America - coast to coast road trip - anyone done one?
Discussion
Hello,
I'm looking in to doing a coast to coast road trip across America, maybe in summer.
Has anyone done one of these or have any experience?
I'm just at early stages of looking, and wondering if it is better to simply hire the car (ideally a Mustang or Corvette) or go through a road trip tour company?
I'm looking in to doing a coast to coast road trip across America, maybe in summer.
Has anyone done one of these or have any experience?
I'm just at early stages of looking, and wondering if it is better to simply hire the car (ideally a Mustang or Corvette) or go through a road trip tour company?
I did route 66 (with detour to Vegas and couple of other places) and hired a dodge challenger then just stopped a motels/hotels along the way. Only pre booked the hotel in Chicago and just found places each night. It was good fun and i might be stating the obvious but don't under estimate the distances. 3 of us shared the driving and it was still tiring.
Having had a quick look this eve Route 66 does seem to be a good choice - fly to Chicago and then road trip to LA via Las Vegas.
Where did you hire the car from? At the moment I reckon it would be sensible to hire something normal from Chicago to Las Vegas, then get something more exciting there for the last bit of the trip.
How long did it take you? I'm thinking of doing it over a month, finances depending!
Where did you hire the car from? At the moment I reckon it would be sensible to hire something normal from Chicago to Las Vegas, then get something more exciting there for the last bit of the trip.
How long did it take you? I'm thinking of doing it over a month, finances depending!
Not done C2C but have done several loops around the US. New England from Boston up and Maine and Canada then back down through NY state and New Hampshire, good but expensive and hard to find hotels without pre booking. Houston then a big loop around New Mexico, Arizona, Texas, Utah, Colorado, absolutely brilliant, loads of National Parks. San Fran and then Yosemite, Arizona, Colorado, Montana, Wyoming, Yellowstone, Utah, Vegas and Los Angeles, brilliant. San Fran --> San Diego --> Las Vegas --> San Fran, great drive and San Diego can be fun. Seattle --> San Francisco along the coast, utterly stunning. This year we are doing, Seattle --> Glacier Lakes --> Yellowstone --> Utah --> Arizona --> Grand Canyon --> Vegas --> Death Valley --> Yosemite --> San Fran, 17 days. As said above, get the biggest SUV you can, you will get caught speeding, pre book hotels if you want to stay close to any attractions such as NP's, carry plenty of water and food if you plan on crossing some remote areas. Take a good road atlas so you can explore. Personally I would avoid C2C as there is a lot of nothing in the middle.
I have done maybe 50 road trips, only two states to do, doing these in June. Did New York to la via Nashville and Yellowstone! 5000 miles in a ss convertable ,no problem. Another year did Texas to California in one day 1400 miles again in a ss, got to Palm Springs ready for dinner, fresh as daisy. This summer taking my German tepee doing a mix of camping and hotels like last summer. National parks and forests for the camping, no commercial sites.
ReaperCushions said:
Honestly.. Avoid the muscle cars for that distance, they will become tiresome. Go for the biggest SUV you can afford.
I've done 2,700 miles in three weeks in a Challenger R/T & a couple of similar trips in Mustangs & never found them "tiresome". Just the opposite, in fact - find a twisty road & you'll be glad you're not driving a wobbly old SUV!ollyh1988 said:
Having had a quick look this eve Route 66 does seem to be a good choice - fly to Chicago and then road trip to LA via Las Vegas.
Where did you hire the car from? At the moment I reckon it would be sensible to hire something normal from Chicago to Las Vegas, then get something more exciting there for the last bit of the trip.
How long did it take you? I'm thinking of doing it over a month, finances depending!
We booked the car via trailfinders and i think it was Avis where we picked it up from in Chicago. We took 3 weeks and ended up covering 3800 miles. As someone else said there is a lot of nothing in the 'middle' so we liked the idea of having no fixed agenda/booked hotels etc as we could just keep driving if somewhere didn't appeal to us much. A month would be a more relaxing pace. If you are willing to spend nights in cheap motels then it doesn't have to cost a fortune.Where did you hire the car from? At the moment I reckon it would be sensible to hire something normal from Chicago to Las Vegas, then get something more exciting there for the last bit of the trip.
How long did it take you? I'm thinking of doing it over a month, finances depending!
ReaperCushions said:
Honestly.. Avoid the muscle cars for that distance, they will become tiresome. Go for the biggest SUV you can afford.
Oh.. And do a post with loads of pictures as well!
Hehe I drove from the north to the south of Texas a couple of years back (about 12 hours each way, although I made several overnight stops on the way down). I initially hired a hateful little Chevy hatchback with a buggered gearbox/torque converter which actually left me stranded at the side of a foreign motorway (I35 south of Dallas) when it couldn't find a gear. After being towed back to the lot the manager apologised profusely and offered me anything he had on his lot, decision was between several big American saloons (a fat mondeo or an Impala), a V6 Mustang auto, which seemed no fun at all, and a big Chevorelet Silverado pickup. I decided, when in Rome, & went for the big ass truck! It was a right hoot, even drove it down on to the beach near Corpus Christi since that seemed to be what the locals where doing. Oh.. And do a post with loads of pictures as well!
