Help, I want to do some long distance travelling, Advise Please

[slshearer]

Hello Everybody! Happy New Year!!

Well I was fortunate enough to get my 2016 MK4 Cobra with Convertable Top and I am planning to do some long distance trips (2000 to 6000) mile trips are planned as I want to use the car not park it. That being said I am a retired long distance rider on motorcycles so I have most of the gear I need but I can see that my motorcycle had about as much storage room as my Cobra. The car has 2900 miles so it is at least out of the teething stages and everything works correctly. I would like to have more information about experiences everyone has on this subject so I can get what I need. Spare parts, Emergency Tools, possibe extra storage etc..

Thank you for your help!

God Bless!

Stewart

[RoadRacer]

I love long road trips and done a lot of them. Many miles around Europe. I used to carry just a small roll of tools, but the most important were duct tape, tie wraps and jubilee clips (hose clamps)! Fix anything with those..

[TDSapp]

In would suggest you read some of the stories by the guys on the Hot Rod Power Tour. I would say you will need everything they used.

[Dave Howard]

I've got over 20,000 miles on my 2012 Coyote MkIV and have driven across Canada and the States on a few occassions. Here's some of my experiences.

- I went to a lot of effort to seal the body around the cockpit . This keeps cold and hot air from blowing in.
- I carry normal small tools to tackle minor situations. Since there's no spare tire, I carry a puncture kit and a small 12V air compressor.
- I have the premium top. It takes up a lot of trunk space. I don't use the supplied storage bag for the top hardwear. It goes in the trunk separately to utilize space.
- I installed the drop trunk additional storage kit. You need all the room you can for touring.
- Clothes are kept to a minimum. Soft gym type bags work best since you can squeeze them into any shape needed to get in the trunk.
- I put black terry beach towels on the seats to keep them cooler in the hot sun. They come in handy when you get caught in the rain, even with the top on.
- Custom ear plugs are a must to reduce wind and road noise.
- Take frequent breaks. 2-3 hours driving and my back and legs are screaming for a stretch.
- Sunglasses, sunscreen and a hat are always behind the seat. And I carry a spare hat also. Yep....you're going to lose at least one.
- The only good thing about the stereo system is I can plug my phone into the USB to charge it. Damn expensive phone charger.
- I carry a cleaning/detailing kit in the trunk. The car gets dirty and full of bugs when you tour. It usually gets a clean up at the end of every day.

[Jeff Kleiner]

Sit down, get comfortable and read about two of Rick's long distance trips; a 14,000 mile loop of the continent and another month long tour through the midwest and Canada. Great reads and you might pick up some tips or ideas for trips of your own.

http://www.ffcars.com/forums/17-fact...ur-de-usa.html

http://www.ffcars.com/forums/17-fact...e-midwest.html

You have another well known FFR owner, Garry Bopp, in Georgia who has logged lots of long haul miles in his Coupe and roadster. He's a great guy; reach out to him and I'm sure he'd be happy to share his recommendations and experiences with you.

http://thefactoryfiveforum.com/member.php?18-Garry-Bopp

Cheers,
Jeff

[myjones]

Sit down, get comfortable and read about two of Rick's long distance trips; a 14,000 mile loop of the continent and another month long tour through the midwest and Canada. Great reads and you might pick up some tips or ideas for trips of your own.

http://www.ffcars.com/forums/17-fact...ur-de-usa.html

http://www.ffcars.com/forums/17-fact...e-midwest.html

You have another well known FFR owner, Garry Bopp, in Georgia who has logged lots of long haul miles in his Coupe and roadster. He's a great guy; reach out to him and I'm sure he'd be happy to share his recommendations and experiences with you.

http://thefactoryfiveforum.com/member.php?18-Garry-Bopp

Cheers,
Jeff

What about Mr Buttons?

[slshearer]

Who is Mr. Buttons? Thanks to everyone who has helped me

Stewart

[GoDadGo]

Ralph Buttons Is The Man Who Has The Most Miles Logged On A Factory Five!

https://youtu.be/TYZEtcgnsU8

He seldom makes posts because he's always driving.

Welcome Aboard!

Ralph Buttons Mileage Log & Still Going Strong!

FFR 1436 (PROUD Owner of an Original Mark I)
400,013 miles as of 11/1/2009
417,840 miles as of 8/12/2010
435,021 miles as of 12/19/2011
Now a well broken in 347 engine
523,145 miles as of 7/29/2014

[slshearer]

Thanks! great Video for everyone to watch!

