Luckily prices have come back down under $4/gallon recently so I’m feeling a little better about about driving my big truck around than previously. Not that I care to drive anything else really, but poor gas mileage is definitely a concern for anyone driving a large vehicle these days.

While prices are still not that great, they were down right horrible when I went on my 3600 mile road trip last month. Lucky me! I’m not upset though because I had had anticipated high gas prices around the 4th of July and through the rest of that month. But to make it more interesting, I decided to keep track of my mileage and fuel costs and then I could let the rest of you know what kind of gas mileage a Honda Ridgeline really gets.

Before I drop the numbers on you, I want to mention a few things about how I drive that definitely impacts the mileage I get in my Ridgeline. I typically drive about 10 miles over the speed limit at all times. I’ve been known to drive 15 miles over, but almost never drive just the speed limit. If I am driving the speed limit, I’m probably also tailing the guy/girl in front of me who wont’ get out of the left lane so I get on my way. I hate drivers who camp in the left lane!

I pretty much always purchase the medium grade of gasoline. This means I’m purchasing unleaded gasoline that is anywhere between 89 and 92 octane. Also, my Ridgeline is a 2007 model with 36,000 miles on it at the beginning of my road trip. I did recently replace the air filters and I did check tire pressures regularly, but could have used an oil change before starting the trip - my indicator was at 10% oil life by the time I finished the trip. I’m sure the age and exact condition of my Ridgeline impacted my fuel mileage and it’s not likely that I’ll ever get perfect conditions for the absolute best MPG possible.

My Ridgeline Gas Mileage Spreadsheet

If you check out the spreadsheet above, you’ll see that I averaged just under 17mpg (16.84mpg to be exact) over 3600 miles, through 10 states. Not too bad for a truck of this size. Honda estimates that the Ridgeline (all models 2007 to 2009 have the same estimates) should get 15 MPG in the city, 20 MPG on the highway for a combined 17 MPG average. My Ridgeline had a combined MPG close to 17, but I never reached 20 MPG on the highway. With the exception of when I was driving through the mountains, I always got better than 15 MPG. The mountains did kill my gas mileage considerably. For roughly 730 miles of driving between the Black Hills of South Dakota and the Rocky Mountain Mountains of Colorado, my gas mileage was only 14.9 MPG including all highway miles. Of course, living in that kind of scenery may just be worth the extra gas you spend to get around.

Overall, I’m quite pleased with the gas mileage I got. I would have liked to see 20 MPG at some point, but as long as I stay above 15 MPG in the city, I’ll call it a fair compromise. I will continue to update this spreadsheet and include my mileage as I commute every day in Dallas. That will give us a pretty good idea of the city gas mileage.

Let me know what kind of gas mileage you get so we can compare notes - well, except for Andy who drives a dinky hybrid, but couldn’t put a set of golf clubs in the back seat.

I’m almost ready to take off. I still have a few last minute items to pack, such as my clothes (not such a minor thing) and then I’ll be ready to hit the road. I plan to take off as early in the morning as I can possibly handle. If I can hit the road around 3am then I should be able to make it to SD by 7pm allowing plenty of time for stops.

My biggest fear right now is that I haven’t packed everything I’m going to need. I’ve been accused of being able to start my own sporting goods store with all the gear I own and I’m taking nearly all of it. You would think all that gear should cover me, but there is always something you forget in a trip like this and I’m not going to know it until I really need that item I forgot.

I tried to organize my gear into my big boxes to help me stay on track and I’m at least pretty certain that I have enough cooking gear; camping gear and bike gear. I have my tent, sleeping bag and air mattress (I can only rough so much); I have my bikes and all my bike gear; I have all those other items like my hatchet, hammer, first aid kits, biodegradable soap, trekking poles, camel baks, compasses, whistles, flares, GPS and probably a hundred other items I just thought might be good to have along. I think I have everything covered, but you really never know. It’s not like I’ve packed for a two-week road/camping trip before.

Regardless, I’m hitting the road tomorrow. Wish me luck! I’ll post as often as I can and keep all of you updated along the way. I’ll also try to remember to take lots of pictures and post them as well. If I don’t post for three or four days, don’t panic – but if you have my cell phone, it might not hurt to check in on me

To officially launch this blog I’ve been in the process of planning a road trip – well sort of. I have identified major areas of interest and mapped out the basic loop, but I haven’t gotten any more detailed than that. The problem is that in trying to get more detailed, I end up putting too much into the trip and realize there is no way to do it all.

So, my dilemma is whether or not to plan it all out and try to stick to the plan or keep it as is and wing the rest. Let me outline where I’m headed so far and you guys can help me fill in the blanks.

First leg is straight north from Dallas to Mt. Rushmore. I’ll then head to Yellowstone National Park for a few days before heading on to Moab, Utah do some mountain biking. I’ll then head to Vegas for a day or so, followed by the Grand Canyon for several days and an undetermined stop in Arizona before heading home. The trip will take 14 to 17 days to complete.

The biggest problem that I’m having with this trip is that there is absolutely no way to do any of these stops justice by spending only a day or two at each. I want to see as much as I can, but I also want time to relax and enjoy the sights. If you have recommendations or tips to make this road trip an enjoyable and memorable experience, please leave a comment and I’ll do what I can to add it in to the trip.

Of course, I will be blogging the entire way as well so you can check back periodically to see where I’m at and what I’m doing. The trip starts early on July 4th. So, let me know what you think!