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The 1500 Mile Trip

Shanesan

Shanesan

macrumors 6502
Original poster
Jul 29, 2006
485
319
So I'm going to take a 1500 mile trip from New England to Kansas. By Car. There and back. (3000 miles)

I'm going (with my Mac of course) across Pennsylvania, Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Missouri and into Kansas.

I have one place scheduled for sleep other than Kansas: Illinois.

The primary roads I'll be riding are: Route 70 & Route 71

Firstly:
What should I change, other than my oil, to prepare my car for this trip?

Secondly:
Has anyone took up a hotel off either of these routes? Was it worth the money for the service? How much did it cost?

You guys rock. :)
 
Shanesan said:
So I'm going to take a 1500 mile trip from New England to Kansas. By Car. There and back. (3000 miles)

I'm going (with my Mac of course) across Pennsylvania, Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Missouri and into Kansas.

I have one place scheduled for sleep other than Kansas: Illinois.

The primary roads I'll be riding are: Route 70 & Route 71

Firstly:
What should I change, other than my oil, to prepare my car for this trip?

Secondly:
Has anyone took up a hotel off either of these routes? Was it worth the money for the service? How much did it cost?

You guys rock. :)
Click to expand...



Aside from oil change/oil filter change, just mainly check the condition of your tyres, and any little niggles that you've been meaning to do, check them all out.

Check out all fluid levels (coolant etc) so at least if anything goes wrong you know it was ok before you left (if you get me)?
 
You can easily get a good deal on a hotel if you book online ahead of time. I don't know when you're going, but most side-of-the-highway hotels are cheaper on Fri/Sat than weeknights.

Other than that, don't speed too much in the first 20 miles or so of Indiana, your wallet will regret it.
 
MalcolmJID said:
Aside from oil change/oil filter change, just mainly check the condition of your tyres, and any little niggles that you've been meaning to do, check them all out.

Check out all fluid levels (coolant etc) so at least if anything goes wrong you know it was ok before you left (if you get me)?
Click to expand...

Also, make sure your tires have good pressure (check the placard, it should be somewhere around the driver's door), carry an emergency kit (flares/triangles, first aid kit, air compressor, tire goop), and check your spare as well, double check that it's mounting equipment isn't seized (hoo boy, that won't be fun. :rolleyes: ).
 
Food

Take lots of food. I hate the I-70 and try to avoid driving through large cities during traffic times. Depending on how much you want to spend, Super 8s aren't tooooo bad. I like the Hamptons. Most places have wireless internet these days.
 
If you're taking I-64 through St. Louis, or if you are going that way, be aware that there is a hell of a lot of construction on 64. Do your homework (ksdk.com, kmov.com, myfoxstl.com [Those are local stations in St. Louis}) before you try and go that way. Just a helpful hint.
 
zflauaus said:
If you're taking I-64 through St. Louis, or if you are going that way, be aware that there is a hell of a lot of construction on 64. Do your homework (ksdk.com, kmov.com, myfoxstl.com [Those are local stations in St. Louis}) before you try and go that way. Just a helpful hint.
Click to expand...


Ahhh, didn't even think of that. Highway 40 (dammit, thats what it's called and MoDOT will never get us locals to call it Interstate 64! :p) is a mess. But if you're coming in on 70, you shouldn't have as many problems.


What you may actually want to do is get onto I-270 in Illinois (just east of STL), take that into Missouri and then it will connect back to 70 a little later out in the suburbs. You'll bypass downtown and I-70 traffic (which can be a mess, especially if there's something like a Cardinals game going on downtown). It's probably shorter that way too. http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=...998,-90.174408&spn=0.41852,0.648193&z=11&om=1

If you do that, for the love of god, don't get out of your car while on 270. Make sure your stomach and tank are full, and your bladder is empty before getting onto 270....it doesn't pass through the safest of our neighborhoods :(
 
If you don't already have it i'd recommend you add some time of roadside protection on you cell phone. In case you need a jump, lockout service, or tire change, or tow to the nearest service station.
 
sushi said:
Clean your filters.

Check your fan belts. Replace any that are worn.

BTW, if your car requires unique fan belts, take spares in case one breaks.
Click to expand...

