Road Trip over Mountains

Drove our Model 3 Gen III 2013 Prius from Trinidad CO to Grand Junction CO yesterday. Went over Monarch Pass and two lower altitude passes.

Computer states 57.3 MPG. Tank is showing 4 pips right now. I took my time going up the Intercontinental Divide. Used B Mode coming down.

I suspect the actual MPG will be 54 to 55. The computer generally reads 2 to 3 higher on this Prius, but is consistant for the full tank.

Prius was heavily loaded with two suitcases, several boxes, linens, quilts, ice chest and so forth. Back seats were down and the back end was full. Not sure what the overall weight is, but I believe I am under the 800 lb limit. Had two people in the car with all the other garb. I know some of you guys say to use the 85 Octane Rating in the mountains. I am paying extra for the 87 or 88 as I want to follow what the manual says... Most I have paid for fuel so far is $3.49 per gallon, but a lot less in other places. Houston is blessed with cheap fuel. Last fill up before I left home I paid $2.739 per gallon.

I do go by several tanks to get a true average, however the Gen III is blessed that it does not have the cursed bladder that the Gen II possesses.

All in all very impressed with the Prius as always.

Will post pictures both here and on Facebook when I get back home.

Peace everyone!

Ron (dorunron)

 

Finally back home from our glorious vacation. Overall MPG for the entire trip. 14 tanks, not all of them were full. Bought fuel as needed to keep moving due to fueling station locations. 46.18 MPG Not too shabby for a FULLY loaded Prius with two full size adults, luggage for two, souvenirs and what ever else could be fit back there.

We were carrying everything but the kitchen sink. Prius did very well for the trip. Took our time in the mountains, especially at night. Crossed the Inter Continental Divide twice. First time, Monarch Pass Elevation 13,XXX feet, Colorado. Second Time Pass on I-70 heading east towards Denver from Grand Junction, CO. Both passes were negotiated with cruise control going up as I was driving on the highway. Lowest speed with out over revving the engine (yes I know there is a governor, just don't want to push it) was 30 MPH going up Monarch. Came down other side in B Mode. Battery still filled up and ICE ran in no fuel mode while bleeding off excess electricity in battery. Prius sounded like a jet engine. Interesting how one can control the speed of the car with the go pedal and also the sound of the ICE when in B Mode during this condition. I believe BritPrius has commented on this in the past. Going up over the pass on I - 70 lowest speed was 35 MPH. It was also late at night that time. Temperature was bitter cold. I did NOT use grill blocking, but wish I would have. I think I would have benefitted slightly in improved MPG. Temperature - a balmy 18 Degrees Fahrenheit. The highway was covered in ice and the driving conditions were very poor. Again the Prius did very well negotiating all of this. Still was using cruise control going up and B Mode coming down. Same thing as before - Traction Battery filled up again. All in all a great trip. We travelled from Houston, TX to Trinidad CO. Spent the night at LaQuinta. Left and then went to Grand Junction CO. Spent two or three nights there. Left and went to Moab, UT. Spent two nights there. Left and went to Golden (Denver) CO. Spent one night there. Left and went to some place in Oklahoma. Collapsed in a flop house there. Spent the night and then left and continued on towards Houston. Stopped over night at the Navarro County Rest Stop in TX. Had visited friends and relatives in between Dallas Ft. Worth Area, and Wichita Falls. That delayed our arrival by a few hours and caused us to rest at the rest area. Left Prius is Ready Mode with the heat on. Was comfortable enough to get a little shut eye, then headed on home. Tire pressure held pretty steady the whole way. Little difference between 250 feet and 9000 feet of elevation.

Overall we had a ball. Took tons of digital photographs which I will be publishing later on here on Prius Chat and also on my facebook account.

Happy Driving Everyone!

Ron (dorunron)

 

Tried it both ways. Battery filled up either way and ICE sounded like jet engine. Liked the B mode cause regen did kick out once the battery filled up and the regen braking did seem to cease causing me to step on the brake pedal. That is when I reverted to B Mode.

And yes, we had a great time. Wish we could have stayed longer, but had to come home to do Halloween with my sister in law who has Cerebral Palsy.

Ron

 

Just a few of the 350 digital pics I took. I believe these are some of the best.

Take the time to smell the roses. Life is short. Trust me on this one.

Peace Everyone,
Ron (dorunron)

Makes sense to me Mendel. I was only considering the blocking when operating on flat surfaces at the higher elevations.

Amazing how much power loss there is above 10,000 feet. I am sure it has to due with the lack of oxygen in the air. The Prius computer can only do so much on the fuel mixture before the horsepower drops off.

Several times I did hear the engine top out. When that would happen, I would back off the speed. After a while I knew just how far I could push it. Nice to see the Prius did not use any oil either. You would not expect it from a engine with 10,000 miles on it, but when you consider the load that little engine was pulling along with the battery assist - You begin to realize how hard that little engine really worked.

Remember folks, we had all sorts of gear in the back end. And under the floor boards too in the black box. Stuff stuffed under seats, in every nook and cranny all the way to the ceiling. Had a narrow slot down the middle for rear view mirror use when passing the big rigs...

At first we had the back seats down. After two days I figured out how to get both of them up. Also purchased a very nice 12 volt cooler/ice chest made by Coleman at WalMart. Paid less than $100 US for it. Ran it off of the 12 volt accessory port in the console. Pulls a max of 4 amps. More than sufficient supply since it is rated at 10 amps max. Also runs on 120 VAC. I intend to purchase a 1KW inverter and install it permanently with a knife switch or some other sort of power switch whereas we will have A/C current all of the time. We do take a coffee maker with us when staying in the hotels. We could easily plug in the coffee maker, make our coffee and hang out at the campgrounds rather than the motel. Also considering getting a very small Honda inverter to use at the camp grounds if the 1KW inverter won't handle the loads. Want to get back to the basics. We always loved "Winter Camping" so now maybe we can start doing that again.

