I just drove a 26 foot Uhaul from Indiana to Utah. Pulling a motorcycle trailer.
Take a guess where the fuel efficiency was best.

Question:
Which section had the best gas mileage?

Choices:
Indiana to Kansas City
Kansas City to Denver
Denver to Grand Junction
Grand Junction to I15

 

I'll guess KC to Denver, because you're crossing the Great Plains, which are flat and straight. There is a change in elevation heading west of some 4-5000 feet, however. I'll further guess that the IN to KC is fairly hilly. The other two segments I have personally traveled and, except for a flat stretch in eastern UT and far western CO, are high and mountainous, the highest point (Eisenhower Tunnel) some 11,000 feet. Your gas mileage was probably halved in those.

I’m voting Denver to Grand Junction, down the Colorado river valley should help mpg.

Are there any gas stations between Green River and Salina, UT now? The last time I traveled this stretch was circa 2001. 100 miles with no services of any kind between those points.

quote:

Originally posted by egregore:
Are there any gas stations between Green River and Salina, UT now? The last time I traveled this stretch was circa 2001. 100 miles with no services of any kind between those points.

That is still the case. Which reminds me. From Denver to the start of Glenwood Canyon there are currently exactly zero functional (open) rest stops. The one near Copper Mountain is closed for repairs. While there are services since I was unfamiliar I didn't want to exit in a 26 foot truck pulling a trailer. I did for gas in a 26 foot truck without a trailer in August and it was tight given the road systems in those towns along 70 in that stretch of road. So the rest stops on 70 in Colorado currently stretch from the Welcome center near the Kansas border to Glenwood Canyon.

Well, which one?

Bob

The rise in elevation and then headwinds really affects the trip in that direction.

And I am really curious as to what was your average miles per gallon came out to be.

Guessing it was between 6 to 8 MPG.

Bing Images: I-70 through San Rafael Swell, UT
No highway, let alone an Interstate, had ever been built through there before.

I'm guessing Denver to GJ, as 2/3 of the trip is essentially downhill from the divide. It's been a long time since I drove it, though.

I'm guessing from 'Junction into Utah, it's a downhill coast.

My guess is GJ to I-15. As mentioned, it's mostly downhill. IN to KC goes through Missouri which is a lot of up and down. KC to Denver is a gradual climb, into the wind, with high speed limits in a high-profile vehicle that's not geared for speed. Denver to GJ involves a huge climb up a pass.

I am curious about the answer, though, and the actual MPG experienced.

First of all, all segments were worse than I anticipated. Hoped for 8-10 MPG.
All three segments excluding the Denver to Grand Junction came in about 6.8 MPG.
I was surprised that Denver to Grand Junction was 7.9 MPG. The only thing I can figure is that the altitude caused the improvement. I have previously noted improved MPG during motorcycle trips in the Rockies.
It was odd having the thing floored trying to climb up to the pass and seeing the real time MPG calculator showing the better mileage. By the way I confirmed it via a manual calculation.
Still kind of surprised which is why I thought it was an interesting poll question.

I moved from Montana to Mississippi back in August and my 26' U-Haul averaged 7.5 MPG. My Ram 1500 on the other hand surprised me and averaged about 24 MPG. We didn't really care about the MPGs though; we averaged 75 MPH on the trip once we were on the interstates. The U-Haul wouldn't do any better than that.

quote:

Originally posted by Powers77:
All three segments excluding the Denver to Grand Junction came in about 6.8 MPG.

Same as I got from Huntsville to Fayetteville NC

I’ve seen similar mpg improvement at altitude. I assume modern computer controlled engines use less gas since the maximum output is reduced by the thin air at elevation.

We drove a full 26’ Penske pulling a Honda S2000 on a trailer from Kalispell MT to Tucson AZ. I believe we averaged 7 mpg over 1,400 miles. Two days of misery but saved a small fortune by moving ourselves. $2,000 for the truck and trailer rental and $1,000 for diesel seemed like a deal.

quote:

Originally posted by mcrimm:
We drove a full 26’ Penske pulling a Honda S2000 on a trailer from Kalispell MT to Tucson AZ. I believe we averaged 7 mpg over 1,400 miles. Two days of misery but saved a small fortune by moving ourselves. $2,000 for the truck and trailer rental and $1,000 for diesel seemed like a deal.

Yes, as much as I am not enjoying the "move it ourselves" work load (as I stare at a house full of boxes yet) we also saved a ton of money.
I got a quote from the company that moved us from Vegas to Indiana in 2020. It came in at about $17,000. Double the cost of 2020.
Hell, they wanted $3,200 just to load and unload my safe. For $1,500 I hired locals on each end that did the loading and unloading. All in I saved about half of their quote.

The better mileage at higher elevations is due to less wind resistance because air density is lower.

I feel your pain on the "move it yourself" plan. We just did something similar, although with a 20'truck. Our trip was from N. Kentucky to McAllen, TX. We were up to 9.4 mpg in the final stretch. It started around 8 mpg. Good luck getting everything unpacked!