On 05/24/99 04:39:11 you wrote:
>
>Hey guys, my friend is gonna be doing a x-country drive from new haven, CT
to
>the bay area, CA after her graduation. I was wondering if anyone who's made
>such a trip (tom p??) could part with some advice on what route to take,
>things to look out for, cool spots to check out, etc...? I appreciate the
>help. I'm still looking forward to making my x-country trip sometime soon!
>
>Van
Hi Van and All,
I wanted to think about this a little before I answered, hence the delay.
I'm not sure I'm the best one to give advice since everyone is different and
we all have varied interests and comfort levels. There are, however a few
things I can share with you.
Make sure you ride (read car, any car) is up to the challenge. I had great
faith in my 2000 and did not have to guess as to the condition of anything.
Even though it looked like H--- and leaked rain up from the road through the
holes in the floor as well as down through dash vents it was a solid runner.
The engine was rebuilt and had 800 miles on it before I started. The brake
system was almost completly replaced. Not rebuilt, replaced! All hoses,
belts and filters were new and every suspension joint was opened up,
inspected, reassembled and greased. All electric connections where opened,
checked, cleaned and tightened.
With all that done. I didn't take much in the way spares. Tom Walter has a
pretty good list of what you might want to take with you, but, I'll confess
I didn't take half of it. With all I had done, I just didn't feel I needed
to. That's item two. Take as many spares and tools as necessary to make you
feel comfortable.
Leave yourself plenty of time. I had no schedule so I could go as slow or
fast as I felt liked. I tried to run about 500 miles per day. Sure, you can
do more, but why? I didn't use an alarm clock. When I woke up, I woke up. I
ate three times a day and stopped at almost every rest stop for a short
walk, whether I felt like I needed it or not. Keeping an average speed of 50
mph is tough when you make as many stops as I did.
Item 4. Make sure you have plenty of phone numbers. That really helped. I
have to say that the internet and this mailing list are responsible for my
travels. Without it and all the list members across the country I probably
would still be running around Long Island with my fenders flapping in the
wind. I knew that if I really got in trouble there as a pretty good chance
that help would be somewhere around. As it worked out, I had an opportunty
to test this when the cam went soft in NM. Thanks to Les Cannady's phone
support and Ron Hamilton,I made it. So - to all list members - accept my
heartfelt thank you to all of you. You have all made my trips both possible
as well as memorable.
As far as the route to take. Pick any one. They're all great!
Longer answer than it had to be, but, there it is.
Tom (thank you all) P
Hicksville NY
68 2L #2771
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