Cross country road trip prep

[ravenofpoe]

In about a month I'll be heading out from Portland Or. on a long winding drive across country with only a pretty girl for company. Along the way I'll see the gambit of what nature has to offer, from high mountains to scorching desert. My steed will be a 2017 Mustang GT PP with around 30k miles. The car is white with a base interior and seems to be in good shape. I'll be on the road for about 3 weeks, not driving for all of it but I'm not taking a straight shot across. Some notable locations will be Santa Monica CA, Las Vegas NV, Phoenix AR, New Orleans L, Nashville TN. The journey will conclude near DC at a friends house. The purpose of the drive is to see old friends that have scattered across the country and find a place to settle down in. Portland has gotten to expensive and crazy for my tastes.

Any advice for me? Things I should get checked before I leave or places I should see?

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[ModularKid21]

A general (but thorough) check over should suffice, so long as you’ve kept up on your maintenance up to this point. I would look at how long (mileage wise) your trip will be and have the upcoming services completed before you leave head out. That along with a good comb over of the car should keep maintenance and repairs to a minimum while you’re away

Side note. I work at a shop about 30 min from DC if you need any maintenance/services/repairs when you’re out this way

 

[Ed M]

Sorry, the desert won’t be scorching in early April. But you will likely be amassing quite a bug collection as you work your way across the country. Having something to clean dead bugs off the car should come in quite handy.

 

[samd1351]

If you're coming through KC and you like history/WWI, stop in and see the WWI museum. It's worth the stop. And snag some bbq at any number of our fine establishments.

 

[SAL-E]

Fresh service and good tires. Have a great journey!!

 

[boB]

Carry a spare tire, AAA takes along time to get to Death Valley. ;)

 

[Shifting_Gears]

Definitely a spare tire if you can find a suitable option for a PP car, small air compressor that can run off the auxiliary port for power (but, the car should already have this). If no spare, get a few emergency patch kits (with the goo strips you jam in the tire) and some tire slime.

Would strongly suggest in a clear bra for the bumper and even hood if you’re concerned about paint protection.

Make sure your fluids are topped off.. Take a couple quarts of oil, a small tool kit. If you haven’t changed the differential fluid or trans fluid it would be smart to do so beforehand.

 

[Ecoboosted]

In the TN/NC area check out tail of the dragon and Cherohala sky way. Beautiful area worth checking out.

 

[frank s]

In about a month I'll be heading out from Portland Or. on a long winding drive across country with only a pretty girl for company. Along the way I'll see the gambit of what nature has to offer, from high mountains to scorching desert. My steed will be a 2017 Mustang GT PP with around 30k miles. The car is white with a base interior and seems to be in good shape. I'll be on the road for about 3 weeks, not driving for all of it but I'm not taking a straight shot across. Some notable locations will be Santa Monica CA, Las Vegas NV, Phoenix AR, New Orleans L, Nashville TN. The journey will conclude near DC at a friends house. The purpose of the drive is to see old friends that have scattered across the country and find a place to settle down in. Portland has gotten to expensive and crazy for my tastes.

Any advice for me? Things I should get checked before I leave or places I should see?

I think you mean "gamut"; "gambit" is a whole different thing, eh?

As long as you are in the Washington, DC area, best look for that pallid bust.

Travelling east, early-morning starts include sun in your eyes; if your sunglasses are polarized, that might interfere with detailed reading of gauges. Same deal going west, but in the sunset period.

I'm a "Left Lane Is For Passing" evangelist, but... There are stretches of Arizona highways where the heavy trucks have beaten the pavement into patches of undulating and lumpy thoroughfare that happens to sync with Mustang wheelbases to the point of intolerabieness . You can be forgiven for cruising in the left lane in those areas.

If you are thinking of crossing any of South- and/or West-Texas, don't hesitate to stop for fuel once the gauge shows half-a-tank remaining: Some places are practically uninhabited so opportunities for fuel and "rest" might be far apart. Also remember the javelina population is ubiquitous, and while it's tempting to cruise at very fast (comfortable in a modern Mustang) pace—some places the official limit is 80 MPH—unless you're very alert AND very lucky, you could find yourself picking wild-peccary parts out of your grill.

April would be a perfect time to take the Rio Grande route: The "River Road" (Hwy 170) from Presidio to Study Butte is one of the most spectacular drives in the country. Some miles before Study Butte (pron. "Stoodie Byoot") is Terlingua, where Carroll Shelby owned a large portion of the countryside, and partied with his heavy-hitter pals. Pilot that he was, he'd gather them up and fly them to the Terlingua airport for a week or two of drinking and lie-swapping. Back in the day. Photo: 2014 GT/CS at Terlingua Trading Company, site of the fabled "Terlingua Porch".

The Big Bend National Park is a must-see. Travelling north and then east from there, there are quite a few attractions, also alongside or near the Rio Grande, including the village of Langtry—think "Judge Roy Bean". Just remember that what Texas has is described as "Miles and miles of miles and miles"; hit those stops when they show up.

Good radio isn't always available in many places. I'd make sure my Sirius was up-to-date, or that my USB thumb-drive collection was well-stocked.

Great times ahead. I envy you.

 

[ravenofpoe]

Thanks for the input guys!

-Ed yeah I guess the desert won’t be so hot this time of year, but we can forgive my being artful in my description can’t we? Good idea about the bugs btw, I hadn’t thought of that. I live in the city so that’s not really a concern for me normally.

The suggestion of the spare tire is a good one but I’m afraid that I won’t have the room. I do have a good set of tools and a portable air pump though. I was already thinking a five gallon fuel can would be a good idea, spare oil couldn’t hurt either. I’ll have to look into the clear bra. The paint will thank me I’m sure.

As for the suggestions of places to visit, thank you! I don’t know if I’ll ever get to take another trip like this and I have plenty of money saved and no specific time limit on the trip. So these are the kinds of things I hope to do and see.

 

[Roger Blose]

Covercraft has a very good front end bra which is about $150. I use it for extended highway driving. You have to carry a spare / mini spare with jack otherwise your trip will be a fiasco waiting for roadside help, on a weekend, in Jerkwater USA. And some Duct Tape is also key!

 

[I Bleed Ford Blue]

There is a company out there that sells a spare specifically designed to clear the PP1/2 brakes and it fits in the spare tire well. Don't rely on the air pump or a can of fix a flat. You could get a blowout and no amount of fix a flat will help in a situation like that. Been there, done that, in late august in jerkwater new mexico, not fun. Stuff like that tends to kill your whole trip, carry a real spare and save your self the aggravation.

 

[JCFoster]

I prefer the Viair 88p air compressor (Amazon). It clips to the batter post and will actually air up a tire.

Good luck, sounds like a fun trip.

 

[LxMike]

In the TN/NC area check out tail of the dragon and Cherohala sky way. Beautiful area worth checking out.

I live 30 minutes from both of these...

 

[3pdl]

in addition to all the fine suggestions i'd add the north rim of the grand canyon. it is unspeakably amazing. also, mesa verde, arches, zion, and bryce canyon are all worth the effort of visiting.

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