stop the engine cutting out. This is why using engine braking to roll up to a red light is more economical than coasting."

 

[Peakbagr]

$4.10 a gallon in the Adirondacks today.

 

[NewHampshire]

Time to get real inventive with your automobile choice

Brian

 

[Neil]

$4.10 a gallon in the Adirondacks today.

Well....that should give us all a little boost when it comes to voluntarily reducing our so-called carbon footprints, eh?

(When I walk through the Adirondacks I leave footprints but when I scrutinize them I don't see the carbon. )

 

[cbcbd]

According to a little web research, "modern fuel injection systems will cut off all fuel in an over-run situation, which is when the engine is being driven by the wheels/transmission at a speed higher than idle, such as when coasting down a hill. Only below (or approaching) idle speed will they fuel up to stop the engine cutting out. This is why using engine braking to roll up to a red light is more economical than coasting."

Yeah, forget just idling... just turn your car off. Just make sure to keep the key in the aux spot so your wheel won't lock... oh yeah, and remember that your power brakes won't work until you turn the car back on at the end of the hill.


juuuust kidding... but you could.

 

[dr_wu002]

Oh Well...

I have a beat up '98 Saturn with dog vomit in the back seat and piss in the front. I can push 45 mpg on the highway. Guess I'm not feelin' the pain like the rest of you.

-Dr. Wu

 

[MichaelJ]

I should also mention that this morning whilst driving to work I saw an actual Smart Fortwo. It looked very, very small on Rte 2 when surrounded by all the other cars. I could see something like this taking off if it had absurdly high mileage per gallon, but its rating is only 40/45 (EPA 2007) 33/41 (EPA 2008), easily beaten by the Honda Civic Hybrid.

Sure the Fortwo starts at $11k, but that base model is really, really basic. This would make a useful second commuting car, IMO, but not an all-around vehicle.

 

[king tut]

I should also mention that this morning whilst driving to work I saw an actual Smart Fortwo. It looked very, very small on Rte 2 when surrounded by all the other cars. I could see something like this taking off if it had absurdly high mileage per gallon, but its rating is only 40/45 (EPA 2007) 33/41 (EPA 2008), easily beaten by the Honda Civic Hybrid.

Sure the Fortwo starts at $11k, but that base model is really, really basic. This would make a useful second commuting car, IMO, but not an all-around vehicle.

Looks like a car the crunchies in Vermont would have designed this year, if they weren't half baked. Oh well, next year is a good year to save the planet if our state is lucid.