36 days trip MO to West Coast and Back (Updated w/ Photos)

Just did 36 days across to West coast and back to St. Louis
7100+ miles 2.0 eco averaged 29.6 mpg. (whole trip)
No issues - Mav did struggle a bit across Montana at 80 with
a 20 mph head wind - still got 25 mpg. No trailer but, bed and
back seat loaded pretty full.

Stayed in cheap motels for the most part, Very few reservations.
A few slightly SKETCHY places

MO, IA, SD, WY, MT, ID, WA, OR, CA, AZ, NM, TX, OK, KS, & back to MO.
115 deg in CA desert (Barstow), 118 deg AZ desert (Lake Havasu) - no issues. Crazy trip
the roads we were on unbelievably BEAUTIFUL!

SD badlands, Mt. Rushmore, Needles Highway etc.
MT Glacier National Park
OR Columbia River Gorge, Highways 1 & 101
CA Highways 1 & 101, Route 66
AZ, NM, TX, OK, KS, MO - Route 66

There is a section of original Route 66 from 1927 in OK you can drive on -
very rough and only 9 ft wide (Ribbon Road, near Miami OK - (pavement 9ft. gravel road is wider)
https://www.theroute-66.com/ribbon-road-us66.html


PHOTOS links:

Hotel St. Martin
https://photos.app.goo.gl/oarQnVDceKMufsRH9

Spruce Goose
https://photos.app.goo.gl/QYmHPhMDMFnPwN8U8

Seaside Beach
https://photos.app.goo.gl/GsKQqFuTMYiLvgpZ8

Tillamook Creamery roadtrip
https://photos.app.goo.gl/czqg4uJLCg3Ya2iJ7

Tillamook Air Museum
https://photos.app.goo.gl/YnDLrvP33iCdSU3h8

Avenue of the Giants
https://photos.app.goo.gl/DVG9wyF7Xdcij4iRA

Amboy Crater National Landmark
https://photos.app.goo.gl/EuSwMtnEub5aV3Jg8

Route 66
https://photos.app.goo.gl/RvkVshQ6yUNsHNXx8

Lake Havasu temp
https://photos.app.goo.gl/kW1gNd6pRon1wPja8

Meteor Crater
https://photos.app.goo.gl/jr7HASxNRHXCCPtP6

Midpoint Route 66
https://photos.app.goo.gl/nPCSWmN9tTWLy6py6

Cadillac Ranch
https://photos.app.goo.gl/pUyhpsdkyEWyM5vG7

Conoco station
https://photos.app.goo.gl/wDBHyGedXRjLqWky6

Pics?

I seem to be having trouble getting pics to upload - I'll try again tomorrow.

Sounds great! We did a hot trip last summer when we got our Tremor. I think we did maybe lil better or about the same on mpg but we didnt have any load. Hit 120 degrees in Lake Havasu aswell, I hope you didnt need to clean the bugs off your windshield I couldnt keep fluid on the window long enough to do it!! Not sure when you were there but my dad and stepmom stopped in Miami OK last week to visit friends and get some lunch. The were on their way from McAllen TX to Dayton OH.

So much fun to do a trip like that. Sadly my Maverick have to spend the rest of its life on Maui, all 727 square miles of it. Glad you are out there road tripping for the rest of us.

Sounds like fun. I was thinking I may do it too in a year or so. I may get a small trailer just to make it easier to stop and sleep at times without looking for a hotel all the time. About how much did your trip cost for hotels, gas etc. I live in NY so it will probably be twice what you spend. I know it won't be cheap but fun and lots of time to view the US sites.

b25crew said:

Just did 36 days across to West coast and back to St. Louis
7100+ miles 2.0 eco averaged 29.6 mpg. (whole trip)
No issues - Mav did struggle a bit across Montana at 80 with
a 20 mph head wind - still got 25 mpg. No trailer but, bed and
back seat loaded pretty full.

Stayed in cheap motels for the most part, Very few reservations.
A few slightly SKETCHY places

MO, IA, SD, WY, MT, ID, WA, OR, CA, AZ, NM, TX, OK, KS, & back to MO.
115 deg in CA desert (Barstow), 118 deg AZ desert (Lake Havasu) - no issues. Crazy trip
the roads we were on unbelievably BEAUTIFUL!

SD badlands, Mt. Rushmore, Needles Highway etc.
MT Glacier National Park
OR Columbia River Gorge, Highways 1 & 101
CA Highways 1 & 101, Route 66
AZ, NM, TX, OK, KS, MO - Route 66

There is a section of original Route 66 from 1927 in OK you can drive on -
very rough and only 9 ft wide (Ribbon Road, near Miami OK - (pavement 9ft. gravel road is wider)
https://www.theroute-66.com/ribbon-road-us66.html

Click to expand...

Wow! Sounds like an amazing adventure! We hope you enjoyed!

