I have to move or PCS to my new base coming up and the trip will ultimately cross about 3300 miles of the US - i was wondering from people who actually travel big distances in their cars any advice for long distance travel. Have any of you had a trailer behind you sti's? if so how bad did the mpg drop? how well did the car do as a whole? where you got your best mpg? Trying to decide if I am going to need to get a trailer or not, I don't think I am going to have to but should that arise I need to be prepared for those calculations. Right now and this is just estimate of what it will be next month but I figure gas across the midwest and west will average 3.25/gallon, that equates out to almost $44 a fillup getting 26mpg and filling up at 13.5 gallons used.- Total trip costs between 440-500 just in gas. It shoudl also take about 7-9 days! the 26mpg was taken off a trip i did last weekend. Priest
Seat warmers melt lower back stress. I would bet that it would make a major impact on MPG. Are you talking about using a u-haul type? I would figure cutting your MPG almost in half. I mean you are pulling a big sail with an aerodymanic car that was not made for it. Good luck in WA. The north west is beautiful. Lots of twisties out there...
Hey man. I just drove from Seattle to Atlanta a couple of weeks ago. 2790 miles in all (since I stopped in MO and did some visiting there). About all I can suggest is get your iPod or satellite radio ready! Lol, nah really, I say plan the route down to the time you want to stop. Trying to figure exactly where you'll be in terms of exits and which ones are the best ones to stop at, is just too detailed IMO. And there's a really good chance it wont work like you want it to which is frustrating. If you're going 3300 miles you'll be driving a little longer than I did too! I always just have to get myself in the mindset that I'll be living in my car for a few days and I think about what I'm going to do when I get there. You have to have a plan to do something fun when you get there becasue that makes it so much better. As for the trailor, I'd never get anything bigger than a small U-Haul like this one: http://www.uhaul.com/trailers/. (The Sport as they call it) We can tow a slightly bigger one with our cars but why put the extra wear on em' you know? Gas mileage is a real bitch too. Especially if you want to make good time. The speed limits in the mid-west and north-west are awesome for making time, but not so much for mileage. In many places the speed limit is 75 or 80 MPH which means you can straight up haul ass! Of course if you decide to go less than 80 a large percentage of the time you're going to have a much longer trip so you have to ask yourself what is more important. Getting decent mileage and saving some cash or getting there already! Lemme know if you have any other questions.
i don't think i am going to be moving shit with a trailer-the army will be moving up to 11,000lbs worth of shit I own, sadly I own about only 3,000lbs worth of shit. Priest
Don't be sad! I sometimes miss the days when I could pack everything I owned into a car and just move. The key isn't quantity of stuff, its quality! I did the trip from South Florida to the middle of the San Joaquin Valley in California. I actually had a blast, and this was well before I-Pods, Satellite Radio and all the other entertainment possibilities you have now. If your goal is just to get out there ASAP, then load up the mp3 player with tunes, maybe an MP3 book or a couple of podcasts and start driving. Back in the day, I took a box full of cassette tapes and put them on the front seat next to me and just started driving. On the way back to the East Coast, when I got out of the Navy, I picked out a few places to see/ things to do and took my time a little more. If you can do it on the way out, I highly recommend it. Oh, and bring or buy a decent digital camera, you'll probably see some crazy stuff on the way out there!
I would suggest stopping by Yellowstone, I drove out to California last year, and drove back to Ga in less than two days. Its a long drive, but great scenery. If you can fit your stuff in a Uhaul trailer maybe you should consider shipping your stuff LTL on a freight line. Driving the Rockies in an STi with no trailer would be awesome.
I moved from Atl to Grand Junction for some mountain biking last Fall. I packed everything I owned, including 3 bikes, into my subi. On the way out I made the trip in 30 hours, on the way back I made it in 27. Door to door. That was 13 hours, then a 2 hour nap, and 11 more. I had no problems... MPG was about 22-25ish. But, when I took a trip to Hilton Head I had my bikes on a rack... no joke, that drag took me down to 15mpg!!! If you're going that far, I wouldn't pull anything. Plus you'll probably melt your turbo. Ship what you can then yard sale the rest.
I was in the same boat you're in just about 7 months ago. I was wondering if I'd have to have a storage place, have to trailor or car haul everything out and then of course I went to the transportation brief, like you obviously did recently and they clued me in on the procedures. I say just take advantage of what they'll do for you because my experience with JPPSO was more than satisfying. They even managed not to break my TV! And for those who don't know the Army's transportation people almost always break peoples tube. I had a motorcycle, two sets of rims, and about 15 boxes of stuff and they managed to get it all out to me in really good time, and took it right to where I wanted it. They even unpacked it for me. So what's going on in Yakima bro? Are you in Aviation or just lucky enough to get sent there? Be glad you're going to Ft Lewis because it seems like the whole damn base is about to be deployed. :wtc:
I am a EOD Tech and i requested the base when I re-enlisted. My wife works at Ft. Lewis as a GS-9 in Public Affairs. The 2.5hour drive is much better then most of the rest of our relationship. We have lived as much as 33,000miles from one another deployment to Iraq and she was living in LA at the time. Priest
Well I know all about deployments. When I get back from my current one I'll have been in for just over 6 years with over 3 years of it spent in Iraq (and Kuwait for a little bit of it). I didn't think you could be 33,000 miles form people though. Lol.
Yeah I'm pretty sure that's a true statement, but in a good way of course. Then again joining the Army during a time of war has to just about qualify anyone as a little bit crazy. I'm an MP by the way, EodSTI in case you were wondering. But I'm only a cop for about one month a year or something. Any other time it's like being a Cav scout or grunt. I used to be a tanker but the Army decided it didn't need so many combat arms guys any more, not on tanks any ways. But what can you do?
Is renting a Uhaul for your shit and towing the Suby with a flatbead trailer an option? I can't see it being that much more expensive, and you don't put all those miles and wear/tear on your car...
yeah i'm partially nuts, but that is okay, cause i was a pyro technician expert before i did this job. That and i have probably had about 3 years of explosives training. 2 tours in Iraq added to that and yeah I am nuts. EodSTI
Just to clarify, I meant crazy with the utmost respect. Its a job that I don't have the will or the nerves to do, glad we have people like you on our side!!:bigthumb: