Roadtrip Prep

[dfrazz]

Heading out soon on a 271 mile roadtrip from Denver to Creede, CO for their annual car show. To me, the drive is the fun part and to make it more enjoyable I try to prep the car and pack tools/supplies for issues that may come up along the way. Besides a AAA card and cell phone, what you do in preparation for a roadtrip?

 

[Belvedere408]

I just did a 300 mile trip last weekend. I've got a tool bag in my trunk with wrenches, little bit of wiring and connectors. I always bring some oil and water. I carry an extra ballast resistor and an ECU also. Fire extinguisher.

 

[Nxcoupe]

Heading out soon on a 271 mile roadtrip from Denver to Creede, CO for their annual car show. To me, the drive is the fun part and to make it more enjoyable I try to prep the car and pack tools/supplies for issues that may come up along the way. Besides a AAA card and cell phone, what you do in preparation for a roadtrip?

View attachment 1911989

Nut and bolt check. Fluid check. Brake check. Torque lug nuts. Secure hub caps. Check belts. Tire pressures. Exhaust hangers. U joints. Clean slate, ready to rock and have a fun, uneventful trip, 95% of the time.

 

[493 Mike]

Top off fuel tank and go. I keep my vehicles maintained on a regular basis.
Mike

 

[fine69]

I give my car a little rub on the dash and give her a few words of encouragement…. then hope for the best!

 

[OKDart]

I took my Charger there 21 years ago (1st pic Cobra car show in Creede, 2nd pic is from road through Spanish Peaks from La Veta to Trinidad). My car was mechanically restored, but wiring, etc was still original. I was on the side of the highway during that trip. Turns out I had the alternator harness routed between the RPM heads and the distributor cap. Somewhere between Del Norte and South Fork it shorted and burned the wire from the alt through the bulkhead connector and back to the starter relay, smoke everywhere! Luckily I brought a big enough wiring kit to tear out the burnt wiring and put in a temp solution. Had to go to back to Del Norte for an alternator at Napa.
I think things would be different 21 years later, not as many parts for our cars at the parts stores as back then. I believe the parts you could get back then were more reliable too. In addition to things listed in the above posts, I'd bring tools/parts to bypass things that might fail. Example: Hole in a brake line or radiator tube? Use needle nose vice grips to bend it over itself and clamp it off.
When my car caught fire, I had the battery cable clamps loose enough to remove quickly by hand, otherwise my car could've burned to the ground. Which brings us to having a fire extinguisher.

 

[SlingLow]

SNACKS!

And water. Ya gotta stay hydrated.

 

[ckessel]

Tools, oil, water, fuel filter, jack, gloves, moving blanket to flop on if you have to play in the dirt or large piece of cardboard for same, v-belts or their sleeves for quick sourcing if needed, fire extinguisher, flashlight.