Rocket hauling vehicles with good MPG

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I'd go with the Rav4...in fact, I did...twice. I have a 2010 and my wife has a 2011 (which used to be mine). I think the Rav4 has a little bit more room than the CR-V.
 
Pem Tech said:
I haul all my vendor and flying supplies in a 2003 VW Golf TDI Turbo Diesel. SHe gets between 38 and 44 mpg without fail. However, now that I've moved up into HPR I'm not sure she is going to be roomy enough.
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Add a roof rack. A bike rack or ski rack, make attachments to hold your bigger rockets.;)
 
UPscaler said:
I like the focus wagon, and believe it or not, the Taurus wagon.

Braden
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Be careful of the Taurus, they are known for a transmission piston issue. If the tranny has been rebuilt, it's good. If it is original, beware....

I had a Focus sedan. I loved it, 35mpg no matter what I did. Right up til the engine dropped a valve seal and ate itself (this is only a problem on the SOHC engine). The back seat folds down for those long rockets. I could fold down the back seat, recline the front passenger seat and lay a couple 10' 2x6 in there.

The current rocket hauler is an 03 Toyota Sienna, about 23mpg nice ride, lots of room. Somehow, I just don't see someone of your age wanting a minvan though.

See if you can get hold of a Consumer Reports Used Car Guide, loads of great information to help make an informed decision.
 
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Tronman said:
I'd go with the Rav4...in fact, I did...twice. I have a 2010 and my wife has a 2011 (which used to be mine). I think the Rav4 has a little bit more room than the CR-V.
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Not only that, but my 6' 2" tall friend fits in the back seat, comfortably.

-Kevin
 
It has nothing to do with mpg, but I can pass on that CR-V's will keep their occupants alive even when involved in horrific accidents. It's done well enough that we've remarked on it being consistently better than most modern cars in the way the CR-V absorbs energy.

The major East/West freeway for the west coast (I-80) goes through our town, and we have to cut someone out of an accident pretty much every day at work, so we get to see a lot of different cars and how they "perform".


All the best, James
 
Good gas mileage and leg muscles too...

6772153279_2f986f7c24_z.jpg
 
Prius hatchback. 50mpg, and 70" cargo length with seats down.
 
Next weekend, I'm going to find out how well a Prius C [the subcompact Prius] can be packed for a high power weekend [well, it may be just a day trip, but still]. I mostly bought it because of my day-to-day commute, but I did bring my 4" IQSY to the dealership to test fit it [by the narrowest of margins, it fit behind the area between the wheel wells].

Hybrids, though, are not practical for everyone [aside from those who seem to dislike them for the sake of disliking them]. I do recommend looking at a Honda Fit as a viable rocket transport vehicle. The backseats fold down in such a way that they almost disappear. Packing that car for a weekend with a couple of L2-type rockets was not a problem at all. In my first generation Fit, I got ~32 mpg overall.

BTW, I test drove the new Focus hatchback. The automatic transmission is really wonky. If you're trying to make a left turn across traffic, you take your life in your hands.
 
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[QUOTE=cwbullet

"If mileage was a concern, I woudl go with a VW bus. Do they still make those?"


Actually, I don't think the VW bus got/gets very good gas mileage. I checked in to them and was disappointed with the low numbers 18-20 and less. They are cool vehicles nonetheless.
 
RodRocket said:
1984 FJ-8C ex mail van. Still had the mail tray in it when I got it.

Jeep/Chrysler based with 258 six, auto, took out all the miles of vacuum lines and crap and swapped in a GM distributor, a Ford carb and now it runs better. I say better only because it had a nice hole in a piston you could stick a finger in. I just put in the necessary parts to get it running. Once a few other bills get paid off, it will get a new crate engine and will be ready for anything. I only take it on shorter trips now. Been to Kloudbusters pasture a couple times. Maybe 30 miles from home.

Fuel mileage, yea right. Look it's a box on wheels. It drives like a box on wheels. But it sure is fun.
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Ok...THAT...is freakin' cool :grin:
 
dixontj93060 said:
Good gas mileage and leg muscles too...

6772153279_2f986f7c24_z.jpg
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Tim, you found my car! I've been looking everywhere for it!

My 2004 Jeep Grand Cherokee has 180K miles on it and it still gets 27 MPG. It has plenty of room for rockets too!
 
2012 Ford Flex lots of room for Rocketry medium size guys ;) and has maximum of 83.2 cubic feet of cargo space, with 43.2 cubic feet behind the second row with the third row folded and 20 cubic feet with all seats in use. Plenty of room for my 1/2 scale smoke. And it gets 26 mpg hwy fully loaded.
 
I got a 2007 Mitsubishi Endeavor. It gets great highway mileage and has tons of room....I've fit arcade cabinets in the back of it
 
My 2012 Prius does very well. I can fit my MPRs in the back no problem. My HPRs I'm building now will fit with no problem after laying the back seats down. That will basically double the cargo volume. With the hatchback up, it also makes a decent prep area to build the reloads.

Oh, and did I mention 50+ MPG? Yeah, that, too.

552562_868572626902_1875196139_n.jpg
 
I'm really surprised there have not been more suggestions of the sub-compact + roof rack solution.

You can safely transport large HPR rockets this way by building a custom case for them with PVC pipe. Use the smallest size required for the body, and then use a transition to use a larger pipe size for the fins. Use end caps to seal the ends. You can cut centering rings from closed-cell foam. This will provide a substantial degree of protection for your birds, much greater than transporting loose in the cab.
 
jd2cylman said:
Simple. They can't go fast enough to get out of our way :wink:

Adrian
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Oh...they can.

With a 1.8 liter, there is no reason they can't maintain the speed limit....except for the fact that they want to stretch their mileage so they can brag about it in rocket forums.
 
FWIW, a really good site to visit regarding fuel economy is https://www.fuelly.com/. It cuts through the hype, and will give you a really good idea what to expect on a given vehicle.
 
paul.nortness said:
Oh...they can.

With a 1.8 liter, there is no reason they can't maintain the speed limit....except for the fact that they want to stretch their mileage so they can brag about it in rocket forums.
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Well, you obviously have no clue what you're talking about. The people that are a-hole Prius drivers are trying to get 60-75 mpg... I can get 50 mpg in my car just by driving it like a regular car. And if they would stop and think about it, the true difference between 50 mpg and 60 mpg is not the same as the difference between 20 mpg and 30 mpg. All that effort for not much of a payoff at the pump. I just don't subscribe to that method.
 
paul.nortness said:
Oh...they can.

With a 1.8 liter, there is no reason they can't maintain the speed limit....except for the fact that they want to stretch their mileage so they can brag about it in rocket forums.
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skyway2k said:
Well, you obviously have no clue what you're talking about. The people that are a-hole Prius drivers are trying to get 60-75 mpg... I can get 50 mpg in my car just by driving it like a regular car. And if they would stop and think about it, the true difference between 50 mpg and 60 mpg is not the same as the difference between 20 mpg and 30 mpg. All that effort for not much of a payoff at the pump. I just don't subscribe to that method.
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Whatever. As long as they are in the slow lane, I really don't care how slow they drive or their reasons for doing so. If they want to "hypermile" it and drive like a bunch of J**ka$$es I guess they have the right to do so.

Me? I'm the other way around. My 3-series has the 1.9L DOHC engine, and for that size of engine, it's no econobox. So I tweak it, maintain it, and put in the best parts just so I can get 30+MPG while driving like a lunatic on the open highways.

At least I'm not delusional or dishonest about it.
 

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