Americas Why all the fuss about fuel economy?

[[ Adam ]]

It looks like I was getting the current bill (REPAIR Act) that is going through Congress intermixed with the Magnuson act (which is law, not just a bill).

Thanks ChatGPT

TL;DR: There is no such law.

 

[LeeroyJ]

Thanks ChatGPT

TL;DR: There is no such law.

Its a current bill, so yes not law. It apparently has bipartisan support, so fingers crossed.

In the House: https://www.congress.gov/bill/119th-congress/house-bill/1566
Current Status:

02/25/2025	Referred to the House Committee on Energy and Commerce. Action By: House of Representatives
02/25/2025	Introduced in House Action By: House of Representatives

In the Senate: https://www.congress.gov/bill/119th...=Text - S.,Congress.gov | Library of Congress
Current Status:

04/09/2025

Read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation. Action By: Senate

 

[Schneeman]

You all raise good points. I offroad pretty close to where I live in SW Washington, so range has not come into the picture yet. You can bet if I go on a longer trip to a place like SE Oregon out on the Owahee or Alvord, I'll be carrying at least two 5ga/20l Jerry cans. Have any of you considered the range extender tank? I have seen one from Long Range America and another from Brown Davis (AUS). Seems like these double the fuel capacity nicely without affecting ground clearance. I have not yet, but may at some point. A 500-600 mile range sounds great, TBH. I have to say that I like the Brown Davis one better as it's black and more inconspicuous.

 

[Schneeman]

Yes see below -- highway robbery here by the dealers in the US. If I could reset the service reminder, I would do this myself:View attachment 7905249

Hey Leeroy. Funny, I'm getting bent by Ron Tonkin as we speak, LOL! I brought Nigellus (Nigel) in this very morning to have the software update and address some small issues and decided to get an oil change since it is inconvenient at best to take it there for service. I have a shop that I used for years closer to me for oil changes and they specialize in BMW, so I'm pretty sure they have serviced thousands of these engines. For anything unrelated to Warranty, I'll be going there instead.

 

[LeeroyJ]

Hey Leeroy. Funny, I'm getting bent by Ron Tonkin as we speak, LOL! I brought Nigellus (Nigel) in this very morning to have the software update and address some small issues and decided to get an oil change since it is inconvenient at best to take it there for service. I have a shop that I used for years closer to me for oil changes and they specialize in BMW, so I'm pretty sure they have serviced thousands of these engines. For anything unrelated to Warranty, I'll be going there instead.

Good luck, will be interesting to see what they charge you.

 

[LeeroyJ]

You all raise good points. I offroad pretty close to where I live in SW Washington, so range has not come into the picture yet. You can bet if I go on a longer trip to a place like SE Oregon out on the Owahee or Alvord, I'll be carrying at least two 5ga/20l Jerry cans. Have any of you considered the range extender tank? I have seen one from Long Range America and another from Brown Davis (AUS). Seems like these double the fuel capacity nicely without affecting ground clearance. I have not yet, but may at some point. A 500-600 mile range sounds great, TBH. I have to say that I like the Brown Davis one better as it's black and more inconspicuous.

I think Brown Davis only makes one for Diesel (at least the last time I looked that's what I remember). So I'm not sure there are any of those in the US.

I've had the long-ranger tank now for ~8,000 miles, its absolutely a game changer and I highly recommend it. 430 miles is the furthest I've gone between fill-ups with it, I could probably go more if needed and if offroad. Ironically my worst mileage is towing at highway speeds. Low-speed offroad isn't bad. I also had the long ranger on my 200 series Landcruiser diesel and I could get 1500 kms (932mi) between fill-ups with that, it was great for the desert trips I used to do. That engine was much less thirsty than the B58 though.

