SilverSL

Moving to Tampa, FL in 2 weeks, just wanna know if anyone on here is from Tampa and is there anything i should know?!?!? And I dont wanna do it but Im gonna be driving the maxima from NY to FL. anyone drive long distance like that, and how was it? I actually never drove in the max for more then 20 minutes at one time so I def wouldnt know. Wonder if there is a trailer or dolley i could put the max on?

sagamax

iTrader: (5)

good luck with the move to tampa hope to see you down here. but i dont know bout the drive. the farthest i have driven is from tampa to key west.

Tek-Niq

iTrader: (3)

damn, I would get the trailer from U-haul or something.. cause that is a 20 hour ride or so..

msoemax

I have done several 8+ hour trips in the maxima. It's a very comfortable car to drive in. Should be easy to do a 4 hour stint with out any stops doing ~75 mph. You can install a trailer hitch on the maxima: however, if you can avoid it I would- considering the max was never really intended to tow stuff. Towing stuff aside from a light bike rack really puts a lot of wear and tear on the tranny and the suspension.

SilverSL

thanks for the reply, but I meant put my maxima on a trailer or dolley, i wasnt gonna tow anything with the max. Glad 8 hours trips are comfortable, ILl let you guys know how a 22 hour trip is!!

BudoTek

i once drove from miami to chicago back when i had my tacoma. the only thing i dont recommend doing is driving alone. but if you have to, buy a big thermos with alot of strong coffee. the stretch between atlanta to tampa on the fla turnpike can put a hummingbird on crack to sleep.
but if your that nervous about it then take your car to a mechanic to give it a once over. just to give you peace of mind.

btw my trip took about 20-21 hrs of solid driving. so yours should take about 15-18 hrs

maximatwo

WOW, thats a big move, best of luck! I am planning a 12 hour drive to Albany NY in June, I am looking forward to it, cause the way the Max floats, I think it should be awsome drive!! Enjoy FL.

Jayzmax04

Thats whats great about these cars, they are meant to just go. I have taken mine on several trips, and I never worry bout a thing. Just go!

As for a trailer, that depends on your driving situation (# of people, whos able to drive what)

The Max will make it there no problem! Just check the tires and the oil and head out.

JayMAX22

I've done a 13 hour drive (Baltimore to Memphis) and a 9 hour (Baltimore to Ottawa) and it's cool. No problems at all. The car is perfect for the long drives in my opinion. Comfortable seats, sound system isn't too shabby and you still get people checking your car out when you hit those out of the way places.

lex3015

good luck! fortunately i live in a state small enough where driving more than 30 minutes for anything is considered a day trip.

Bella04SL

I had the car loaded probably over the intended weight but everything worked fine and no problems. But I did find that doing 75 mph i got the best gas mileage and it was 28-28.3 all the way home which is fantastic. Yeah I would so not tow anything behind it cause you have to be carefull if you have an extented warranty. good luck

dla

I personally wouldn’t use a two wheel dolly for any car transport (doesn’t Nissan recommend flat bed towing for the Max?). If you have a rental truck, I would recommend renting a flatbed trailer too (if you do, just be careful opening the doors once the car’s on the trailer, I put a good dent in my '96 Max on a car trailer fender cover once). If not, I hope you have satellite radio and navigation incase you get into some of those out of the way places.

I’ve driven from Minnesota to Oregon and back and Minnesota to Michigan and back many times (none with the 05 Max yet … too new) and I try to avoid large cities during their rush hour, so trip planning to me is important.

Stop when you have to. Getting there a day late is much better than not getting there at all.
Good luck!

raudimax

I was wondering if someone could help me out. I just got my Max and I need to take a road trip in a couple of weeks. I'll have around 700 miles. Is it alright to drive the car for a 3 hour ride each way. The manual says not to drive the car for long distances during the break in period of 1250 miles. I'm also keeping the RPMS below 4000. Thanks for your help.

