Happy with Summer Road Trip Mileage!

[WARnr]

So, I just got back from a 1200 mi road/camping trip through Eastern Oregon and Northern Nevada. Over the entire trip, I averaged just a little over 19mpg. Particulars:

• 4 people in the cab
• About 550 lbs in the bed (camping gear/water/rocks - geology trip)
• Every day temps were 90-105 degrees
• AC on most of the time
• Speeds averaged 60-70 mph
• Around 40 miles were in 4wd on logging or Forest Service roads
• Traveled over 7 mountain passes, between 3K and 6K feet
• Tires at 36 psi
• No mods, except that I removed the charcoal air "pre" filter

All in all, I am pleased with the mileage, especially considering the temps and terrain. I think that keeping it under 70 mph really helps the mileage, and under 65 even more. The AC was fairly taxed with the temps though. I kept wishing for a bit more fan speed and more cold air!

[mhollack]

Sounds like a fun trip with the bonus of good mileage! I think its due to the fact you drive a radiant red tundra. They are, after all, the best of the best.

[LeeinAZ]

charcoal air "pre" filter

Actually that filter screen is after the air filter, not before.

Nice report though.

[RLitwin]

You shoud have your ac looked at. Mine is so cool that I can't keep it on high. It doesn't get much hotter then Phoenix in the summer.

[RONE]

First off, that's awesome mileage. Are you sure that wasn't a typo?

Originally Posted by WARnr

The AC was fairly taxed with the temps though. I kept wishing for a bit more fan speed and more cold air!

I find the same problem with my truck, too.

[SEC Tundra]

I wish I could get that mpg. Sounds like it was a nice trip!

[hbonney]

It's been over 110 here in Phoenix everyday for several weeks now...the AC, although works fine after awhile, takes a long time to cool off the entire cab. I checked my cabin air filter and it was clogged pretty bad! I have 35K miles on it, with some on dusty dirt roads. While waiting to go pick up a new filter, I ran it without the filter for a few days. Without the filter, it blows much more air and cools off even the rear of my Crewmax fairly quickly. I did replace it after a few days because I didn't want dirt, bugs, and leaves clogging up the AC system. Even as dry as it is in Phoenix, the AC does take out the humidity and the dirt would stick to the damp coils. With a new filter, air flow is good, just not as good as without the filter. And yes, I do drive with all the windows down for several minutes to get the hot air out first....

[hbonney]

I also did the charcoal filter removal and battery disconnect...I got remarkably high mileage figures for a few days, and it went back down to normal. I drive 25 miles each way everyday to work, and I average a little under 14 mpg. My gas mileage dropped dramatically after a mild lift and bigger tires (305x55x20 BFG Mud Terrain KM2)

[fire_mike]

I wish I could drive that slow! Seriously, I live in AZ where most of the rural highway speed limits are 75 - doing 60-70 would make me a nuisance. Even doing 75, I only get about 14 mpg if I'm lucky.

[WARnr]

Originally Posted by fire_mike

I wish I could drive that slow! Seriously, I live in AZ where most of the rural highway speed limits are 75 - doing 60-70 would make me a nuisance. Even doing 75, I only get about 14 mpg if I'm lucky.

This is the trick for good mileage with any big rig - slow down and keep the big tires/bumpers/lifts/extra gear to a minimum. I know it can be tough, but I actually see folks driving slower on the highway than they used to. Crusing down I-5 at 68mph I still pass lots of folks. I do think that the 5.7 motor is incredibly efficient for the power it produces. Driving a little slower saved me over $80 last week! If people get upset that you are driving too slow, let'em pass!

My guess is that personal driving habits and truck setup have a lot to do with mileage differences. When I drive it to work 40 miles r/t every day, I get about 16-17 mpg. That's with 30 miles highway with traffic, and 10 mi in the city with lots of hills. Pure highway lightly loaded with summer gas - I think that mid to high 19's is as good as it will ever get!

I've had lots of trucks over the years, and this one gets the best mileage that I've ever seen with a full size v8 truck. Think I'll hang out a few years to wait for the 4.5 liter turbodiesel to see how that does before I even consider swapping out this truck......

The Crewmax is the kids favorite roadtrip machine. More room = less fighting!

[Sparks Toyota-TRD]

ok, heres one trick guys, when you get out on the highway slip it over in sport mode and bump it to 6th, if you using the cruise it will keep it from down shifting as much and will help out the mileage a good bit, don't know about the size 12 boot pushing the pedal but serveral customers have tried this and have gotten improvements with it.

try it and chime back in if it helps out or not......

oh, and one more thing, turn the trdactiona nd all that stuff off and if you want to check and see if the speed limiter is gone, had a few chime in and said theirs would go right on with the NANNY's turned off.

just a little input.....

Mark

[v8hunter]

I have not had my truck for too long, but I got my first tank of over 20 mpg (20.7). I was happy to say the least to be able to pull that off. My mods are magnaflow exhaust, charcoal filter removed, aribox elbow removed, & slightly modified stock airbox. This mpg above was after I unhooked our 6k lb camp trailer that it was getting 9-11 mpg towing. It is kinda funny passing diesels up the grades in a toyota.

All of our other rigs (except the mazda 3) can't get 20mpg so I was quite happy to break that milestone.

[forefrazier]

I don't possible understand how others are getting 17-20 MPG. I drive very conservatively and do not put my foot in it. Electronic monitoring hasn't gone above 13.6 the entire 3500 miles I have put on my truck so far. Kinda sucks since I thought I would at least be in the 15-17mpg average range.

[RLitwin]

I have almost 30K miles on my DC. I get 13-14mpg towing a 3000lb trailer for work everyday. I get about 17-21mpg depending on how I drive without the trailer.

I get the best mpg when driving around town doing around 50mph. Speed limits are 45mph. The computer shows in the upper 20s even with my trailer.

[BamZipPow]

Where is yer cabin filter located? I know in my T-100...if I drop the glove box door down I git massive airflow. Not sure if you can do that in the Tundra or not.

One of the factors that most might be overlooking is the amount of rake you have. When I was done with my 5000 mile trip, I was loaded about 400 extra pounds than I would normally be setup with. I got the best gas mileage I ever got with that. I'm attributing that to some of the aero mods but I'm thinking the final squat down on the back might have helped that a bit.