FWIW, I could purchase a 2KW Inverter if I really wanted to. As long as I keep the Prius in Ready Mode, there should be no problems. I carry a portable jump start box too for emergencies. Have helped other's in the past with it. Never needed it for our Prius. I am proactive. I change my 12 volt battery before it dies...

Hope everyone enjoys the pics.

Ron

 

bisco,

I am uploading 339 digital photos on my facebook acct. Will post URL later.

EDIT: files uploaded on facebook. Photos are posted twice...

Ron Carlson | Facebook

Waiting on permission from Admin here on PC before uploading images to PC

Ron

PS Ask admin. if they want me to post the files here too. Over 1.5 Gigabyte of Data. Don't want to flood the server...

 

I will reply by saying this.

The Prius has plenty of power. I did NOT want to push it. I am sure once it reached the top of the pass there was still plenty of power. However I chose to baby the ICE rather than push it. I did not want to risk anything or possibly damage our new Prius.

I have no doubt it could have went up faster, but I did not want to run the ICE at full load for the duration of the climb. Besides, with all the switch backs, slick roads, and other things that mountain driving can throw at you I believe what I did and the way I did it was normal for that particular route.

FWIW, I was driving our Prius at 75 and 80 MPH at elevations of 9000 to 10,000 with no problem. However I was NOT climbing a 6% grade while traveling at that rate of speed.

Monarch Pass is pretty steep. Even has a posted limit of 35 where I was driving slowly. All in all drove it like it was supposed to be driven.

Peace,
Ron

Also power does drop off above 9000 feet. By 10,000 feet the computers are pretty much maxed out IMO. Remember Monarch is 13,XXX feet which is MUCH higher than 7000.

As you go higher, all ICE and vehicles will travel slower due to lack of oxygen in air to combust the fuel.

Ron

Dude,

Take the time to smell the roses there in Moab. Next time you go take the two lane road through the canyon to Moab. Road runs North to South from I - 70. Take the "Cisco" exit. Go south towards Moab. Nice two lane road with plenty of scenery. Last twenty miles sheer rock on one side and Colorado River on the other. Also don't make the trip without having dinner at the Red Cliff Lodge. Had a huge 16 ounce Rib eye steak, baked sweet potato, and vegetables along with a nice glass of red wine. Two of us ate and drank. Total bill $71.00 plus the tip. Atmosphere is very plush. Also make sure you see the "film museum" underneath the Lodge.

Professor Valley is located in that area. Professor Valley has been used over the years by many filmmakers. Scenery that all will remember (at least baby boomers and older) can be found there. Museum is free and is directly underneath the lodge. Can be accessed by stairs leading down from main lobby or by ramp outside for those who are physically disabled.

Link to main page for lodge Moab lodging Red Cliffs Adventure Lodge Moab Utah motel,hotel,lodging accommodations in Moab

Link to museum found downstairs under lodge Moab museum | Red Cliffs lodging resort & museum on the Colorado River

Peace,
Ron

 

Dave,

Yes, highway 128 it is. Very scenic route. Must see, definitely needs to be on your bucket list.

Trust me when I say this, The Red Cliffs Lodge has it all. Fishing, Hiking, Horseback Riding, and many more things. Enough to keep all happy. And that is just for the daytime. At night one can watch the stars while eating on the deck at the Lodge. Or one could find them selves in their own private cabin. It is all there for the taking. Just have to have the denero that goes along with it... Great place for families, friends, business associates and co-workers, vacationers both young and old, world travelers and so forth. Big names have been here over the years. The place has a history that goes way back.

Also must see and visit is "The Rock Shop" in Moab. Found on the main highway through town east of downtown Moab. Great prices, found geode for $60 cracked it open there. Same rock elsewhere around this town - more like $600.00 - Needless to say I am happy.



Ron

Yes, I am very impressed with how the Prius handled everything on that trip. The overall mileage is really excellent when you consider the speeds I drove at and the loads that were carried.

I found myself many times cruising down the interstate at 75 passing all the big rigs and everything else on the road while the instantaneous read out registered 55 or higher. Of course there will also time that same gage would read 20 or less. But all in all a great time and a wonderful vehicle to do it all in.

Have taken trips like this before in various automobiles. The only complaint I had the whole way was the seat was hard. After two days found a small cushion to place under my buns. After that I was fine all day in the saddle. Saw many sunsets and a couple of sunrises during the drives which made for excellent photos and eye candy too.

Moab, UT - A great place to visit. Toyota Prius - A great car to get you there.

Ron

 

FWIW, the pass on I 70 was frozen over 18 Degrees F. I went across it at 10:15 PM a few nights ago right after that first cold front moved through.

EDIT: Date of going over pass at Vail on I - 70 heading to Denver. Oct 27, 2014 Time of day 10:15 PM.

This data is compiled from my fuelly records which are in my signature file.

End of Edit...

There was little traffic that night, and the traffic that was there was travelling about 45 to 50. And of course not every one of them had full control, but that is another subject.

Yes, if the roads would not have been covered in ICE and the sun was shining rather than being pitch black I probably would have been driving 50 or more.

Now Monarch, you and I both know the grade there is much steeper than the Vail Pass on I 70

I will make a mental note to use the lower octane fuel next time around. Thanks for that info. I have read it before, just wanted to heed the owners manual. But I will give it a go next time and see how it works.

On another note: While driving through Glenwood Canyon, I had no problems with the Prius whatsoever. Tooled through there at posted limits. Really did like the new interstate through there. Radically different from when I first travelled that route in the late 60's.

Peace,
Ron