35,000 Mile Road Trip - Want to do some small mods
 

Hi Everyone,

I'm new to this forum and have joined because I'm planning on going on a ~4-5 month road trip across the USA (leaving in mid April). Seeing as well be doing a LOT of driving, I thought it might be a good idea to do a few small mods to try to increase the fuel efficiency of the vehicle (even if only by a little bit)

Unfortunately, my car is NOT fuel efficient to begin with...it is a 2004 Kia Sorento EX with a 3.5L V6. We will also be bringing a rooftop carrier, which I know will not help fuel efficiency at all, but we need the space. I'm debating whether to get one of the tow hitch mounted racks, but the problem is we would also have to get a tow hitch installed and buy the rack making this option quite a bit more expensive...We will be doing a fair amount of city driving as well as we plan on visiting all the major cities and therefore, this might make it harder to park etc...

I was thinking of doing some smooth wheel covers for the front wheels, rear wheel skirts for the rears, perhaps a belly pan, but I'm not sure if the effort for this one will be worth it. The car also came with a small rear spoiler, I'm thinking taking it off would be better for fuel economy? Also going to try to reduce weight by taking out the rear seats.

Does that sound like a good start?

I was also wondering if mounting the roof top carrier closer to the front or rear of the car would make a difference? Also, would having something to cover the gap between the top of the car and the bottom of the carrier help aerodynamics?

Thanks for any input.

I would begin with a mpg gauge, a grill block , smooth wheel cover, partial belly pan (front bumper to front wheels and rear wheels to real bumper) with tire spats , max psi (on tire) and drl switch or disable

I'd put more effort into finding an alternative to using the roof carrier; if you come up with one then a roof rack delete is in order if you have one.

None of those other things- even all added together- is going to even come close to cancelling out the bad effects of a rooftop carrier.

What I did with Moon Unit was internet shop for hitches; for me nobody even came close to the good deal I got from U-Haul. Not only that, I brought my tools, work clothes, and a piece of cardboard to lay on to the U-Haul store and installed the hitch myself out in the parking lot, and it was a piece of cake. IIRC it was a little over $100 total.

Perhaps you can estimate the mileage hit you take with the rooftop carrier and multiply that over 35k to come up with how much you can spend on a hitch and hitch carrier and still break even. Of course, you will still have those items for use after the trip as well. And if you don't want them after the trip they should have a good bit of resale value left.

With a hitch carrier you even have the option of cloaking it- possibly with coroplast- into a faux boattail, where you'd have a shot at improving fe.

You're right - it probably wouldn't be that expensive and given that a rooftop carrier will probably kill the mileage quite a bit, I'm sure it will pay for itself over the course of the trip. The only thing that I'm hesitant about is that it will probably limit our access to the rear trunk which might be a real hassle since we will constantly be loading and unloading stuff at our stops. The other thing, as I mentioned before, is city driving and parking...but we could probably learn to live with that.

You have a 4-door, possibly with no back seat. Couldn't you access the "trunk" easily through the rear doors? Would it be worse than the access to a rooftop carrier? Why all the stuff handling at stops?

If you have a co pilot, it seems well worth it to use them as a spotter utilize the trailer hitch. And if you are visiting larger attractions, they usually have more user friendly parking- Chicago Museum of Art had underground parking, Metroflex had a dirt field, when I did my adventure.

All points above are valid. There are two ways to do modifications: maximizing return on investment, and maximizing appearance. Elbow grease and efficient scavenging/purchasing is best for ROI. Keep in mind many builds have calculated pay offs in them, but are planning on a few thousand miles. You know right now 35k miles. On a vehicle with such poor aero to start, differences will mean more, and most definitely pay off. I would advise packing some extra supplies- specifically zip ties and scissors. Every modification I have on each of my vehicles can be removed or mended with these two tools, which is another perk to making ROI a main focus and avoiding complexity.

Another perk you have for this circumstance is higher ground clearance. I can't fit my body under the Mustang, and can't get my shoulder under the Insight. Replacing the starter under my S10 Blazer in a Home Depot parking lot was cake because of ground clearance.

Best case EPA numbers 14 City, 16 Combined, 18 Highway. If it's all highway miles a 1mpg increase is: (35000 / 18 x 3.5) - (35000 / 19 x 3.5) = $358 saved. Anything to help will save a lot of money.

Best advice is to adjust the nut behind the wheel and drive slower. Doing 5 or 10 under the speed limit in top gear will net the most percentage increase in mpg aside from aeromodding. It might also help the sightseeing!

The more people you have to split the gas bill the more economical the whole trip will be. A few people will raise the effective mpg per person of the vehicle.

Congrats on the trip! I'm jealous... I can only manage to get 5 days for a road trip.

I'd sell the car and buy something more fuel efficient that will still serve all of your needs for both the trip, and normal driving. You're looking at a $6,800 fuel bill as it is. If you drove something that got 30mpg, your bill would be $4,100, or $2,700 less expensive.

What are you bringing that requires a rack? If it's just 2 people going, and the rear seat will be removed, perhaps you can fit everything inside the car. This will be more secure and save you tons of gas money.

Here's a guy that turned his Prius into a road trip champion by removing the rear seat and building in storage/sleeping space.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lPFicO_I86c

That prius set up for car camping is awesome! I have done some car camping in the Xb but it's not quite long enough to fully stretch out in the back unless you sleep diagonal.

As for the original post...I say lose the roof rack!

Thanks for the input guys - really appreciate it.

Selling the car is not really an option right now - I still need an SUV for day to day after the trip as I often am lugging stuff around. Also, the car is in extremely good condition and low km's so I know I'm not going to enough $ out of it's sale compared to what it will cost for a comparable condition/KM's more efficient car.

The reason why we need the extra storage (i.e the rooftop or cargo hitch) is because we will be sleeping in the trunk of the car - similar to the Prius video posted. We have to pack enough for 4-5 months, including supplies to camp, emergency supplies, tools, etc and we're probably going to be buying a lot of crap along the way, so we will need extra storage for sure. We did a 2 month road trip with a slightly bigger SUV a few years back and the car was packed full with stuff i.e. no room to sleep in the back. So I know from experience that we need the extra space.

I'm leaning towards the cargo rack right now, since I do think it will make a really big diff in MPG.

Also, one of the questions in the original post was should I remove the rear spoiler? Thoughts on this?

Again, thanks for the input. Getting so excited to hit the road.

If you only run with a parachute, you won't know the difference without it.

If you run 35k with a parachute, you will spend a lot more energy- but not know the difference. As mentioned, it will make a serious difference. Adding so much frontal area while screwing up the already lacking aero shape will 100%, guarantee poorer results than stock, while the rear trailer hitch will help fill in the void at the rear without doing a boat tail, help spread the weight distribution, and not negatively influence MPG.

But, again, if I only ever pushed a car up hill, I'd never know how much easier it is to push it down hill- so your choice is yours, and you may not regret it, but if you do ABA testing you will see the difference.

Thanks for filling in more of the details.

The spoiler is likely improving your aero just slightly, while keeping the rear window a little more clear. I'd keep it.

If you already have the roof mounted rack and rails, then I'd just go with it, and see about making a small mod to make it more streamlined towards the rear. Your concerns about access to the rear, and having to add a hitch are well founded.

All that said, I still encourage a different vehicle. A minivan would make the trip very comfortable while returning respectable mpg. The Honda Odyssey is EPA rated 28mpg highway, and the Prius v has 50% more cargo space than a standard Prius and gets 40mpg highway.

Your low mile car will not be low mile after this trip. You might as well sell it at a premium considering the great shape and low miles, and buy a reliable, but higher mileage car. The road trip should be easy miles for the engine, even though you are traveling a great distance. The problem is, nobody will care how easy the miles were when you go to sell. Might as well get a car that already has more miles, but is in great shape.

