333 miles, 17.64 gallons - 18.9mpg. Better than last, but not as good as first. Truck likes the slightly warmer weather and longer freeway drives.
Bigger problem: got rear-ended last Tuesday.
I don't even have the title back from the state for the initial purchase yet! Pushed in the bumper on the passenger side and bent the hitch receiver into the shackles harder. Frame is bent on passenger side in front of leaf spring hanger, passenger spring looks like it has a bit more S-shape than the driver side, which also has a slight amount vs. previous. Looks like the hit *just* missed the body, so everything is frame-related. And rear bumper, of course. Still drives OK, but the vibration I was getting at speed is now a *nasty* vibration at speed, but found that to be a bad U-joint that is probably now complaining louder due to a slightly different operating angle. Other guy's insurance can't get ahold of him, so that's stalling their investigation.
I'm in that no-fun limbo land of "Will they total my truck?" so I don't yet know what will happen to my new tires, rear brakes, etc. and I can't do any more $$ repairs because I might just lose that money.
If they fix it, great. If they total it - and give me enough for it to cover what I have in it - OK, but I'll be annoyed at having to find another truck as rust-free as this one. If they give me enough *and* the scrap value is low enough, I might keep it to use as parts for another one. Then I can at least transfer most new parts over to the replacement if I stick within the Explorer family.
It took me way too long to find this truck and decide to buy it, now I get to maybe start all over again. No fun.
