Just mulling over a long road trip in my mind... Phoenix to NY and back.

Suggestions or helpful ideas on the trip? I'm thinking of small details that I might normally forget, like putting in the damn silencer before I get going.

Anything special to note about the R on long *** road trips? I know some of you have taken some really long trips, so what advice might you send out?

Thanks for sharing your experience.

 

I'd recommend:

toolkit
couple quarts of oil
spare alternator and PS belts
tire pressure gauge
map with detailed small roads.. just incase

thats about it if you are just taking a trip. *shrugs*

 

Cigarette lighter-plug in air pump

Torque wrench

Beef jerky

 

I've done a bunch of long road trips in the US (coast to coast several times) and I would strongly recommend a comfortable, quiet car that can eat up miles. The ITR is not comfortable on long trips and the noise gets old very quickly (as in hours). You are unlikely to get an opportunity to really drive the car hard on this type of trip - most of the miles will be on the highway and if you do find a twisty road, there will probably be a Winnebago warrior in front of you who will not pull over.

Rent a big comfy car for the trip. If you figure that every 1000 miles you put on your R depreciates it by $100 or so, the rental will effectively pay for itself on a 6000 mile or so trip.

 

I recommend staying off the interstates and in mountainous terrain as much as possible. I also recommend going north vs going east, better scenery less traffic.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by newt2 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">every 1000 miles you put on your R depreciates it by $100 or so </TD></TR></TABLE>

damn - is that true? (**** - I put 58,000 on it in 2.5 years...)
oh well, won't be selling her anytime soon anyways

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Philly_NBP_R &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">

damn - is that true? (**** - I put 58,000 on it in 2.5 years...)
oh well, won't be selling her anytime soon anyways </TD></TR></TABLE>

I just pulled that number out of the air. I should have qualified though. Every 1000 miles above the standard allowance of 10-12k miles per year will roughly cost about $100 in depreciation. For example, how much more money do you think that could get for your 58k mile car if it had only 38k miles on it? Probably $2k more. YMMV.

 

pack lotsa hair metal.

 

R isn't the most comfortable car to do long trips in, but it's not that bad.

Things I always take with me on a long trip.

1. Map
2. cig-lighter air compressor
3. I always carry one or two full size spare that has matching tires. I don't like driving slow and I surely wont' put damn spare on a long trip.
4. Lots of water, power bars and snacks.
5. Good variety of music.
6. 1 gallon gas can
7. 2 qts of oil
8. 1 bottle of brake fluid
9. radar detector
10. torque wrench and 19mm socket
11. sun block, sunglasses, cut-offs to work on tan
12. take the spoiler off.

 

Beer
Red Bull
Money
Condoms

Everything else can be bought along the way

Craig - Who is traveling light from here on out.

 

https://honda-tech.com/zerothread?id=485295

 

install cruise control, makes it easy as cake

and bring a digicam, take pix of everything weird along the way....be sure to go to vegas

taking the wing off...not a bad idea for a trip, actually...and let the ***** get dirty. steel wheels also rock.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Aleph &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">install cruise control, makes it easy as cake </TD></TR></TABLE>

how much did you pay for cruise control?

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by D &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">

how much did you pay for cruise control?</TD></TR></TABLE>

it was like 175, and then you worked like a bitch to install it. But i got j00 speedwire

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by norice &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">
Rent a big comfy car for the trip.</TD></TR></TABLE>

A couple of years ago I rented a Lincoln Town Car for a road trip thinking it would fit the bill perfectly. And it did for the first 30 minutes or so. Like a couch on wheels.

But after that the cushy, and unsupportive, seats became rather uncomfortable, the marshmellow suspension became scary (I never expected a 4,000 + lb. car to blow around like that in a crosswind), the touchy brakes became aggrivating and 20 mpg became expensive.

All-in-all, I find it more relaxing to drive my own car.

 

hint.. don't take your car... take your friends car.. a rental car.. anything but your car.. trust me.. don't put your R through the abuse . the abuse by the road, the weather and your passengers..especially your passengers

 

Yeah Town Cars are no good. I'd recommend a Volvo from Hertz. I take Volvo Cross Countries on trips all the time and they are great for eating the miles in luxury. The seats are top notch, and most of them have nav installed. They also blend in nicely at ultra-legal speeds.

Mike D.

 

Yeah, my first choice was an S-Type from Hertz, but they didn't have anything.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by MK Ultra &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Yeah, my first choice was an S-Type from Hertz, but they didn't have anything. </TD></TR></TABLE>

Call a different Hertz, if you can. The local office near me always has nothing but Turduses, but 30 miles away in Detroit at the airport there are always nice cars.

 

Oh man, if you don't have cruise control it is gonna suck! I made a trip from N.H. to Prescott, AZ and back in my GSR, and if I didn't have cruise I would have gone insane! (and gotten not as good of gas mileage doing it). And my right leg would have been in pain, I'm sure. Hey, look forward to 80 mph highway speed limits in N.M. and AZ. I definitley recommend a quiet set of tires. Remember, there are only 3 reasons to stop on long road trips: eat, gas up, and ****, try to combine stops when possible to save time. Be sure not to let yourself dehydrate by drinking too little, it happened to me, because of course you don't want to keep pulling over to **** but unfortunatly its necessary. You gonna do it in 3 days? On the way out I did it in 3 days and it totally kicked my ***, I stretched the trip back to N.H. over 4 days, much more pleasant. NY to AZ in 3 seems perfect. Bring some dope tunes, enjoy the diverse scenery of the most beautiful country in the world, and have a blast!

 

Also, be sure to have your alignment fixed before you head out. Bad alignment can tear up your tires quick!!

Bring water, tools, car fluids, a full size spare or 2 (I always like to keep 2). Jack, flash light. valentine 1, change your oil and air filter for sure. Bring a digital camera, America has some nice scenery. Cell phone, cell phone charger. Be conservative during your drive. In deserts, you judgement can be a tad off because the distances arent easily calculated by eye anymore, since its sooo flat, plus you dont want to get in a wreck or get hurt.

Be safe

 

Thanks All,
If I do the trip (I'm planning on it) I'll take the R. The only drawback is the lack of cruise.
I drove from NY to AZ 5 years ago in my Saab. Easy trip. 32 hours total. That was a trip to get me to grad school. Now though, I have no need to go... just the open road and a cooler full of pop and snacks. I might box up some of my "childhood items" like my comic book collection for the drive back to AZ... but other than that, just an empty car and me.

Thanks for the ideas. I've added a few things from your lists so that I'll be prepared in case of anything.

When the day comes for the ride I'll let ya'll know so you can laugh at me from the highway overpasses as I cruise through your town...

 

per 1 hour of drive, bring 4 hours of music

not that you'll NEED it, but it is the selection that will keep you happy