Check out photo of my tractor....

[Farmwithjunk]

Man... some of you guys are harsh towards a guy that just likes to get good miles per gallon. I don't think he is worried about how much fuel a ship used to haul his tractor to the US. He likes getting good mileage... it's a hobby!! He's not much of an environmentalist... has no agenda!! Read his posts again.

If you follow this guys post's, he seems to like to play the role of lightening rod. I'm just playing along with him. If it doesn't upset the person who placed the original post, I fail to see why it should irritate anyone else. This is the internet man, not a supreme court hearing.

 

[dbdartman]

Just for curiosity's sake, I'd like to see how he'd suggest I improve the mileage of my truck. It's rated (by the new, revised, ratings) at 14-22. I typically get 18-20, but highway mileage is a solid 25-26. It's an 04 Colorado extended cab (with a cap), 3.5 5-cyl, auto trans, Z-85 4WD, & has the optional 3.73 gears. The computer has been "tweaked" (replaced the 87 octane ignition curve with the premium curve and pulled 4 degrees out across the board, lowered the converter lock-up speed 3-4 MPH, totally removed the torque management (it's a "drive by wire" system & the computer "dampened" throttle response considerably, I hated that), raised the red-line RPM & shift points about 250 RPM, & raised the trans line pressure a little). The stock air box has been "ported" (I hacked off the front of it so it gets cooler air from the grill), & usually keep the tires inflated to 34-35psi (calls for 32, but any higher than 35 makes things really interesting in the rain, particularly at WOT on the 1-2 shift ). My last trip to Arkansas, last June, averaged 26 MPG there & back (24.8 if you average in the full tank I burned while in Ar), most of this with the A/C on, too. This is all running at, or slightly above, the speed limits, liberal use of the cruise control when possible, plus I don't drive like I have a raw egg under my right foot.

 

[bill6]

...It's OK, FarmwJunk has my respect & is a stand-up guy. He's only half-way serious in his criticisms, and is kind of teasing me. So I give him lots of grace. Actually, I've learned quite alot from reading his posts & threads over the last year. He's well versed in the use of tractors & implements....

Concerning using more fuel just to drive to seminars, etc, I have been through that discussion for years. The bottom line is, EACH PERSON that learns and practices hypermiling methods, may save many thousands of gallons of fuel for the rest of their lives. And, countless other folks are influenced to save fuel, it's a snowball effect. For example, the fuel I use driving to HYBRIDFEST in Madsion, WI is just a drop in the bucket compared to the cumulative awareness I help to create. Last July, they even had me & my car on "Good Morning America" and hopefully thousands of people saw how it is POSSIBLE to get 90 miles to a gallon of gas.....

 

[bill6]

For Dartman: on your 2004 Colorado, yes it's a big & heavy rig. But I could likely get in it and achieve 36 MPG with it.

Here's some points for you:
---It will get around 3 mpg better in warm, summer weather
---You need to use full synthetic oil if you want maximum MPG
---On the highway, drive 5 mph below the speed limit
---Look way ahead to the next stoplight, try NOT to use the brakes
---at next service interval, use synthetic oil in tranny & 4wd system
---MOST IMPORTANT is tires. DISREGARD the owner's manual specs for tire pressure. That's for a cushy ride. Get down on one knee and look at the tire sidewall. It lists a maximum pressure. Inflate all tires at least to the max. That will substantially increase your MPG...

Lastly, visit CleanMPG, An authoritative source on fuel economy and hypermiling One of my best friends, Wayne Gerdes, runs the site. Read the threads, they show many ways to far exceed the EPA estimate on ANY vehicle you drive. Later, Bill....

 

[brickMan]

Interesting Bill. NPR did a show on hypermilers too and they were inundated by liberals, environmentalists and a cop noting:

- hypermilers can be a danger to others.
- hypermilers may be breaking state laws

its not as simple as it sounds. btw, regular balance and alignment also help ... and add to safety.

