Hi - figured I would throw some numbers down for my trip out west. I wanted to set up a time lapse but never made it, oh well, I will have lots of pictures of actual wheeling instead of driving though!
From driving coast to coast and stopping in CO for a few days of wheeling, my diesel stats are:
Average mileage: 11.47mpg (odometer) 11.67 (gps)
Total Diesel cost: $774.57
Total miles: 3,287
Total gallons of diesel: 286.629
Average price per gallon: $2.705
I didn't stop at a scale, but I have usually weighed in just shy of 14k but I was also loaded up with stuff from my house including my full set of mechanics tools etc so was likely several hundred more. With tongue weight, the front rose by .5 inch and the rear dropped by 1.75 inches.
I wanted to mention how impressed I am with the old truck, it handled the CO passes with little to no drama. Going up was easy, once it got out of overdrive it had enough in it to accelerate if I wanted it to. I could smell the brakes at the bottom of the hill, but it would be hard to want a car payment
In either case, I have some video of us tackling some obstacles, some pictures with my DSLR, and I had set the GoPro to snap a pic every 10 seconds so I will post up over the next few days.
Day 1: Holy Cross. We stopped in at Silverthorne, CO for a night's rest, then continued on to the trailhead, which is on US 24 between Minturn and Leadville. The jeep trail went up to 11,800 ft high and there were some beautiful overviews.
Here's a video of me struggling up Cleveland Rock (end of Holy Cross trail). A toyota took a trail nap just prior and made it pretty slick, otherwise I'd like to think I would've made it up the buggy line that I started on.
Sal Cleveland Rock
[youtube]
Day 2: Chinamans Gulch. We continued on to Johnson Village for the All-4-Fun event, luckily the hardcore trails were across the road from our camping spot. A real fun and challenging trail with a lot of scenery.
Camping:
Day 3: Carnage Canyon. This was a serious trail that rivals any rock garden we have on the east coast. Everyone had to winch on at least one point. The loop back home was shared with Chinamans Gulch and likewise shared many beautiful sights.
Day 4: Mt. Princeton. We hit CC a second time so some of us could finish it for the first time. I walked it with the DSLR and got a lot of shots. Then we finished off the day with a scenic trail up to Mt. Princeton. We got over 12,000 ft and the trail continues on for hikers.
Dropbox link with resized images for the web: https://www.dropbox.com/sh/1on…XSexdTozw4r7dbtg0gZa?dl=0 Will have more on FB and a few videos over the next few days.