Traveling with high mileage vehicles

[dishdude]

I think the biggest challenge with road trips are poorly maintained cars. People set out on a road trip with

• Bald or underinflated tires
• Low a quart or two of oil
• Low on coolant
• Brakes at 2/32
• Play in front end components
• Other things an under hood visual inspection would reveal like an old battery, cracked belts, hoses.

Sounds like you have all that stuff sorted and have a vehicle with a history of reliability and good service.

 

[Japanese]

Just want to see what others do, Am I too paranoid ?

I have a friend like that. He owns three reliable vehicles always serviced on time and he's always anxious when need to drive to the a neighboring state or longer distance.

If the vehicle doesn't have any leaks you'll be perfectly fine.
Take all that you think is necessary.
I'll take for sure a couple of quarts motor oil (the same as in currently), a jug of coolant, tire compressor, tool set, zip ties, bundgy cords.

I remember one time I was preparing to drive Chicago - Denver with two friends of mine on motorcycles. The plan was to get all their baggage in my car and drive along.
I canceled the trip because I needed to take care of another friend in a hospital. The same week those guys hit the road to Colorado my alternator failed. It was one day after I finished work. So, if at that moment I was with them on the highway to Denver I would be screwed.

 

[4WD]

I always try to do my maintenance preventatively as much as I possibly can so that I don't have this kind of existential worry. I'm constantly working on my vehicle to-do list and reviewing my maintenance logs. I'm probably a little obsessive about it quite honestly. With a wife on the road 5 days a week (metro only) and two college age kids not far away, plus my own transportation needs, we all take the reliability factor seriously. Plus I really don't have any true buds close by to rescue me in a breakdown situation: that's a call to family. I know exactly when I've I last drained and filled the coolant and tranny fluid on every car, done the oil changes, swapped out an alternator, changed the belt, etc. As a result, I haven't used a tow service since I was a teenager and I'm in my mid 50s now. Maybe I'm just lucky, but I'm not big on deferring maintenance. I'm not a trained mechanic by any means, I just read a lot, understand mechanical things, take *a lot* of notes, and watch YouTube, read forums like this, and 30+ years of experience helps a little too.

On top of that, every car has a milk crate in the trunk with wiper fluid, qt of engine oil, qt of tranny fluid, and a roll of blue paper towels, as well as a small tool box with metric wrenches, screwdrivers, various pliers, and other very basic hand tools. Nothing extraordinary; takes up very little space. More often than not, these tools are used to help other people on the road or over at friend's houses.

The only thing that's missing is some knowledge. I've never been able to get my kids interested in car maintenance. I presume that will change over time somehow.

I don't remember having my wife ever a question my parts or fluids purchases/timing in our marriage. She knows I just take care of stuff and she doesn't have to worry about it. Plus I just hate getting financially raped by shops like Midas or Car-X when I'm on a trip. 200% markup on parts plus almost $200 an hour labor. No thank you! Few things piss me off more.

All of my cars are either 1,000 mile road trip worthy all the time...or...they get parked until they are roadworthy, sold, or donated.

If all this prep work fails, I've got a cell phone.

Low on ink

 

[CR94]

248k isn't high mileage in a maintained vehicle.

After the odometer of my Mazda (listed below) had passed 600k miles, I took it on a trip from South Carolina to Little Rock, then another trip to western Kentucky without any breakdowns.

 

[TomYoung]

The stuff you think will be a problem, won't, and vice versa.

My wife drove my kid from Maine to Buffalo NY in a 275k mile Prius with bladder-shaking snow tires in January and it all worked out perfectly.

Don't do any elective maintenance during the week just before you leave. Sometimes stuff just goes screwy like that.

Why would you not do elective maintenance? Wait, what is elective maintenance?

 

[Bubblewhale]

I moved from Seattle to LA and hit 250K on my 05 Camry a few months ago. Always had preventative maintenance with 5K OCI, and did the whole front end suspension back in January.

Sold off all my tools/spare parts, so really anything I had was in my small tool bag which didn't contain more than a socket set and a couple screwdrivers. I feel as long you do the proper maintenance, and know the history then it's not bad. I did filters, spark plugs, brake fluid, coolant, P/S, oil change before I left as well.

I'd given rides to friends who didn't believe that my car had 250K miles as it drove like it had far fewer.

 

[Dborch41]

Why would you not do elective maintenance? Wait, what is elective maintenance?

My guess would be something that isn't necessary for the vehicle's normal operation, like an audio upgrade, performance mod or any other "bolt-on" stuff. I agree it's probably a wise idea to leave well enough alone in that regard before a long trip.

 

[TomYoung]

My guess would be something that isn't necessary for the vehicle's normal operation, like an audio upgrade, performance mod or any other "bolt-on" stuff. I agree it's probably a wise idea to leave well enough alone in that regard before a long trip.

So the advice is not to install curb feelers until after the trip. Well, okay, I suppose.

 

[Number_35]

Jr and family are out west in our old Grand Caravan, which was at 271K km (168K miles) when they left.

I did brakes all around and bought new tires two years ago, all of which are still good.

The front end is good - I replaced both tie-rod ends around three years ago, and have checked and set the toe-in a couple of times since then.

I replaced the lower intake-manifold gaskets last summer.

Spark plugs too, about a year ago.

In March I replaced the water pump, idler, tensioner, and serpentine belt.

Oil and filter, and transmission drain and fill in April.

Just before they left I replaced the EGR valve.

A few weeks ago I lowered the spare tire, aired it up to the rated 60 PSI, and lubed the winch mechanism.

