Date: Thu, 14 Aug 2008 07:16:35 -0700
Reply-To: Mike Elliott <camping.elliott@GMAIL.COM>
Sender: Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From: Mike Elliott <camping.elliott@GMAIL.COM>
Subject: I are mades it
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1; format=flowed
All,
I arrived in Bend safe and sound. Just got the network up in the house.
On Sunday I drove from Carlsbad, CA, to Bend, Oregon via I-5 then
highway 97, arriving Monday night. Met up with the estimable Al Knoll
outside Lodi for teas and chats -- nice meeting you, Al! Thanks for the
water bottle sprayer, it saved my a$$ during the hottest part of the
drive, around Redding, CA (over 100 degrees F) -- anyone wants desert
travel tips, Al's your man.
Mellow Yellow performed perfectly the whole drive and achieved the best
gas mileage ever: 939 miles using 49.5 gallons, or 19 mpg. The best fuel
economy was the stretch between Santa Nella and Corning, a pretty darn
flat portion of the drive, where I recorded 19.7 mpg; the worst was the
chunk between Klamath Falls and Bend on 97 where only 17.9 mpg was
achieved.
During the flat I-5 portions I maintained about 60 mph, and often
utilized 18-wheelers as "cruise control," by driving behind them -- not
so close as to be tailgating, but close enough to maybe steal a little
slipstream. The poorer fuel economy on the last leg was due to wanting
to get to Bend before dark, so I pushed harder. Second worst mileage was
from Carlsbad, through Los Angeles, and up the Grapevine to Frazier Park
where I got 18.4 mpg.
These mileages are impressive for a vehicle that formerly held down the
bottom end in terms of fuel economy (see the fuel economy survey results
on the vanagonwiki). In those Bad Old Days 15 mpg was the best I got.
Then I got the wheels aligned which bumped me to 17 mpg. Why was the
mileage so much better on this drive: Possibly the trailer, which may
have reduced turbulence, thus drag, behind the van; or possibly it was
the properly-working ECU which I plugged in the week before I departed.
That old one didn't idle properly. Or maybe both factors contributed. (I
personally think it was due to my obsessing over tire pressure prior to
departure -- my theory is that I achieved the magic "sweet spot" between
too much and too little pressure - the Goldilocks theory of tire
pressure. It's a lousy theory but I like it.)
Photo of van w/ trailer behind it here:
http://picasaweb.google.com/j.michael.elliott/LadybugTrailer/photo#5234374945798598434
I've been spending the days after arrival coordinating with handymen and
house cleaners (seller left the house a mess), rug shampooers, IT guys,
electricians, vendors, and a slew of details. No furniture yet, that
will be arriving with Mrs Squirrel on Saturday, accompanied by a 26 foot
rental truck, a 22 foot rental truck (we have more cr#p than we
thought), my son, a friend, and possibly her older son. So I'm sitting
in a folding camping chair typing this on what will be Mrs Squirrel's
desk in what will be Mrs Squirrel's office. Of course, being a low
camping chair the desk is about at the same level as my nose, giving me
a Kilroy look while I type this.
The driveway will be ready for visitors to camp in in a week or so, once
the trucks are gone.
--
Mike "Rocket J Squirrel" Elliott
71 Type 2: the Wonderbus
84 Westfalia: Mellow Yellow ("The Electrical Banana")
74 Utility Trailer. Ladybug Trailer, Inc., San Juan Capistrano
KG6RCR
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