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Old 09-30-2012, 08:14 AM   #1
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New Excuse for Bad Fuel Efficency

Hey guys! I heard a story the other day that made me chuckle. One of my buddies owns a construction company. He said he was fillin up his truck when a guy pulled up on an electric scooter. The guy says, "You keep supportin big oil while I drive my scooter for nearly nothin!"
My buddy reponds with, "Id like to see you haul a load of lumber on that thing"

Iv heard lots of similar stories, all with the "truck owner" having the last laugh. Then I got to thinkin... what if someone said somethin about my 11 mpg (unloaded) gasaholic? My response would be simple: they have yet to make a Prius thatll tow an Airstream

Anyone have a similar story?
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Old 09-30-2012, 09:11 AM   #2
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Anyone who feels a need to defend their choice of vehicle needs to watch this video on the ultimate result of too much attitude about fuel efficiency.

Smug Alert (Season 10, Episode 2) - Full Episode Player - South Park Studios

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Old 09-30-2012, 09:11 AM   #3
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Yeah, we may be supporting the oil companies, but those Electric cars and hybrids are supporting electric companies, (which are no better) and strip mining, which is done to get the stuff to make batteries..

I did the math on buying a hybrid vs the cost of a regular car of the same size. It's not worth it. Plus there is nothing Green about batteries!!!!!!!


Say you buy a Prius at 51 mpg and a Corolla at 34 mpg, there is a $8000 price difference. So how long would it take you to recoup that cost???

Say you drive 15,000 miles a year.

Thats 294 gallons of gas for the Prius and 441 gallons for the Corolla

That works out to $1058 at $3.60 a gallon for the Prius and $1587 for the Corolla

Thats a $529.00 a year difference. Divide that into $8000 and you have to drive the Prius for 15 years to make up the difference..

OOOH, and plus you would have to replace the batteries in the Prius 2-3 times in that period too...

Totally not worth it. Sorry hybrid owners, it's a total rip off...

If you want Green buy a Mini, They use more recycled products in their cars than anyone out there, for about the same price as a Prius. Plus they are way cooler than a Prius, faster, and still get 37 mpg. IMO
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Old 09-30-2012, 09:28 AM   #4
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If I felt the need to buy a fuel efficent vehicle, itd be a VW Jetta TDI lol. 45 mpg, no batteries or electricity needed lol. Except to start it obviously... I guess you could push-start it lol
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Old 09-30-2012, 09:58 AM   #5
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I don't feel I need a excuse to drive the vehicles I choose. However for my own sake, I have tried to make the wisest investment to suit my desires. I wish to have a travel trailer. Therefor to satisfy that wish, I need a tow vehicle. I chose one that was a compromise between capabilities and long term investment. Unfortunately diesel is no longer a bargain, but I am still happy with the choice. Also, fortunately we can afford more than one vehicle so our truck only gets used for doing truck stuff. Our 9 year old truck has less than 70,000 miles. I don't consider my truck as part of my image, so I don't get a kick out of driving it. I much prefer to drive a smaller vehicle for the rest of my driving. I consider my ability to do that a result of other choices I made earlier in life, with long term desires in mind.

So if anyone decides to question my choices, I will tell them to go sniff their own emissions. (see the video)

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Old 09-30-2012, 10:23 AM   #6
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I've had a few comments over the years. I just look at them and state, you should be thanking me as if it wasn't for guys like us, those that oppose fossil fuel vehicles wouldn't have a purpose.

I also ask if the scooter driver, is his scooter by choice or did you lose you license due to a DUI and now drive a liquor-cycle?

I respect all for their choices, they need to be respectful of ours.

on the MPG this was our last two for the season and we had remarkable mileage due to some attempted smart use of today's technology.

We towed our 31 footer back from the mountains to store it and although we did not get 40 MPG, we did get 16.9 with the duramax. I have found the trick is to run the truck flat (empty) for about 20 miles hitting the reset button setting the gauge to read 19.6 to 20.2 miles to the gallon. Of course this in flat as I can find at about 62 MPH. Once I hitch up, I do NOT let the truck idle and as I tow now at 60 MPH, I can get excellent mileage.

It does work as I go to fill up, I take on what the fuel gauge use states in this case 5.7 gallons and for the 99 miles we towed, although it calculates to 17.3, the average was 16.9 as I had to pick up up on the flats towing to get to store the trailer before the place closed.

So towing just under 14000# at 60 MPH getting 16.9 MPG not bad especially with a tornado watch and lots of rain in which the Prius and scooters have a tendency to be pulled over to the side under bridges I have noticed.

We're all God's creatures, just trying to get by!

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Old 09-30-2012, 11:00 AM   #7
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Originally Posted by SL4BLLT View Post
I've had a few comments over the years. I just look at them and state, you should be thanking me as if it wasn't for guys like us, those that oppose fossil fuel vehicles wouldn't have a purpose.