Would definetly recommend a big SUV/Pickup on American roads, remember their larger pickups are built like luxury SUVs unlike the utilitarian options we get here. Also if you do end up in southern Texas I strongly recommend Padre Island, it's lovely, especially in 40C summer heat!
Here is a guide I have been writing for Route 66 if it helps...there is a sub section for each state..
http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?t=140...
I need to update it for California which I have just done, but the individual thread for CA is here:.
http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?t=164...
http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?t=140...
I need to update it for California which I have just done, but the individual thread for CA is here:.
http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?t=164...
A C2C trip would be great providing you have the time to see everything along the way which is impossible.
I would much rather reduce the size of the trip and have the time to see everything in a smaller route.
Personally I would recommend California, specifically the PCH, Yosemite and Death Valley. If you would like like to fit in a few Cities/Towns, San Fran and Santa Monica are among my favs.
We did part of Route 66 out in Arizona on our way to the south rim of the Grand Canyon and I found it pretty un-interesting. I'm glad we did it but I wouldn't be rushing back in that direction.
I would much rather reduce the size of the trip and have the time to see everything in a smaller route.
Personally I would recommend California, specifically the PCH, Yosemite and Death Valley. If you would like like to fit in a few Cities/Towns, San Fran and Santa Monica are among my favs.
We did part of Route 66 out in Arizona on our way to the south rim of the Grand Canyon and I found it pretty un-interesting. I'm glad we did it but I wouldn't be rushing back in that direction.
Edited by Chris4410 on Monday 16th January 10:55
ReaperCushions said:
Go for the biggest SUV you can afford.
This is sensible advice. We've done a few trips in America and Canada. The extra cost is minimal, the fuel is still cheap, and the improved view is very pleasant.If you have 5 people, you need a the biggest possible, with a third row of seats. If you have 4 or 3, you want the biggest 5 seater you can. If there is just 2 of you, get something medium sized, googling the options beforehand.
Never underestimate the benefit of easy loading and unloading each day if you're on a road trip.
Depends on your plans.
Travelling coast to coast won't be memorable in an SUV.
The earlier comment about there being nothing there is very true, it's a desolate, dull, empty place for hundreds of miles after hundreds of miles.
Something like a Corvette or Mustang might alleviate the dullness, an SUV will be more comfortable, but just accentuate it...
I wouldn't bother to be honest. Much nicer to do a road trip based from SF (don't bother with LA either...) taking in Vegas, Grand Canyon, Yosemite, etc, but if you really want to do C2C to say you have, do it in style.
M
Travelling coast to coast won't be memorable in an SUV.
The earlier comment about there being nothing there is very true, it's a desolate, dull, empty place for hundreds of miles after hundreds of miles.
Something like a Corvette or Mustang might alleviate the dullness, an SUV will be more comfortable, but just accentuate it...
I wouldn't bother to be honest. Much nicer to do a road trip based from SF (don't bother with LA either...) taking in Vegas, Grand Canyon, Yosemite, etc, but if you really want to do C2C to say you have, do it in style.
M
I wouldn't agree on the need for an SUV unless there are more than two of you completing the trip.
Our most recent trips were completed firstly in a Mustang GT and the second in a Camaro SS vert, I covered approx 2000 miles during each trip with probably an average of 300 miles per day I never once felt like I chose the wrong car for the trip. It simply wouldn't have been as special a trip in a generic SUV.
Our most recent trips were completed firstly in a Mustang GT and the second in a Camaro SS vert, I covered approx 2000 miles during each trip with probably an average of 300 miles per day I never once felt like I chose the wrong car for the trip. It simply wouldn't have been as special a trip in a generic SUV.
If it helps, I did a coast to coast in 1981. Went into an AAA office in New York, told them I wanted to go to LA. They didnt have any cars that needed delivering to LA but could offer me Hobbs in New Mexico, which wasnt that far if I needed to take a bus for the last bit. I was with three others so we agreed to take the V8 Chevy Nova and off we went. NY - Chicago - Des Moines - Kansas - Dallas. At Dallas we dropped into another AAA office and found a Ford LTD that needed to be delivered to Orange County LA. Off we went in convoy. Dallas - Hoover Dam - Grand Canyon - Las Vegas - LA (Via Hobbs in New Mexico obv!).
It has always been a bit of a plan of mine to go to NY (or any other major city in USA), visit the local AAA office and see what cars they have that need delivering. Choose the destination or the car (there are often good ones)! Apart from a deposit and the 'gas' that's all it will cost you. A sort of lucky dip road trip. Will I ever do that again? Not with Mrs Johnniem but maybe with a mate at some point!
Whatever you do will be fantastic, I can assure you of that!
It has always been a bit of a plan of mine to go to NY (or any other major city in USA), visit the local AAA office and see what cars they have that need delivering. Choose the destination or the car (there are often good ones)! Apart from a deposit and the 'gas' that's all it will cost you. A sort of lucky dip road trip. Will I ever do that again? Not with Mrs Johnniem but maybe with a mate at some point!
Whatever you do will be fantastic, I can assure you of that!
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