Well I decided to do a little about my gas mileage this last week. I needed a vehicle that could hold my two recumbent trikes so we could go on rides with some of the bicycle groups around the state. My little Ford Ranger V-6 Pickup was 15 years old, though in excellent condition, it was just not big enough to hold the two long trikes.
So, I went out and looked at vehicles that would fill the bill and still give me the versatility of the pickup. I found the new 2014 Dodge Ram Cargo Van that is a modified Caravan with no rear seats and an aluminum flat floor with tie downs and storage compartments where the seats used to stow when folded flat.
The only thing I worried about was gas mileage as it was rated 18/28 mpg. But I had a friend that told me he got one and did much better than that. So I tried one out and it held the trikes easily with a lot of extra room for anything else. It fit in the garage too so I decided to buy it.
We went over to Oxnard, Ca this weekend for a ride with a trike group. That entails a climb over the Grapevine with a 4,000' rise. Then it was down to sea level again. We averaged 31.5 mpg on the way over at the speed limit all the way.
Then we made the return drive, but it was now hot and we had to run the a/c for a lot of the way this time. But when we arrived the overall average for the 240 mile trip was 30.3 mpg! Not bad for a big Mini-Van with a 3.6l V-6 and a payload of 1800 lbs which is about the same as a 1/2 ton pickup. It will hold a 4x8 plywood sheet laying flat and then almost a ton of that! Now I know that 30+ mpg is not a Prius, but a Prius will not hold my gear either. Plus, at $21,000 it was a hell of a lot cheaper too.
I am very happy with the van, it rides nice, runs great, lots of power, good gas mileage and it is huge inside. It was a great replacement for my pickup and gets much better mileage as well as having more nice accessories too.
American iron is getting better all the time. Oh and it has a great collision rating as well. I am proud to own an American car and I think that people have no idea of how nice they really are. The two 1999 Fords that I had before this were flawless, never a single repair required. They even had the original belts, brakes and hoses on them after 12 & 15 years! 8)
Attached Image: