Road Trip Advice

[edevlin]

The longest trip I have taken in my 2000 base Boxster has been from Virginia to Florida and back, about 1600 miles round trip. I have made the trip several times and have never had any issues. I am planning a road trip this summer with the wife. We will start in Virginia, then to to Dallas, then Santa Fe, then the west coast, then the badlands of North Dakota, swing up to Canada, finally back to Virginia. Should take 4-5 weeks and be over 4,000 miles, yikes.

The car has 70K on it, I will have new tires, the wheels alligned, and a fresh oil change before the trip. Any other recommendations for the car or advice for us on a road trip of this length?

Ed

[Jeph]

Check your belts. Make sure they're crack/fray-free. Top off your fluids.

My goodness that's quite a trip. Reminds me of the guy that drove from Alaska to (Austin) Texas.

[skip_168]

I use my 2000 boxster exclusivly on the road.. best travelin' car I have ever owned..


just make sure all your maintainence is done & hit the road..


oh, make sure your spare tire is aired up.. that one caught me once...

[rick3000]

I agree just make sure everything is in working order, and top off all the fluids. You might consider getting some additional emergency supplies on a trip that long, like a tire pump or some of that tire filler. I had to buy a lumbar support after my last 1600 mile road trip because the seats where horrible after about 6 hours. Just make sure you have everything you could need before you go.
Have fun, and let us know how it goes!

[Topless]

Originally Posted by edevlin

The longest trip I have taken in my 2000 base Boxster has been from Virginia to Florida and back, about 1600 miles round trip. I have made the trip several times and have never had any issues. I am planning a road trip this summer with the wife. We will start in Virginia, then to to Dallas, then Santa Fe, then the west coast, then the badlands of North Dakota, swing up to Canada, finally back to Virginia. Should take 4-5 weeks and be over 4,000 miles, yikes.

The car has 70K on it, I will have new tires, the wheels alligned, and a fresh oil change before the trip. Any other recommendations for the car or advice for us on a road trip of this length?

Ed

Wow Ed, that's quite a trip!

All good advise here. If you have the sport seats plan to stop and stretch your legs every 3 hrs or so. I love those seats for canyon carving but they can be a little confining on long drives. Think backpacker and travel light. Take half as much gear and twice as much money as you think you will need. Take lots of pictures!

[xxxalexxxx]

just make sure everything is working property...dont forget ur spare!! lol make sure u've got air in the spare...change the oil before you go...check the fluids and ur set

That should be a fun trip

[PWebRPH]

Valentine V1
That trip sounds awesome, good luck.

[Bitter Gnat]

Last Summer took the wife and kids from Dallas to Washington DC and back. Then two weeks later we drove from Dallas to San Diego and back.

Of course this was in our brand new Honda Odyssey and we were very comfy! One thing I would advise if taking the Boxster that far, is to either get a bra or that clear protective stuff they stick on the front end. There is a crapload of debri (rocks, cans, 2X4s, tires, bugs, animals....etc.) on the roads out there and no matter how well you drive, it still gets thrown up and bounced off the front of your car with regularity. Expect a few pits and/or cracks in the windshield as well.

Oh, and also ditto on the maintenance stuff.

Should be fun. I'm jealous.

Cell Phone
1 quart of your favorite oil
800-767-7243 Porsche Roadside Assistance

Have a great trip!

[gmboxster]

The best advice of all..

Take me with you !!

[turbo23dog]

Satellite Radio is the bomb anytime but especially on just such a epic cruise. That is, if you don't already have that...

[RandallNeighbour]

I've driven from Houston to San Diego, up to San Jose, over to Yosemite, and back through Death Valley, Vegas, and Dallas.

It was a three week trip and we cut it two days short to get home we were so worn out from being on the road so much.

My advice?

1. Trade off drivers every two hours. If your wife doesn't drive a stick, take your girlfriend on the trip instead.

2. Don't put anything you care about in the rear trunk. My tennis shoe laces melted into the base of the shoe from the heat coming off the muffler below. Really.

3. Buy an extra serpentine belt and toss it--along with the correct socket and wrench--into the front trunk. It might save you two days stuck somewhere getting one fedexed in to get back on the road. :chicken:

4. Replace the clips on your center windscreen so you don't have to hear it rattle every time you drop the top. That just about made me lose my religion twice on our trip.

[husker boxster]

What is this spare tire people speak of?

Having your car aligned and tires balanced are two of the best things you can do. Nothing will tire you out faster than wrestling all day with a car that won't track straight or the steering wheel dancing in your hands.

Took Ol Blue on a big road trip last fall (but not as big as Ed's planned trip). Best long distance road car I've driven. Went from Knoxville, TN to Omaha (900+ mi) in 14 hrs by myself.

[edevlin]

Great advice, I especially liked the extra quart of Moble one oil, extra S. belt and tools and to watch what I put in the trunk. Another recommendation made me think this may also be the time to get that Belltronics STI radar detector I have been thinking about (detectors are illegal in Virginia where I live, hence the expensive STI). The 500.00 price tag on the unit has been intimidating so far.

I have installed what I consider a killer aftermarket audio system in my Boxster complete with two outboard JL Audio amps, replacement JL Audio speakers front, door and rear and a custom JL Audio subwoofer. I have FM and XM radio as well as an IPod adaptor for our Ipods. My 160 gig IPod is full of 100 gig of music (about 1000 of my CD"s), about 100 complete books on tape, and 30 or 40 full-lenght feature films, so if needed, we have the audio (and video for the passenger) entertainment covered. Keep the suggestions comming,

Ed

:dance:

[dcporsche99]

Wow! Looks like a great trip ahead of you!!

Don't forget your unexpired passport (re: Canada), an extra set of keys, and a travel first aid kit!!

Enjoy! Don't forget the pics!

[FTD]

Originally Posted by RandallNeighbour

4. Replace the clips on your center windscreen so you don't have to hear it rattle every time you drop the top. That just about made me lose my religion twice on our trip.

My windscreen started rattling. Can you tell me more about replacing the clips?

[ddb]

Ed,

My suggestion would be to take a GPS. I've had my Garmin Nuvi 350 for a few years and think about all of the trips in the past where it would have been so nice to have. I won't travel unchartered roads without it.

It is sort of a pain to get it out of site when leaving the car unattended, but worth it. I don't stick mine on the windshield. I just slide it in the upper storage cubby hole in front of the shifter.

Enjoy the trip.

ddb

[J-Slicks]

Originally Posted by ddb

Ed,

My suggestion would be to take a GPS. I've had my Garmin Nuvi 350 for a few years and think about all of the trips in the past where it would have been so nice to have. I won't travel unchartered roads without it.

It is sort of a pain to get it out of site when leaving the car unattended, but worth it. I don't stick mine on the windshield. I just slide it in the upper storage cubby hole in front of the shifter.

Enjoy the trip.

ddb

Nice white boxster, I wanted a white one but got a polar silver instead

[ddb]

J-Slicks,

Thanks very much!

When you get a chance post some pics of your car. We love looking at pictures.

ddb

[edevlin]

"My suggestion would be to take a GPS. I've had my Garmin Nuvi 350 for a few years and think about all of the trips in the past where it would have been so nice to have."

I dont know anything about GPS units, does anyone have a recommendation?

Ed