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I'm traveling cross-country this August, with a convoy of (as of now) 11 cars and one motorcycle.

If you're wondering why such a big convoy, its driving to a game convention/festival/4 day long party. The CCST (http://www.ccsupertrip.org/index.html) Warning: prepare for nerdiness.

Anyway, background info out of the way, the questions are obvious, what is the best way to keep my MPG high while driving cross country? I assume there isn't much I can do, because as for speed, obviously I have to stay with the convoy. Can't really do anything to reduce our weight either. Tires will be filled to max, and as it says on the site: "...bring extra oil, coolant, fluids (brake, power steering, anything that ends in "fluid")"

So any tips, or just bring lots of gas money?

P.S. No, I don't think I could convince 50 or so people to drive 55mph the whole way. Although we probably could, because we're going to have the power to realize what every hypermiler has thought about:

moe: "I came to the conclusion last year that if we are more cars than the rest of the road, we ARE traffic."

so that should be fun. :)

Well, convincing them to go slower might be easier when they see gas prices.
You could try to use the A/C as little as possible and sweat out a bunch of the trip.

Try to be at the end of the line of the convoy and have them break the wind for you :)

You might put a bug in their ear to keep their speed 5mph below what they would normaly travel.

Often say to yourself (with them in earshot) "Man, I don't know what's with these gas prices. They are so expensive." If they hear that enough it might get them thinking.

Thanks for the response but basically nothing doing except staying at the back of the line and drafting them.

This isn't the first year for the CCST, they know the gas prices all the way across the country, and driving all the way cross country, I have no intentions of taking my time. We're driving in 5 hour shifts with 1 hour breaks.

Sometime after I posted that:

[15:52] moe_fwacky: **** it Stifin, do you have any ideaa how long it would take us
[15:52] moe_fwacky: if we went 55
[15:53] moe_fwacky: http://www.cleanmpg.com/forums/showthread.php?t=4059&highlight=cross+country
[15:55] moe_fwacky: don't thik i wouldn't see it
[16:12] moe_fwacky: i see all
[16:24] Jerkfish: Steve wont dare go 55
[16:24] Jerkfish: because if he does, me and blackheart are doing 80 just to ruin his mpg
[16:26] moe_fwacky: haha
[16:26] moe_fwacky: we do fine on mpg
[16:26] moe_fwacky: 2-4 mpg above city highway mix
[16:27] Jerkfish: Stifin goes overboard sometimes. There have been plenty of times we're in the car and he just puts it in neutral

Oh internet, how I love you.

This one is for your friends to find.

LOL. Hey guys! Nice to know you found our site! You will come around soon enough ;)

Hi Stifin:

___There is no free lunch other then setup (High pressure in the treads and lightweight synthetic) but DWL, DWB, and maintaining the speed limits should help tremendously. Do not load anything onto the exterior of the vehicles other then possibly off a hitch mounted carrier that is tightly wrapped. How about packing that many more people into fewer vehicles? This is the best way to shave a few tons of CO2 and SMOG forming emissions from your output let alone using even fewer gallons of a depleting resource or saving $’s if that is your goal? Remember that flying is worth ~ 100 mpg per person and that would probably be best rather then caravanning beyond the limits across the US of A given the discussion about taking to long :ccry:

___Although I doubt any of your compadres are ready for the advanced techniques (especially if distracted with 2 or 3 others in the car conversing the entire time), placing the largest vehicle up front of the convoy in the right lane and using a quasi-Close-in/Distant draft from largest to smallest should help. Once you get that land train moving across the more rustic areas of the country, tighten up the gaps and keep your iFCD’s high. If even one of the drivers believes this is a game, don’t as he or she will cause a tragedy that will not be overcome or forgotten :(

___Good Luck

___Wayne

Wayne, thanks for all the tips as usual. I flew last year, and it was 6 hours on a plane, a bit more expensive, and yes I'm sure it was better for the envioronment. But the trip is about the experience, see the country, and on the way back, stop and hang out with people we know along the way.
Also, I have to admit, I'm not exactly a very hardcore hypermiler (yet? definitely won't be seeing any 166.08% EPA any time soon :) ) I'm aiming right now for a happy medium between efficiency and decent speed.

I like the lining up cars by size idea, useful and practical. Motorcycle can go in the back? or maybe drive around and keep an eye out for problems, he's getting 50mpg already anyway :)

Also I might convince my friend to get a ScangaugeII, which would help

Anyway, Thanks for playing along.