How do you prepare for a cross country drive?

[kevinw]

i agree with Rock On. rent a vert from enterprise and keep your car in garage. i wouldnt wnat to rack on the miles, and yes, the bug/rock chips and dings. vacations are hard on any car, and i would rather put the wear and tear on a rental.

[axis]

Take a plane and rent whatever you want when you get there. With the price of gas, food, and hotel rooms, probably be cheaper too.

[JR 1]

I took a similar trip across the country with my wife last summer. We started out in Detroit went through the badlands, Yellowstone, San Francisco, Vegas, Grand Canyon, and St. Louis. It was an awsome trip. There is nothing like seeing the country in a convertible! I have to admit, I did rent the convertible and it was a....Mustang. It was before I owned the Camaro and it's actually what inspired me to buy the Camaro. We loved the Mustang, but I am a GM guy so I test drove the Camaro convertible and I loved it even more.

Back to your trip, make sure to pack soft luggage for maximizing trunk space. We brought a small cooler that we kept in the back seat which was priceless. Get an Atlas because GPS may fail you out in the middle of nowhere, and you will be amazed at the vast expanses of this country that has no cell coverage. Wear plenty of sun block so you can keep the top down. Have a great time!

[Raptor3141]

The wife and I just finished a similar trip (5,300 miles) in my Camaro.

- I packed a small toolbox with a pair of gloves and some various screwdrivers, wrenches and sockets and my lug nut key (just in case).
- Oil changed before leaving
- Check tires, fluids and belt
- Check/change or clean air filter

The cooler in the back seat idea worked great. Not wanting to HAVE to make a certain city on a schedule, we only pre-booked hotels in tourist traps. For the rest of the overnight stops, we judged it by how far we wanted to drive that day and booked using our smart phone and expedia.

Be warned ... if using a GPS system that requires a cell signal (like a smartphone), you will come across a lot of areas with no cell service. You need to pre-download the maps for the day before getting on the road.

The other item that truly saved my front end was a Bra. I know a lot of people don't like them and say that they scratch the paint but, mine did not. I took it off a couple of times and rinsed off the car before putting it back on. Only takes a couple of minutes for the whole process.

I managed to get 24.5 mpg on my trip. Gas prices were much cheaper when I got out of the Midwest. My 5,300 mile trip cost me less than $900.

Here was our route originating in Milwaukee, WI.





Good luck and have a safe trip.

[Lord Ryan]

We did it a couple years ago. Ended up renting a Traverse. Me and the wife from Avon Lake to Chicago where we picked up her mother, father and sister. Five of us in one car! I have some form of social anxiety disorder. Don't like anyone touching me or even getting too close, it was awesome! I drove the whole way.

We never made it to Yellow Stone, farthest we made was Devil's Tower. We did Deadwood, Rushmore, Deadwood, Devil's Tower than back Deadwood. Finished off with the Badlands. I was traveling with 3 addicts. They made me stop at every Casino sign. Some of these places were back rooms in gas stations.


Caves near Rushmore are pretty cool!



https://www.facebook.com/#!/ryan.pec...7513362&type=3

We took the Camaro to Chicago with the bike on the roof a couple weeks ago. The MPG sucked, around 21. Taking it to Memphis this weekend without the roof rack, are first long trip in it.

[Lord Ryan]

The guy's post above me reminded me. I forgot, we had trouble getting a hotel room the first night. We drove till some time after midnight(2am I think) before stopping. I think we were a couple hundred miles from Deadwood. There was some Corvette thing going on, all hotels were booked. So we decided to try the next city and so on for 200 miles. Didn't find a room(1 room) till Deadwood at a preium. Turns out Sturgis(bike thing), and that Corvette thing were going on that week. We did manage to get 2 rooms at the Sturgis Holiday Inn for the rest of the week, cancellations.

[gajagfan]

I get not wanting to put the miles on your car as a few have mentioned, but my wife and I have went on 2 600 mile trips since getting the car about 2 months ago. We are looking at more. I bought it to drive. I will take care of it, but it will get dinged up. Drive it. Enjoy it. It is why you bought the car! My wife and I talk about a long vacation / road trip out west (from east coast). I did it often as a child. You will have a blast!

[JR 1]

I forgot to mention above, but we booked all our hotels ahead of time. You can get a better rate this way, but mainly I did this so we didn't have to worry about it on the trip. It does lock you into a schedule, but after driving a few hundred miles a day the last thing you want to do is go searching for hotels in the middle of nowhere when you have no cell coverage. Many places get booked up too. It also lets you know what you are getting into so you can avoid the roach motels!

[jrisebo]

Originally Posted by TommySS

I am driving my 2011 Camaro Convertable to Yellowstone National Park from Cleveland later this month. Over 3800 miles round trip in one week. Anyone have any tips for long trips. Thanks

Pee before you leave so you dont have to stop at the first rest stop.

[Ringo64]

Originally Posted by kevinw

i agree with Rock On. rent a vert from enterprise and keep your car in garage. i wouldnt wnat to rack on the miles, and yes, the bug/rock chips and dings. vacations are hard on any car, and i would rather put the wear and tear on a rental.

I baby my car like no other and it is my garage queen but doing a trip like this in your own car is what its all about. I look to be doing one in the next year or so.

[myold88]

Originally Posted by Ringo64

I baby my car like no other and it is my garage queen but doing a trip like this in your own car is what its all about. I look to be doing one in the next year or so.

Same here. I've been on several long distance trips with my SS. It's meant
to be driven. 4 years and almost 30,000 miles later it still looks like new.
I was at the lumber yard today and 2 workers were examining my Camaro
for a few minutes. Cars are made to be driven imo.

[ALLTRBO]

I'm in the middle of a 3500 mile round-trip right now. Camaro5Fest was one of the stops.

I say if you like your paint, get a clear bra installed or do what I did:

[TommySS]

A lot of great comments. Will book all hotels/motels ahead of time. We are definitely going to the Badlands on the way.

Camaro has tire pressure sensors, car will let me know if it needs air. (also has its own compressor)

I am changing my oil this weekend. DIC says it currently has 7% left.

I buy my cars to drive. I will trade it in at some point. I am not worried about putting miles on it. As nice as these cars are, they are not collectors items yet.

I am getting 30 days of onstar to go along with my GPS.

Thanks again for all the comments. Will update after trip.

[007s 'Vert]

It's too funny when I hear folks talking about how they baby their car and keep it in the garage/take it out only on the weekends, and never sees rain, as I am typing this my car is sitting out in a downpoor....lol
I drive over 500 miles a week and have been doing it for the last three years, I now have 43000 miles on it after only just 21 months of ownership, not one thing has gone wrong with the car, however I do not beat on it.
I am moving to Las Vegas on September 6th and my wife will be following me in the Camaro, and I will be driving the rental truck, that will be around 2200 miles, am I nervous? nope! gonna make sure it has all the fluids topped off, fresh air filter, check the belts, the TPMS will keep me informed of the tire air pressure like it always has, it is accurate to with a pound compared to my tire gauge.
These are CARS! they are made for one thing....transportation, however these particular cars make it so that you do it in style.
OH! and one other thing......like someone else mentioned....Pee before you leave.....lol