Alright, I'm not going to convince you, so I'll drop the subject. I mostly wanted to throw this out there for others that are reading.

Alright, I think I've decided on the setup. I will go with the cargo hitch idea. But, I will leave the roof rack in place. When we are setting up to camp out, I will strap the cargo bins to the roof rack and that will leave us with access to the rear hatch, so we can go in and out of the car easily.

So new question - do you think I should build an air deflector for the roof rack?

Also, regarding the covered rear fender skirts, how low should they go. If I make them along the same plane as the body, the only cover like 1/2 the wheel. Is there benefit to making them below the body line?

Now that this part is getting figured out, I need to start designing a sleeping platform...So many options for this one...

If I were doing it, I would build the platform higher up. This will make sure it is flat, if there are bumps/dips in the floor, rather than lumpy. I would leave just enough space to comfortably roll over without hitting the ceiling- maximizing cargo space.

But that's me, your wants/needs/confidence in crafting will dictate your project.

A few updates. Purchased a Cargo Hitch and Carrier...waiting for them to arrive to install them.

Started working on the sleeping platform. Made a simple one using wood and some steel.

Also any input on whether I should build an air deflector for the roof rack? It doesn't seem particularly un-aerodynamic to not have one...but I'm definitely a newbie to the subject.

Picture of the sleeping platform

Looking good, sir. Did you do anything to block the windows so creepers aren't peeping?

I made cardboard window blockers for every window on Moon Unit when I camped in it. The windshield got a 2-piece blocker for easier install. The rest enjoy a "snap fit".

I'm going to get my wife to make something since she can sew. If I can find some of that shiny material that is used on Windshield Sun Visors we will use that. Otherwise, she will just sew something out of cloth.

We were thinking of securing using velcro, since there are plastic pillars around each window to adhere the velcro to. That should make it easy to take on and off quickly.

12v power computer fans in the rear side windows with rain guards to prevent condensation build up while sleeping.

Planning on making my 2001 CRV gas guzzler into a camping setup.

The above setup will need support in the middle. you can also design the platform so the front flips up after the front seats are folded forward.

http://www.hondasuv.com/members/showthread.php?t=50035

Thanks for the link. Nice build.

The middle of my platform is well supported...used 3/4 inch steel tubing to weld up the main "hoop" for the platform. It is bolted down in 4 places to where the rear seats came from.

In my CRV the plan is to remove only the passenger side rear seat, then slide the pas. front seat forward when sleeping, should get easy 7' of room. With the drivers seat forward there is enough room behind it to change clothes while seated in the back row.

I plan on traveling to PNW some day and sleeping in the CRV about 2/3's of the time. About every third night I'd get a room to get a shower and such.

You can also plan storage under the sleeping area, but weight = less MPG so pack smartly if possible.

Got the cargo hitch and rack installed and ended up mounting the rooftop carrier on the back.

I mounted it far enough back that I still have access to the trunk. Pretty happy with the outcome.

Also got my pizza pan wheels mounted.

Looking good! Over 35k, it's amazing how something as simple as an antenna delete/relocation makes a true difference- let alone as major changes as you are making.

Hey, I do not know how I missed this thread before. What shape are the cross-members on your roof rack? On my Forester, they are shaped like an airfoil. I still removed them, although never expected to notice a difference, but if they are shaped aerodynamically, the only way to improve on that is to take them down.

From http://ecomodder.com/forum/showthrea...ml#post379708:
They sell that at home improvement stores.

Got finished with one side of the rear wheel fender covers.

It was a little tricky to make as the trim from the door is directly on the wheel well. As such I had to leave a gap between the two to allow the door to open...Doesn't look as nice this way, but not many other options.

Also, I think the roof rack is relatively aerodynamic, so I decided I will just leave it as is as I might need it during the trip.