In late October 2014, I took my Titan KC LWB and 24' race rig on a cross-country trip from Colorado to race at Road Atlanta. There;ve been quite a few interesting observations so far that I thought a separate thread was in order. First, gas mileage has been quite variable, with the frirst day trip across Kansas averaging about 9.0 MPG. That's been better than my usual average, but the weather was calm, with just a slight tailwind. But that changed radically the next day, when the drive through Missouri, Illinois and into Tennessee becoming a big downer: 5.7 MPG through four fuel stops! The wind was shifting directions all day and it seemed to make a big difference. Beyond the obvious drag, the 24' trailer moved around quite a bit on the rolling hills of I-70 and onto I-64.
Despite my Equal-i-zer anti-sway/weight distributing hitch, there were several occasions I had to get out of the throttle to prevent sway from becoming a big problem! On one occasion--an uphill stretch passing some cars--I had to use the manual brake adjuster to kill the oscillations. When I checked my mirrors after that, I noticed several cars had backed way off, thinking the trailer was getting away completely. Not a reassuring feeling by any stretch...
The other issue I noticed was the small tab that held the electrical connectors had snapped off and the harness was hanging dangerously close to the roadway. Stopping at my friend's house in Nashville, Rick was kind enough to pull out his MIG welder and help out a fellow racer. After I cleaned and power sanding enough surface area, he put down two beautiful beads on the top and bottom of the L-shaped bracket to make it better than new! A few coats of flat back primer and we were back on the road.
Finally, one of my new trailer tires appears to have a slow leak. After spotting it last week and having it repaired in Denver, it still seems to lose some pressure each day. Today it got down to 40# (from 55#) and I had to find a tire store en route to get it refilled. Appeared to make a difference as mileage came back up to 7.1 MPG before we hit heavy traffic through Atlanta. Should mention that gas prices have been a pleasant surprise at this time of year, with a high of $2.99/gallon in the boonies to a low of $2.62/gallon (reg unleaded) compared with $2.89/gallon back home.
The Nissan Z car is now at the track for the American Road Race of Champions (ARRC) this weekend. It's been almost two decades since I've raced at Road Atlanta and qualifying starts tomorrow morning. The Titan got us here in good shape, and now it's time to make it count!
Despite my Equal-i-zer anti-sway/weight distributing hitch, there were several occasions I had to get out of the throttle to prevent sway from becoming a big problem! On one occasion--an uphill stretch passing some cars--I had to use the manual brake adjuster to kill the oscillations. When I checked my mirrors after that, I noticed several cars had backed way off, thinking the trailer was getting away completely. Not a reassuring feeling by any stretch...
The other issue I noticed was the small tab that held the electrical connectors had snapped off and the harness was hanging dangerously close to the roadway. Stopping at my friend's house in Nashville, Rick was kind enough to pull out his MIG welder and help out a fellow racer. After I cleaned and power sanding enough surface area, he put down two beautiful beads on the top and bottom of the L-shaped bracket to make it better than new! A few coats of flat back primer and we were back on the road.
Finally, one of my new trailer tires appears to have a slow leak. After spotting it last week and having it repaired in Denver, it still seems to lose some pressure each day. Today it got down to 40# (from 55#) and I had to find a tire store en route to get it refilled. Appeared to make a difference as mileage came back up to 7.1 MPG before we hit heavy traffic through Atlanta. Should mention that gas prices have been a pleasant surprise at this time of year, with a high of $2.99/gallon in the boonies to a low of $2.62/gallon (reg unleaded) compared with $2.89/gallon back home.
The Nissan Z car is now at the track for the American Road Race of Champions (ARRC) this weekend. It's been almost two decades since I've raced at Road Atlanta and qualifying starts tomorrow morning. The Titan got us here in good shape, and now it's time to make it count!