I also ask if the scooter driver, is his scooter by choice or did you lose you license due to a DUI and now drive a liquor-cycle?

I respect all for their choices, they need to be respectful of ours.

on the MPG this was our last two for the season and we had remarkable mileage due to some attempted smart use of today's technology.

We towed our 31 footer back from the mountains to store it and although we did not get 40 MPG, we did get 16.9 with the duramax. I have found the trick is to run the truck flat (empty) for about 20 miles hitting the reset button setting the gauge to read 19.6 to 20.2 miles to the gallon. Of course this in flat as I can find at about 62 MPH. Once I hitch up, I do NOT let the truck idle and as I tow now at 60 MPH, I can get excellent mileage.

It does work as I go to fill up, I take on what the fuel gauge use states in this case 5.7 gallons and for the 99 miles we towed, although it calculates to 17.3, the average was 16.9 as I had to pick up up on the flats towing to get to store the trailer before the place closed.

So towing just under 14000# at 60 MPH getting 16.9 MPG not bad especially with a tornado watch and lots of rain in which the Prius and scooters have a tendency to be pulled over to the side under bridges I have noticed.

We're all God's creatures, just trying to get by!

SL4BLLT
I don't totally follow what you are doing. However I've found that if I reset the MPG gauge, just before going down a big hill, I can get as high as 50 MPG, the longer the hill, the longer the MPG will stay high. Is that what you are talking about?

We did actually get 12.8 mpg (calculated from gas receipts) average on our recent trip to California. That was 90% interstate and a lot of up and down mountain passes. We were usually between 65 and 70 MPH
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Old 09-30-2012, 11:11 AM   #8
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Do you need an excuse to throw your money away?

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Old 09-30-2012, 01:07 PM   #9
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Quote:
Originally Posted by ElCamino Man View Post
Hey guys! I heard a story the other day that made me chuckle. One of my buddies owns a construction company. He said he was fillin up his truck when a guy pulled up on an electric scooter. The guy says, "You keep supportin big oil while I drive my scooter for nearly nothin!"
My buddy reponds with, "Id like to see you haul a load of lumber on that thing"
Cute story. But here's the piece of the logic that's missing: like the guy on the scooter, not everyone needs to haul a load of lumber. And not everyone needs to tow around a 5000-8000 pound trailer.

If we didn't have the AS, we wouldn't own a SUV that gets 18 mpg on my wife's commute. I have considered a Volt or Prius for her commute, along with a pickup truck tow vehicle, but it's easier and cheaper for our one-car-owning household to have a do-it-all solution.

The Corolla/Prius example above misses the fact that the Prius owner will get most of the extra initial investment back in increased resale over the Corolla. (A Prius is also a nicer, roomier car than a Corolla.) Hybrid drivetrains are extremely clever technology - recovering kinetic energy that otherwise would get thrown away. I love driving Minis too, but there is more than one way to skin a cat.

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Old 09-30-2012, 01:36 PM   #10
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But look at it from the other guys perspective also: Not everyone needs a scooter either lol
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Old 09-30-2012, 02:26 PM   #11
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Oh, the hypocrisy.....

Would you believe a recent rally against the proposed oil pipeline expansion was moved to another venue because they did not have enough parking space for attendees' cars?

Another group (including many from the above) were gathered at our international airport. This pow-wow was against river tankers carrying JetA to the airport. Their key-note speaker was late - his flight was delayed.

I know a few who would love to give them this kind of blast.....

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Old 09-30-2012, 03:38 PM   #12
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I can relate a kind of similar story.
A woman I was talking to a few years ago made the comment that everyone should be REQUIRED to take the bus or light rail to work. No ifs, ands or buts. So I asked her if that also included me - a self employed carpenter who carries most of a ton of tools with me everywhere I go in my pickup. She said yes, of course. They could have a compartment on the front of the bus - like the bike racks you see - for your tools.
So I asked her if she would mind if at the end of a long, hot, sweaty day when I had mud and itchy insulation on my clothes and spider webs in my hair from crawling around under an old house I plopped myself down in the seat next to her.
She said nothing but the look of horror on her face lead me to believe I had won that silly argument.
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Old 09-30-2012, 06:43 PM   #13
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w7TS,
what I do is once I maintain a high MPG, I cooenct the AS and I DON'T reset the MPG when I fill up. Based on my experience if I leave the MPG at what ever it reads, it stays at that MPG under premier conditions, (no head wind or hills and I keep it at 55-60 MPH) until I either hit hills as in climbing or head on winds. Does it maintain higher MPG depends on the conditions and driving? depends. If I creep up to up to 70-75 MPG in a head wind or a 7%-11% grade in climbing under load, that mileage per gallon drops real quick and stays there.

Hope it clarifies what I a trying to articulate.

