On average, Americans drive about 13,476 miles per year. Multiplying that with the average amount of time they own a vehicle before buying a new one, which is reportedly six years, it would appear that people only clock in 80,856 miles on their vehicles.
This figure is way less than the average lifespan of 150,000 miles cars have today. In the end, it looks like Americans aren’t getting enough bang for their buck before spending another $30,000 to buy themselves a new ride. Missouri resident Brook Smith is a different case though.
Well-Traveled Vehicles
Smith, who makes a living hauling RVs across the United States and Canada, owns two pickups that have a combined mileage of 1.5 million miles. Yes, that’s not a typo.
The man is the proud owner of a 2015 GMC Sierra with more than 500,000 miles on it and a 2007 Chevrolet Silverado (nicknamed Big Red) that has been driven for over a million miles. In fact, the latter has traveled to almost every state in the United States except Hawaii. It has also seen two Canadian territories and all 10 provinces of the same country.
All of that and Smith was still able to maintain the vehicle’s 6.6-liter LBZ Duramax engine.
The Chevy underwent some maintenance though including a one-time valve adjustment and some new injectors as well as a fuel pump. The more than a decade old truck still has its original Allison transmission.
However, Smith did upgrade its torque converter to make things easier as he hauls heavy things across the North American continent.
On the Way
Meanwhile, his newer Sierra looks like it’s well on the way to reach the impressive numbers that Big Red has driven. Smith says that he bought the vehicle with already 93,000 miles on it.
He’s now turned it to his new ‘office’ as he continues to travel the roads towing campers. Its edge is that being a more modern pickup, it has an integrated infotainment system as well as better interiors. The latter being important for a long-haul driver like Smith who spends hours at a time behind the wheel.
Mileage Records
Aside from Smith’s expert maintenance and driving, the vehicle’s longevity and resilience may also be attributed to its manufacturer. Proof of this is the fact that another Chevy Silverado, this time a 2006 model, has also made it to over a million miles.
In just seven years, couple Hugh and Tammy Pennington managed to get 1.2 million miles out of the vehicle. Like Smith, the Penningtons are also in the long haul business and drive within the same countries as the former.
The couple reveals that the secret behind their success is simply regular maintenance, which meant change oils, filter and tire replacements, and getting it checked out often.