Coast to coast road trip with a 5x8 enclosed trailer, follow along for laughs

[joekitch]

Wanted to make a thread to document this upcoming journey, which begins monday june 1st in westborough MA and hopefully concludes june 14th in san francisco
i'm moving myself, my car, and all my earthly possessions i haven't thrown out yet. New job in SF starts on June 18th
Steed of choice is a 540i touring, fitted with an Oris class 2 tow bar with detachable tow hitch, safety chain loop welded on
Cargo will be in a 5x8 enclosed uhaul trailer, and a 16 cubic foot volvo (actually Thule) roof box, as well as the car with the seats folded.
I'll update this thread as things progress, and reports on the car's performance while on the road

My itinerary so far is as follows:

day 1 6/4[Westborough MA TO Culpeper VA (8.2hr, 478mi)] Hotel night [alternatively, go to charlottesville VA (9.2hr, 522mi)]
day 2 6/5[Culpeper VA TO Chattanooga TN (8hr, 519mi)] Hotel night [or charlottesville VA to chattanooga (7hr, 478mi)]
day 3 6/6[Chattanooga TN TO Birmingham AL (2.1hr, 148mi)] Crash with a friend in the area
day 4 6/7[Birmingham AL TO Hattiesburg MS (3.5hr, 233mi] Crash with a different friend in that area
day 5 6/8[Hattiesburg MS to Columbus TX (8.1hr, 506mi)] Hotel night
day 6 6/9[Columbus TX TO Roswell NM (9.2hr, 592mi] Hotel night
day 7, 6/10[Roswell NM TO Meza AZ through tonto forest (9hr, 542mi)] Stay with family members in mesa
day 8, 6/11[Stay with family a bit then Go visit metor crater, (3hr,165mi) to Winslow AZ] Hotel night
day 9, 6/12[Winslow AZ TO ridgecrest CA (7.2hr, 490mi)] Hotel night
day 10, 6/13[Ridecrest CA TO livermore CA through the northern road between the national parks(7.5hr, 412mi)] Hotel night
day 11, 6/14[ Livermore CA TO San Francisco uhaul at candlestick(50min, 44mi) drop off uhaul trailer and put everything into storage]
FINISH

although i have heard bad things about ridgecrest, might adjust my trajectory there to hit lancaster/palmdale instead, trying my hardest to avoid LA traffic


an alternative path would look like this:
day 9, 6/12[Winslow AZ TO Lancaster CA (8hr, 504mi)] Hotel night
day 10, 6/13[Lancaster CA TO Sequoia national park foothills THEN to Livermore CA (7hr 402mi)] Hotel night
day 11, 6/14[ Livermore CA TO San Francisco uhaul at candlestick(50min, 44mi) drop off uhaul trailer and put everything into storage]


DOUBLE ALTERNATIVE path, taking CA-1 up the coast for the incredible views:
day 9, 6/12[Winslow AZ TO Lancaster CA (8hr, 504mi)] Hotel night
day 10, 6/13[Lancaster CA TO san luis obispo via the 101 by "san francisco canyon rd" (4hr, 204mi)] Hotel night
day 10, 6/14[san luis obispo CA TO Palo Alto CA via VERY scenic CA-1 (6.2hr, 300mi)] Drop off uhaul trailer at candlestick, Night with family in the bad



DOUBLE ALTERNATIVE, take CA-1 up the coast:
day 9, 6/12[Winslow AZ TO Lancaster CA (8hr, 504mi)] Hotel night
day 10, 6/13[Lancaster CA TO san luis obispo via the 101 by "san francisco canyon rd" (4hr, 204mi)] Hotel night
day 10, 6/14[san luis obispo CA TO Palo Alto CA via VERY scenica CA-1 (6.2hr, 300mi)] Drop off uhaul trailer at candlestick, Night with David



Mechanical condition of the car is, as far as i know, really good:
-the timing chain guides were done only a few months ago, along with a headgasket and tons of hoses and seals
-recently replaced mechanical fan AND the aux fan, M5 radiator installed (Soon, anyway)
-upper and lower front control arms, front driver side brake caliper

here's a list so far, in fact

Untitled.png



HOWEVER, the transmission was replaced about 26 months ago, at 131k, using a transmission from a 740i that had similar miles on it.
and its shifting is getting a little harsh, like it'll kick a bit when downshifting to first at a stop light.
i'm hoping it can make this one final journey before i manual swap!

[Mike WW]

Pulling a small trailer with a 540ita looked pretty mundane until I saw the 16 cubic foot roof box. Is that as big as it sounds? I know they slice thru the air better than they used to, but it sounds big and like you'll be pushing lots of air. I know the 540 has plenty of HP, but it just raised my eyebrows. Ridgecrest. Don't stay at the Econo Lodge Inn and Suites, or at least I had a crappy experience there last summer. Can't say much about the rest of the town, but it's not exactly a glamorous location next to the Naval Weapons Test Center and near Death Valley. Just spending the night shouldn't matter though.

[joekitch]

Probably not as big as you're thinking. it's the Thule Pulse



IMG_20180401_135849.jpg

IMG_20180401_135904.jpg



Got it used up in new hampshire for only $180, which is great considering they're $600 brand new. phew!
I think I'll be able to store the entirety of my wardrobe up there in suit cases

- - - Updated - - -

oh and for perspective, the tow hitch with safety chain loop welded on looks like this




IMG_20180530_215210.jpg

IMG_20180530_215220.jpg

[dannyzabolotny]

Best of luck! Let me know if you're having any car troubles, I'm in the Phoenix area and have plenty of tools and parts laying around. Or if you're around the Mesa/Phoenix area and want to grab a bite, shoot me a PM, I love meeting bf.c members in person!

[joekitch]

being in the phoenix area, got any insight as to the "nicest" way to get from winslow over to SF? and by nicest i mean scenic driving, preferably in cooler areas
it seems like no matter which direction i go it'll be hot as hell desert. death valley to the north, LA area to the south

[jmc1590]

If you run into issues in the AR / eastern TX areas, I can try to help as well. (Currently in southeastern OK.) Additionally, having been stationed in Barstow, taking the 58 across the Mojave to Bakersfield, then I-5 north will avoid LA. If you want scenic, I'd try to get to the 101 around San Luis Obispo and continue north from there.

Good luck!

James

[joekitch]

oh that's right! coast roads! i was thinking of going to sequoia through the valley area but coast sounds way nicer.
i think i can get on the 101 from lancaster by going through santa clara, and that'll put me on that pathway
Still, driving straight through the mojave sounds....dangerous. I'm probably just worrying too much tbh

[amancuso]

Sounds like an epic undertaking. Are you moving?

[joekitch]

Sounds like an epic undertaking. Are you moving?

correct, new job in SF, updated the op to mention that

[philly98540]

Wishing you the best of luck Joe. I like all the work you doing to ensure a safe journey, but I don't like that your doing stuff just prior to hitting the road. Always good to get some miles after major work prior to heading out on a big trip. I'm sure the E39 community will keep you rolling if you have any issues. Looking forward to your travel updates.

[geargrinder]

oh that's right! coast roads! i was thinking of going to sequoia through the valley area but coast sounds way nicer.
i think i can get on the 101 from lancaster by going through santa clara, and that'll put me on that pathway

PCH / SR1 is absolutely phenomenal. Although, given your giant undertaking here, and the bigass trailer and whatnot... you might just indeed want to instead get 'home' to SF, and save the Central Coast for one of your first long weekend roadtrips (along w/ the Northern direction, Humboldt and whatnot. )

Done properly, IMO, its spending 2-3 nights driving down (if you want to be able to check stuff out, have some good bevs and meals, enjoy the trip en route that is... do some hiking, San Simeon, all that kinda ishtar...) and all depending on how far you go etc. etc.

[joekitch]

my biggest concern by far is the transmission and cooling system, so getting home to sf as fast as possible isn't that big of a deal once i get past the desert.
last night i did some trip planning and i think if i go from lancaster down past santa clara and meet up with the 101 to san louis obispo, i can take ca-1 allllll the way up the coast on a 6 hour drive.

Screenshot 2018-05-31 at 11.15.54 AM.jpg


Screenshot 2018-05-31 at 11.19.18 AM.jpg


There's a road closure along CA-1 preventing a straight shot up there but this is the general idea

one big problem is i CANNOT see an elevation map so i might be climbing a huge mountain going from lancaster to santa clara

if it's way flatter to go from lancaster to bakersfield, maybe i should do that instead...

edit: wait no, i forgot, biking directions has a really detailed elevation map. Going by that, this southern route does rise up but not nearly as sharply as the others

Screenshot 2018-05-31 at 11.31.27 AM.jpg

[Qsilver7]

Wishing you a great adventure...good luck with the new job and location. Definitely subscribed to the thread as you journey on.

