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

[Sirachu_Fletch]

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

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

Hell yeah man. I did almost the same drive little over a month ago. I left from St Louis and drove out to Petaluma, CA. 7500 miles, 15 national parks, 10 states.
Gonna be doing something similar on my way to Duluth, MN here in a couple weeks.

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[Glen Baker LLC]

What a fantastic trip! Glad to hear the Maverick did well in 3 digit temperatures. Mostly glad to hear you had no issues other than just enjoying our beautiful country. Thanks for sharing!

I wouldn't hesitate taking it to Death Valley.

 

[Phimosis]

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.

How was your maverick struggling? Did you take it in to have the dealer diagnose the problem? 25 mpg means it was still very light on the throttle. You’d think that if it was struggling, the mpg would be a lot worse. In my maverick, pulling a 1,500 lb trailer, it will go over any of the passes in the cascade mountains at 80 mph. Most of it is in 7th gear at 2,200 rpm under boost, the steeper climbswere 6th gear at 3,000 rpm. The steepest climbs were in 5th gear at 3,800 rpm and if I got slowed down behind RV’s or trucks and needed to pick speed back up, I would be down in 4th gear at 4,500 rpm for a few seconds. It was rarely in 8th gear at 1,900 rpm, mostly on down hill slopes. Overall, only got 14 mpg, which means I was using a lot of horsepower over time, but it never struggled. Ran at % the entire time.

edit: as a side note, it will pull at 2,200 rpm in 7th gear under boost until the instant mpg read out is down to about 8 mpg before it finally down shifts. If you are pulling a 3-4% grade it will keep chugging along at 2,200 rpm, getting 10 mpg for many, many minutes without the temp gauge ticking up even a single click.

 

[Glen Baker LLC]

How was your maverick struggling? Did you take it in to have the dealer diagnose the problem? 25 mpg means it was still very light on the throttle. You’d think that if it was struggling, the mpg would be a lot worse. In my maverick, pulling a 1,500 lb trailer, it will go over any of the passes in the cascade mountains at 80 mph. Most of it is in 7th gear at 2,200 rpm under boost, the steeper climbswere 6th gear at 3,000 rpm. The steepest climbs were in 5th gear at 3,800 rpm and if I got slowed down behind RV’s or trucks and needed to pick speed back up, I would be down in 4th gear at 4,500 rpm for a few seconds. It was rarely in 8th gear at 1,900 rpm, mostly on down hill slopes. Overall, only got 14 mpg, which means I was using a lot of horsepower over time, but it never struggled. Ran at % the entire time.

edit: as a side note, it will pull at 2,200 rpm in 7th gear under boost until the instant mpg read out is down to about 8 mpg before it finally down shifts. If you are pulling a 3-4% grade it will keep chugging along at 2,200 rpm, getting 10 mpg for many, many minutes without the temp gauge ticking up even a single click.

I wondered what the actual turbo temperature's are, when pulling a 3,000 lb. up a long 6-7% grade?
Update: Found the answer.
Ford EcoBoost turbos can reach high compressor outlet temperatures (COT) when operating at high speeds and under high load and RPM. If the COT exceeds 350°F, the ECU will try to protect the turbocharger by limiting power. It does this by opening the waste-gates and closing the throttle.

 

[b25crew]

Struggling is probably the wrong word....
I'm sure I could have gotten 100 + out of it without a problem...

From and earlier post...

No issues -
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).

 

[Frank McGervey]

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

Sounds like we did but pulled Popup trailer 4 night camping 1 night hotel
Took 2 months
Average 29 mpg

 

[Frank McGervey]

My kind of camping
Leave that tent nicely folded in the Box. For emergency use only.
I almost never make reservations before we leave. Along the way maybe. It's a lot easier to make them along the way with a cell phone and the internet
I generally have rough idea of where we want to go. I never know what time I'm going to get there or if I even make it there.
I get sidetracked real easy on road trips. We've stayed in areas where we've said, 'Gee, if we had a reservations further down the road we would have missed this.'

Yes We did the 2 month camping and hotel trip across USA .once you leave California everything was easy to get that day for the night

 

[Frank McGervey]

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

Very nice
We got back from camping across USA tent trailer
9000 miles

 

[The Real Maverick]

Fun Fact:

Nevada claims to have the southern most glacier in the USA. But I think that is stretching the truth. It is 250 miles north of Las Vegas. There is also a Glacier close to Death Valley.

I bet you didn't think of Glacier and Death Valley or Vegas in the same sentence until I mentioned it.

California has some pretty far south.
And California has a TON of them.

Utah* has an unofficial one. Too small to see with the naked

I wonder what this chart looked like 100 years ago.

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