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Old 09-30-2012, 07:23 PM   #14
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Our oldest Dtr (the communist) and sil bought a used Prius. They live in Houston and we live in north Texas. 6.5-7 hr drive at a good average mph. Done this numerous times. They came for a visit last Christmas. Took them 14 hours to get here. They drove at a top speed of 48 mph to achieve the best mph for a Prius. They want to buy a Chevy Volt. It is their most wanted new purchase. Stopped arguing with them several months ago when they bought a solar panel that would power a box fan...
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Old 09-30-2012, 07:56 PM   #15
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w7TS,
what I do is once I maintain a high MPG, I cooenct the AS and I DON'T reset the MPG when I fill up. Based on my experience if I leave the MPG at what ever it reads, it stays at that MPG under premier conditions, (no head wind or hills and I keep it at 55-60 MPH) until I either hit hills as in climbing or head on winds. Does it maintain higher MPG depends on the conditions and driving? depends. If I creep up to up to 70-75 MPG in a head wind or a 7%-11% grade in climbing under load, that mileage per gallon drops real quick and stays there.

Hope it clarifies what I a trying to articulate.

SL4BLLT
I am guessing that since we have different manufacturer's trucks, we can't compare results. My MPG guage simply measures the average MPG since the last time I reset it. So if I were to reset it before driving say 65 MPH on the level for 2 hours, it would read around 20 MPG. If I then hooked up the trailer and repeated the same scenario (with the trailer I would be getting about 12 MPG) without resetting the MPG readout It would start out reading 20 MPG because it is still averaging in the readings from the truck alone. After doing this for 2 hours, the MPG read out will have slowly worked its way down to reading 16 MPG even though I was only really getting 12 MPG for the last two hours. Since my truck does not have a instantaneously MPG readout, if I want to get an idea of what I am doing right now, I reset it and give a minute of two to settle down. My Subaru Outback has a instantaneous reading guage so I can actually get an indication of what happens when I drive differently. My original post was a partially tongue in cheek explanation of how you can manipulate the guage to make the results look different from what is actually happening. I do not know how or if any of this would apply to your truck.

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Old 09-30-2012, 08:12 PM   #16
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Ken's explanation is correct for all the vehicles I have driven (primarily GM).
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Old 09-30-2012, 08:29 PM   #17
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Quote:
Originally Posted by SL4BLLT View Post
We towed our 31 footer back from the mountains to store it and although we did not get 40 MPG, we did get 16.9 with the duramax. I have found the trick is to run the truck flat (empty) for about 20 miles hitting the reset button setting the gauge to read 19.6 to 20.2 miles to the gallon. Of course this in flat as I can find at about 62 MPH. Once I hitch up, I do NOT let the truck idle and as I tow now at 60 MPH, I can get excellent mileage.

SL4BLLT
I've found if I hit the reset button as I round the last corner and coast down the street to my house I can get 99 MPG. I actually think it's better than that, but Ford only used two digits for the MPG. This works towing or not.
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Old 09-30-2012, 09:01 PM   #18
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SL4BLLT

I am glad that you are getting 16.9 mpg. Whatever works for you is good. However, I don't believe that the procedure that you follow as to when you reset you mileage computer has any affect on the actual mileage when you are pulling the trailer. I think you are getting this mileage because you are towing gently, 55-60 mph, no headwind and away from the mountains (slightly downhill).

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Old 09-30-2012, 09:25 PM   #19
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Big C
Our oldest Dtr (the communist) and sil bought a used Prius. They live in Houston and we live in north Texas. 6.5-7 hr drive at a good average mph. Done this numerous times. They came for a visit last Christmas. Took them 14 hours to get here. They drove at a top speed of 48 mph to achieve the best mph for a Prius. They want to buy a Chevy Volt. It is their most wanted new purchase. Stopped arguing with them several months ago when they bought a solar panel that would power a box fan...
Yeah, my uncle had a Prius. He would drive 5+ miles to another gas station to save 2 cents per gallon. I think the gas tank is maybe 15 gallons at most. He would save a whopping 30 cents. There was just no talking any sense into him. Some people live their lives with blinders on.
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Old 10-01-2012, 04:16 PM   #20
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Touring Dan,

after we dropped off the AS, we refilled and reset the fuel economy setting again to no number and driving at 65 MPH. After driving the 140 miles home at 65-70 MPH, not load, the use of diesel was only 6.8 gallons to refuel, which the setting read 19.2 MPG. So we've tried both ways with a load and w/out and I drive around getting 16.8 unless I let the truck idle with the AC going in which even at a low idle it will reduce the setting.
Hey it works for me and actually have used this for years on most of my vehicles. The 2002 8.1 Avalanche got 12.5 MPG with or without the Airstream and even less when climbing the huge grades in Montana. That's where we would get some real love from folks (that the discussion is about) as we would fill up the 42 gallon tank on that monster of a tow vehicle. We thought $1.70 a gallon was allot back then.

As what newrolswell has pointed out, I haven't gotten to the 99 MPG but again, I'm not in a Ford. Guess I'll never see that.

Go Luck
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