Texas road trip Part 1 : Which vehicle?

[LVSteve]

This is Part 1 of a series of posts I will make about our Christmas road trip to the northern edge of the DFW metroplex.

So what vehicle were we to take on this journey? For minimum cost, the BMW 328D we own is the obvious choice being the smallest, lightest, and proven to be capable of 40-45 mpg on the highway. However, the direct route to Texas is via I-40 with plenty of elevation for snow should the weather slant that way. A 2WD car with low-profile boots and minimal ground clearance is not the preferred appliance for those conditions. One other factor is the complete lack of a spare wheel. Another problem with the low-profile, runflat tires was the unknown state of the I-40. Last buddy who drove on it to Flagstaff said it was trashed, with cars stopped on the shoulder with wrecked tires. Nope, the Bimmer was out.

So, which of the two AWD SUVs was best? My wife's is the smaller and lighter, has better ground clearance (at least by eye) and needs Premium gas for its 2.0 turbo 4-cyclinder. Mine is a Mercedes ML 350 Bluetec, one of the last V6 turbo-diesel powered MLs sold in the US. As diesel and premium are about the same in NV, AZ, NM and TX, we figured we may as well be comfortable and not have to worry about space. Oh yeah, and then there's the 440 lb ft of torque for accelerating uphill when you're already past 5000' of elevation. Gotta love that variable turbo for flattening out the terrrain.

One thing that may have been in favor of my wife's SUV is that it runs on 18" wheels with 60 profile tires rather than the 19" AMG rims I have. Calculations show that gives about another 1/2" of sidewall, which might have improved comfort on certain stretches of highway.

Another thing about taking the bigger SUV is the amount of large wildlife that can be encountered on I-40. The Elk carcass on the shoulder near Flagstaff we saw during the return trip was most instructive. Another strike against the BMW unless we intended to do no night driving.

On the subject of space, we quickly realized how much nicer traveling by road is compared to flying. Lots of snacks to hand, no middle seat, your own soft blanket in the back if you want it for a quick snooze while the other one drives, none of these are happening in the air unless you own or hire a Learjet or similar. As my lottery tickets have repeatedly failed me...all aboard my chunky Mercedes.

 

[Onomea]

Thought this this might be helpful:

 

[moralem]

Looking forward to the travelogue. In August I took a trip halfway in reverse to rescue my SIL and 5 year old grandson when their truck gave out on their move from Vegas back to Texas. My vehicle of choice was my 7.3, 2022 regular cab super duty. Left the house after I got home from work when I got the call. Hooked up the farm trailer knowing it had 7500 lb axles versus my utility trailer that only has 3500 lb ones. I drove through the night arriving at about 13 hours later. Loaded the truck on and booked it right on out of there. I drove till just outside of Amarillo around dusk and turned it over to the SIL. He brought us home to north Texas about 6 hours later. MPG out with the empty trailer was about 12mpg doing 75-80mph. On the way back that 7.3 kept the pace of 70mph rock solid with no trailer sway at all. The return trip was about 8mpg. I have been a powerstroke guy but that 7.3 Godzilla motor made me a believer. I am also a regular cab fan as well but on this trip with the grandson, his dog and dad, I was wishing for the quad cab…….I am getting too old for this stuff.

 

[Sistema1927]

A couple of months ago, we drove from Albuquerque to the Ozarks.

We would have saved gas driving the wife's almost new Camry, but would have been cramped with the two of us and the dog.

We would have had more room for all of our stuff in my 2017 Tacoma with a Leer shell, but the ride would have been much rougher.

I settled on my 2001 GMC Yukon XL. Sure, we burned more gas, but the ride was smoother, especially on the 80 MPH section of the Oklahoma toll road (where I was averaging 17.5 MPG according to the ScanGauge), we had plenty of room to stretch out, and the overall experience was far better.

 

[mtgianni]

I like the choice of vehicle.

 

[LoboGunLeather]

My regular transportation is a 2018 Nissan Titan extended cab pickup, 4 wheel drive, 5.6L V8 390HP, 7-speed automatic, AC, cruise, AM-FM-CD. Depending on elevation and terrain it delivers 20-23MPG highway with plenty of oomph for acceleration (merging, passing), plenty of room for comfort, can accommodate 1500 lbs. of passengers and cargo, rated to tow ~9000 lbs. if needed. Good 12V cooler with snacks, sandwich fixings, refreshments, about all I need is a gas station every 450 miles and a place to sleep for a few hours each night.

For those who have not travelled Texas much, the highway rest areas are EXCELLENT, frequent (interstates and major routes), clean and well-equipped. At the top of the charts compared to most other states.

 

[Nevada Ed]

When I got a job on the Everett, Wa. Boeing hanger , I made the trip from Reno in 12 hours, when I wanted to go home for the weekend.

However, that first day of work was a little hard on me but I was young back then in 1990 and I had a new ford pickum up truck.

The worst place to have your grill or front quarter section taken out by
deer or Elk, to my knowledge, is the areas around Richfied Utah (Hwy 62) in the dark hours.

The wife and I are all "EYES" when we get within seven miles of her brothers house, in Greenwich.