Reader Questions Story About High-Milage Dodge

2011 - Volume #35, Issue #3, Page #05

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Shortly after our last issue came out, I got a thoughtful letter from a mechanical engineer in Georgia who basically said he thought we'd been scammed into running the story in our last issue on a 10-year-old Dodge pickup with 1.7 million miles on it. He pointed out that at an average speed of 50 mph, Howard Clayton would have had to drive 9.3 hrs. a day for 365 days a year to reach the 1.7 million mile total. That would have left no time for servicing equipment or for bad weather, not to mention rest for the driver.
The math was hard to argue with so we contacted Clayton for his side of the story.
For one thing, he notes, his truck is an early edition 2001 model that he put into service April 1, 2000, so he's been driving it for 11 years. Another factor is that he delivers empty trailers for a manufacturer and comes back without a load. "I travel mostly through western states with high speed limits," says Clayton. "I travel 75 mph on my returns and average 64 mph and 11 hours of driving a day on my trips out."
Divide 850,000 miles by 64 mph, 11 hours per day and 11 years of use, and trips under load would eat up approximately 109 days a year. Do those return trips at 70 mph (and higher) for 11 hours per day (conservatively) over 11 years, and another 100 days are gone from the year. While 209 days of travel a year are possible, it's still a lot of time away from home for a retiree. Clayton says his wife doesn't mind because she travels with him.
"We'll be on the road for two months at a time," says Clayton. "We'll stop in Las Vegas for a night or somewhere else to see the sites for a few days."
Our letter writing critic also questioned Clayton and his mechanic's claim that no major work had been done on the high-mileage Dodge. He pointed out that in his job as a diesel mechanic on over-the-road semis, the longest interval he had ever seen between major overhauls was 400,000 miles.
However, Clayton's mechanic, who sees the truck every 10,000 miles, is sticking with his story. He says Clayton takes extremely good care of the truck, using the highest quality synthetic fluids and filtering systems.
When questioned about the unusual extended life of his engine, Clayton admitted that his run of unusual luck ran out shortly after our story came out 2 months ago.
"The engine had a blown head gasket," says Clayton. "We did a complete overhaul, and found two broken piston rings. My mechanic, Forest, said he had never seen broken rings that stayed in place like those did."
During the overhaul Clayton replaced the pistons, cranks and bearings. While he doesn't know if the rebuilt engine will make another million miles, he plans to give it a try.

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Reader Questions Story About High-Milage Dodge PICKUPS Miscellaneous Shortly after our last issue came out I got a thoughtful letter from a mechanical engineer in Georgia who basically said he thought we d been scammed into running the story in our last issue on a 10-year-old Dodge pickup with 1 7 million miles on it He pointed out that at an average speed of 50 mph Howard Clayton would have had to drive 9 3 hrs a day for 365 days a year to reach the 1 7 million mile total That would have left no time for servicing equipment or for bad weather not to mention rest for the driver The math was hard to argue with so we contacted Clayton for his side of the story For one thing he notes his truck is an early edition 2001 model that he put into service April 1 2000 so he s been driving it for 11 years Another factor is that he delivers empty trailers for a manufacturer and comes back without a load I travel mostly through western states with high speed limits says Clayton I travel 75 mph on my returns and average 64 mph and 11 hours of driving a day on my trips out Divide 850 000 miles by 64 mph 11 hours per day and 11 years of use and trips under load would eat up approximately 109 days a year Do those return trips at 70 mph and higher for 11 hours per day conservatively over 11 years and another 100 days are gone from the year While 209 days of travel a year are possible it s still a lot of time away from home for a retiree Clayton says his wife doesn t mind because she travels with him We ll be on the road for two months at a time says Clayton We ll stop in Las Vegas for a night or somewhere else to see the sites for a few days Our letter writing critic also questioned Clayton and his mechanic s claim that no major work had been done on the high-mileage Dodge He pointed out that in his job as a diesel mechanic on over-the-road semis the longest interval he had ever seen between major overhauls was 400 000 miles However Clayton s mechanic who sees the truck every 10 000 miles is sticking with his story He says Clayton takes extremely good care of the truck using the highest quality synthetic fluids and filtering systems When questioned about the unusual extended life of his engine Clayton admitted that his run of unusual luck ran out shortly after our story came out 2 months ago The engine had a blown head gasket says Clayton We did a complete overhaul and found two broken piston rings My mechanic Forest said he had never seen broken rings that stayed in place like those did During the overhaul Clayton replaced the pistons cranks and bearings While he doesn t know if the rebuilt engine will make another million miles he plans to give it a try

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