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What the Alcan Costs to Drive: Tacoma vs F-150 vs CR-V
An old truck's fuel bill on the 2,500-mile Alaska Highway — and how a little 4-cylinder, and a CR-V, change the math.
Up here the real cost of a vehicle isn't the sticker — it's the Alcan. ("Alcan" is the Alaska Highway, the long haul between Alaska and the Lower 48 — roughly 2,500 miles one way.) At Alaska gas prices, the engine under the hood decides what that drive costs. This compares three: a thirsty but bulletproof 1991 Ford F-150 with the 4.9-liter inline-six (six cylinders in a row), a frugal 1997 Toyota Tacoma 2.4-liter four-cylinder, and a 2002 Honda CR-V (all-wheel drive) as the efficiency benchmark. Drag the gas-price slider and watch every number move.
TL;DR
- At $6/gal, one 2,500-mile Alcan run costs about $1,111 in the F-150, $750 in the Tacoma, and $625 in the CR-V (unloaded).
- The MPG behind it (highway, unloaded): Tacoma 20, F-150 13.5, CR-V 24.
- The surprise: the little Tacoma four nearly matches a CR-V — the real fuel hog is the F-150's big six.
- Loaded — trucks with a 2,000 lb trailer + 800 lb bed, the CR-V a small trailer — they get 14, 11, and 19 mpg.
- Every figure is live — move the slider to your gas price.
The MPG every number is built on
MPG used · unloaded / loaded (highway)
Tacoma 2.4L four
20 / 14
unloaded / loaded
F-150 4.9L six
13.5 / 11
unloaded / loaded
CR-V 2.4L AWD
24 / 19
unloaded / loaded
What the trip costs
F-150 — Alcan trip
$1,111
2,500 mi unloaded · 13.5 mpg
Tacoma — Alcan trip
$750
2,500 mi unloaded · 20 mpg
CR-V — Alcan trip
$625
2,500 mi unloaded · 24 mpg
The takeaway isn't "buy the smallest thing." It's that a 4-cylinder pickup gets you most of the way to CR-V economy while still hauling a trailer and a loaded bed — and that the F-150's thirst is what really shows up on a 2,500-mile bill. Need to tow? The Tacoma is the sweet spot. Don't? The CR-V wins on fuel.
MPG used. Tacoma 2.4L 4WD: 20 unloaded / 14 loaded. F-150 4.9L inline-six 4WD: 13.5 / 11. Owner's real-world highway figures. CR-V: 24 unloaded — a 2002 all-wheel-drive automatic at its EPA highway rating (21 combined), per
fueleconomy.gov; loaded ≈ 19 with a small trailer.
Loaded = a 2,000 lb trailer + 800 lb in the bed for the trucks; a small trailer for the CR-V.
Alcan ≈ 2,500 miles one way; yearly figure assumes 10,000 mi.