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Well this Sunday night I am leaving to visit my Aunt who lives about 3.5 hours away. This will be the first time i drive farther than and hour away from home by myself. Any good hypermiling/general knowledge tips from all of you?

BTW I will be driving my 1997 Wrangler with a 5 speed.

1) Check the car for road-worthiness beforehand
2) Have something good to listen to
3) Bring a map and cell phone
4) Don't drive at dusk/dawn and don't stare at the road (you'll fall asleep)
5)Fillup the tank before leaving town and keep >1/4 tank in urban areas and >1/2 in rural.

For your first road trip I just suggest pointing the car down the road and doing 50-55 in the right lane. Throw in some DWL but don't burn yourself out trying to hypermile too aggressively and end up exhausted halfway through your drive.

And have some good music to listen to. I suggest Sammy Hagar's "I Can't Drive 55." :)

#! Check your air pressure.

Read, study and adhere to "Beating the EPA." (http://www.cleanmpg.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1510)



For a long drive, I recommend burning a cd of "The Top 50 Driving Songs." (http://www.berklee.edu/news/2003/05/drive50.html)

Turn that 3.5 hour trip into 5 hours. ;)

Turn that 3.5 hour trip into 5 hours. ;)

Hahaha. No way will I do that.

No matter what I do I will probably end up getting an FE of around 15MPG at the best since I will be doing some 4x4ing at my Aunts. Nothing like idling along at 2MPH for an hour to hurt your FE :Banane53:

I think the rule is supposed to be "Take a 15 minute break after driving for 2 hours". Get out of the car and stretch, eat some beef jerky, fill up the car with gas, then go into the gas station and fill up the toilets with something else that's a yellow liquid that smells funky.

Actually if it was a longer trip I'd probably suggest taking a break ever 3 or 4 hours, but 2 hours works too.

Also, dress comfortably. Don't wear dark colored clothing. Try and wear light colored clothes. Here's why: The dark clothes will absorb the sunlight shinning in the car, and you will be hot/sweaty even though you have the a/c running.

The last suggestion, don't eat any spicy foods the day before you go on your trip.

The last suggestion, don't eat any spicy foods the day before you go on your trip.

Awwwww man. You're ruining my fun.

3.5 hours? That isn't long distance. That is a hop skip, and jump.
When you decide to make 12 plus hour trip let me know and I'll
show you how to make a comfortable trip in a reasonable amount
of time and still get good fuel mileage on that trip.

3.5 hours? That isn't long distance. That is a hop skip, and jump.
When you decide to make 12 plus hour trip let me know and I'll
show you how to make a comfortable trip in a reasonable amount
of time and still get good fuel mileage on that trip.

Coming off a little hostile buddy...

Just teasing you. :Banane22:

See if you can get yourself a better tailwind/less-headwind drivetime ( "adds aviation" and click: winds/temps ... 3-4day projection) .... seriously

You have a high drag vehicle ... picking a time when you have less drag will make a huge difference on that particular vehicle ... esp if you are getting/using other autosmart advice.

I think the rule is supposed to be "Take a 15 minute break after driving for 2 hours". Get out of the car and stretch, eat some beef jerky, fill up the car with gas, then go into the gas station and fill up the toilets with something else that's a yellow liquid that smells funky.

Actually if it was a longer trip I'd probably suggest taking a break ever 3 or 4 hours, but 2 hours works too.

Also, dress comfortably. Don't wear dark colored clothing. Try and wear light colored clothes. Here's why: The dark clothes will absorb the sunlight shinning in the car, and you will be hot/sweaty even though you have the a/c running.

The last suggestion, don't eat any spicy foods the day before you go on your trip.

Sure doesn't sound like you've driven 36 hours straight to me ;)
My rule of thumb is, stop only when its time to fill up. Approximately every 450-500 miles.

Sure doesn't sound like you've driven 36 hours straight to me ;)
My rule of thumb is, stop only when its time to fill up. Approximately every 450-500 miles.

Heh... I have to get out and take a piss well before that. When I'm hauling ass (55 MPH) that means a stop once every 250 miles or so. If I'm truly hypermiling than probably every 200 miles. LOL

When I drive long distance I don't eat or drink anything -- then there is no need for bathroom breaks.

I realize this isn't how most people could stand to do it, but that is how I accomplish only stopping for fuel.

That's great, but try that with 3 kids, 3 dogs, and 3 frogs (yes, tree frogs) and two adults in the car ;). That not stopping thing sorta flies right out the window. We take a trip back and forth to PA about twice a year. The distance one way is about 450 miles. We've taken to leaving between 6-7 pm and get in around 2 am. At least that way, we only have to stop for dinner and a second stop for gas somewhere around Gettysburg, PA. Although there is also the occasional youngster potty stop too in Virginia.

