2.2's Road Trip '09 US & Canada

[2.2]

So i'm planning to do a very long road trip in June '09 with a friend. i was hoping you guys could help with tips/advice on the subject. the reason it's going to be in '09 is because i need 2 years of living on the cheap and working a lot to make the money to fund the trip.

I'm planning to get an late '03 F-250 SuperCrew SuperDuty PowerStroke, diesel for fuel economy, big F-250 because it's roomy, and on a long trip i want lots of room.

The route as planned is below:

Florida - Miami – DeLand – Orlando St. Augustine - Tallahassee
Georgia - Atlanta
Alabama – Talladega - Birmingham
Mississippi - Driving Through
Arkansas – Little Rock
Missouri – Kansas City
Oklahoma - Tulsa - Locust Grove – Oklahoma City
Texas - Dallas - Houston - Richland Hills – Dallas
Oklahoma – Driving Through
Colorado – Denver - Vail
Arizona - Phoenix
Nevada - Las Vegas
California -Los Angeles - San Francisco
Oregon - Florence
Washington - Seattle
(into Canada)
Vancouver – Calgary – Edmonton – Saskatoon - Winnipeg
Ottawa – Toronto – Ottawa – Montreal
Québec - Repentigny
(into the US)
Maine – Driving Through
Massachusetts – Boston
New Hampshire – Driving Through
Connecticut - Hartford
New York - New York City
Pennsylvania - Philadelphia
West Virginia – Driving Through
Virginia – Driving Through
North Carolina – Raleigh - Charlotte
South Carolina – Driving Through
Georgia - Atlanta
Alabama - Montgomery
Mississippi – Driving Through
Louisiana - New Orleans
Texas - Houston

I used Google Earth to get a rough estimate of the driving distance, without accounting getting lost and driving around places i'm visiting it's about 14,000 miles. i'm giving a 3,000 miles buffer for getting lost, driving around the cities i'm visiting etc..

The longest single leg without a major stop is Winnipeg to Toronto, at about 1,400 miles.

All the buffers i've set on the budget and distance are quite big, i'd rather expect to need a certain amount and use less, than assume i'll need a smaller amount and run out of money or something during the trip.

Stuff to go into/onto the truck:

Satellite Navigation
GPS
CB Radio
Radar detector (grille-mounted)
Satellite Radio (?)
Power Inverter
Dash-mount phone holder
Cool box (food & drinks)
mini portable gas cooker (like a camping cooker)
Jerry Cans for diesel (x6)
Steel Front bumper With bull bars
Spot/Fog/Driving lights (4 on the front, 4 on the roof)
Spare wheels (x2)
Jack (high-lift ratchet type)
Tools (general tools, sockets/wrenches/etc)
Oil (it's a diesel..)
Tow Straps
Winch in front bumper (?)
Locking hard tonneau cover

things with (?) after them mean i'm still deciding whether or not to get them. if you're wondering why i want a steel front bumper with bull bars, it's because i don't want to hit something and ruin my trip. if i'm going to hot something i want it to take the force of the hit, not my truck.

Fuel budget is going to be $6,000-$6,500 for the trip (may change with possible increase in fuel prices) budget for the truck is $25,000 and it may be sold at the end to reclaim some money. i haven't worked out the budget for accomodation yet. but i'm expecting it to be a lot. (we'll be sleeping in the truck a lot.)

prior to setting off i'll give the truck a good once-over and possibly and engine tear down and rebuild. don't want any engine trouble on the trip. no performance mods, don't want to hurt the fuel economy. maybe an exhaust brake though.

Anything i've missed, or any tips/advice?

my friend and i are thinking of filming and documenting the whole thing. we're hoping to have 3 cameras, one pointing out the windscreen, one pointing at the driver or both of us and one we'd move around, then doing a "fast-forward" movie and a cut-up documentary-type thing. we'd record the break downs and stuff. and we'll have my DSLR camera too

Thanks Guys.

[MrJohnWayne]

Sounds like a great trip you got planned!

[03f3507.3]

sounds like a heck of a trip to me also sounds very fun you could look at getting a 4inch exhuast and maybe something like DP's 80hp economy tune to help with the gas mileage and a lil extra power

[2.2]

i was thinking of the Banks intake elbow and possibly an exhaust. nothing loud, if i'm doing that kind of distance i could do without too much noise. maybe a chip. if i make more money in the next two year than i've budgetted, i might consider some power upgrades (maybe even a Big Hoss bundle if i make enough) but run on a low power setting when i'm driving normally.

[red73psd]

satelite radio will be a must! i cant handle it just driving from arizona to california and thats only bout 300 miles..... you definatly need sirius you will be very thankful you did

[2.2]

What's a good brand of satellite radio to put in the truck? i need something with an auxillary imput to connect my computer and my friend's iPod. i'm a fan of keeping the stock radio and everything, but there's a point where it needs to be replaces. besides that, i'm fitting a CB radio and Radar detector in the cab too. although the radar detector will probably be fitted in the glovebox or something. don't know where i'll put the CB.

Thanks for the help guys.

[2.2]

What i'd really like is a Satellite (or at least satellite-compatible) radio, GPS and Satellite Navigation unit all in one. i don't care if it's some bulk 5lb 6.5" thing that's huge. it would just make life so much easier to have it all in one, all bolted into the dash. does such a thing exist?

i don't know anything about car audio. i can pull an engine apart and rebuild it by lunchtime, but when it comes to audio i don't know where to start. i'm looking at Sony and Alpine, because they're the only companies i know in that field.

EDIT - Pioneer Electronics - Sound. Vision. Soul

found that, seems to be everything i want. no flashy crap on it either. i don't want a technicolour head unit.

[2.2]

Ok, been looking at stuff to go into/onto the truck. this'll probably change by the time i get going, but it gives us an idea of the stuff.

Satellite Navigation/GPS/Satellite Radio
CB Radio
Radar detector (grille-mounted)
Jerry Cans
Portable Gas Cooker
Steel Front Bumper
Spot/Fog/Driving lights (4 on the front, 4 on the roof)
Spare wheels (x2) (might replace all wheels with these, money allowing)
Jack (high-lift ratchet type)
Tools (general tools, sockets/wrenches/etc)
Tow Straps
Flashing light bar

i haven't added up price yet. because i know there are things in that list i won't be able to afford. this is a best case scenario list. who knows, maybe i'll pull out lots of 70-hour weeks and will be able to take this from awesome trip to ideal awesome trip.

EDIT - Links Fixed!

[red73psd]

i would go with the pioneer one... cuz i beleive it comes with the satellite navigation.... i would deffinatly go with sirius radio instead of xm... prolly cuz thats what i have and its easy to use... alpiine is nice but i dont think it comes with navigation and if it doesnt come iwth it then it cost like a grand to get...... i would just cal an electronics store like best buy or ultimate electronics " if thats around you" and tell them what you need and they will help you

[westcoaststrokin]

Sounds like one H*** of a trip. I would def go with Sirius same thing though I one one and love it.