It's a beautiful country out there, been out west many times with my MH and bike. Can't wait to tow the Mav to Alaska in a couple of yrs

Road trips are the best! Good to hear yours was uneventful as far as your Mav is concerned.

When you say it struggled at 80 mph + 20 mph headwind, what do you mean? Just curious. The engine was at high RPM and lower gear? I guess that makes sense, as it's almost the same as 100 mph in still wind. Drag is the main obstacle at speed, and it is an exponential factor of windspeed.

Did you make it up to really high elevations (mile plus)? If so, how did the turbo perform in the thin air?

b25crew said:

Just did 36 days across to West coast and back to St. Louis
7100+ miles 2.0 eco averaged 29.6 mpg. (whole trip)
No issues - Mav did struggle a bit across Montana at 80 with
a 20 mph head wind - still got 25 mpg. No trailer but, bed and
back seat loaded pretty full.

Stayed in cheap motels for the most part, Very few reservations.
A few slightly SKETCHY places

MO, IA, SD, WY, MT, ID, WA, OR, CA, AZ, NM, TX, OK, KS, & back to MO.
115 deg in CA desert (Barstow), 118 deg AZ desert (Lake Havasu) - no issues. Crazy trip
the roads we were on unbelievably BEAUTIFUL!

SD badlands, Mt. Rushmore, Needles Highway etc.
MT Glacier National Park
OR Columbia River Gorge, Highways 1 & 101
CA Highways 1 & 101, Route 66
AZ, NM, TX, OK, KS, MO - Route 66

There is a section of original Route 66 from 1927 in OK you can drive on -
very rough and only 9 ft wide (Ribbon Road, near Miami OK - (pavement 9ft. gravel road is wider)
https://www.theroute-66.com/ribbon-road-us66.html

Click to expand...

Sounds like a fun trip.

My kind of trip.
Did you happen to get to Stonehenge along the Columbia River?
Full size replica of the one in England, ours is in better shape.

Scott Asheville said:

When you say it struggled at 80 mph + 20 mph headwind, what do you mean? Just curious. The engine was at high RPM and lower gear? I guess that makes sense, as it's almost the same as 100 mph in still wind. Drag is the main obstacle at speed, and it is an exponential factor of windspeed.

Did you make it up to really high elevations (mile plus)? If so, how did the turbo perform in the thin air?

Click to expand...

Mileage drop for the most part - displaying 24/25 instead of 30+. Just a bit out of the sweet spot
if you know what I mean - This truck likes about 78 for whatever reason. It didn't really "struggle" just was not the sweet spot (if that make any sense whatsoever).

Glen Baker LLC said:

My kind of trip.
Did you happen to get to Stonehenge along the Columbia River?
Full size replica of the one in England, ours is in better shape.

Click to expand...

Did not see that - there are tons of places we bypassed or just cruised through that I now wish we had spent more time. Oatman AZ for one - it was 112 and we just cruised through - we should have stopped!

Still trying to share some pics...
Mt. Rushmore
https://photos.app.goo.gl/qFnRzWgALJUk8BBq9
Devil's Tower
https://photos.app.goo.gl/i2AsBJRaGJGrwSbb7
Road MT
https://photos.app.goo.gl/Amfk6yPbNSuPhtnp6
Twuck (not mine!)
https://photos.app.goo.gl/M4JmEgcCxjefAMoV9
KOA St. Mary's
https://photos.app.goo.gl/oaEkatJ17uknbFyk9
KOA St. Mary's
https://photos.app.goo.gl/u6RH3gJErFqcL5kx5

Hotel St. Martin
https://photos.app.goo.gl/oarQnVDceKMufsRH9

Spruce Goose
https://photos.app.goo.gl/QYmHPhMDMFnPwN8U8

Seaside Beach
https://photos.app.goo.gl/GsKQqFuTMYiLvgpZ8

Tillamook Creamery roadtrip
https://photos.app.goo.gl/czqg4uJLCg3Ya2iJ7

Tillamook Air Museum
https://photos.app.goo.gl/YnDLrvP33iCdSU3h8

Avenue of the Giants
https://photos.app.goo.gl/DVG9wyF7Xdcij4iRA

Amboy Crater National Landmark
https://photos.app.goo.gl/EuSwMtnEub5aV3Jg8

Route 66
https://photos.app.goo.gl/RvkVshQ6yUNsHNXx8

Lake Havasu temp
https://photos.app.goo.gl/kW1gNd6pRon1wPja8

Meteor Crater
https://photos.app.goo.gl/jr7HASxNRHXCCPtP6

Midpoint Route 66
https://photos.app.goo.gl/nPCSWmN9tTWLy6py6

Cadillac Ranch
https://photos.app.goo.gl/pUyhpsdkyEWyM5vG7

Conoco station
https://photos.app.goo.gl/wDBHyGedXRjLqWky6