Most cars don't use actual fan belts anymore, as the fans are driven my electric motors. There still are belts though, timing (for the camshafts, imports things), and accessory (power steering, A/C, alternator) belts. Some are easier to get to than others. On my car, all I have to do to change the A/C and P/S belts is loosen the tensioners and slip them off. :D Gotta love longitudinally mounted engines.

bearbo said:
Get AAA if you haven't, you'll feel better that way.
Click to expand...

Absolutely, best $50 you'll spend (if you need it). Also, make yourself a TripTik on their website. Just use FireFox for it, it runs like molten ass on Safari.
 
Counterfit said:
Most cars don't use actual fan belts anymore, as the fans are driven my electric motors. There still are belts though, timing (for the camshafts, imports things), and accessory (power steering, A/C, alternator) belts.
Click to expand...
Yes, most cars have electric motors instead of fan belts these days. It's been this way since the 80's on some cars that I owned.

The correct term I should have used was accessory belts. But instead I used the more common term of fan belts which is still used in many places around the world for both types of belts.

No sure what kind of car the OP has. My point was that for some models it is not easy to find replacement belts -- especially in the midwest -- which could delay the OP on his trip. And it sounds like he is trying to preclude that from happening.

Remember PPPPPPP (The 7 P's!)
 
yg17 said:
Ahhh, didn't even think of that. Highway 40 (dammit, thats what it's called and MoDOT will never get us locals to call it Interstate 64! :p) is a mess. But if you're coming in on 70, you shouldn't have as many problems.
Click to expand...
As you can obviously tell, I'm on the Illinois side. Or the "ILL" side as Fox 2's Rob Desir says.:rolleyes:

What you may actually want to do is get onto I-270 in Illinois (just east of STL), take that into Missouri and then it will connect back to 70 a little later out in the suburbs.
Click to expand...
That works very well. If you go north, it cuts the trip shorter, but if you go south and go on Manchester Road, you can go to the Apple Store at West County Mall.:D
 
zflauaus said:
As you can obviously tell, I'm on the Illinois side. Or the "ILL" side as Fox 2's Rob Desir says.:rolleyes:


That works very well. If you go north, it cuts the trip shorter, but if you go south and go on Manchester Road, you can go to the Apple Store at West County Mall.:D
Click to expand...

yep, been there many times :D


Our Apple Stores suck though compared to some of the ones in NY and Chicago though. I think the one in the Galleria is even smaller than WestCo, but I've never been to that one.
 
Wow! Thanks guys!

Alright, let me try to summarize...

I don't trust tire goop. Crap ruined my tire before. :(

(? should be a checkmark...)

? Tire Pressure
- Flares
- Triangles
? Air Compressor
- Tire Pressure (Spare)
- Air/Oil Filters
- Oil
- Fan Belts
? AAA
? Check for seized spare mounting equipment
? Drive around Arkansas
- Bring Edibles
- Avoid Columbus, OH / Indianapolis, IN / St. Louis, MS during rush hour
- Highway 40 is a no-no.

Whew! Anything I missed? Thanks a lot guys. :)

Oh right, and Kansas because I know some people down there and haven't seen them in ages (and I'm jobless at the moment, so I might just get lucky with something in a city, but I'm not holding my breath).
 
Shanesan said:
- Highway 40 is a no-no.
Click to expand...

Don't worry about it. You won't even go on 40/I-64 if you do go through STL. But I strongly recommend getting on 270 and bypassing downtown STL. You might miss some pretty sights like the Arch and riverfront, but you'll also miss traffic, construction and our abundance of soccer moms who yap away on their cell phones while driving their H2.
 
yg17 said:
Don't worry about it. You won't even go on 40/I-64 if you do go through STL. But I strongly recommend getting on 270 and bypassing downtown STL. You might miss some pretty sights like the Arch and riverfront, but you'll also miss traffic, construction and our abundance of soccer moms who yap away on their cell phones while driving their H2.
Click to expand...

Nothing I hate more than soccer moms. Around here they use mini-vans. I guess their a little more lucrative with their money in STL.

Edit: And yes, bouncing right up and over STL.

picture1ew0.png


That look like a good idea, or is my software sending me to hell and back?
 
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