When I drive long distance I don't eat or drink anything -- then there is no need for bathroom breaks.

I realize this isn't how most people could stand to do it, but that is how I accomplish only stopping for fuel.

Even with all of the human's on empty, I can only go 400 miles without stopping, not the 1,000 miles that you get on a tank :eek:

That's great, but try that with 3 kids, 3 dogs, and 3 frogs (yes, tree frogs) and two adults in the car ;). That not stopping thing sorta flies right out the window. We take a trip back and forth to PA about twice a year. The distance one way is about 450 miles. We've taken to leaving between 6-7 pm and get in around 2 am. At least that way, we only have to stop for dinner and a second stop for gas somewhere around Gettysburg, PA. Although there is also the occasional youngster potty stop too in Virginia.

We do this with our 3 kids and 2 adults, no dogs or frog though.
- My wife starts dehydrating them after lunch the day before.
- We leave the house at 3am, they sleep, I drive
- We stop when the first tank is on empty, eat breakfast, fill-up and go.
- We finish the 12 hour/620 mile trip and head straight for the beach :D

It took time to develop, but reducing the stops really helps you manage the trip's total time. When the kids were younger, it took 13+ hours.

You "rarely stop guys" are obviously much younger than we are. In the early 70's I would solo drive from NOLA to Denver in 20 hours (1300 miles) in a tiny 1969 Corolla stationwagen with 4 5 gallon Jerry cans of gasoline in the back- no radio -no AC.It was a tiny- 1100 cc 1700 lbs - little death trap WITHOUT THE 20 GALLONS OF GASOLINE!

In about 2003 we drove from Flagstaff to New Orleans in 24.5 hours (1500 miles). This was with 2 drivers. Now we take 33.75 hours to do the same trip , since I do all the driving now. We stop at just about every rest stop,and plenty of gas stations(100-150 miles), and we sleep for 6 hours at a rest stop in TX. The vehicle has a 900 mile range, so we aren't stopping just for gas. We walk the mutt and stretch our legs ,use the rest rooms etc. If I didn't stop my neck , back would ache etc. I also exercise enroute while driving so my back doesn't gimp out on me.

To get good mpg use adequate tire presure-start with at least 1-2 lbs over the door pressure,since you will lose air - use the CC except uphill - and keep your speed reasonable.I think syn oil helps FE; I use it.

My suspicion is that the left lane might be worth a bit of FE , since it is smoother. If you do this, keep an eye on your rear view mirror and get right EARLY -when you see someone overtaking you. Trucks beat the right lane up; I used the left lane for comfort , but I suspect it helps/explains the too good 21 mpg(70 mph) of my worn 98 Suburban (202,500 miles) FE. The too good isn't because 21 mpg is good ; it is just much better than I expected at 70 mph for a high CD vehicle.

Luck,
Charlie

I'm home guys. And wow, I could tell from my gauge how much speed affects my mileage. I drove 70MPH on the way there, because I wanted to get there quick, but drove 60MPH and drafted off a truck on the way back.

BTW, anyone here ever go mudding in a golf cart? It's pretty fun.

I'm home guys. And wow, I could tell from my gauge how much speed affects my mileage. I drove 70MPH on the way there, because I wanted to get there quick, but drove 60MPH and drafted off a truck on the way back.

BTW, anyone here ever go mudding in a golf cart? It's pretty fun.
Yup, it's fun. Got a golf cart stuck in the mud once. That was less fun.

So how did you do mileage wise?

So how did you do mileage wise?

I never actually checked, but I'm sure it was crappy. I ended up getting lost on the way back, and that screwed everything up.

Yup, it's fun. Got a golf cart stuck in the mud once. That was less fun.

We got my Aunt's EZGO Workhorse stuck in about 2 feet of mud. It has like 16in tires!

Yup, it's fun. Got a golf cart stuck in the mud once. That was less fun.

I've done that numerous times, including twice in the space of 24 hours. I've learned the hard way that a golf cart is not a 4x4 :o

But especially in the summer heat (nobody would believe how incredibly much I end up sweating, especially when it's humid outside) I try to keep hydrated which translates to a piss-break about once every 200-250 miles (4 hours). I only have to fill up every other break, though... :)

Definitely have to stay hydrated, it helps you think more clearly. If you aren't well hydrated, you won't be at the mental state you need to be to hypermile at your best!:eek:



Now that I've said something relevant, let me continue the total aside that's going on here by adding some wacky thoughts:

There really needs to be a video compilation or contest for off-roading in vehicles no one would ever off-road in. I've kinda gone off-roading a bit in a minivan (does 5 minutes in a very uneven dirt construction site count?), and that was loads of fun. I want to see an off-roading unicycle ("mountain unicycle"?) and an off-roading Vespa, though that might have some ground clearance issues.

Follow a 60-65 mph truck and coast down every hill.