5600 mile trip report

1999 SR5 4WD V6 ... bought in April. spent months chasing down the gremlins. installed parts and stuff and the LBJs, finally got it running and took off on a shakedown road trip. the best: I got to visit my kids and grand kids.

the best about the truck? I installed a brand new toyota oem radiator, AND a brand new after market transmission oil cooler placed in line after the radiator. Trans temps on the old radiator were getting into the 200s just running around town. With the new setup the trans temps ran consistently 20° to 30° below the coolant temp in 100°+ degree weather. I could park facing into the wind to run the AC and nap, and the water temps stayed stable and steady, and the trans oil temps were stable and moderate. Even though the owners manual specifically frowns on idling the engine for any length of time.

The second item is that, running free on open roads and controlling road speed PLUS engine RPM we averaged 21.5 MPG, AND 19.7 round trip over 5600 miles of hot hot summer driving. Highest speed according to the GPS was 84. I ran the engine like a boat engine, keeping the tach around 1900 and only accelerating out of absolute necessity to stay alive on highway merges. Yes, that means that ALL the trucks, in fact, ALL the traffic went around me, instead of me going around them. Very relaxing and the payoff was I held the round trip costs to 23c per mile. Money well spent. And if you are thinking you could never get anywhere driving that slow, I had one 750 mile day and one 796 mile day on the return trip. Including side trips finding camp sites and getting plenty of rest. I love driving fast, but not gonna put fast miles on this truck. I have a soccer Dad van that cruises 85-90 all day long, but 4Run is more comfortable and has better Air.

The cruise control is genius on lots of driving, but slows down the truck on long down grades by engine braking. [ ! ] so I took care of the throttle on the rolling hills when the ECU wanted to brake and downshift for throttle in the up and downs. . .

The AC handled the 100° + days perfectly. Better than Old Paint with two evaps.

Oh Yeah, one of the OEM coil packs crapped out about the same time the injector died, so I got to buy one of those too, down in Texas hill country, on a ranch where it took 3 days to collect the parts for the job. In the hot hot hot sun.

NOW I'M GETTING READY TO INSTALL THE 231mm Tundra front brakes, and have to find out about wheels and tires . . .

ciao runners

 

Good deal. Sounds like an enjoyable trip.

I took a 2500 mile, camping road trip in May after having some major maintenance items addressed. The truck performed perfectly on and off-road. I share the same mentality with trucks and road trips, they are not meant for speeding and get terrible mileage when doing so. My best tank of gas yielded 23.9 MPG, setting cruise control to 65 mph on flat ground, and taking it slow on various mountain passes and rocky trails. I definitely enjoyed the scenery and had a great trip.

 

thanks for the input. nice rig you have there. i'm planning to put Tundra brakes in the runner so i don't have to start panic stops so far in advance!

ciao

 

Great to hear such a fun trip in a reliable 4Runner!