Trek and Sunset Elephant Butte, NM - Towing 15+ MPG

 

Elephant Butte Sunset

This trek we took I-80 to I-76 to I-25 through Denver, but we also took highways such as NM 26.  We were towing a trailer, estimated weight 1500 lbs. As a consequence, we generally travelled via the interstate highway system at 55-60 MPH, and I wanted to be on a main road with a good shoulder should there be an issue with the trailer.  Ergo the trek through Denver, rather than via US 350, the old Santa Fe Trail. 

I've included a few statistics in this post.

We did investigate the Colorado E-470 tollway which would have allowed us to bypass Denver. According to the online Colorado website our cost for a vehicle with three axels would have been about $35.  However, if we pre-registered the toll would have been half; that's a significant savings. But there is a minimum "charge" to the account of $35 which goes in a digital wallet.  We're not sure when we'll be going through Denver again.  So, we saw no advantage to the pre-registration and leaving about $18 for future use in Colorado.  

There were speed restrictions imposed by UHaul.  They said the trailer max speed is 55 MPH. The trailer had new tires and we were towing about 1,500 lbs.  I followed their recommendation.    

We began on June 4 at 7:10am and arrived at our final destination on June 8 at 12:30pm local time.  The trip was about 4-1/2 days. We spent four nights in a variety of campgrounds.  

About every two hours we would stop for 30 minutes to stretch and get gas, etc. We also stopped once each day for a meal and that stop was about one hour. Sometimes our meal/stretch stop was a breakfast, and on other days it was a lunch.  Our stop one day was a 1-1/2 hour lunch break which included some shopping.  Other meals were with food we brought in the Roadtrek.  The stops were more frequent than usual for us; I guess this is what Class A or Super-C owners may experience.  I've spoken with a few and I was told that they generally travel about 300 miles a day with frequent stops each day.

One thing we observed on this trek was the difficulty of some RVs getting gasoline.  I'd never thought about this, but many of the "truck stops" have one side with pumps for gasoline powered vehicles and the other for diesel.  Getting in line at the gas pumps was clearly a challenge for some of the RVers.

Another thing we noticed was the Roadtrek seemed to travel more smoothly when towing. Some of that I attribute to the rear weight on the hitch.  I usually trek with water only in the front tank.  That's because I can visually inspect how full it is when the side drawer is open.  However, after this experience I may fill the inside fresh water tank at the rear of the vehicle instead.  That would put more weight on the rear wheels. 

I suppose I could have the vehicle weighed at each tire to determine the actual weight.

Trip Summary - To Lordsburg, NM 

This includes the portion of the trek up to and including Lordsburg, NM, which was our final gas stop for the 1,909 mile trek. To Lordburg was 1,760 miles. I didn't gas up when we arrived at the ultimate destination and so at the time I wrote this I was unsure of how much gas was actually used beyond Lordsburg.  That final leg was 149 miles plus local driving.  I used the receipts to calculate gas used, etc. Distance was per the odometer and our mapping software. 

• Miles driven for these statistics: 1,760
• Gallons of gas: 125.583
• Average cost, per gallon:  $4.73  (some gas at a $0.05 discount per gallon)
• Cost of gasoline: $548.49
• Octane of gas purchased: 87 and 88 (some stations only had 86 and 88)
• Average driving speed: 55.94 MPH
• MPG (based upon receipts): 15.2 (towing an estimated 1,500 lb. trailer).

Daily Miles

• June 4, 342 miles
• June 5, 445 miles
• June 6, 439 miles
• June 7, 379 miles
• June 8, 304 miles
• Total trek 1909 miles.

We experienced some overnight rain in Alda NE and Ogallala, then smoke from fires as we proceeded west.  There was a nice sunset at Elephant Butte NM.  We didn't drive to the lake because I was towing a trailer.  That means very wide turning radius and less than simple backups.

