We arrived from a 1175 km journey up north, Manila-Laoag-Pagudpud (Saud)-Vigan-La Union-Manila some time last week. Lots of idle time during bathroom breaks, lots of stops in every site, some traffic whenever there is a road work and at the every town proper. The van was full (9 adults, 2 kids), with luggage. Left Manila with a full tank, filled up in Laoag before proceeding to Pagudpud. There was still less than 1/4 gas in the tank, but to be safe, we filled it up in Laoag. It's the city proper so the chances of fuel contamination is lesser than filling up in those small stations after the city.

Next full tank was in Petron in Junction in Rosario, La Union going back home. We arrived in Manila with 3/4 gas in the tank.

That kind of journey and my SG only needed 2 full tanks, it made me really happy.

No wonder I saw a lot of Hiace, mostly GL & Commuter up north being rented.

For the rattling sliding door, driver side, the most effective that I used as a temporary solution was a 3M tape. Not sure what type it is since I just saw it in our storage room. It has a some sort of clayish material that acts as a bonding element. I've tried using tapes with foam but they don't last long. When the van is full and 9 people at the back go in and out endlessly on a long journey, it would only take a few open and close before it eventually gets worn out leaving a gap between the metal that serves as the rail of the striker bolt resulting to that annoying rattle. From Pagudpud to Manila, I never heard that rattle after putting that.

I noticed with the tires, since mine is fitted with A/T tires, they generate a lot of road noise now especially on expressways. Tolerable but kinda deafening.