Miles per Tank for 12 foot Penske?

[SactoMailman]

Thanks everyone for your comments!

@Bates, I was planning on 10 to PHX up on 87, etc to Holbrook and take 40 to ABQ. I tend to drive slower like 60MPH to conserve gas and to enjoy the surroundings since I'm not in rush! (after Texas to Florida is another story LOL!).

I even thought about taking 10 to CA62 up to Twenty Palms then take small road (Amboy Road) to Historic 66 to Needles and then 40 to ABQ. What do you think?

[bates]

@SactoMailman, I've driven the Amboy road to Vegas once about 18 years ago, picked up a buddy who was stationed at 29 Palms and drove him to Vegas for a bachelor party, that is some lonely road with many miles between service stations or civilazation for that matter. If you're a fan of the desert, it is an intersting drive and the Amboy Crater is pretty impressive.

You could also take Arizona 60 off of I10 and cut up that way, but check to make sure that it hits the I40, I'm not positive it does.

[CobourgVeeDubYah]

@SactoMailman, the 12' Penske/Uhaul/ etc rentals are notoriously bad on fuel.

Depending on the weight that you are loading into the truck, your fuel consumption will vary because the tow/haul button will not be activated until your 1st stop, then realize you have driven 200 miles at highway, yet the rental shop forgot to mention its function. (If you have the Ford E150/E250 front end).

The Horsepower/Torque of the vehicle is what drives the wheels,and as you know with gas propelled , pushing the pedal to make the rpms faster sometimes give you more horsepower. Unfortunately the Power/Torque curve for the larger engines of Chevy/Ford/Dodge are not so easily found.

IF you drop the Roadspeed by 5 MPH you will save the SQUARE of the value as an improvement in MPG.

IF you use the tow/haul switch until you get on the Interstate / Large Strait Stretches of road, then on the straight stretches disengage the tow haul so the Auto Tranny goes to OVerdrive.

When you are going up the Steeper stretches of road at the base of the hill, put 4 ways(Flashers) on , as your roadspeed may drop

By using the tow/haul you will save fuel, because in the end you are not working the tranny too hard ,to push you up the hill.

Since you are starting from CA, after getting to the next State, Fillup the vehicle and stick to the Known Roads, as it is easier to find fillup stations.

Check GasBuddy.com along the way, Use Your Custom Vehicle Stats of 8 MPG/ Check the Fuel Tank for Capacity, and allow 50 Miles/1 hour of driving for the Variations of driving style.

Ease up on the Accelelrator, as you approach the crest of a hill, and let momentum carry you over the top.

Safe driving, as its a long drive.

from a former Long Distance Driver -CVDY

[CobourgVeeDubYah]

@SactoMailman The Penske Site lists 12 foot vans as holding 35 gallons of gas. Given the Source and Destination Zip codes thats almost 5 day journey. (maybe more). The penske website quotes approx 1500.00 for the rental alone. (rental from 10/16 to 10/21)... I an guessing that shipping it in a container is not an option for you.

Guessing 10 MPG, and a 35 gallon tank, you are going to be filling up regularly. (See if You Can get a hold of a 22 foot Diesel Truck instead(with hydraulic brakes)] The Fuel consumption will be a lot less. And the 22 foot have 50 gallon tanks.

The total weight pushing down the road is up to 22,000 Pounds.

[Charon]

I drive school buses, and while it is not a direct comparison the two Diesel buses are rated just under 30000 pounds; have turbocharged Diesels and six-speed automatic transmissions with torque-converter lockup; and get somewhere in the 8 mpg range (I cannot be more specific because I am not in charge of filling them). They have top speeds about 72 mph, probably because of engine rpm limits. These are conventional front-engine buses, not pushers, and do not have air conditioning. The killer is not weight, but aerodynamics. Big vehicles move a lot of air.

[bates]

@SactoMailMan, one other thing that I forgot to mention, fill up in Arizona, not California if possible. Arizona doesn't have So Cal's AQMD mandates and therefore you can get pure gasoline, not the gasohol crap we get here, that will give you a significant increase in mileage due to the higher btu's in gasoline compared to methonol. For my cars I get 10-20 percent increase in mileage by using Arizona gas not to mention that you won't be paying all the CA gas taxes, so you pay less and get more mileage, a true win / win situation.