fotomoto Posted August 17, 2013 Report Share Posted August 17, 2013 (edited) So I took the wife and kids on our annual summer "vay-kay": seven days, two states, and 2,000+ miles. Temps ranged from a low of 49f at 9k feet to a high of 104f near sea level. Speeds ranged from 10mph to 85mph with some 90mph passing, a good amount of mountain driving and a lot of long interstate legs to get out and back into Texas. The CMax, carrying four passengers, a completely loaded hatch, and a full cargo carrier handle it all without so much as breaking a sweat. :happy feet: Mini-spare is laying flat underneath right suitcase. Longest day was 12hrs/800+miles and I felt fine afterwards with plenty of energy to set up camp afterwards (in the dark....ugh).Base camp at 9k feet in the mountains: Playing in soft desert sands: Off-roading up in the high country to a very secluded spot for a picnic. We used the hatch floor as seats and the cargo carrier as a makeshift table, worked great! Loaded up to leave with even more "stuff" (souvenirs) gathered through the week for long drive home: Trip MPG's ranged from a low of 29 (80mph with a 30mph headwind) to 66mpg on long downhill run. Overall mpg for the week: 37.5mpg I didn't hear one car related complaint the whole week! :rockon: Edited August 17, 2013 by fotomoto JAZ, Jus-A-CMax, ScubaDadMiami and 1 other 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Laurel Posted August 17, 2013 Report Share Posted August 17, 2013 Great photos. Where was the sand? And where did you all go? Looks like fun. Thanks for posting your adventure. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
homestead Posted August 17, 2013 Report Share Posted August 17, 2013 Wow you are really loaded, is there a Prius V in your future? ;) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ScubaDadMiami Posted August 17, 2013 Report Share Posted August 17, 2013 That photo of the camp site at night is spectacular! Sounds like a dream vacation! fotomoto 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
viajero Posted August 17, 2013 Report Share Posted August 17, 2013 Nice! Was that up by Cloudcroft? Sounds very similar to my recent trip to Montana and back. Just over 37 mpg overall (though I did mooch a couple charges of the Energi from relatives). Low 30s on Texas freeways, high 30s on Colorado freeways, low 40s driving in the mountains, and an all time low of 27 mpg on that 20-mile stretch of rough pavement west of Dumas. The C-Max does have good ground clearance, for a compact car anyway. Looking at the underside, the plating looks pretty flimsy, though. I think they're more for aerodynamics than protection from rocks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slampro Posted August 17, 2013 Report Share Posted August 17, 2013 These excellent :camera: will be appearing soon on the Cmax facebook page, I am sure. I bet the Mods use them for one of their post. :hat_tip: fotomoto 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SnowStorm Posted August 17, 2013 Report Share Posted August 17, 2013 Great photos and report! Also love that night shot with the stars and the plasma jet off the engine! Sure looks like places I visited out there in'79. Boy does it get chilly at 9000' under a clear sky! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mtb9153 Posted August 17, 2013 Report Share Posted August 17, 2013 Beautiful burgundy color on your Max. Obviously the receiver hitch worked well for you in opening and closing the liftgate? We're you still able to open with the kick function? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adair Posted August 17, 2013 Report Share Posted August 17, 2013 WOW! Great report and fantastic pictures!! Thanks for sharing! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nsteblay Posted August 17, 2013 Report Share Posted August 17, 2013 Hey, I think there is a tractor pull soon in NowThen Minnesota. Not too late to register! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
raymond963 Posted August 17, 2013 Report Share Posted August 17, 2013 Great pics and report! Did you try any of the dunes with your C-Max? LOL Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
666 Posted August 17, 2013 Report Share Posted August 17, 2013 i guess your rear view camera has been blocked? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fotomoto Posted August 17, 2013 Author Report Share Posted August 17, 2013 i guess your rear view camera has been blocked? Only partially. The camera has enough angle to see around and over the cargo. I wished I would have taken a picture of the center display with the car in reverse. The rear warning tone beeps constantly with the carrier installed but the CMax does allow you to cancel the warning via the left steering wheel controller which I quickly became accustomed to doing immediately after putting it into reverse. Great pics and report! Did you try any of the dunes with your C-Max? LOL Actually I did "drift off road" a few times into some foot high stuff but only the right side wheel track (I may be crazy but I'm not stupid!) Beautiful burgundy color on your Max. Obviously the receiver hitch worked well for you in opening and closing the liftgate? We're you still able to open with the kick function? Hmmm, I haven't tried to kick it open with the carrier installed. The hitch is not certified by the manufacture (Curt) as kick compatible but I found it does work if I kick (touch) the actual hitch itself. With the carrier installed and position as far rearward as possible, as seen in pictures 3 & 4, one does have enough room to get in between it and the rear bumper (which we do anytime we needed to access the hatch) but I don't know if there is enough room to make a kicking motion. I'll have to try and report back. On the trip, we used the hatch button(s) and/or remote. Great photos and report! Also love that night shot with the stars and the plasma jet off the engine! Sure looks like places I visited out there in'79. Boy does it get chilly at 9000' under a clear sky! Thanks. Actually the jet plasma is the campfire smoke above but it sure does look like it's coming out of the CMax! LOL Yup, chilly but it felt so gooooooood. Nice! Was that up by Cloudcroft? Bingo we have a winner! Great photos. Where was the sand? And where did you all go? Looks like fun. Thanks for posting your adventure. We went to New Mexico and those are the gypsum sands at White Sands Monument next to the missile range and are subject to military closure. We were about 7 miles in but the road is only paved for the first mile. Park personnel keep the unpaved sections maintained very well with heavy equipment. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SnowStorm Posted August 18, 2013 Report Share Posted August 18, 2013 We went to New Mexico and those are the gypsum sands at White Sands Monument next to the missile range and are subject to military closure. We were about 7 miles in but the road is only paved for the first mile. Park personnel keep the unpaved sections maintained very well with heavy equipment.Well, I figured it was White Sands - awesome place. It was subject to closure way back in '79 too when my sister and I went through. Had to sit on the road :waiting: for a while until we saw why. A mid air missile interception right there in front of us. Pretty cool! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigalpha Posted August 18, 2013 Report Share Posted August 18, 2013 Next time you're there, there is a missile museum on Post. You don't need anything special to get on, and the museum is kick ass. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jmonty Posted August 18, 2013 Report Share Posted August 18, 2013 you need some compression bags for those sleep kits to shrink them down and have more room :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jus-A-CMax Posted October 3, 2013 Report Share Posted October 3, 2013 Woah...how did I miss this one too... :headscratch: I :flirt: the night shot of the camp and CMax....great photos, such contrast in terrain :rockon: Great writeup for what looks like an AWESOME trip :) :rating: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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