1800 miles in an '04 F150
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Joined: May 2004
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From: Georgia on my mind...
1800 miles in an '04 F150
Well, my trip to Tejas went off smoothly enough. Took us about 12 hours on the way down and 15 on the way up. My trailer tow experience didn't quite go as planned, but anyways...
That's the longest I've spent at one time in my truck. Learned a lot about it:
- I dunno where this "lack of power" business comes from. No, it's not as visceral as a GM Gen II small block, but with a 2000 lbs trailer behind it, my '04 never knew it was there. I did keep my foot in it a good ways though.
- I didn't know 4500 lbs of car and some stuff in the bed would shove that thing around that easily. Maybe I had my weight distribution screwed up or something, I dunno. I've pulled trucks that weigh more than that car did.
- I think I have a slight rear end whine on tip in at about 65-70 mph. At first I thought it might have been the trailer, but it comes and goes with throttle application. I'll drive it again later today after we get this stuff unloaded to verify.
- My A/C ruled the whole way down. Set it on 75 and forget it, cooled to about 50 at the vent.
- I got pretty decent fuel mileage on the way down. Averaged 15-16 mph with the trailer behind me. I didn't think that was too bad with 2000 lbs of weight behind me. On the way back, eh, that's a toss up. We were, uh, exploring the upper regions of the speed limit on long stretches of I-20. So accordingly, fuel mileage plummeted then, went down to about 10-12 mpg average. I think we made 8 stops over 1800 miles, I never ran below 1/4 tank.
- And, on a positive note, I never knew that side of the country was so pretty. Yes, it was a long and monotonous drive, but there were awesome stretches of I-20, especially when we were coming out of Texas. Beautiful.
Now, if you'll excuse me, I think I have a truck somewhere under all that brake dust, dead bugs, and dirt...
That's the longest I've spent at one time in my truck. Learned a lot about it:
- I dunno where this "lack of power" business comes from. No, it's not as visceral as a GM Gen II small block, but with a 2000 lbs trailer behind it, my '04 never knew it was there. I did keep my foot in it a good ways though.
- I didn't know 4500 lbs of car and some stuff in the bed would shove that thing around that easily. Maybe I had my weight distribution screwed up or something, I dunno. I've pulled trucks that weigh more than that car did.
- I think I have a slight rear end whine on tip in at about 65-70 mph. At first I thought it might have been the trailer, but it comes and goes with throttle application. I'll drive it again later today after we get this stuff unloaded to verify.
- My A/C ruled the whole way down. Set it on 75 and forget it, cooled to about 50 at the vent.
- I got pretty decent fuel mileage on the way down. Averaged 15-16 mph with the trailer behind me. I didn't think that was too bad with 2000 lbs of weight behind me. On the way back, eh, that's a toss up. We were, uh, exploring the upper regions of the speed limit on long stretches of I-20. So accordingly, fuel mileage plummeted then, went down to about 10-12 mpg average. I think we made 8 stops over 1800 miles, I never ran below 1/4 tank.
- And, on a positive note, I never knew that side of the country was so pretty. Yes, it was a long and monotonous drive, but there were awesome stretches of I-20, especially when we were coming out of Texas. Beautiful.
Now, if you'll excuse me, I think I have a truck somewhere under all that brake dust, dead bugs, and dirt...
Senior Member
Joined: Feb 2004
Posts: 443
Likes: 0
From: PDX Vicinity
Brake dust and dead bugs - LOL!
Just recently made a trip from Portland to Salt Lake City and back with our '04 Screw and I was amazed at the amount of brake dust I collected. Before owning this truck, I would see the newest generation Expeditions driving around town with front rims just incredibly filthy and wonder: how long's it been since they've cleaned those dang things?! Now I know - they probably cleaned them that morning.
Just recently made a trip from Portland to Salt Lake City and back with our '04 Screw and I was amazed at the amount of brake dust I collected. Before owning this truck, I would see the newest generation Expeditions driving around town with front rims just incredibly filthy and wonder: how long's it been since they've cleaned those dang things?! Now I know - they probably cleaned them that morning.
Senior Member
Joined: Jan 2004
Posts: 307
Likes: 0
From: In the Mountains
Just recently, I pulled our 5k+ Avion TT to North Georgia, around Helen, and my truck did beautifully in those hills. It pulled on the interstate like the TT wasn't there! I don't know what kind of mileage I got but I wasn't disappointed. I love my new 04!