Taking the Ex Cross country with 33's... little help please

[quiksilverdh]

Come mid-july I will be leaving on a cross country roadtrip with my explorer, 3 friends, and 8 bicycles.

First things first... I know my gas mileage will suck, but I need suggestions for gearing. My goal is to get the best mpg while still being able to do my fair share of wheeling. The 3 inch body lift is going on in a couple weeks, after that I was considering some BFG AT's because they are cheap, and probably not as bad on gas as my 32" MTR's. Would it be smarter to go with 4.56 or 4.10 gears? Also wanted to get a rear locker in before we leave, will that hinder highway driving at all?The truck will be weighted down quite a bit if that has anything to do with it.

I am approximating that the trip will come in at around 7500 to 8000 miles, with stops in colorado, Utah, Nor Cal, Oregon, Washington, and British Columbia.

If anyone has tips for getting better mpg on a trip like this I would greatly appreciate it.

 

[james t]

If you plan to stay at or below 75mph, go with 4:56's. If you wanna run 80 the whole way, go with 4:10's.

 

[Positive Vibes]

Not sure what you can do about better mpg??

As far as gears I have 4.10's but with I had gone 4.56 or 4.88 BUT I also do a lot of wheeling. I'd 4.10's if you dont' plan on running a lot of trails. 4.56 if you do.

 

[quiksilverdh]

Not sure what you can do about better mpg??

As far as gears I have 4.10's but with I had gone 4.56 or 4.88 BUT I also do a lot of wheeling. I'd 4.10's if you dont' plan on running a lot of trails. 4.56 if you do.

Well I do plan on runnign a lot of trails, half the trip will be mountain biking, the other half hitting up the trails with the explorer. I'm sure anything would be better than the 3.73's I have as of now... And I would like to run around 80mph on the way out there. Does anyone have any #'s as far as how the 33's do on mpg?

Also will getting an intake and exhaust on before I leave make a dramatic difference in highway gas mileage?

 

[95offroadx]

i have 33's and 3.73 gears, i get 10-11mpg city 13mph highway at 75-85mph

 

[Positive Vibes]

Well I do plan on runnign a lot of trails, half the trip will be mountain biking, the other half hitting up the trails with the explorer. I'm sure anything would be better than the 3.73's I have as of now... And I would like to run around 80mph on the way out there. Does anyone have any #'s as far as how the 33's do on mpg?

Also will getting an intake and exhaust on before I leave make a dramatic difference in highway gas mileage?

You gonna have another vehicle with you when you wheel??

Yes anything would be better than 3.73's. I gave up on mpg with all the tools, spare fluids, bumpers, winch etc. The more I kept track the more dissappointed I got. I'd assume I'm around 12 to 14 mpg. I don't think I ever get above 70 with the lift etc.

An intake and exhaust will help with the horsies but I don't think you will get a noticable difference in mpg.

As for a locker depends with style you get but that shouldn't effect the mpg to much either. A locker is so critical when wheeling.

Hope that helps.

 

[quiksilverdh]

i have 33's and 3.73 gears, i get 10-11mpg city 13mph highway at 75-85mph

yeah thats about what I got now with my mtr's... thats not what I want when driving across the country.

I was hoping I could get a high of around 18 with different gears, and a less aggressive tread.

 

[quiksilverdh]

You gonna have another vehicle with you when you wheel??

Yes anything would be better than 3.73's. I gave up on mpg with all the tools, spare fluids, bumpers, winch etc. The more I kept track the more dissappointed I got. I'd assume I'm around 12 to 14 mpg. I don't think I ever get above 70 with the lift etc.

An intake and exhaust will help with the horsies but I don't think you will get a noticable difference in mpg.

As for a locker depends with style you get but that shouldn't effect the mpg to much either. A locker is so critical when wheeling.

Hope that helps.

Thanks for the input...
as for having another vehicle with me when wheeling...I plan on only doing simple to intermediate trails while out west, although I would prefer to have another truck come with me. Its just not in our budget for us to take 2 vehicles. Hopefully I can meet up with a couple local mountain states EX owners to do some wheelin' if possible.

 

[dreamr]

Where all do you plan on going? There are members form this site all over the nation, I am sure you can meet up with them for a bit of fun. Besides they'll know all the good spots in their respective locations.

Though I myself do tend to go playing quite a bit by myself, I strongly urge you to meet up with some folks if you are not familiar with the country. I never worry much for that reason. I know the cascades well, and a ten mile hike out is no big deal to me ( i wander well over a 150 miles a season on foot in these mountains for fun)

Then again I stay out of the really rough stuff altogether

 

[james t]

I was hoping I could get a high of around 18 with different gears, and a less aggressive tread.

Impossible with 33's and 80mph on a lifted Explorer of any type running a 33x12.50. Sorry man, but no matter what gears you run its gonna drink some fuel at that speed lifted with 33's. Id say best scenario would be 14-15.

 

[quiksilverdh]

Impossible with 33's and 80mph on a lifted Explorer of any type running a 33x12.50. Sorry man, but no matter what gears you run its gonna drink some fuel at that speed lifted with 33's. Id say best scenario would be 14-15.

eh I was afraid of that... oh well I will just have to make the budget bigger...

 

[CONavajo]

My Navajo once had 4.56's with 33x12.5 BFG AT's on a 5.5" lift. I lived at 8150 ft at the time and would drive east to the flat lands often to visit my folks. I put on 50,000 in two years with that set-up. With the auto trans the gears were perfect for mountain driving and flats. In drive I could coast down any mountain pass at 65 max, never having to hit the brakes, and it was always in the right power band in drive, pedal to the metal going up the steeps at 75-80 mph. It would go 90-100 no problem in over drive if I so desired, and cruised very nicely at 75 in over drive. Average mileage around 16 mpg, but I would routinely run some high tire psi on long interstate trips to get that. Seems the 4.56's with that tire size and lift height kept the 4.0 in the right power band, and helped off road as well. Probably also helped the stock auto trans survive to 200,000 miles and kicking when I pulled it.

 

[AllanC]

BC weelin

When you get to British Columbia look me up , I know of a good mild-medium trail in West Vancouver and some more medium-difficult trails in Squamish.

 

[quiksilverdh]

My Navajo once had 4.56's with 33x12.5 BFG AT's on a 5.5" lift. I lived at 8150 ft at the time and would drive east to the flat lands often to visit my folks. I put on 50,000 in two years with that set-up. With the auto trans the gears were perfect for mountain driving and flats. In drive I could coast down any mountain pass at 65 max, never having to hit the brakes, and it was always in the right power band in drive, pedal to the metal going up the steeps at 75-80 mph. It would go 90-100 no problem in over drive if I so desired, and cruised very nicely at 75 in over drive. Average mileage around 16 mpg, but I would routinely run some high tire psi on long interstate trips to get that. Seems the 4.56's with that tire size and lift height kept the 4.0 in the right power band, and helped off road as well. Probably also helped the stock auto trans survive to 200,000 miles and kicking when I pulled it.

Well that was certainly a little refreshing!

Thanks for all that first hand info... 1 other factor that will make things suck will be the (4) 45lb downhill bikes I will have on my roof, making myself even more aerodynamic! .... Oh what tires were you running by the way? My MTR/s are awesome on the trail, but their soft compound, and wide spaced lugs probably wont help my highway travel.

AllanC - I will be sure to look you up when im up there... I will be in Vancouver/whistler area between August 4 - 11