Roaster Road Trips

[AJuergens]

Trying to figure out a long distance road trip in the Roadster. I've only done one road trip in my life but it was in my buddies Hummer and the two of us took turns driving and we drove 33 hours strait, I don't think anyone would be able to do that in our cars. How many miles can you do in a day before you start to lose it?

Al

[Joe]

I sent you a PM Al.. There's a lot to consider. Everyone's different. Depends on how many hours a day you really want to be in the car driving. Depends if you only want daytime driving. Depends on types of roads. Depends on weather. Depends on the individual, the size of his bladder.. Yeah bladder.. In his/her body or fuel tank. Depends on how many, how long and how often you stop to smell the roses., Depends on the size of the group. 300-400 miles in some cases, 400-600 miles in other cases. +600 miles a day if you're by yourself and just want to rip up the Interstate with splash and go fuel stops.

Last Fall I drove to S. Florida from N. Texas in the Roadster in two days. I was pretty worn out by the time I got there. I'm expecting the trip to the Open House will be a bit of a slower pace and more relaxing.

[R. Button]

About 3 tanks of gas or about 900 miles and normally I'm ready to stop BUT if I'm on the homeward run then another tank of gas and I'm off... Something about wanting to be back home tends, for me, to keep me alert, and watching for the familiar sites of home. Ok so I'm on the abnormal side as most people in a car can deal with what Joe suggests. Most of the route planning programs suggest the same.

[AJuergens]

Ralph,

Thanks for the input; I was hoping you'd find this post. I'm trying to do some preliminary leg work for the Open House cruise coming up.

On a side note, FFR sent me a couple of DVD's when I was on my last deployment; I probably watched your segment a dozen times. I hope you’re able to make the drive to the Open House this year.

Al

[Lex]

Im up for my 1st one in the Cobra at London.

[R. Button]

Al,
For me the drive is the easy part! Am looking to see if I can clear enough of my schedule to take the time for the trip.
Am working at it as i would also like to visit some family up that way.

[charles roybal]

Come on down to Austin Cobra club meet in San Marcos tx 3-24-27-11. Here is the web address http://www.texascobrameet.com/

[MARIAH]

We've done many 500 mile days and that is about our limit.
It does not leave time for leisure stops and adventuring though.

[Magnus]

Ralph is an inspiration and some day I hope to have driven as far as he has.

By myself I can do 500 miles in a day, no problem, but here are some things that make those miles easier:


Hat--the wind in you hair feels good for the first 10 minutes, after that you scalp gets rubbed raw.
Comfy seats--I have racing seats that make my butt numb after 30 minutes. It got better after I put in the kind of gel cushion that is meant for a wheel-chair-bound person. Very comfy now;
Water--you will dehydrate like no tomorrow in a hot, open car;
Earplugs--unless you plan on enjoying the head ache that the wind buffeting and thumping exhaust gives you after 30 minutes.
Excederin--because you will get a thumping head ache regardless.
AAA--get the "Plus" package;
Cell phone--make sure you have a power point to keep the thing charged
GPS--driving blind if you don't have one, and it's great for planning stops.
Plastic bags--to keep your gear dry when it rains. In a Roadster even the inner crevices of the trunk get wet. Even after you thought you weather sealed every inch of the body.
Total lack of pride--when the water wicks in and pools in the seat, you will step out looking like you wet yourself.
Total lack of fear--the water will wick in and evaporate because of the engine heat. The vapors will cause everything to fog over. The defogger will be useless. You will have no visibility in a car that already had severe blind spots with the top on.
Light feet--if you thought you had traction control problems in the dry...
Camera--no one will believe what happened on your trip unless it's documented with pictures.
Spare gas--because sometimes you forget that there is no "idiot light" to remind you that you are about to be stranded. Especially embarrassing when it happens in a convoy of Roadsters heading in to Open House.
Sunglasses

[steno]

I make the 1300 mile drive from near Chicago to Melbourne Fla in about 20 hours non-stop. Leave @ 4am and I'm there by midnight.That's not a fun trip...your butt gets numb and you're good to go!Stop for fuel every 250 miles. I hope to make it to the open house this year,will be a much easier ride.
Sten

[Pierre B]

Back in my motorcycling days, there was an award called the Iron Butt. To qualify, one had to document coverage of 1,000 miles in a 24-hour period. I had never been tempted in my 30+ years on two wheels, and I see nothing remotely like that referenced here. Nonetheless, something like that must be easier in an FFR than on two wheels! As for preparation, I second all of Magnus' entries above, except maybe the idea of a gas can in the trunk: somehow that doesn't sit well with me...too risky. Besides, I think AAA has spare gas (the real price paid for this is the 2-hour wait on the roadside).

[AJuergens]

1300 miles strait, WOW!

AAA, don't leave home with out it.

Thanks for the input guys.

[Bob Cowan]

I drove up to Jackson Hole last July. A truly great trip. It's about a 12 hours drive if you take the freeway. But I took all the back roads and mountain passes, and took 2 days. It was a great trip.

I'm comfortable with about a 8-9 hour day. I stop and the roadside rests, walk around, drink water, enjoy the view and the day. A road trip in a Cobra is something to be enjoyed.

[Bobasaurus]

Becky and I can go about 8 hours comfortably and 10 hours if needed. We enjoy mornings and early evenings the most for putting on the big miles and night driving the least. We take back roads and stop and enjoy the sites. Interstates at 70-80mph with traffic can get old in about an hour. We use earplugs on the 55+mph roads and usually don't need them slower than 55. I have lobaks mufflers, a large lobe separation cam, and iron heads on the roadster and honestly at any speed the wind is worse than the engine noise while cruising.

[Ophitoxaemia]

Ariel drove FFR 1630 from LA to NYC via the southern route in 3 days. Said it would have two days but without wipers at night the spray from the semis would blind him and it had to wait out the worst rainstorms under an overpass. No top. I've done 8+ hours, it's been fine if the temp is between 40 and 100 degrees.