[JimLev]

Good luck on the trip, I'm subscribed too.
Didn't know you also had a Thule on top too.
We should take a pole on your MPG pulling all your good junk (ha).
I'm guessing you'll get an actual average of 12 MPG on the trip.
Our last trip to and from Sequoia NP and Yosemite with a Thule dropped out MPG by 2.
I'd avoid the LA area as much as possible.
Make sure you park in a lighted area if staying in some of those questionable areas.

[joekitch]

12? oh my
i actually only lost about 1mpg on a highway drive with an empty roof box right after i first bought it
i'm picking up the empty trailer (900 lbs) tomorrow, i'll see how bad that hits it

Edit: i'm reading more now that using an american receiver on an euro tow bar isn't that great since 50mm acts like a worn out 2" ball. I imagine a nylon bushing would help a lot with that, just need to find one
then again i believe uhaul uses some weird tightening mechanism that makes sure it grabs the ball well? I'm getting a "towing safety inspection" today where i'll ask this stuff

[philly98540]

If you stay around 65 or 70 mph, you will eek out some more. Its just impossible to stay that slow on the open road. The trailer really adds some wind drag.

[StephenVA]

Ping if you need help in VA/MD, here to help get you on your way west. Now about going to San Francisco.....

Trip suggestion:

Push on the first night to Charlottesville, VA via Route 29, Tons of hotels on the North side of town. Only another hr down the road.

[JimLev]

Once you get out past the Mississippi River the speed limits are 70-75, and you know that almost nobody follow them.
If I go 80-85 I'm still getting passed.

[StephenVA]

Use the Waze app to get a heads up on traffic enforcement areas

[joekitch]

Push on the first night to Charlottesville, VA via Route 29, Tons of hotels on the North side of town. Only another hr down the road.

might do that, yeah. that's day 1 of driving so might as well push it to see if anything breaks, like my sanity (since i'm trying very hard to keep driving times 8 hours or under per day)

[JimLev]

Yes to the Waze app. Used it last summer when driving from NM to Eastern Canada. Going thru Ohio the highway was shut down in both directions after a multi tractor trailer/car accident. We avoided it and found a dirt road (using GPS) to get us around it. Saved us a many hours.

[StephenVA]

You will be fine, The wagon will enjoy the road trip and it will clean all the carbon off the piston tops as well. The key in long hauls is top off fuel, drain body fluids, drink Dr Pepper, eat only known foods, stretch caffs every two/3 hrs, if tired stop and snooze 45 mins. Bring bug scrubber, dawn dish detergent, and bottled water with you and you will be fine. You can run all day long in VA at 65-78 depending on speed limit posted. There are two speed traps area after you hit VA. I-66 near the Fairfax County Parkway (just west of State Route 50), On Route 29 around Culpeper (near the State Police barracks).
Stay out of the fast lanes and you will be fine.

After Charlottesville use I-64 past Ivy, VA to I-81 south.

[Asbradley21]

I can help out too from Chattanooga to Birmingham too if you have any troubles around the area dm me. Good luck!

[joekitch]

gosh i hope my transmission doesn't poop itself along the way.
then again, if it does, with all these nice folks around i can compensate them for their help and garage time, and swapping in a junkyard auto on jacks/ a lift would only take like 4 hours, not too shabby.

or do transmissions fail very slowly? like do they fail in such a way that i could still make the journey it'll just slowly start shifting harsher and i'll lose mpg from non-optimal rpms?

i'm actually less worried about blowing hoses because i have one of those GAS low pressure cooling system caps, so instead of building up enough pressure to blow hoses off, it just vents some coolant out the cap, which i can easily replace as need be until i get to a cooler area, instead of a hose breaking and leaving me stranded. I actually had this happen when my aux cooling fan failed a few months ago, it made a pretty loud PSSHHHTTT noise which got me to check my gauges and promptly freak out seeing the needle inching to the right. However nothing was damaged during that scare

[dannyzabolotny]

Transmissions usually take a while to fail, but occasionally you'll lose some gears or it'll lock itself into failsafe. I've never really had any severe issues with the 5HP24, just some crappy shifts here and there. I do have a spare 5HP24 in my backyard if you really need one, it came out of a working car.