Preparing for a roadtrip

You should be in good shape. Your right it's just like any other car, make sure the oil and other fluids are at the correct level, make sure you got a clean air filter and your tires are at the proper pressure and you should be good to go. We drove our 05 Prius from Pa. to Ca. and back no problems and during the winter go back and forth to Fl. quite a few times with our 10 Prius, it's a great car for trips.

 

Did you say non-stop for 37 hours? By yourself? That's insane. The car will be fine - it's you I'd be worried about.

 

I was young and foolish myself not that long ago, but you asked for advice, so...travelling in the car without a seatbelt is *really* not a good idea, and may get you a big fine.

A third driver could help defray the costs, and make a big difference to the shifts. Stock up on energy drinks, take a huge thermos for coffee, and a big pile of caffeine pills. You'll need them to stay awake for the 48 hours you're in Florida, not just the return trip.

Any chance you could meet your relatives half way? Maybe invite them to your house? Take the train?

 

and tunes... you need good driving tunes. Some may also go for audio books but I think those are more for solo driving... so..
TUNES.

 

Sleeping in the back..you should know that you will not get the proper sleep that you will need. While your driving...your going to get tired. Be aware of this..don't allow yourself to fall asleep.

Be careful........give us a full report on your trip....!!!

 

Mythbusters demonstrated that it's more dangerous driving tired than driving drunk...my, how much we digress.

 

I'm assuming you'll be taking I-10 through Texas which is nearly 1,000 miles alone! If so from just east of El Paso to nearly San Antonio, it has an 80mph speed limit baby. Tell us what MPG you get through there. Also along that stretch, cell phone service can be spotty or weak so forget about data intensive apps like google maps and such; they'll time out.

In the motorcycle world, it's suggested to do major service/maintenance about a month out from leaving. That way if a problem occurs during the service or something else is discovered you'll have time to rectify (part needed is NEVER in stock, etc).

 

- Check the windshield wipers and replace if needed.
- If you are traveling to a cold area, buy windshield washer fluid rated to 0 degrees F, and use that to fill your fluid reservoir. Bring along some extra fluid if you think you'll need it.

Enjoy your vacation, it's great to log 50 mpg on those long trips!

 

Sounds like you could go 100,000 miles no problem.

I would change the windshield wipers and apply Rainex to the front and back windshield. Crazy weather everywhere right now.

I have my tires at same pressure too but I would lower the tire pressure a little for this trip.
Non stop driving tends to heat the tires up real good and excessive pressure is a needless worry. Drive for 6 hours and feel the tires right after you pull off. See how hot there getting. I'm just scared of sidewall blow outs at 80 miles an hour. Been there.

Rolling down I-75 years ago I was asleep in the front pass seat wife was driving I wake up to her frantic high pitched screaming and the car shaking violently and swerving side to side. All she could do to hold the wheel.
Front tire sidewall blow out. After we got out I felt the other tires and they were all hot as hell. Florida highways are hot as hell midday and really hard on tires. Keep an eye on them.

Good Luck.

 

I recommend that the OP keep the tire pressure as-is, at 42/40 psi. Use of a higher inflation pressure means the tire sidewalls will flex less, which will result in less heating of the tires as the car is being driven.

 

One other thing, you mentioned getting new tires. Did you get alignment checked and corrected at the same time? An alignment problem undetected before the trip could mess up those brand new tires by the time you reach your destination. I know because I did a cross country trip on brand new tires in my Odyssey. Ruined them.

Also be very sure that the balance feels good, check it on smooth pavement up to the highest speeds you might hit on the trip. Often new tires aren't balanced perfectly on the first try (100% fail in my case, out of 3 separate new sets on 3 cars) and it's hard to detect below 60-70mph.

Enjoy the drive!

- D

 

Yeah just take like 5 lbs out. There's not many tires out there that 40 psi isn't past max pressure. At say 38 lbs you should not have any sidewall flex as I bet thats the max pressure recommended on the side of the tire. I'm just saying don't exceed tire manufacturer recommended tire pressure on a bonzai road trip driving 80 all day. Its a needless danger as the mpg savings will be like $10 for the entire trip.

And btw, temp is expected to go to 35 F tonight. We are having a lovely cold spell. The days are just perfect sunny 65 and warm with very cold (to us) nights. Perfect time to come on down!!

 

For the naysayers on the long drive time, I have done that type of vacation driving and got to thinking if I was being dangerous or if I was an OTR type truck driver, would it be illegal. Turns out that the studies show that if you do it as a one shot thing, you aren't being excessively dangerous. It would also be legal for a long haul driver. Where you get in trouble is when you do it weeks on time and that's also where the law kicks in for truck drivers.

 

Maximum pressure rating on the tire sidewalls is for when the tires are at ambient temperature. Don't sweat temperature rise while running at higher pressures.

A long trip in hot weather is the last place you should reduce tire pressure because running hot damages tires and the lower the pressure the hotter the tire runs.

 

Being a retired truck driver...it would be excessive for anyone who does not drive at long stretches at a time. They just are not use to that long behind the wheel. Truck drivers must log their hours behind the wheel, they can only spend 10 hours behind the wheel, then must take 8 hours off. Granted..if anyone whats to spend 23 hours behind the wheel driving their car or RV, they can.....it's their life and the life of others that they are playing with.