Any tips for a paper deliver guy?

[cfg83]

Promising_Confinement -

Welcome to EM! I keep thinking of the UPS policy of route optimization for right turns :

ABC News: UPS Figures Out the 'Right Way' to Save Money, Time and Gas

However, I don't think that matters for you because you are driving off-peak.

Since you don't have a speedo, maybe a vacuum gauge would help you :

Econometer/Vacuum Gauge Installation Guide

A "Go Slow" movement

Here is a vacuum gauge from the 1970's that did a similar thing to your speedometer suggestion :

MILEAGE MONITOR (vacuum gauge)
Auto Vacume gauge (vacuum gage) - Save gas and your engine

CarloSW2

[cfg83]

Promising_Confinement -

I also agree with the weight reduction.

I don't know if the aero will have as big a payoff because you are averaging very low speeds. Aero does help you 100% of the time you are moving, but the return-on-investment is much faster with freeway driving.

Do the local elections near you use coroplast in their signage? Coroplast is corrugated plastic, looks just like cardboard, but made with plastic. Lot's of hypermilers snag those for free after elections because the signs need to be taken down anyway.

CarloSW2

[Promising_Confinement]

I'm thinking if I manage to eventually get a scooter (or even a bike) I'm gonna rig up saddle bags on the back of it somehow so I can just reach back, grab and throw.

Or maybe get one of those things that attaches to and rides behind the bike that houses kids or something. I'm sure all my papers would fit into something like that.

I don't have hundreds of stops, it's just spread out somewhat. heh

[Promising_Confinement]

And how much (ballpark figure) would it cost to get a vacuum gauge and have it installed? I'm total **** when it comes to working on cars. I can do disc brakes and the alternator and that's about all I can do.

Hell, I have a hard time simply switching out stereos. Such is the reason I went the cheap route and just got a tape adapter. :P

[Promising_Confinement]

And yeah, they use those signs. They're kinda few and far between from what I've seen, but then again I don't get out much.

God, I haven't posted this much in a forum EVER in 14 years of the internet. That's why my messages are always kinda spread out. :P

Not used to forums.

[cfg83]

Promising_Confinement -

Originally Posted by Promising_Confinement

And how much (ballpark figure) would it cost to get a vacuum gauge and have it installed? I'm total **** when it comes to working on cars. I can do disc brakes and the alternator and that's about all I can do.

Hell, I have a hard time simply switching out stereos. Such is the reason I went the cheap route and just got a tape adapter. :P

I'd be terrified to work on my brakes. Do you have a favorite mechanic? Get a quote from him/her first. I was looking at a vacuum boost gauge at Kragen Auto Parts for $25 today because my cheapy $14 JC-Whitney vacuum gauge might be no good.

From what I have read (see Johnny Mullet's thread), you just need to tap into a vacuum line in your Camry.

In terms of the Vacuum Gauge, I think you would need to find a "Toyota Camry Fan" forum to find out who has done your car. It doesn't even need to be a Camry. It just needs to be a post where a person with a Toyota with the same engine has installed a vacuum gauge. Copy what they did and your good.

I'm debugging my Vacuum Gauge on saturnfans right now :

Vacuum Gauge reading 10 In.Hg - SaturnFans Forums

CarloSW2

[Promising_Confinement]

Disc brakes are easy, I won't touch brum brakes though. Too much of a pain in the you know what.

I've gotta hit up my mechanic pretty soon anyway. Not having a speedo is driving me insane. I'll ask him how much he'll charge to put a vacuum gauge in.

Hell, from what I read it'd help me diagnose other problems that may not be apparent. Who knows. :P But, for having (guesstimation here) over 200,000 miles on it, it's running pretty good.

[COMP]

can i ask about what to you make a hour after all your expences ??

[Promising_Confinement]

I'm not good enough at math to figure that one out. That's always been my downfall. Math. :P

I know it isn't enough, but considering how horrible I am with people this job pretty well works for me.

[Promising_Confinement]

Even though I've been banned from a few gas stations from idiot managers getting just a little too close with their whining.

[northstar2k]

I did an experiment with my seville in a town near me. This might help some. I went over a 4.6 mile loop with 33 stop signs and no traffic lights. I accelerated normally and kep my foot on the accelerator until I needed to sslow for the sign. According to my DIC I got 14.4 mpg. I then went over the same route under the same conditions and accelerated quickly to 25 and then coasted to the sign. This wasn't a jackrabbit start but I wasn't real gentle. Using this method I improved to 18.2 mpg , a 26+% improvement, and it only took me 2:05 longer to cover the 4.6 miles.

[FSUspectra]

Yay, a thread I feel I can contribute to!! :-)

So...I also deliever newspapers. Not quite as many, about 50 during the week and 105 on sunday. I was in a similar predicament. I won't re-write everything, but I posted on cleanmpg.com, here is the thread:
The Commute from Hell - Paper Route!!! - CleanMPG Forums

Anyways, I ended up getting a 125cc scooter and mounted a basket to it. Since you have more papers, I am not sure how much I can help. But I do know I more than halved my gas cost since doing so. And it's a bunch more fun! Don't know if this helped any, just wanted to chime in and second the scooter suggestion. You could probably get a 250 and mount something on the back that covers part of the seat to create a larger basket. A small trailer might be a good idea too.

Good luck!

[MetroMPG]

Hi Brandon -

Did you do the math and getting the scooter worked out in your favour? Or did you just want a scooter?

[FSUspectra]

I did some math, figuring that I would use the scooter 6 days per week at about 31 miles per day for the route, that's 186 miles. The scooter gets about 70mpg, and hypermiling my car yielded about 28mpg on the route. That's about 2.66 gal/wk on the scooter and about 6.64 gal/wk in the car. At $4.30 for premium (scooter manual suggests octane of at least 90), that's $11.44 /wk. The car, with about $4.09 for regular is at $27.16 /wk. That's a difference of about $15.72 /wk. If I were to use the scooter for the route only, with the scooter costing $2100 out the door it would take
about 118 weeks to break even, a little over two years, if gas prices remain the same. It'll pay off sooner if gas keeps going up. But, I use it often around town so that I don't take my car. That's not figured in. The fun factor was a major plus (the cool wind wakes me up at 4am... ) The maintenance on the scooter is much cheaper, and the longevity of my car is improved as well. Not to mention, the scooter came with a full two year warranty from the dealer. If anything happens to it outside regular wear-and-tear, the dealer will repair/replace the parts free of charge.

It may not have been fully worth it for the short term. But now I'm hooked on scooters and will replace it when it is out of commission, whenever that may be. I have heard of people getting 20,000-30,000 miles out of 'em if they are well maintained. I bought it May 7 of this year, and have already put about 1700 miles on it with no trouble whatsoever. It is reliable efficient transportation in a town with not-so-great public transit, distances too far to bike or walk, and a car is too much when it is only me.

Just my 2 cents though. I felt it was all around a good buy, I am happy with it, and don't regret it!

Hope this helps.