Just returned from a 2500+ mile road trip with our Armada and 26' travel trailer. We left last Tuesday, June 16 from home in Southern California, went up I-15 through Las Vegas and St. George, UT (115+ degrees through the desert), then along I-70 through Grand Junction, CO (James M. Robb State Park is a beautiful place to stop overnight, right on the Colorado River), over the Rockies through Vail Pass and Eisenhower Tunnel to Denver, then south on I-25 to Colorado Springs. We spent three nights in Colorado Springs getting my older son situated for his second year as a cadet at the US Air Force Academy. We stayed at the campground on the Academy, which is absolutely beautiful, until a train goes by. And, wouldn't you know, the majority of them seem to go by between 2 and 5 AM!! Crap, those things were loud! After saying our good-by's to our son on Sunday morning after church at the AFA Chapel, we headed back north to Rocky Mountain National Park, for 5 nights of camping, hiking, exploring, a bit of mild off-roading, and sitting around the campfire. On Friday, we headed back home, stopping again at James M. Robb State Park near Grand Junction, finding a great local brewery for dinner with my brother and his family, who were heading up for a week of white-water rafting near Aspen and Breckenridge. Yesterday morning we were up pretty early, and drove 14 hours home, 751 miles in one day.
Overall, the Armada did extremely well. Averaged 10.3 mpg according to the computer, probably a bit less when I do all of the calculations by hand. The temperature gauges never budged, even when stuck in bumper to bumper traffic between Mesquite and Las Vegas for 30 minutes in 115 deg temperatures due to a crash (a real nasty one, a guy driving a late model Tahoe towing a horse trailer somehow rear-ended a Nevada State Trooper vehicle that looked like it was parked on the shoulder; the police cruiser, a Dodge Charger, was almost destroyed, and the Tahoe was also pretty smashed. The horse trailer was upside down on the shoulder, it looked like it might have flipped a couple of times. Amazingly, the horse was standing on the shoulder of the highway, looking completely unscathed. We said a prayer as we went by for all that were involved). We had no mechanical issues with either the Armada or the trailer.
Now, the not so fun part. Both the truck and the trailer are a complete mess. It's going to take the best part of next weekend to get them both cleaned up how I like them!!
Once again, I'm impressed with how well the Armada works as a tow vehicle, and how comfortable it is to drive long distances. I was once again reminded how bad the stereo sounds, even with the supposed "upgrade" that comes with the Platinum. I've had $20/day rental cars from Hyundai with better stereos! We now know where Nissan really cheaped out.
Keith
Overall, the Armada did extremely well. Averaged 10.3 mpg according to the computer, probably a bit less when I do all of the calculations by hand. The temperature gauges never budged, even when stuck in bumper to bumper traffic between Mesquite and Las Vegas for 30 minutes in 115 deg temperatures due to a crash (a real nasty one, a guy driving a late model Tahoe towing a horse trailer somehow rear-ended a Nevada State Trooper vehicle that looked like it was parked on the shoulder; the police cruiser, a Dodge Charger, was almost destroyed, and the Tahoe was also pretty smashed. The horse trailer was upside down on the shoulder, it looked like it might have flipped a couple of times. Amazingly, the horse was standing on the shoulder of the highway, looking completely unscathed. We said a prayer as we went by for all that were involved). We had no mechanical issues with either the Armada or the trailer.
Now, the not so fun part. Both the truck and the trailer are a complete mess. It's going to take the best part of next weekend to get them both cleaned up how I like them!!
Once again, I'm impressed with how well the Armada works as a tow vehicle, and how comfortable it is to drive long distances. I was once again reminded how bad the stereo sounds, even with the supposed "upgrade" that comes with the Platinum. I've had $20/day rental cars from Hyundai with better stereos! We now know where Nissan really cheaped out.
Keith