Thanks again!

[R. Button]

lol ... my app said some one mentioned me! Yes I'm still traveling!
Yes tools in a soft side bag give you confidence as you travel. I began to travel, with my Mark I back in 1997 - no smart phones so you could not know if the storm you were looking at down the road was just a narrow light shower or a major weather event! Now with a smart phone I check the weather maps and either adjust my route or put the soft top on.
My two suggestions are tires and special parts.

Tires: I have great rain tires on my car as you know you will encounter rain while traveling. My choice is the Goodyear Eagle F1 GS-D3 tires. I have tired others but for grip in the rain these work really, really well. I have done track events in the pouring rain with them - had the track to myself as the others did not want to get wet! They held through the corners and were very predictable. Of course they are awesome on dry and do not come cheap. They are NOT cold weather tires. As the rubber is so soft, when it get's in the 30F or lower the tires do get very hard and handling is non-existent. Just think about what tires to get based on where you are traveling and expect rain.

Special Parts: On purpose I made choices for what "improvements" I was going to make to my Mark I. This way I could gradually get rid of the folder I use to carry of people all over the country that could help if needed, IF I were to have a problem. (I still have the folder with the phone numbers!) Consider what special parts you installed on your car. And if any of them had an problem how you will manage it? Example; A simple choice to switch from Mustang 15" 4 bolt rims to 17" 4 bolt rims... that I managed to find! I also searched at junk yards for an aluminum "donut" 4 bolt Mustang spare and attached to it via a plastic tie the 4 axle nuts that go with that spare - should not use the 17" rim axle nuts. That gave me a spare if needed while traveling. Then I got an aluminum "racing" jack from harbor freight (their smaller version) that could get under the chassis even with no tire on any one corner. I found a larger duffle bag which now became my bag for carrying the jack, gloves, and a battery impact gun. I now carry a road side assistance card. I have never used the jack on my car... BUT while traveling, pulling up behind a family, along the side of the road, with a flat tire, and a back end filled with suitcases, does get the kids in the back seat rather excited! A "Cobra" pulling up behind them and a guy carrying a duffle bag, with jack, and impact gun changing the tire in a few minutes, starts a family discussion with this "guy" that you normally would never have had!
Back to the spare parts, think about how you might manage if one of those custom parts broke while traveling. Carry a spare one or accept that you know where to get a replacement and wait for it to arrive. When I switched over to carb from EFI I picked, on purpose, the 1986 Ford distributor with the duraspark module. Yes it would have been an easy convert to MSD or Crane but much easier to obtain a replacement duraspark at your local Autozone or Parts Plus store. When I wanted better lights, as I drive a lot at night, I went with a conversion to Xenon HID headlights. I picked a wiring kit that used the three prong plug so if I needed I could unplug the HID circuit and switch back over to a H4 bulb. I made specific choices to be sure I had a way to continue on my travels. I use Goodyear gatorback carbon fiber belts. Every part I used often was a compromise to have reliability even if I gave up some HP... really, you have HP to waste with these cars!

The other general advice is drive the car short trips around town. If you have any issues, like hard starting when it's hot, or it tends to have the water temp climb when idling or stopped in traffic. Then figure out how to fix the issue before the road trip. If there are any "minor" issues now they will get worse on the road.

Finally, these cars are amazingly reliable! A few of us ... way back in the day began trying to take them out on the road for longer multi day trips. We found that not only was the trip fun but the cars just ran so well others began to come out to join us traveling. Your gas stops will become great people meeting adventures! Instead of hiding behind the gas pump they will peak around the pump to ask "Is that a new Corvette?" lol or something like that. Soon you are talking cars, the kids if in the car, are now out and looking. finally the "can I take a picture of it"... as now most have a smart phone. I usually say "you want the kids in the car for the picture?" usually get's huge smile from the parent.
You of course when you finally get back on the road get to have a smile, you just had a conversation with someone you never would have met!
Hope this helps as we have a beautiful country and being part of it in an open top car, to me is the most enjoyable way to be driving! I'm going to get wet, sun burned nose, and still get to smell the mowed grass as well as the fresh spread cow "fertilizer". You get to know from the smells - is it a Burger King of a McDonalds ahead?