Ratdude's Semi-Unplanned Tour of North America

[ratdude747]

Well... what was supposed to be "routine" (if you can call it that) trip out to Kansas for Easter in my bullnose has morphed into something more extreme. Something starting up this Thursday!

A map is worth 1000 words:



To put a long story short, some things have gone down at my employer's London, ON facility and I'm the the engineer upper management has selected to try to turn things around . But, I had vacation pre-scheduled, and they are working around it. To make matters worse (or better?), I couldn't get a rental car/van for the first round... which means I get to take my Bullnose over the border!

So, here's the plan: As originally scheduled, Thursday I'm driving up to Greenwood, IN for a FIRST Robotics event I'm working through Saturday. But, instead of driving home Saturday night, I instead spend an extra night up there and drive to London Sunday (and I get to apply for my 3rd work permit in 5 years... yay!). I drive back to Madison, IN (Home) Wednesday, then grab my wife and board the cats Thursday to see my buddy in MO, and Friday drive to Kansas for Easter. After driving home 12 hours Monday, I get to drive another 8 back to London (but that portion of the trip, I do have a rental van set up)... and after that they dunno how long I'll be up there (the rest of the week at a minimum).

Technically I could find time and drive my F150 to Oakville while I'm up Ontario... as that's where it was made! But I'm on a tight schedule. It's been bonkers and won't let up any time in the foreseeable future .

Oh well, I guess I get to add a state and a province to the map for me?

PS- I've been to London more times than I have appendages. Just never in one my personal trucks.

[grumpin]

What a trip! Going to give your truck a work out.

[Gary Lewis]

Wow!  That's an epic journey!  Good luck, Larry!  

[Ray Cecil]

Nice trip. I have family near Madison IN, over the river in Carrollton KY. I've flown in a bi-plane in the Madison Airport.

You'll be passing within 40 minutes of me, I am near Irvington KY. If you have any issues around Louisville for any reason, give me a buzz if its more serious than a AAA call. I've got a full shop, lift and all.

9185089816

[BigBrother-84]

ratdude747 wrote

Technically I could find time and drive my F150 to Oakville while I'm up Ontario... as that's where it was made!

Wow! Half of the continent, a long pilgrimage, return to your truck's roots!


Gary, is there an annual prize for «farthest distance driven in a bullnose»?
Larry is going to be a serious candidate!

[ratdude747]

♫Oh Canada!♫

Made it across the border today. Add Michigan and Ontario to the map!

[Gary Lewis]

Well done!  

[ratdude747]

Update: Made it to Missouri and Kansas earlier in the week. Festivities have died down (and my Wife and I are the last two out-of-towners still here), so I finally had an oppertunity to shoot some truck pics on the farm:





The background: The family built a makeshift sanctuary using the back of the field (they had some recently retired church pews to their disposal) and we had a small easter sunrise service. It was very nice.

Anyway, I drive back to Indiana tomorrow... yee haw!

[Gary Lewis]

Sorry I missed this yesterday, but hopefully you made it home today?

[ratdude747]

Almost home. Spending the night at my parent's house in New Albany (1 hr from home) and resuming tomorrow morning (this helped with logistics slightly, and I needed to crash).

No truck issues to speak of, other than inconsistant gas pumps making fuel mileage tracking hit and miss. Got messed over by the Conoco station in Quinter, KS slightly... one pump had a note to "pay attentin" due to the auto-shutoff on the nozzle being non-working... but as I found out the hard way, it wasn't just the one pump! .

Oh, and lots of wildfire both ways between Topeka and Junction City on I70. Not sure if these were controlled burns or what. Air quality was terrible and on the way back just past Junction city the fires had turned into a raging forest inferno. My wife shot some video:



(Hopefully I don't get nailed for copyright...  )

Anyway, I need to get sleep. 9 hours of driving tomorrow (but only 1 in the Bullnose per the current plan )

[grumpin]

Glad it's going well!

That is burning, wow!

I like your hat!

[Gary Lewis]

Yes, I'll bet that hat looks cute on you, Larry.  

As for the fire, that's pretty serious.  I'm especially sensitive after the house across the street burned to the ground a month or so ago.  So I'm antsy when I see flames.  But we've had our share around here, with several getting out of hand and burning structures.  Scary!

Glad the truck is doing well and you are almost home, safely.  

[ratdude747]

I'll forward the hat comment to my wife-o-matic. The fires were all over... several places where the grass at the edge of the shoulder was blazing. Lots of jet black ground... Must be common because there was a shop/restaraunt named after the "prairie fires". Unlike Burnt Prairie, IL (which I-64 passes on the east side of the state), this lives up to the name!

Made it home this morning. And picked up the rental van and drove to Canada. Posting this from the hotel room.

While my travels continue, the Bullnose part is complete. Whew!

[Gary Lewis]

How many Bullnose miles?

[ratdude747]

I don't have an exact number due to not checking the Odometer when I got home. But, I did fill up this morning (which I logged as always), and google maps says it's 42.8 miles from the station to home (doesn't count a drivethru run, but whatever).

So, the Odometer readings are:

Starting (Oil change record): 139841.8
Final fill: 142736.5 (142779.3 with the 42.8 mile correction)

Which comes out to (drum roll): 2937.5 miles.

Last I checked my odometer is 0.7% slow (and that's after swapping the 18 tooth speedometer gear for a 19 to correct for running 4x4 sized tires).

Also, this didn't follow the planned route... No commuting was included (which where most of the 200 mile excess likely came from), the route to/from Salem, MO is wrong (as the buddy lives out of town where taking route 72 to/from is the better way to go), and I made an error driving from Rolla to Kansas.

On the last one: I unknowingly (mental flatulence) took the wrong side of the US54/US63 split north of Jefferson city and ended up 20 miles further east on I-70:



... but it was a lot less congested at least! US63 at the I-70 junction is a royal pain to navigate. I swear it takes 15 minutes just to pass three stoplights... the US54 interchange is a lot less busy. Long cut, but a lot more enjoyable of a drive (other than the extra 20 miles).

[Gary Lewis]

So really, 3000 miles.  That's quite a hike!  That makes the ~2000 miles we'll be driving Big Blue in a couple of weeks to go overlanding in NM seem short.

What kind of MPG did you get?

As for the long cut, I'm finding that I'm taking the easy route more and more often - especially with Big Blue.  The manual transmission makes stop and go driving a bit of a chore, so I pick the easy route, even if it is longer or might cost more.  For instance, in going through OKC to NM there are several options.  But the turnpike will be my choice as it is less congested and unlikely to require stops.

[ratdude747]

14-15MPG. But that's with hills and running 75-80mph in most freeway sections (1800-2000RPM).

[BigBrother-84]

ratdude747 wrote

14-15MPG. But that's with hills and running 75-80mph in most freeway sections (1800-2000RPM).

Wow, a dream that'll never come true with Big Brother.

Average 10 to 12 MPG, depending the kind of road.

[Gary Lewis]

14 - 15 with those conditions ain't too shabby with one of these trucks.  Bit Blue can get 13 if it is all highway driving at 65 MPH and no wind, but not under your conditions.