Rich Raudimax

dla

Rich
My dealer told me to drive the new Max as usual but they didn’t want me to use the cruise control till like 1500 miles.

patang

The max is a great long distance driver. Once the seats are properly adjusted to your body type, the time will fly. The excellent handling and cornering at higher speeds can be felt with the 18" tire-rim combination.

Good luck !

msoemax

I would try your best to keep the rpms low and also vary your speed by 5 MPH increments every 5 miles to make sure you don't scar in a groove in the pistons from the same speed while the engine is young. I think this is really inportant for the first 1k miles. Once you get over that you can be a little more agressive, but still try to keep the rpms low and vary your speed ever 10-15 miles. nothing like breaking in the engine so it will run the best at 80+ MPH, not something you want to do.

lightonthehill

This '04 SL is the first of my four Maximas that has not yet made a 3,000 to 4,000 mile grand tour of the Rockies. That will come.

ALL Maximas BEG to be taken on long trips. I find the '04 Maxima seats to be very comfortable. Every accessory I need is at hand. Plenty of trunk space. I find I can go over 400 miles on one tank on the freeway, and still have five gallons in reserve when the fuel light comes on.

The secret to driving long distances is to frequently turn your head, glancing to each side (helps keep the neck muscles from getting stiff) , keep tabs on the traffic behind you, and especially be aware of any vehicle in your 'blind spot'.

Occasionally push your chest out, then pull it in. Flex your shoulders. Reposition your left leg occasionally. Sometimes changing the position of your seat every half hour or so helps keep muscles from getting stiff. Keep further than usual from the vehicle in front, as attention sometimes tends to lag during long drives.

Most important: DON'T DRIVE while sleepy or very tired. The result can be tragic. Take plenty of breaks. Stop at every welcome station (and get a free official state map). Use the restroom before it becomes a pressing situation. Instead of eating a huge meal and driving for many hours, eat smaller meals, and eat more often. Avoid spicy foods while on long trips. As much as possible, plan restroom stops ahead. Rest areas are marked on official state highway maps.

Don't drive until way after dark, then start looking for motels; you could end up in an area where some big event is going on, and all rooms in the area are gone. Either reserve ahead (making sure to specify 'late arrival' if you plan on arriving after 6PM), or plan on ending your day's drive around sunset.

Make SURE your oil level is good and your tire pressure is correct before starting your trip. Recheck these after each long day of driving. Check your fuel gauge every half-hour or so, and don't drive until the fuel light comes on before starting to look for gas. Don't play your audio system loudly on long drives, as this tends to numb the brain, tends to draw your attention from driving, and also can prevent you from hearing sirens, etc.

We could list many other things here, but the key is to be careful, plan ahead and drive safely. Don't let the trip be a task or chore; make it a pleasant and enjoyable journey.

SilverMax_04

This is generally true, except that you don't notice the handling and cornering ability of the car very much on most interstate highways. Also, Lightonthehill has given you some good driving advice above, you should follow all of it.

I can assure you that the 6th Gen Max is a great road car. Since May of 2003, I've driven my 04 between Colorado Springs and Chicago (about 1,000 miles one way) 4 times and between Colorado Springs and the Myrtle Beach, SC area (about 1,700 miles one way) twice. The trip to Chicago takes about 1.5 days if you don't drive longer than 10 to 12 hours each day (about 700-750 miles on the Interstate). The trip to the beach takes about 2.5 days.

I like to drive and my wife doesn't. That works well as I like to take at least one break from driving each day. After about 6 hours, she will drive for 1 to 1.5 hours and I will rest. Then I'm ready to drive again until dinner. I like to eat light for breakfast and lunch and heavy for dinner. After dinner we hit the motel for the night.

The problem with the drive you are facing is that I 95 has much more traffic than I 80 in Nebraska. Don't envy you the traffic you will face.

