Prepared for a 8,000 road trip

[CuTeBoi]

Rented a Uhaul Sports trailer for 4 weeks one way from Fremont, CA to San Antonio, TX.

I'll be making my trip in this manner:


From Norcal to Texas as fast as legally possible with a trailer, unload my personal stuff into a storage unit. Then head north to Lincoln, IL, pick up my son, drive to Glasgow, KY, say hi to grandparents, stay for 3 nights. Drive down to Miami and see if we can spot the oil slick.... or not. I'll stay 2 nights in Miami and visit my company's satellite office there. Head back north to New York, stay there another 2 or 3 nights and visit another satellite office there.

Then the trip gets interesting. I head back to Lincoln IL, spend a week there, then head back down to my Final Destination in San Antonio Texas. I have 3 weeks paid vacation, so I might as well make the best of it. The Thule roof rack, the Hidden Hitch trailer hitch, the Uhaul Ball, the Uhaul Sports Trailer, 24x hour road side assistance from uhaul and my insurance carrier. I have a Logitech 9000 series webcam mounted on the roof rack to watch the trailer, an Auto Engineuity OBD2 scanner and a USB light connected to my laptop.


Carrying a better than stock jack to change a spare quickly.
two full size spare tires (with stock style rims, roof mounted and one in the trailer)


I have a complete first aid kit (as far as I have been able to make it):

Gauss
Cotton balls
Alcohol (rubbing)
NeoSpray (neosporin in a spray bottle)
Liquid bandaids
Sewing kit
Assorted bandaids, in all sizes
Neosporin cream
Iodine
Aspirin
Tylenol
Pseudoephedrine hydrochloride
Loratadine
Ibuprofen
Razor Blades (for carpets but I can clean them with alcohol)
Cell phone from back in the day (tested it out this weekend, still powers on and holds charge)
Cell charger
4 lighters with fluid in 2 different flame sizes (Never know when I may need to make a fire?)
Toilet Paper (can't be without this anywhere)


Hoping I'm pretty complete in the FirstAid portion of things. But I am also carrying a harpoon and machete from walmart, I was thinking of getting a mossberg emergency travel kit, but decided it may conflict with too many laws while i'm traveling through so many states... The harpoon isn't meant for anything really, I'm relocating, and for some reason I just happen to own one.

The obd2 scanner will help me keep and eye on engine health while on this trip. I may be doing 2 oil changes on the road at any of the many jiffy lube locations... webcam will be monitoring the trailer for some tricky maneuvers while at gas stations of while parking at the many motel/hotel locations on the road. The first aid kit would be good to help someone else while on the road in case I see an accident that I can help with (I've helped a person change a tire when I saw the driver helpless as to how to change a tire, made 40$)

Any ideas on what I should pick up before I leave tomorrow afternoon? or am I well prepared now for a +8k road trip?

[manxman]

Highway flares. Otherwise, you seem to be ready to go to the moon.:cool:

[EXWRX]

I'd add a quart or 2 of oil to your list, plus some duct tape and bailing wire, but otherwise it seems like a pretty complete list.

[manxman]

Anthony,

I first met you at the very first S.F. Bay Area Fit Meet in March of '07 at the San Luis Reservoir on I-5 & Hwy. 152. The only other Fit owner there, besides you and me, was Bap. Here is my point------ every single Fit Meet since then that you attended, your tires were completely worn out.

You've got decent tires for this trip, right?????

[sooznd]

CuTeBoi
good luck on your trip!

Tell us how the road trip it goes--
I will be going on a 4500 - 5000 mile trip in September from Colorado to Delaware & NJ shore then to Maryland/DC area & to upstate NY for a wedding--return to Maryland & then back to home to Colorado.

[manxman]

If your life is in danger, who cares if a Mossberg shotgun is illegal? Carry a Glock 18 instead. As policemen tell each other in private, "It's better to be judged by 12 than to be carried by six". Gook luck on the trip, Tony!

[EXWRX]

Drive safely.

[CuTeBoi]

oh em gee, I don't have road flares, I have my cell phone with a flashing app. I have 2 rolls of duct tape.

I have brand new TOyo proxe tires on my setup AND on my spares. I've hated my worn out tires, but was cramming to pay off a lot of debt in a very short amount of time. I wouldn't even consider this trip without the new tires.

I'll be buying a mossberg 500 in TX, I like the look and feel of it in my arms. I'll get one either way. I carry a machete in case I need something, but i know what people say "Who brings a knife to a gun fight"... I just hope there is no gun involved.

I have a pack of zipties to help out in what duct tape can't hold together at first.

[CuTeBoi]

http://legendro.net/~anthony/images/fitfreak/2010-06-22_vacation/DSC_0022.jpg

http://legendro.net/~anthony/images/fitfreak/2010-06-22_vacation/DSC_0023.jpg

http://legendro.net/~anthony/images/fitfreak/2010-06-22_vacation/DSC_0025.jpg

http://legendro.net/~anthony/images/fitfreak/2010-06-22_vacation/DSC_0026.jpg

[CuTeBoi]

Ideas? and yes those bags are tied like 4 times to different bars. the bars are held together with muffler rings. I can't budge it at all, and i've rocked the car a bit. had a backup camera connected, but removed it when I made the signal wire too long, and I was getting bad signals from my webcam.... (USB doesn't like to go far). I'll get an extender while in San Antonio I hope, so I can have rear view abilities.

[sooznd]

Awesome packing job !--how about going for a test ride on your local interstate to see how things hold? that is a cool trailer from Uhaul--never seen one like that--how much do they charge to rent it?

Is there reflective tape on back of the trailer? If not--I 'd add some.
Have you weighed it with everything loaded?

