5900 mile cross country trip in 2025 PowerBoost Lariat

[Lula Mae]

Dang you folks that can do a 1000 a day. My brother can too. 800 would be a killer for me and now I do not plan for more that 550-600.

Yeah, I had a 700 mile day & decided that wasn't going to happen again anytime soon.
Like you 550-600 is plenty, especially if multiple days of travel.
If I had my druthers, I'd do about half that & mix in some sightseeing.

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[Gros Ventre]

When you did your 1000 mile day - how fast did you drive? What was your MPG?

21.7 &22.2 Colorado & Kansas Speed limit 80 & did that, Missouri speed limit 75, did that. Illinois & east speed limit 65 and followed that. Crossing the top of the Appalachains sometimes 40.

 

[Gros Ventre]

21.7 &22.2 Colorado & Kansas Speed limit 80 & did that, Missouri speed limit 75, did that. Illinois & east speed limit 65 and followed that. Crossing the top of the Appalachains sometimes 40.

Have an Aux tank in the bed, so few stops. With a PB you have enough power to make coffee on the road.

 

[Pelican]

I recently completed a 5,900 mile round trip from the eastern seaboard to Washington state to visit family for Thanksgiving.

Route:
I traveled from coastal VA to eastern WA near the ID border. I passed through Des Moines, IA to visit a friend before jumping up to I-90 for the remainder of the trip. The post-Thanksgiving snowstorm sent me south to Salt Lake City before heading east on routes I-80, 70 & 64.

Fuel Economy:
Quite likely the entire trip was on winter gas formulation (and chilly/colder weather to match)
Hand-calculated mileage ranged between 15.6 to 26.3
Average across the entire trip was 19.5.
The bulk of my speed was around 75 mph, even in Montana where the posted limit was 80mph.
Poorest mileage was through Montana where the roads were straight, flat and offered a stiff crosswind.
Interestingly, driving other places at similar speeds with rolling, or even steeper, hills offered better mileage.
Mileage suffers quickly as you climb above 60mph.

Points of Interest:
Most of the national parks along that northern stretch were closed for the winter.
I did however spend a layover day in Rapid City SD to visit Mount Rushmore National Memorial and hike in the surrounding area.
https://www.nps.gov/moru/index.htm


Just outside of Rapid City

Starting from across the valley and moving closer

Looking though a one-lane tunnel on Iron Mountain Rd

After leaving Rapid City, I pulled off the interstate for a pit stop and saw a sign for Devil's Tower.
(Think of the movie Close Encounter of the Third Kind)
Checked the map and seeing that it was just 30 minutes away I decided that a detour was in order. I found out that it is also a National Monument.
https://www.nps.gov/deto/index.htm
There's also quite the colony of prairie dogs in the flatlands below the monument
I only spent about 2 hours in the park and would like to return to explore the area more.

On the return trip I stopped in North Platte, NE to visit the Golden Spike Tower which overlooks the world's largest rail yard. The docent said that should the rail yard shut down it would affect 60% of our country's economy.
https://goldenspiketower.com/

(This image lifted from the web)

My final stop was at New River Gorge National Park and Preserve in WV.
https://www.nps.gov/neri/index.htm
This is our country's newest National Park (2020). Another visit that was too sort although I was able to squeeze in a couple of miles of hiking.

The local mountain road that I took leaving the park provided a very nice scenic drive from the snows of the previous day.

Driving Experience:
No surprise that this would never compare to the smoothness of my Fusion and I hemmed & hawed for several days over which vehicle to take. I settled on the truck primarily because I'm very stiff climbing out of the Fusion after driving for several hours and I don't have that issue with the truck. Secondary was driving this time of year could get dicey and that the truck's 4x4 capabilities could give me an advantage.

I opted out of Blue Cruise and after trying it I also disable Lane Keeping Assist. I did, however enjoy having the Adaptive Cruise Control. The 360 camera also came in handy on many occasions.

Long portions of I-90 through SD & MT seemed.... desolate? No meaningful traffic to speak of. I often went 5 minutes between seeing anyone else in either direction

My biggest gripe is the seat, in 2 regards. First, I just couldn't find a position that was comfortable long term. It always felt 'unnatural'. Second is the seat bottom itself. It puts pressure across my bottom between my back pockets and seemed to push into my tailbone. Now I understand what folks mean when they say it feels like you're sitting on a bucket.

Vehicle Performance:
It performed as expected. I was glad that I had it on the return trip as the northern snowstorm I was avoiding did manage to reach me as I was passing through Missouri (From Lincoln, NE to Mt Vernon, IL) My 7 hour drive turned into a 15 hour marathon. I had the truck in 4A and in 'Slippery' mode the entire day. The few times I could see pavement was generally just a pair of slick tracks for the tires. Since the interstate was often bumper to bumper, and at one point closed, I spent a fair amount of time on empty backroads. This is where the truck saved me. I was driving about 30 mph and something felt funny so I lifted off the gas & coasted. A few seconds later I started fishtailing. Although I didn't use the brakes, I periodically heard & felt the ABS kicking in as the truck tried to give me a helping hand getting straightened out. Thank you Ford and thank you properly functioning technology.

When it was all said and done, my truck was ready for, and earned, a weekend spa retreat.

thank you for your post Lula Mae. I read it in it's entirety and appreciate you sharing all that you did. I particularly like the image of Just outside of Rapid City.

Glad you made it home safely. again, thanks for sharing.

 

[SonarChief]

Awesome write up and some great pictures to go along with it!

On your fishtailing incident: I have yet to drive my truck in snow, but I've seen some discussion on here about the PowerBoost being a bit sketchy in the snow. Apparently, the Regen braking doesn't engage ABS so doing light braking can actually cause your rear wheels to lock up and upset the stability in the snow. Not sure if this is what happened in your case but it's something I'm going to keep in my head when winter comes around.

If you place the truck’s drive mode to “slippery”, then regen braking isn’t used, just the physical ABS capable physical brakes.

 

[Davexxxx]

I've driven from MO to VA in one day, multiple times. Same for FL, and MN.

But that was when we only had vacation time.

If the ultimate destination is in reach, its tempting to do it but we're more likely now, to split such trips, to 2 days, maybe see some sites along the way.

With our travel trailer, since we go for > month at a time, 400 miles per day is pretty much the max. Roughly 6 hours, plus fueling and the odd rest stops.

Don't want to get to and set up camp in the dark, if it can be avoided.

We'll do 2 overnights like that and then the third, will be 2 or more nights. Just to chill out a bit, grocery shop, laundry, see some local flavor etc.

 

[Henfield]

You're making me look forward to a near 5k road trip to Colorado and back next year. Quick run out, then up in San Juan Mountains and a slow ride home.

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