Fuel Mileage

[floyd]

Originally Posted by Francesca Knowles

Hi, Floyd

Just to be clear-
The straight 6/ 170 in my '65 Ford Falcon station wagon is the FIRST, right?


Francesca

Close ...but no cigar!
Without question, IMHO the prize goes to the venerable 300 CID inline six found in Ford light trucks, and nearly every UPS van and even some semi-trucks and midrange dump trucks and industrial applications for nearly 30years.

[Greg H]

A 300 six in a semi? I know they used to have gas burners in gig trucks many, many years ago, but don't confuse a 300 Cummins with a 300 Ford, The Diesels are rated in horsepower not cubic inches therefore the 300 Cummins is a 300 horsepower engine and the 300 Ford is 300 cubic inches.

[Francesca Knowles]

Hi, Texas!

Well, now, Floyd didn't say which thirty year period...
Maybe they were really early semis.
And by the way...
Since you're a truckdriver, can I ask you a question I've pondered for years?

When speaking of vehicle type, what the heck does "semi" MEAN?

Francesca

[Greg H]

Originally Posted by Francesca Knowles

Hi, Texas!

Well, now, Floyd didn't say which thirty year period...
Maybe they were really early semis.
And by the way...
Since you're a truckdriver, can I ask you a question I've pondered for years?

What the heck does "semi" MEAN?

Francesca

I don't know, lets go with semi detached, really I don't know now days we mostly just call them "big trucks", I never really got the Tractor Trailer thing either where I come from tractors drive in fields. Speaking of where I come from, I'm back in Indiana for a while.

[AndyGee]

The answer I got for the term semi is because neither the truck or the trailer is complete/able to do it's job without the other also a semi trailer is a trailer without a front axle and requires a landing gear of some kind in order to be free standing. Then I've always refered to a trailer with a front axle as a wagon, as in hay wagon. I also remember when they were issued apportioned plates. So who knows?

[Radar1]

I like the British term for semi; "articulated lorry", with lorry being a truck.

[floyd]

Originally Posted by Greg H

A 300 six in a semi? I know they used to have gas burners in gig trucks many, many years ago, but don't confuse a 300 Cummins with a 300 Ford, The Diesels are rated in horsepower not cubic inches therefore the 300 Cummins is a 300 horsepower engine and the 300 Ford is 300 cubic inches.

No really, HP and CID are kinda difficult to confuse and if you have ever seen a Cummins Diesel or a Ford 300CID-6 you might concede that even I would notice the difference, at least after close examination!

I'm not sure what a gig truck is, but Ford offered the 300-6, introduced in 1965, for use in larger trucks through out the late sixties and early Seventies. The primary difference was manifold design. There were whole fleets of single axle Semis using this engine with short trailers used for delivery of everything from steel to water bottles. I didn't just look this up, I turned wrenches on them.
This engine was also very popular for use in industrial applications, such as compressors,generators, cable pullers, and even Airport baggage trains.
Hopefully I didn't mistake them for the engines on those Honda eu3000i generators!
BTW; I used the term "Semi"(AKA road tractor) to describe one of those trucks with a real fifthwheel built exclusively to haul detachable trailers with a pin and landing gear, you know ... Those things that always seem too close in your rearview mirror on the Highway?....
This is a photo of what I mean, but many had only one rear axle...

[Greg H]

Floyd "gig' was supposed to be "big", I'm not a typist.

[floyd]

Originally Posted by Greg H

Floyd "gig' was supposed to be "big", I'm not a typist.

OK,gotcha, pardon me.

[Francesca Knowles]

I want to thank you all very much for making me realize what a terrible mistake I made just last week.
That's when I watched our Asplundh Woodchipper with that VERY SAME INDUSTRIAL 300/6 in it go rolling down the driveway...
Sold for next to nothing.
AAARGH !

On the bright side...I'll probably figure out a way to make this my husband's fault

Francesca

[Jim Hovind]

We get 16+ MPG towing a 16' Casita with our Cheap Jeep ( 1997 Cherokee 2WD Auto 2door ) and 20 with out the trailer. To bad Cheap is rusting away she runs like a new truck.

[floyd]

Originally Posted by Jim Hovind

We get 16+ MPG towing a 16' Casita with our Cheap Jeep ( 1997 Cherokee 2WD Auto 2door ) and 20 with out the trailer. To bad Cheap is rusting away she runs like a new truck.

Hey, the more it rusts away the better the mileage!

[Cyndi B.]

And no one wants to get near it.