Sent them off with oil, spare headlight bulbs, spare taillight bulbs, a tire plug kit, and the ScanGauge.

So far, so good at the halfway point (Vancouver).

 

[wlk]

I have an Ultragauge in my old Focus https://ultra-gauge.com/ultragauge/...n8AawGiyFDvsPdRt8R3RB8hO3C8kOL4BJiTqaWvtMDpUz
You can see the real time sensor outputs so you don't get surprised by an issue as you can also set alarms for whatever value you like. I set high and low voltage alarms, so you can see a beginning to fail alternator long before you battery is dead. You can watch the real temperature, check pending and existing trouble codes and clear them.
I caught a slow leak of coolant, with the temp only rising to 220F(it never normally gets above 215F), and I've had alternator problems, so I've got the alarm set at 13v, so you know right away when the alternator has quit charging, with lot and lots of battery charge left to drive for 45 minutes(with all the extra electrics off), or stop and diagnose what's going on.
Also on some cars you can see fuel pressure, so you can hopefully see when a fuel pump is beginning to act up long before total failure. They also have a version that can read manufacturer specific data like trans temps.
I think its a great gadget to have actual functional gauges for the important stuff especially on an older vehicle.

Yeah I forgot, having a scanner on a trip is also a must. Having yours in real-time sounds nice.

 

[Cruisin'n5thgear]

If you're concerned about reliability and prepare for breakdowns, likely you'll also listen up for initial indications of impending mechanical issues. Mechanical empathy means that you're likely to take care of any issues before they strand you on the side of the road.

 

[ecotourist]

I keep the old one also. A defect in the belt may not show up right away but still be a defect. "infant mortality" - somber name I know. Same as any manufactured part - likely fail early in its expected life or not until its pretty much worn out.

View attachment 296861

New stuff can fail. In the spring and summer of 1967 I worked in a northern minefield construction camp. The road going up there was terrible and there was very little traffic. One day we discussed what sort of vehicle we would take to drive in or drive out in the dead of winter. Having a breakdown on that road on a cold or stormy winter day could be fatal. We all agreed it would not be a new car (meaning anything less than 1 year old).

New stuff is more reliable now. But the 6 speed manual transmission on my brand new 2007 Honda Accord failed the first week (popping out of first or second gear on any deceleration while in gear). The shop foreman at the Honda dealer said "That's a very reliable transmission. That never happens". But it did.

 

[Gasbuggy]

My top three worries for that truck would be

Fuel Pump
Fuel line/brake line
Alternator

 

[The Critic]

For the $50 or so bucks a day for a rental, is it even worth the risk?

 

[Gasbuggy]

For the $50 or so bucks a day for a rental, is it even worth the risk?

Very good point, though I'm sure it would cost him a lot more if he needs the Tahoe size.

 

[Cruisin'n5thgear]

Used a scangauge in my Miata in the high 100,000s and into mid 200,000 miles. It's a great tool and helped me monitor several issues. The temperature gauge in most modern vehicles are not sensitive from 180 to 230 degrees, watching for normal variations helps catch a problem before it gets worse.

 

[D1dad]

I had a ford windstar that we bought new when the kids were little. Going through the smokies on the way to Florida, I blew a trans seal on the torque converter and sprayed fluid on a bmw behind me. This was well maintained and only had 68k on it. I rented a car from enterprise and an honest shop put a new seal in it for $500 and I picked it up on the way back. I’ll run my cars for a 100k plus, but like my wife to be in an under warranty car. We both work for the same company and often will do 2-3k a month. Me waiting for AAA is of no concern.

 

[Cruisin'n5thgear]

I had a ford windstar that we bought new when the kids were little. Going through the smokies on the way to Florida, I blew a trans seal on the torque converter and sprayed fluid on a bmw behind me. This was well maintained and only had 68k on it. I rented a car from enterprise and an honest shop put a new seal in it for $500 and I picked it up on the way back. I’ll run my cars for a 100k plus, but like my wife to be in an under warranty car. We both work for the same company and often will do 2-3k a month. Me waiting for AAA is of no concern.

Recently got AAA coverage before a long trip. Came in handy when the brake booster went out on our 2022 Yukon. Speaking of vehicle reliability, both breakdowns/tows that we've needed in the last 15 years have been in the first three years of ownership for the new Yukon. Well-broken in vehicles can be more reliable than new, even today.

 

[Number_35]

Recently got AAA coverage before a long trip. Came in handy when the brake booster went out on our 2022 Yukon. Speaking of vehicle reliability, both breakdowns/tows that we've needed in the last 15 years have been in the first three years of ownership for the new Yukon. Well-broken in vehicles can be more reliable than new, even today.

Interesting - it appears the Bathtub Curve (time on the horizontal axis, failures on the vertical axis) applies to more than semiconductors.

 

[Cruisin'n5thgear]

Interesting - it appears the Bathtub Curve (time on the horizontal axis, failures on the vertical axis) applies to more than semiconductors.

Absolutely correct. Not hating on the modern electronics-heavy vehicle as it's very nice on long road trips, but added complexity does create more failure points. This is the only vehicle that I've purchased an extended warranty on, and after the first repair out of warranty, it has paid off.

It's a full size GM product with a small block V8, so OEM and aftermarket support will continue ad infinitum, as evidenced by every single previous generation of GM full size truck and SUV. "The sky is falling" if you read some of the posters on the GM facebook pages, but I'm not worried. Looking to get 200k plus out of this purchase.