Finallly, you should plan the trip so that you don't drive through large cities during either morning or evening rush. On I 95 that may be hard to do. My brother who lives in Maine and also drives to the beach in SC, likes to take US 301 from near Baltimore to past Richmond. He claims the traffic is much better than on I 95.

VTmaximaVT

i've driven from virginia to fl two times.

once, in 99 prelude, from virginia to Orlando, FL. it was my first trip to FL.
so it wasn't that bad..

next one was in rented RV from virginia to Key West, FL. 20 hrs of drivinig.
averaged 70 mph/less than 10 mpg.

after that..i never drive to FL...i always fly.

get enough sleep, you don't wanna drive 20 hrs after goodbye party all night
with friends...

wsu

I've made two round trips of about 2000 miles each, and the car was great. I hope you enjoy the ride. Keep plenty of CD's handy and if you have good company the time will pass very quickly.

AllMaxxedOut

iTrader: (15)

You should definitely get a u haul or something if you don't want to do the long drive. I do the NY to NC drive often but whenever I go to Florida I just catch a cheap flight.

cvan44

I drive from Long Island, NY to Virginia Beach at least once a month. 800 miles round trip. The Max is great on the open highway. You will enjoy the ride!!

peetah

Road trips so far in my '04 Max:

Dallas > Los Angeles > Dallas -- Once
Dallas > Middle of nowhere in the Texas panhandle > Dallas - Once
Dallas > Los Angeles > Dallas > Virginia -- Once (return trip coming soon)
Virginia > Atlanta > Virginia -- way too many times to count

This doesn't include all of the flying that I do.

It is a nice car to drive for long periods of time and I'd do it again.

Another nice car to drive IMO is the Infiniti Q45. I had the pleasure of driving one all over California last month and I just plain loved it.

Bobo

The obvious question I have for you SilverSL is what is the longest/furthest you have ever driven? You state you have't driven the Max for more than 20 minutes, which I would say is unheard of.

The car is meant to be driven, not just looked at and admired. Go for it if you are any kind of a driving enthusiast at all.

-AoW-JP

Good luck on the move. As for the drive, the cars a please on long drives. I drive mine all day. Today I was in The Bronx then I went to 18 St NYC, then Exit 51 on the LIE, then Queens, Then back to the city and I just got home to the Bronx. I drive it all day almost everyday. The only thing I've owned with a better ride was my 84 Fleetwood. Set the cruise and enjoy the view.

SilverSL

honeslty, i only drive my car to school that takes me 10 mins. My father lives in Europe for 6-7 months out of the year and I drive his 2003 S500 Benz. I drive the benz everywhere except for school because i dont want ppl dinging it up. But I cant take the Benz to FLorida when i move so I wanted to know how the long distance drivin in the max was. Thanks to everyone with the responses, I still might get a trailer so i dont have to miles on the max. Once I move to Florida my max wont be feelin neglected anymore, so dont worry guys!

mailjbrown

I drove my SE from CT to Sarasota FL a couple of round trips. Car runs great and very comfortable. Did the trip 1285 miles each way in about 19 hours drive time plus one overnight stop. Take 95 south all the way to just before Jacksonville, then 295 west to Rt 10 west, then 301 south to Gainsville. Hook up to 75 south to tampa.
(Stay away from Rt 4 in Orlando area - very heay traffic and road construction.)

Have fun.

04BlackMaxx

I did a 4+ hour trip, nonstop, from buffalo ny to vestal (down near the pen state line close to binghamton) It was at night, february, and the temp reading in the car was as low as -10 degrees F. It was very fun, car was comfortable.

05MAXIJJ

i drove my maxi...NJ to fort lauderdale florida in 17~18 hours..excatly about 3000 miles back and forth..the gas was pretty good..on highway..had to fill up like 4~6 times..dont remeber..but best route is i95 south all the way until u see CUBA..LOL..BTW i could ever think to get ther sober..^^...it seemed longggg..non sleep..17 hours..