[manxman]

oh em gee, I don't have road flares, I have my cell phone with a flashing app. I have 2 rolls of duct tape.

I have brand new TOyo proxe tires on my setup AND on my spares. I've hated my worn out tires, but was cramming to pay off a lot of debt in a very short amount of time. I wouldn't even consider this trip without the new tires.

I'll be buying a mossberg 500 in TX, I like the look and feel of it in my arms. I'll get one either way. I carry a machete in case I need something, but i know what people say "Who brings a knife to a gun fight"... I just hope there is no gun involved.

I have a pack of zipties to help out in what duct tape can't hold together at first.
I was teasing about the tires, and the Glock 18. You have been so careful about the trailer, even buying trailer insurance, I knew that you weren't going to take any risks with less than new tires. And we can't buy Glock 18's- Law Enforcement & military only. I suggest 00 ammo for the Mossberg. Each one has nine .30 cal. pellets (called "buckshot" for the reason that they are meant to kill 150-200# deer).

It's harder to miss with a shotgun than it is with rifle or pistol (or machine-pistol). I obviously hope that you don't need a gun, but I consider it better to have one and not need it than the other way around. You'll have plenty of armed company in Texas, at least.

Be careful!

[CuTeBoi]

Got some nice photos... got some inside shots of the car in action. ANd yes, I did test drive the trailer on the I880 before even saying yes to going on this trip with the trailer. I was originally thinking of just leaving a load here, and come back for it in the christmas when I decided to buy a truck. Cali has cheap trucks, and I'd come back for one at some point.

And I was going to point out after having slept on it that I would prefer a shotty over a pistol because I wouldn't miss. I'm not going to try and kill someone, and the time it takes me to fire a second round, the guy I'm sure is already down. Timing is important, and I rather be alive than try and aim and hope I don't miss on the first shot...

[CuTeBoi]

Awesome, my trip ended, had a single oil change the car requested me to do.

The oil change was done after 5,000 miles, because the oil was clean still at 4,000 miles and this was inspected by Jiffy Lube and they said it was good to go, even if it was beyond the 3,000 miles they normally say I should do it.

I'm glad I made it alive. I ran out of gas in new mexico where there was a span of 90 miles without service, and my car had only 120 mile range during the uphill battles I had to deal with. Glad I had roadside assistance and glad I only had to pay 6$ for the gas.

I took way too many photos, but sadly my laptop didn't make the trip and is en-route to Dell small business (Way better support than consumer dell services).

[claymore]

Ha, the Fit works better than a Dell that is good news. glad you made it back in one piece.

[manxman]

Ha, the Fit works better than a Dell that is good news. glad you made it back in one piece.
I think he said that he will be in Texas for quite a while. Won't be back in California until November.

[CuTeBoi]

The road trip consisted of me moving from California, Illinois, and Kentucky to Texas.

Fremont/San Francisco, CA to Texas... then straight to Lincoln, IL and back to Texas for the second payload. Then to Glasgow, KY and final payload delivered on the 10th of July to San Antonio, TX.

Took me 3 weeks, but I got all my stuff from Illinois since I originally was going to move there if things didn't pan out with the company I'm employed with. But I've been given a promotion, and an allowance to move to San Antonio TX. I'm done, settling in at a residential hotel for a bit before I look at homes to rent before I buy at the end of the year.

The dell is 3x older than the car, and it's used as hard as my car (it's for programming, testing and load testing software in linux on a windows system for a game I've been working on). I'm glad the dell made it as far as Illinois, but it did its job, it's getting replaced as it's under a 5 year warranty with Dell, and I'm happy with Dell Small Business department.

-Tony

[sooznd]

Glad you made it to Texas safely. How did the Fit do pulling the Uhaul? What kind of mileage did you get?

[CuTeBoi]

Fully loaded, and at max, I was getting 12mpg at 65mph, this was 5mph lower than the speed limit in every other state.

Going at 55mph, which I did for the Illinois and Kentucky portions, was about 20mpg. This is the same MPG that you get in a truck, but I own my car, and the rest of the year I get about 30mpg. I feel good about how well the car did on the mpg's as I was able to accelerate to a comfortable speed faster than a big rig.

Unloaded, I noticed no difference in mileage, the uhaul empty and the car empty seems the same as driving without it.

Considering the cost of fuel, I did well.

[mav238]

Fully loaded, and at max, I was getting 12mpg at 65mph, this was 5mph lower than the speed limit in every other state.

Going at 55mph, which I did for the Illinois and Kentucky portions, was about 20mpg. This is the same MPG that you get in a truck, but I own my car, and the rest of the year I get about 30mpg. I feel good about how well the car did on the mpg's as I was able to accelerate to a comfortable speed faster than a big rig.

Unloaded, I noticed no difference in mileage, the uhaul empty and the car empty seems the same as driving without it.

Considering the cost of fuel, I did well.


12 mpg!??!??! wow... good to know, the next time I ferry some stuff, not to use the Fit. When I did the 3200 mile trip from Boston to Seattle, my Acura RDX trunk was fully loaded, and the RDX is much heavier than the Fit to start with. The overall mpg was ~ 20 mpg, driving at 75 mph on I-90W.

This kind of shows the Fit is just not meant for heavy task as this.

[CuTeBoi]

Consider the cost of an RDX vs the Fit, I paid for the 12MPG for 3 weeks, after that, I get better MPGs than the RDX, and it's MUCH cheaper than an RDX by at least 2x

The fit isn't designed for it, but it does the job, and I saved a lot of money over getting a truck rental, paying for the rental, insurance, and the added overhead of the vehicle not being mine and not knowing if it will fall apart along the trip.

You say you get better MPG, but I disagree. Overall I still win because after this trip, I maintain the great MPGs.