Anachronism

Next week I will be driving to Florida from Mass with the Wife and two kids and the Wife can't drive a stick (yes I am insane). I have only had my Max for about 6 months and it has ~80,000 miles on it. I just did the 60k service (plugs, belts,fuel filter, clean throttle body) since I did not know if the previous owner did it. I just did the second oil change with Mobil one synthetic, I got my Amsoil in the mail but the Mobil one has less than 1000 miles on it so I think I will leave it in for the trip. I just replaced the oil pressure sending unit. The A/C seems to work fine. The donut is full of air, a full size spare would be nice but I don' want to buy another wheel and tire right now. I have AAA and a cell phone just in case.

Anything else I should do before I leave? I don't want to do anything immediatly before I leave in case it causes a problem and leaves me no time to fix it. Can I run tire pressure maybe 5 PSI over what Nissan recommends (still under the maximum on the sidewall) for better miledge or will this cause more ride or handling problems than it's worth? Any other tips?

bullseye

It might be a good time to drain, back-flush, and refill your coolant system. Top off your windshield washer fluid reservoir, brake fluid, power steering fluid. I don't know how many miles you've got on your tires, but those are worth looking at to ensure proper tread depth, no nails, no bulges, and so forth. Check the rubber boots on your CV joints for tears/rips and grease... not good. Inspect your brake pads to ensure they're OK. A steering wheel cover, especially if it is a padded version, may lessen fatigue. Saftey items, like bottled water, a blanket, a first aid kit, candy bars, flares, and a flashlight may come in handy. (I hope you never need to use them.)

Take a MAP, even if you have your primary route memorized from many countless trips before. You never know when/if you'll have to take a detour and venture into Indian country!

Plan to stop every 3-4 hours to refill the gas tank, get something to eat, hit the restrooms, take in some fresh air and sunshine, let the kids expend pent-up energy, take pictures, toss out trash, and buy more snacks and sodas. It's neat to buy a local newspaper at each stop, too.

Have a good trip.

JoesMAX

iTrader: (2)

when i drove down to florida with a friend of mine 2 summers ago, he put like 40 psi in his tires lol... for the amount of gas you really save i dont think its worth it, id rather have a more comfortable ride for the few bucks you may save... you should also get a tv for you car for the kids

bullseye

Yeah, a TV/DVD is a great idea. One of my buddies took a long trip in the car with one of these, and he said the kids loved it. They either watched movies or slept the entire way.. without any arguments.

thebigsadler

iTrader: (4)

i put gas in the car until the needle pointed and F and drove... when that needle moved near the E i put more gas to the F and kept driving..

AndyXXL

Great advice

magnum

get a radar detector. i got a passport 8500 for my trip from NY to FL, and we did no less than 100 mph the whole way down, except when the detector went off. no tickets and made it in under 20 hours.

deezo

iTrader: (3)

Keep your speed under 80 for the best gas mileage and quickest travel time.

DAREN

iTrader: (3)

with one driver i would say try to cover as much ground during the night as possible. it might sound odd but consider this. most hotel/motel open ther rooms at 12 noon and you have to be out by 10 am. so what would be the point of driving all day then booking into a hotel at 1am and paying full fare and you still have to be out by 10am, bull**** if you ask me. you could get the room at noon and sleep while the wife and kids stretch their legs and expend some energy. plus the road is less congested during the night. also bring a good map thera are a lot of variables that could make you detour from you planned route.

avoid rt 301 in florida: there are several counties that collect%50 of there revenues from tickets. one of them was able to fund their entire police budget with last years ticket revenue.

97BlackMax

we just drove down to FLA from TN about 2 weeks ago, i know, not as long, but the relevant information i have to add is similar to DAREN's...if you're going on 75 or any route near the florida-georgia line, there are a few counties in their, Tifton County is one i believe, the minimum ticket fine is $700 ...and the AAA people told us they enforce the limit a lot...they would even pull you over for going like 2 over..but we didn't really have any problems...and if your route takes you through Virginia...don't use the radar detector there, because it's illegal in VA, and cops there have radar detector detectors...so if you get caught with a radar det. there, they pull you over, fine you, and take your radar detector...just my added stuff...have fun!

thebigsadler

iTrader: (4)

from Morristown New Jersey to Jacksonville Florida it takes me 13.5 hours with a stop in North Carolina and DC. Doing anywhere from 75-115.

Weasel

iTrader: (2)

So you've been through Waldo, I see. They'll nail you for 5 over. People come out of Waldo sounding like war veterans... "it was so fast, they came from everywhere... I didn't even have time to think!". It does help if you know where they hide the fake cop car...

http://plaza.ufl.edu/aragorn4/mytrip/fakecopfar.jpg
http://plaza.ufl.edu/aragorn4/mytrip/copzoom.jpg

DAREN

iTrader: (3)

i believe it is waldo and lawtey counties.

i did tampa to hartford in 18hrs via:
I-91s, I-95s, I-295s/New Jersey Tpke s, I-95s, I-495s/I-95s, I-4s

Anachronism

Thanks for the tips, Check/top off all fluids -- good idea. Tires have plenty of tread but I will check them for damage before I leave. Extra tire pressure is not worth it. CV joint boots are good, I checked them when I put my Y-pipe on . A map is a good idea even though I have covered the route many times as a truck driver, I just realized I can take parkways, they are off limits to trucks. Put gas in car when needle gets to E, good idea

I think I will be OK without a radar detector, I rarely drive over 75-80 on open highway unless the flow of traffic is going faster than that. The counties that generate revenue from speeding ticket -- Is that on the interstates too?

JoesMAX

iTrader: (2)

a radar detector is only good if there are a lot of cars around you.. the cop wont leave his radar on, and once the detector goes off he already shot you.. especially if its late at night because there arent many people on 95 during the night..
when i went we saw like 2 cops the whole way though so its not bad either way

DAREN

iTrader: (3)

rt 301 in florida is not an "interstate" highway, ala I-95 but it does go through several of the states in the southeast. the only way you will end up on 301 is when you get into florida and get off I-95s then hit I-10w then rt 301s/w to get I-75s that runs along the west half of florida all the way till Naples then heads due east across the everglades to ft. lauderdale/miami