Gumball...sort of...

[Mark Rinker]

I sold a hydraulic lift marine trailer to a marina owner in Baltimore, and arranged for a 26' legal beam (8'6") boat to also be deliverd from MN to the Port of Baltimore. Two birds with one stone - a paying boat and delivering the sold trailer, per the terms of the sale.

A light boat that can be towed legally at night + an EMPTY truck with no trailer on the way home = GUMBALL time...just for fun. ~2400 miles, Kennedy's performance tune, and nothing but interstate from door to door.

I'm shooting for a 60+mph average for the hours logged that the truck is running. 40 hours of drive time, probably 23 hours of drive time on the way there, and 17 hours of drive time on the way home. (I'll be adhering to DOT hours of service, and mandatory break times - but trying to maximize the 14 hours in 24 that are considered 'On Duty - Driving'.)

...Minneapolis, MN to Baltimore, MD and back, leaving Wednesday AM and home for lunch on Saturday?

[Kennedy]

Sounds like fun.......not

I don't miss the drive out to events out west. We did Loyal to MT, the DP Pull Off and back in less than 72hrs IIRC. I enjoy the events, but the drive sucks.

[Mark Rinker]

Work is rarely 'fun'...but when I get paid for the miles, its not so bad.

I will post the empty truck/no trailer mileage results for the trip with your tune, JK - however the empty return speeds won't be 'optimal' at 70+ ...

[Mark Rinker]

Had a good 61.5 mph average going for the trip out, when trailer tire #1 separated. Caught it when refueling, before it went down.

...then about 300 miles later tire #2 did the same thing. I only carry two spares for the problematic trailer tires. Another good reason for selling this particular trailer, its being retired to yard duty at a marina near the Port of Baltimore. It will spend the rest of its hard life moving boats around inside the yard there, with little to no high speed road use.

With no spares left, rain and dark setting in, I decided to pull off the interstate and luckily found a tire store - right at closing time - with two new lowboy style 9x14.5 14plys in stock - but have to wait until morning for the store to re-open for mounting.

Gumball turns to sourball.

[More Power]

Never been a fan of long drives - all at once.... Back in the days of the "55" mph federal speed limit, you had to drive long days to get anywhere. The last long (by my standards) drive in one day was the 2006 SEMA show - 900 miles and thirteen hours and 20 minutes each way.... This is an average of 67.5 mph, but you gotta run 80 while on the highway to get it, when factoring in fuel stops and an occasional rest area convenience....

Jim

[Mark Rinker]

Thats an impressive average speed...!

Yeah, the road is still my reality for the time being. I do enjoy it, but there are times when it gets to be a grind. The flipside are the stretches of time at home planning the next trips, repairing equipment, marketing, working on the website, etc.

Part of the drive enjoyment is monitoring the truck's performance, the new (to me) Garmin has a great elapsed time/stopped/driving timer, top speed, average speed overall, average speed moving, etc.

In Baltimore area now, boat delivered, meeting with trailer buyer tomorrow and will head home then.

[Kennedy]

Never been a fan of long drives - all at once.... Back in the days of the "55" mph federal speed limit, you had to drive long days to get anywhere. The last long (by my standards) drive in one day was the 2006 SEMA show - 900 miles and thirteen hours and 20 minutes each way.... This is an average of 67.5 mph, but you gotta run 80 while on the highway to get it, when factoring in fuel stops and an occasional rest area convenience....

Jim

90 gallons of fuel in the bed does wonders for trip times. Also standing curbside in the hinge area of the door speeds up rest stops when out in the toolies or after dark...

[Mark Rinker]

Gatorade. Its a drink, and a handy container. (But throw them in the trash when you stop for fuel - not out the window.)



Had a great seafood dinner here in Baltimore, and contemplating a record setting trip home with empty truck...this opportunity to haul butt (without at least an empty 36' trailer in tow) rarely happens, so might as well make it interesting.

Baltimore to Minneapolis in under 20 hours - clock time?

[Mark Rinker]

Left Baltimore 10AM CDT.

At 9:41PM CDT at Beloit, WI (west of Chicagoland) at exit 1, Flying J for fuel and required 10 hr DOT break...

Stats from Garmin:

11:43 total time
11:16 driving time
27:15 stopped time
68.1 overall avg mph
70.8 moving avg mph
94.2 mph max speed
799.2 miles total traveled
343.9 miles to go...



JK's tune has yielded an astounding 18.42 mpg during this thrash. Lots stop and start for tollbooths - probably a dozen total with full throttle accelerations to 75mph after each. At least 50 miles of 55mph construction areas, moderate Chicago traffic, and lots of time 'cruising' at 79mph to get this average.

Incredible mileage empty with the Kennedy LBZ tune - never tested it this way before.

65mph top speed and a light foot would find 21mpg for sure...

[Mark Rinker]

The last leg home was at a much more relaxed pace, averaging between 65 and 68 mph.

For the last leg, Kennedy's custom LBZ tune yielded 21.54 mpg!!! Not bad for a SRW one-ton with 1000# of driver and gear...

[bigchev]

Sounds like fun.......not

I don't miss the drive out to events out west. We did Loyal to MT, the DP Pull Off and back in less than 72hrs IIRC. I enjoy the events, but the drive sucks.

This breaks my heart. I was hoping that you would come this way again sometime so that we could meet up and I could see you in person.

My truck runs great because of your 100/250 HP ECM, but for some reason won't go to the East maybe to downhill or something!