Iowa Storms

Castle Rock CO

Smoky Haze in the distance, NM

Smokey Haze at sunset - Elephant Butte NM

Sunset - Elephant Butte NM

Rio Grande River near Hatch NM

Entering Hatch on NM-26 - "Chili Capital of the World"

At the destination

(c) 2022 N. Retzke

Tucson via Iowa - Option Four

 

Entering a Dust Storm in New Mexico

After discussion we decided on a slightly less northerly route, than the "option 3".  This decision meant we would have a maximum of 6-1/2 hours driving time each day, and as little as 4-1/2  hours.  Add to this driving time gas stops, meal breaks, sight-seeing and so on.  In retrospect it was a wonderful route.  Driving US 350 - CO 71 (the original Santa Fe trail) was monotonous, but it was pleasant, nonetheless.  I never knew how much farming there was in Eastern Colorado.

This route did not allow us to go into South Dakota, but we'll do that this summer during another trek.  The "option 4" route reduced our trek distance by about 291 miles.  The "option 4" actual distance was 1,877 miles.  The   trip planning projected 1,840 miles, but that ignores side trips to truck stops, museums and other sites, etc.     

Option 4 trek - via Iowa, but short about 110 miles to final MI destination

We closed down the AZ site and got into the Roadtrek 210P:

Leaving the Winter Site to the Summer Caretakers.....

On the Road in New Mexico

Our first night stop, in New Mexico.  We used the propane furnace for our first two nights, because it got cool.  But no freezing conditions. I've set up the Dometic thermostat to run the Cool-Cat heat pump fan when the propane furnace runs. That's an option, and I think it provides better airflow and temperature distribution in the Roadtrek by running both.  That means more comfort at night.

Cacti blooms in Elephant Butte:

Campsite in Elephant Butte

Continuing on, the next day:

Guess Where?

Sunset - 2nd night

We stopped in Raton, NM and visited their museum.  The museum was a gem and I'll post about it later: There is a 1-1/2 hour guided tour, but we arrived too late for that.  We will attempt a future trip to attend that tour.  The museum caretaker was kind and gave us the "mini version". 

Raton, NM Museum 

Interior, Raton Museum, First Floor upon entering

We had dinner at K-Bob's Steakhouse in Raton.  We asked about local places to eat and this was one of several suggested by the museum caretaker. It was delicious.  Easy parking for RVs, too!  I had a chicken fried steak and the wait staff was excellent, as was the food.  I was so hungry that I ate half of it before taking the photo.  Homemade mashed potatoes, and I ordered gravy on the side. 

K-Bob's Steakhouse, Raton

K-Bob Steakhouse Chicken Fried Steak

Raton Campground

On to Limon, CO via the Oregon Trail.  This route took us east of I-25 on CO 71 though farmland for a few hours. We stopped for gas in Ordway at a bustling local store and gas station. In fact, I wasn't aware of how much farmland this part of CO has. We stopped for lunch at the only fast-food restaurant we saw that morning. It was a Wendy's on CO 71 in Limon.  Kudos to the teenager who stepped up to help even though it wasn't his shift. It was a long line and our order for two sandwiches took 20 minutes to fill.  

Rural CO 71 - Not a Snow Bunny in sight!

After Limon, CO we continued to I-76 and Nebraska.  We had dinner in Ogallala and spent the night there. We dined at the Crystal Palace and LOL, they actually had a salad bar!  The first we had seen in a year!

Ogallala has an interesting history, steeped in the cattle drives.  In fact, in one year 100,000 head of cattle were driven through the town, en-route to market!

Crystal Palace Steakhouse and "Saloon" Ogallala NE

Crystal Palace

I ordered the chicken fried steak, which is, I understand, the most popular item on the menu. G ordered a hoagie with shaved rib meat.  It too was delicious.....

Chicken Fried Steak - Crystal Palace

The Crystal Palace has a stage show, but it doesn't begin until Memorial Day and we were a week early.  However, we did visit the museum. I'll put more about it in a future post.

Crystal Palace Stage

Nebraska Sandhills Warrior Rabbit - Crystal Palace Museum

Continuing to Iowa, I was impressed by the miles of terraced fields, which improve soil retention:

Our final night was at the Timberline Resort in Waukee, IA.  They have an extensive agreement for visitors, but it seems to work as we had a pleasant and quiet overnight.  One observation, there were many chipmunks to be seen cavorting on the grounds, probably a bunch of happy rodents. The area looks interesting for future exploration.....

Original material Roadtrek210.blogspot.com (c) Norm Retzke