Date: Thu, 14 Aug 2008 09:33:43 -0700
Reply-To: neil N <musomuso@GMAIL.COM>
Sender: Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From: neil N <musomuso@GMAIL.COM>
Subject: Re: I are mades it
In-Reply-To: <48A43E43.9040801@gmail.com>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1
Good news Mike. And what a bonus. No furniture? No problem! (Thank you Westy)
Sounds like you have a great handle on things. Nothing like
coordinating the talent/help when moving into a new home.
Will you have a Vanagon workshop/garage?
Neil.
On Thu, Aug 14, 2008 at 7:16 AM, Mike Elliott <camping.elliott@gmail.com> wrote:
> 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
>
--
Neil Nicholson '81 JettaWesty "Jaco
http://groups.google.com/group/vanagons-with-vw-inline-4-cylinder-gas-engines
http://web.mac.com/tubaneil
http://tubaneil.googlepages.com/
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