Ok, I made it to FIG on Wednesday. I averaged 45.7 mph, but that includes slowly churning around truck stops for fuel and such. I headed out of Atlanta around Noon Tuesday, hit the Quicktrip for a top off of the tanks at $2.18/gallon and headed north up I85. The truck was a bit sluggish but started to perk up a slight bit after a while. I hit one weigh station in SC just over the border and the neat thing is they remembered me from last year. Lighted me onto the scales so they could say "hi" over the intercom and comment on the truck. It's neat, the guys at that station are MV fans and didn't have a thing to say officially, just being friendly. It put a nice smile on my face for several miles afterwards. I77 north to I81 and stopped for a top off of fuel and dinner at the Flying J at Fort Chiswell. I77 was another 3rd gear hill climb of course. I made the flying J at around 9pm so I was making good time. MPG to this point was 8.5 mpg.
I81 north was more of the same, and I stopped at Whites truckstop to get some sleep in the cab Bjorn Style. I was only able to sleep a few hours before it got too cold and I cranked back up and headed north. I made the Winchester Flying J at around dawn, topped up the fuel tanks again and saw mpg stay at around 8.5. From there it was a straight shot up I81 to FIG at about 9am on Wednesday. I was tired, but helped run commo wire and setup a bunch of meetings, dress up my part of the barracks, unpack my kit and then at 6pm went to bed and slept til the next morning at 9am.
Apparently, somewhere along towards FIG, I started loosing a budd nut or two because when I went to leave FIG one of my friends (WPMax, he's here) noticed it on Sunday. I tightened up all my lug nuts and then missing one, I stopped at a truck stop to pick up one on the way north from FIG to my Friend Jim's place in Hatfield, PA. It was about 15 hrs 30 minutes drive to to FIG and another 2.5 to Jim's place as I got turned around going from I76 to the Turnpike.
Total distace was 832 miles, 18 hours 11 mins drive time. 45.7 mph avg speed and last MPG calc was 8.5 mpg.
I have a slight radiator leak that didn't seem too loose more than a quart or so of fluid for the whole trip and the transfer case which I topped off with a mix of 140wt and some 80 wt (1.5 quarts) was of course slinging fluid everywhere. I ran mostly on the left tank, leaving the right tank for reserve. Otherwise there were no problems.
In other news, I got to climb around under two strykers at Fort Indiantown Gap. The General Dynamics maintanance team gave me a tour of a TOW Stryker and an IFV stryker that were in various phases of disassembly. I was even given the chance to try the drivers compartment on for size which was quite neat. The Power controls are fancy and far more sophisticated than I've seen in a lot of AFVs. The rear camera for easy driver reversing was something I didn't know about and I love the layout of the driver's controls. Very ergonomic and comfortable. The driver's seat and pedals are adjustable for height and depth respectively. The seat/floor pan actually pivot down beyond the pedals based on a motorized control. Hopefully it's not a pain for replacement when if fails, but it certainly is nice. The space inside is compact as any AFV is. I was also surprised that the driveline is outside the armor envelope. I took the time to lay down under one and get a look up at the underside and layout.
Very nice vehicle. Now I want one in 30 years.