I was on a week long trip in May and it was secretly satisfying to be sitting in my camp chair enjoying a beer at the end of the day while I watched other Grenadier owners dealing with jerry cans

 

[pmatusov]

You all raise good points. I offroad pretty close to where I live in SW Washington, so range has not come into the picture yet. You can bet if I go on a longer trip to a place like SE Oregon out on the Owahee or Alvord, I'll be carrying at least two 5ga/20l Jerry cans. Have any of you considered the range extender tank? I have seen one from Long Range America and another from Brown Davis (AUS). Seems like these double the fuel capacity nicely without affecting ground clearance. I have not yet, but may at some point. A 500-600 mile range sounds great, TBH. I have to say that I like the Brown Davis one better as it's black and more inconspicuous.

An Owyhee/Alvord trip, however crazy remote, won't require you to have more than one spare jerry can. I drove a D1 (which had the same exact gas mileage as the Grenadier) from a gas station on 95 in Paradise valley on dirt to Jarbidge, and only used 16 gallons. The slow off-pavement trips are comparable in fuel economy to fast highway - so you can count on 300 miles or so.

 

[Schneeman]

An Owyhee/Alvord trip, however crazy remote, won't require you to have more than one spare jerry can. I drove a D1 (which had the same exact gas mileage as the Grenadier) from a gas station on 95 in Paradise valley on dirt to Jarbidge, and only used 16 gallons. The slow off-pavement trips are comparable in fuel economy to fast highway - so you can count on 300 miles or so.

Honestly, not sure I'll ever get there in my Grenadier. I like taking my Super Duty with the popup camper on it. I'm kind of a puss these days when it comes to sleeping on the ground if I don't have to. I say, as I'm about to embark on a 7-day backpack trip in Idaho I have fueled up in Fields before and also down in Denio Junction. Expensive, but nearly as bad as I expected.

 

[pmatusov]

Honestly, not sure I'll ever get there in my Grenadier. I like taking my Super Duty with the popup camper on it. I'm kind of a puss these days when it comes to sleeping on the ground if I don't have to. I say, as I'm about to embark on a 7-day backpack trip in Idaho I have fueled up in Fields before and also down in Denio Junction. Expensive, but nearly as bad as I expected.

I sleep happily inside the Grenadier.

 

[Schneeman]

I sleep happily inside the Grenadier.

Me, the Mrs and a 65 lb dog. That would certainly be something. I used to do it all the time when I was solo but that might just send me over the edge.

But, speaking of that, how do you have yours set up for sleeping? Did you do the rear seat delete, or go for the slide out storage to make a good platform? Something else?. I've been eyeing the slide out drawers from a few suppliers but haven't made a decision yet.

 

[pmatusov]

Me, the Mrs and a 65 lb dog. That would certainly be something. I used to do it all the time when I was solo but that might just send me over the edge.

But, speaking of that, how do you have yours set up for sleeping? Did you do the rear seat delete, or go for the slide out storage to make a good platform? Something else?. I've been eyeing the slide out drawers from a few suppliers but haven't made a decision yet.

I remove the rear seat bottoms, and have a 7" tall aluminum case in cargo area which is roughly level with the folded backs of the rear seats. You may need to move the front seats forward and use luggage to fill the gaps.

The rear sleeping area is plenty for two adults or one adult and one large dog. A 65-lb dog may be okay with the front seat accommodation - my large Airedale is not.

 

[lightning]

According to the computer, ha ha, I got 30.2 mpg (UK, so full size ones), over a 100 mile plus mainly motorway trip. Average speed according to computer was about 50mph. I did up to 70 on very short patch and other stop start but generally 60mph. From Chester to York (roughly). Lowest point approx sea level to 1221ft and then down again. I am a slow & careful driver.
I have done this trip both ways and got 32mpg but did have to try to achieve that.

This will be the diesel engine, in the USA they only get the petrol version which is 5-10mpg worse than the diesel

 

[Logsplitter]

You all raise good points. I offroad pretty close to where I live in SW Washington, so range has not come into the picture yet. You can bet if I go on a longer trip to a place like SE Oregon out on the Owahee or Alvord, I'll be carrying at least two 5ga/20l Jerry cans. Have any of you considered the range extender tank? I have seen one from Long Range America and another from Brown Davis (AUS). Seems like these double the fuel capacity nicely without affecting ground clearance. I have not yet, but may at some point. A 500-600 mile range sounds great, TBH. I have to say that I like the Brown Davis one better as it's black and more inconspicuous.

