Trekerjohn
New member
Just returned from a 4,600 mile road trip from Sacramento (CA) to Los Angeles, Mesa, San Antonio, Austin, Dallas, Fort Worth, Blue Ridge (TX), Santa Fe, Socorro (NM), Grand Canyon, Death Valley, Lake Tahoe, and back to Sacramento. Almost all on cruise at 64 – 65 mph. Averaged 21 mpg, even up over the Panamint and Eastern Sierra mountains. My ’96 (now with 260,000 miles) ran like a top. Used not a drop of oil. The only unusual behavior was the gas gauge. I always fill it to the top even though I have heard that is not a good thing to do, but I'm not sure why. The needle goes to the top. Here is a typical scenario: the needle stays pegged until I have gone about 35 – 40 miles; then it starts to fall quickly and goes to ½ at 55 – 60 miles; then it begins going back up, and will go all the way up to ¾ by the time I go 65 – 70 miles; then when I get to 90 miles, it starts coming down slowly. I can get all the way to 150 miles and it is on ½; and ultimately goes about 375 miles, getting 21 mpg going 64 mph on cruise. My sleeping and storage platform performed flawlessly. Very comfortable sleeping back there, and I have tons of storage space, both in the 2 long drawers and under the front extension and on the sides of the drawers. I saved a bunch of $ not staying in motels, although I did camp in state parks in Texas. Excellent road trip.
