Successful 2000 mile road trip

[jayro88]

Well, 2266 miles to be exact. From Indiana, through Ohio, Kentucky, Tennessee, Georgia and into Florida. Here is the vehicle:

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Van ran like a champ the whole way. Loaded up with 10 people (4 adults/6 kids) and a trailer full of luggage and tools.

Got 16.2 mpg on the way down and 14.7 mpg on the way back. Overall trip mileage was 15.34 mpg. Tank by tank it was: 16.09, 14.75, 17.77, 9.94, 14.2, 18.24 and 14.31

I was surprised some by the large fluctuation in mileage numbers. It seemed to do well in either larger steep hills of on flats. Areas with long slow hills seemed to eat up the fuel.

As far as performance, van was great. Set the cruise for 65mpg and just went. Never had to take it out of cruise. Filled up every 400-500 miles. Traded off driving through the night. The only casualty was the hubcap I lost in the way down.

The Good:
The DVD player I installed worked well to entertain the riders. Hotspot and unlimited data allowed for passenger internet access. The captains chairs in the back gave the adults plenty of leg room and made it easy to sleep.

Areas to improve:
The sound system was top of the line in 1988, but not now. Speakers are fine, but needs a new head unit for better radio signal pick-up and the ability to link to my phone and DVD player. The front passenger seat needs the ability to slide back more. It is fine for riding, but leg room is too small if you are looking to lean back to sleep. My muffler was rattling badly prior to the trip. The exhaust shop didn't have a suitable 3" muffler in stock so I just had them straight pipe it. It wasn't terrible, but there was definitely a drone at 65 mph on anything but flat ground. I also need to add more sound deading.

Overall was very happy with the way the van handled the trip. It was easy to drive, provided lots of room for the passengers and ran great the whole way.

Here is a pic from the hotel window. The old Ford was pretty easy to pick out....looked a little out of place with all the new stuff around.

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[nj_m715]

congrats

 

[Rot Box]

Good to hear everything went well An IDI van would be awesome for road trips

 

[riotwarrior]

What...no travel pics?

Sounds like a champ vehicle to me, and you had not a single issue. Well Sweet that don't happen everyday!

Glad it was all good and fun.

 

[jayro88]

What...no travel pics?

Sounds like a champ vehicle to me, and you had not a single issue. Well Sweet that don't happen everyday!

Glad it was all good and fun.

I will post some pics from the trip, though I don't have many "In route" pics. Since we drove overnight there wasn't an scenery.....just lot of sleeping people while I drove.

 

[jayro88]

What...no travel pics?

Here are my boys with the LEGO Hulk:

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And me on Splash Mountain. I am in the Flash shirt:

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[Oog]

Holy crap if that little black kid wasnt laughing i wouldnt even seen him

 

[snicklas]

Yep.... the E-Series vans are a great travel vehicle. Mom, Dad and I have had 2. An 85 E-150 302, Rockwood Conversion. We put a lot of miles on this one. The captains chairs do sleep well, spent a lot of trips asleep in my chair in the back. That van had 200,000 miles on it when it was traded in on an 94 E-150 302 707 Conversion. Dad bought it 96, and it has seen my family grow, and fill that van. Dad got rid of it on New Years Eve 2012 with 278,000 miles on it. Got a 12 F-150 Crew Cab Short Bed 4x4. They were great vans. Loved to travel in them, easy to drive and not too bad on fuel. The 94 did a bit better it was an EFI, the 85 was still a carb. The only thing I like better for road trips now is the Excursion. The is the absolute best family vehicle I have ever owned. We have 5 kids, so load all 7 of us up, luggage in the back, and hook what ever we want on the hitch, set the cruise at the speed limit and just go.......

Glad to hear you had a great trip with no problems. With the wheel cover being the only casualty, not bad at all, those are the best trips you can have.

 

[ZWilson07]

I got to be honest with you, I am oddly jealous about that trip and the van. By chance did you come down I-65 through Louisville, KY?

But yeah its like the van isn't pretty by any means (to most people anyways), doesn't look like it will be fun or enjoyable to take on that long of a trip, but oddly it just makes it all the more awesome. All in a good way though you know!

 

[jayro88]

I got to be honest with you, I am oddly jealous about that trip and the van. By chance did you come down I-65 through Louisville, KY?

But yeah its like the van isn't pretty by any means (to most people anyways), doesn't look like it will be fun or enjoyable to take on that long of a trip, but oddly it just makes it all the more awesome. All in a good way though you know!

I know what you mean. The driving/riding experience is much nicer than you would expect just from looking at it. I would almost forget what I was driving until I got out to refuel and would think "Oh Yeah, now I remember". It would make me chuckle a little. My wife has nicknamed the van Chuck....short for Chuck Wagon. I am hoping that after the successful/uneventful trip she may let up a little on the "It's old so it's gonna break down" attitude.....only time will tell.

I came down I-75.

 

[ZWilson07]

I know what you mean. The driving/riding experience is much nicer than you would expect just from looking at it. I would almost forget what I was driving until I got out to refuel and would think "Oh Yeah, now I remember". It would make me chuckle a little. My wife has nicknamed the van Chuck....short for Chuck Wagon. I am hoping that after the successful/uneventful trip she may let up a little on the "It's old so it's gonna break down" attitude.....only time will tell.

I came down I-75.

Yeah I would probably worry about it "breaking down" for a while too but it usually eases up after a long time or another long trip or so. I did the same thing about my truck even being 45,000 miles on it just from the age of original parts, but the worrying has slowly went down. I will say I was a nervous wreck driving it 6 hours back home the day I got it .

Actually the gas mileage still kind of impresses me, on average most of these good running idi's get about 15-17 and when you consider even a lot of brand new diesels aren't doing much better, especially up until the brand new ones, it makes you wonder sometimes.

I was hoping you shot down 65 cause I am in Louisville but glad the trip went well.

 

[jayro88]

Yeah I would probably worry about it "breaking down" for a while too but it usually eases up after a long time or another long trip or so. I did the same thing about my truck even being 45,000 miles on it just from the age of original parts, but the worrying has slowly went down. I will say I was a nervous wreck driving it 6 hours back home the day I got it .

Actually the gas mileage still kind of impresses me, on average most of these good running idi's get about 15-17 and when you consider even a lot of brand new diesels aren't doing much better, especially up until the brand new ones, it makes you wonder sometimes.

I was hoping you shot down 65 cause I am in Louisville but glad the trip went well.

Any time you purchase an older vehicle you worry because you don't know the maintenance history and parts wear out. My whole thing is that these IDI diesel vehicles can be Extremely reliable once all the maintenance is done regardless of age or mileage. I have gone through mine since I purchased it 2 years ago to insure all the systems are up to date on maintenance. I even road tested the van prior to our trip numerous times on day trips ranging from 4 - 16 hours.

She refuses to see this and just says "It's old it is gonna break". Her logic is that I had to get a jump one time because the battery went dead and had to replace the fuel filter once because it clogged. Somehow this was because the vehicle was old.

 

[motoxraceman2345]

That's a sweet van. Looks like you guys had a blast! I am lucky my other half would rather me put a couple hundred in older rigs here and there than have a payment. She is comfortable as long as i bring tools.