The LRA tank is black too. I think the grey bash plate is will be more conspicuous than the tank when it goes back on.

 

[Zimm]

You all raise good points. I offroad pretty close to where I live in SW Washington, so range has not come into the picture yet. You can bet if I go on a longer trip to a place like SE Oregon out on the Owahee or Alvord, I'll be carrying at least two 5ga/20l Jerry cans. Have any of you considered the range extender tank? I have seen one from Long Range America and another from Brown Davis (AUS). Seems like these double the fuel capacity nicely without affecting ground clearance. I have not yet, but may at some point. A 500-600 mile range sounds great, TBH. I have to say that I like the Brown Davis one better as it's black and more inconspicuous.

 

[Ron50]

I remove the rear seat bottoms, and have a 7" tall aluminum case in cargo area which is roughly level with the folded backs of the rear seats. You may need to move the front seats forward and use luggage to fill the gaps.

The rear sleeping area is plenty for two adults or one adult and one large dog. A 65-lb dog may be okay with the front seat accommodation - my large Airedale is not.

I bought an airbed to level out the rear with the rear seats just folded, but found it was comfy enough without it - and with a 40kg dog for company.

 

[Bobcat Sig]

An Owyhee/Alvord trip, however crazy remote, won't require you to have more than one spare jerry can. I drove a D1 (which had the same exact gas mileage as the Grenadier) from a gas station on 95 in Paradise valley on dirt to Jarbidge, and only used 16 gallons. The slow off-pavement trips are comparable in fuel economy to fast highway - so you can count on 300 miles or so.

Sure, if you're planning your trip around fuel stops. There's so much to explore and see in the Oregon Outback that to do so only near a fuel station misses so much great terrain. That's the issue.

 

[pmatusov]

Sure, if you're planning your trip around fuel stops. There's so much to explore and see in the Oregon Outback that to do so only near a fuel station misses so much great terrain. That's the issue.

Apologies in advance if it sounds offensive, but that's a blatantly stupid meaningless statement.
If you don't plan fuel stops, you are on a daily voyage to the Dennis The Menace park.
There's a lot more to see in Africa, South America, and Australia, than in Oregon Outback - but nearly ALL your planning is around fuel stops.

 

[Bobcat Sig]

Apologies in advance if it sounds offensive, but that's a blatantly stupid meaningless statement.
If you don't plan fuel stops, you are on a daily voyage to the Dennis The Menace park.
There's a lot more to see in Africa, South America, and Australia, than in Oregon Outback - but nearly ALL your planning is around fuel stops.

I could see how you'd think that. Also, you should try decaf.

Allow me to expand. Yes, of course, one should plan around fuel stops. That's obvious. My statement was intended to mean that there is so much to see out there, and given the short range of the Grenadier, you are restricted by both time and distance on where you can go and what you can see that would not be an issue with a larger fuel tank. So instead, one's route must be near fuel stops, restricting the possibilities of where to go and what to see.

I've spent quite a bit of time in the Oregon Outback on motorcycles, so this is a topic I can speak with authority on this issue.

And yes, your statement did sound stupid offensive.

 

[pmatusov]

The Grenadier's range is solid 300 miles. Usually, when the going gets really hard, these 300 miles are split across 2-4 days. Is it reasonable to have a 2-4 day resupply interval? Then, two jerry cans extend the range by further 120-140 miles.

My personal no-gas-station-visit record was 750 miles in a beat-up Transit van - but it was with 7 full jerry cans inside. Not a sight-seeing trip - but a equipment delivery in highway robbery prone Russia of mid-1990s. There was zero fun in it. It would be nice to have 500-mile range, but not necessary anywhere in CONUS.