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Back Home with Red and the S&S (long read)

mountainkowboy
Explorer
Explorer
We left NE Oregon Thursday morning around 10am or so and fueled up at Pilot on 84 in La Grande...



We went down 84 to Ontario and picked up 20 to the 395 thinking it would be easier than the 7 to the 26. We were met by 30mph head winds and long steep climbs weighing in at 16,500+lbs as I found out later. At one point I went through 14 gallons of fuel in 58 miles, that would have been my worse mpg. Over the 1,100+ mile trip we averaged 7.5 mpg overall so I was happy considering the weight. Mileage and power increased markedly once out of Oregon, there fuel is just garbage there. We had a high mpg of 10.65 through the flats of the desert.

We had to do CG's since I couldn't get the fridge to work on propane (making a list). We had Elk and Deer in the freezer so we packed the fridge with frozen medical gel-packs and ice. The first leg was the longest to Lakeview, OR. There's an AWESOME CG outside of there called Junipers reservoir RV resort, it's inside of a working ranch and for a CG is pretty high on our list of future visits. Lotsa wildlife and there's and you can fish and hike all over it. The smoke was pretty heavy when we got there from the fires and burned our eyes, so we hunkered down inside the TC for the night. It was much clearer in the morning and we roamed around a bit, there showers were the best I've seen.

We left a little after 9am and headed down 395, other than the smoke haze, it was uneventful till we hit Reno. In the future I will avoid going through there at all costs. The road was so rough that it broke the glovebox latch out of the dashboard, mount and all (on the list). We were delayed 2 hours at Mono Lake due to a fatality accident of a concrete truck. Climbing into the Mammoth area the smoke got thicker and thicker till we were running with headlights on and the sun was a dull orange dot. We arrived in Bishop, CA to the Highlands RV park (very city like). Our Elk and Deer still frozen.

The last leg home was uneventful and we arrived mid-afternoon yesterday.
Chuck & Ruth with 4-legged Molly
2007 Tiffin Allegro 30DA
2011 Ford Ranger
1987 HD FLHTP
5 REPLIES 5

mountainkowboy
Explorer
Explorer
SidecarFlip wrote:
Old Ford's keep on going. Here in Michigan, you qualify for 'Historical Vehicle' plates. I have to wait another 5 years for mine...lol I'll have my '97 in 5 as well.


All I can say is that I missed this truck, if was a 4x4 (I might convert it) it would be perfect. Just a frickin BRUTE, and drives like it's new, a little lovin and he'll be back to peak condition again.
Chuck & Ruth with 4-legged Molly
2007 Tiffin Allegro 30DA
2011 Ford Ranger
1987 HD FLHTP

mountainkowboy
Explorer
Explorer
jaycocreek wrote:

Dang,bucking wind in a big block sure isn't fuel efficient..Been there done that.

That's quite the total load and that is one nice looking setup.I am alittle partial to well taken care of older rigs.

Good luck on your list!


That tank was one loooong hill, into the wind...lol. With just the TC I can eek out 11 mpg and rarely drop below 4th gear.
Chuck & Ruth with 4-legged Molly
2007 Tiffin Allegro 30DA
2011 Ford Ranger
1987 HD FLHTP

SidecarFlip
Explorer III
Explorer III
Old Ford's keep on going. Here in Michigan, you qualify for 'Historical Vehicle' plates. I have to wait another 5 years for mine...lol I'll have my '97 in 5 as well.
2015 Backpack SS1500
1997 Ford 7.3 OBS 4x4 CC LB

Lwiddis
Explorer II
Explorer II
Fron Ontario your first stop was Junipers, ten miles east of Lakeview?
Winnebago 2101DS TT & 2022 Chevy Silverado 1500 LTZ Z71, WindyNation 300 watt solar-Lossigy 200 AH Lithium battery. Prefer boondocking, USFS, COE, BLM, NPS, TVA, state camps. Bicyclist. 14 yr. Army -11B40 then 11A - (MOS 1542 & 1560) IOBC & IOAC grad

jaycocreek
Explorer
Explorer
At one point I went through 14 gallons of fuel in 58 miles


Dang,bucking wind in a big block sure isn't fuel efficient..Been there done that.

That's quite the total load and that is one nice looking setup.I am alittle partial to well taken care of older rigs.

Good luck on your list!
Lance 9.6
400 watts solar mounted/200 watts portable
500ah Lifep04