Not a road vehicle...

jmaynard · May 5, 2010

I made my 1500-mile trip last weekend. I learned that, whatever else the Bronco II may be, a highway cruiser it ain't.

The drive over (Fairmont, MN to Detroit, I-90->I-35->US-18->US-218->I-380->I-80->I-94) was into a ferocious wind out of the southeast. The truck wandered quite a bit in the gusty winds, and gas mileage sucked: I got 17 MPG out of the first tank, and 19 MPG out of the second. The last tank, which was all driving after the wind had died down, was 23 MPG.

There was one spot where it was squirrelly enough that I was frankly scared that I might not be able to keep it going straight, the winds were so bad.

The ride was also quite rough. My roommate, who works nights, tried to sleep in the passenger seat, but wasn't able to sleep well at all.

I'm sure it's a great off-road vehicle, but the very things that make it so work against it on the highway.

07rangerfx4lv2 · May 5, 2010

id kill for 17mpg in my ranger lol

adsm08 · May 5, 2010

17 to 23 is about average for these trucks. Keep in mind that for what you paid for your B2 vs what you would have paid for a newer car with double the fuel mileage you are still looking at more than 10 years for the other car to save you money in overall cost of ownership.

As for wandering in the wind gusts, welcome to physics 101 man. I have owned and driven a variety of vehicles, from full sized vans and trucks down to cavaliers and a volvo 850, they all did it, it was just a matter of degree. You gotta learn to anticipate and correct for it. Keep driving it for a while until you get used to the truck, it will get better.

Chance · May 5, 2010

There's a reason I bought my acura man...

A truck will always do that kind of stuff to ya.

I woulda been flippin stoked to hit 23 mpg on the freeway in my ranger... I never got about 20.

And you are driving a box on wheels. it kinda catches wind easily.

But yes, definitely not a highway cruiser for sure.

kunar · May 5, 2010

yeah, i feel like when you own an RBV, a second vehicle is a must. i have a lowered escort that gets 30+ mpg, and handles 80mph all day long without worry. OTOH, my truck gets about 16mpg, and it scares me to do 70mph with it.

jmaynard · May 5, 2010

I knew it would do all that I said earlier...I was more documenting what I found. I've got about $2K in my Bronco II now, after all the repairs it's gotten, and I expect to drive it about a year - and for that, it's cheap. Still, like any vehicle, there are some things it does better than others.

4x4junkie · May 5, 2010

Sounds like maybe it needs new shocks or something (Is it lifted at all?)

jmaynard · May 5, 2010

4x4junkie said:
Sounds like maybe it needs new shocks or something (Is it lifted at all?)

Completely stock, no lift, but the guy I bought it from put new gas shocks on it not long before he parked it.

feellnfroggy · May 7, 2010

jmaynard said:
The ride was also quite rough. My roommate, who works nights, tried to sleep in the passenger seat, but wasn't able to sleep well at all.

Serves him right, it may be a B2, but its still an suv, he shoulda crawled into the back. LOL

jmaynard · May 7, 2010

feellnfroggy said:
Serves him right, it may be a B2, but its still an suv, he shoulda crawled into the back. LOL

Heh...the back was completely full of suitcases and boxes and such. I own an SUV in large part because of that trip every year; no lesser vehicle will do the job.

bensemailis · Oct 7, 2010

kunar said:
yeah, i feel like when you own an RBV, a second vehicle is a must. i have a lowered escort that gets 30+ mpg, and handles 80mph all day long without worry. OTOH, my truck gets about 16mpg, and it scares me to do 70mph with it.

my 86 BII handles fine at 75 or even 80 mph the winds can kick it around a bit, but its light and boxy so I expect that. I also have the stock size p205/75R15s on it and the stock style suspension ( no lift ), that seems to help a lot.

my alternative is a suburban with a 6.0 liter.... needless to say the BII is WAY more fun to drive.

Shran · Oct 7, 2010

I agree with what everyone else says. I got no problems cruising the '96 in my sig all over town every day but I try very hard to avoid road trips with it. SD is pretty windy and the 2.3 doesn't really hold 80mph very well. Only gets about 20mpg too so if you're getting the same with your V6, you're doing great.

Had an '89 Crown Vic for a while, that thing was awesome on the highway... would hold any speed you wanted, passed anything that got in its way and still got 20+ mpg.

59bisquik · Oct 8, 2010

I made a trek from Virginia to New Hampshire in my B2 a while back. Running 35's, 7" of lift, 4.88's with a 4.0 and A4LD I was holding all of the speed limits from 55 to 75 and pulling all of the grades with no issues and pulling down 15mpg!! That was also with the A/C cranking the entire time! :yahoo:

With my old 2.9 I was getting 9mpg and my foot would of been on the floor the entire time. :bawling:

I was actually impressed how well she did on the open road. She normally doesnt get much open road driving...

The_Dealer · Oct 8, 2010

welcome to the aerodynamics of a refridgerater...alot better then my yj with f/w d60's and 38.5" boggers soa, 3.5" worth of lift springs, and 2" body. with the 383 i would be lucky to get 8-10mpg's following the speed limit. any faster was a death wish

country0001 · Oct 8, 2010

I get 15 mpg w my 4.0 in a B2. 85 mph is not scary in it either. Havent taken any roadtrips w it yet, but I assume highway mileage will go up

Not a road vehicle...

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