Oh and my favorite -- first you blamed the lack of access to the technology but now you say the problem is behavioral.

Tractors are work machines. Do you detail for looks or do you use UV protection? The only durable (read "not -- apply monthly to your car or seat") UV working tire protectant I've seen is Sun Block but it sounds awful toxic to be using on a farm. Anyone got any other sources that could last a season?

Why did this thread go astray so easily? A more appropriate related topic would be the use of biodiesel in our work machines, or how to calculate max pto speed (hp xfr) necessary for the load at hand and how to throttle down from rated to get that speed; which then begs the question ... is a slower turning engine or wheel or tire by definition a more efficient one?

For Dartman: on your 2004 Colorado, yes it's a big & heavy rig. But I could likely get in it and achieve 36 MPG with it.

Here's some points for you:
---It will get around 3 mpg better in warm, summer weather
---You need to use full synthetic oil if you want maximum MPG
---On the highway, drive 5 mph below the speed limit
---Look way ahead to the next stoplight, try NOT to use the brakes
---at next service interval, use synthetic oil in tranny & 4wd system
---MOST IMPORTANT is tires. DISREGARD the owner's manual specs for tire pressure. That's for a cushy ride. Get down on one knee and look at the tire sidewall. It lists a maximum pressure. Inflate all tires at least to the max. That will substantially increase your MPG...

Lastly, visit CleanMPG, An authoritative source on fuel economy and hypermiling One of my best friends, Wayne Gerdes, runs the site. Read the threads, they show many ways to far exceed the EPA estimate on ANY vehicle you drive. Later, Bill....

 

[Silver_Knight]

.....go to ebaymotors.com and find listings for Honda Insight. There are only 4, mine is the beautiful red one (2005). The last two of my photos show my highly polished Mahindra 2415! Hopefully LOTS of people will see this great tractor. Sometimes I hesitate to use the tractor, especially right after I've cleaned, waxed, and detailed it.....

A little Guerrilla Marketing going on...

 

[rback33]

A little Guerrilla Marketing going on...

Wow. I can assure you that Bill was NOT trying that. I know the accusation won't bother Bill, but I'll be insulted for him. There are some others on this site that I think do some of that, but I have not said anything. Bill is certainly not one of those.

 

[Rara Avis]

A little Guerrilla Marketing going on...

Well I hope not, because Gorillas are a protected species...

 

[keeney]

A guy I worked with had a similar hobby. He was obsessed with getting the lowest cost of ownership per mile Or maybe he was just really cheap - it wasn;t like he couldn;t afford to drive a nicer truck).

I seem to remember he said he was under $0.01 a mile cost including the cost of the vehicle, all wear-out parts, oil, filters, and registration; everything except fuel.

I challenged his figures because I had just paid $1000 for a set of tires that I expected to get maybe 25,000 miles out of on my sports car! I was at $0.04 per mile or 4x his cost just in tires!

Here is how he did it:

1. He paid $400 for an old POS Mazda Luv pickup, 4-cyl, manual stick. Added maybe another $200 in parts (mostly brakes and a battery) to get it road-worthy again.
2. He ran discarded used tires on it that he got for free and would change them out after getting another few thousand miles out of them.
3. He changed the oil maybe every 10-15,000 miles (who cares in an old truck like that?).
4. He put over 200,000 more miles on the truck.

To top it off, he drove very conservatively, getting maybe 35 mpg. Gas was around $1.25 per gallon back then, so he only added 3-1/2 cents per mile for fuel.

His total cost was easily under $0.05 per mile and probably closer to $0.04 per mile.

- Rick

 

[Lloyd_E]

Spiveyman,

Hey...that's my truck. I have a 2002 4x4 supercrew cab auto with a truck box cover...and it's black! The best I can do is about 700 khm per tank or around 420 miles per tank. I bought the truck used last year. Have you had any major/minor problems with yours?

regards,

Lloyd