@Bing-“Cars don’t need a rest period like people do and are at there best being continuously run on the road all warmed up and going”.
The is not true for lawnmower engines. A lawnmower engine should be run at most 45 minutes and then shut down. The length of the shut down time is equal to the time it takes the operator to drink a beer.
Pure coincidence, Triedaq. I have to remember that timing method the next time I mow the lawn. I think a half hour per beer might be easier on the mower.
“That would be an absolute disaster so I need some authority to help persuade them that we can make it take 2 days. (20hrs split 3 ways on day one, home by lunch the next day)”
I failed to pay attention to this. 2000 miles in 2 days is not a good idea, expecially with folks that don’t want to drive a lot. 700 miles/day is a good amount, so 3 days would be my preference.
If you and your friends are young, 2K miles in 2 days shouldn’t be any problem. When I was in my 20’s several times I drove 1K miles by myself then drank beer for another 8-10 hours winding down from the drive. I use to work construction and before I married about once a month I’d work 8-12 hours a day all week and on Friday after work get in the car drive 525 miles to go visit mom and dad, get there early Saturday morning, sleep a couple hours, spend the rest of the day with them on Saturday, sleep Saturday night, get up and drive back home on Sunday then go back to work and work 8-12 hours a day all week. Most weeks I was working 55-70 hours. I was doing this from my mid 20’s till about age 31 and didn’t think anything of it. 2K miles in two days with 3 drivers should be a piece of cake, not as hard as getting up and going to class/work after a really good drunk the night before. Oh and by the way one of my cars has over 518K miles on it and still going.
When I was a kid we’d drive from DC to Los Angeles (or the other way) in 3 days with two or three drivers almost every summer.
If cars from the '60s could do it with no problem I’m sure todays cars are up to the task.
I remember when I was much younger and rode motorcycles that it was a really big deal to make the one thousand mile a day club…totally brutal on just about every single part of the anatomy but who could argue with the bragging rights? I think I made just over 900 on one trip but the onset of darkness and completely losing the feeling in my arms from my shoulders to my hands put an end to that little venture. Now if an air-cooled early eighties rice burner can manage it, a late model van should hardly break a sweat. The only caveat I would have is driver fatigue. There’s not many drivers whom I would trust sufficiently for me to sleep like a baby in the back, especially if he/she had the same reservations (and hence same lack of proper rest while waiting for their turn to drive).
Point is, only she wants to do the trip that way, they don’t.
2000 miles can be torture for someone who cannot ride in a car that long. The drives should be no longer than the ditance it takes the least comfortable person to begin to need a break. The car doesn’t care, but the passengers definitely will. The driver should also realize that he/she is in th emost comfortable seat in the vehicle. Anyone in the back seat is probably going to be much less comfortable, and certainly have more boring scenery.
Relax and enjoy the trip. It’s worth th efew extra days.
Your friends sound unnconvincible to me, but you might try citing the Cannonball Baker Sea to Shining Sea Memorial Trophy Dash, a competition to see who could drive across the country in the least amount of time. If nothing else it makes for an interesting story of driving in a much different time.
http://www.allamericanracers.com/cannonball.html
In part from that link
“Only three minutes slower was the 1969 AMX driven by two brothers, Tom and Ed Bruerton of San Pablo, California. The team went ticket-free. The brothers said later they “stroked it, because they already had 90,000 miles on the engine.” The AMX finished fifth in a time of 37 hours and 48 minutes, only 3 minutes slower than the Little Rock van.”
In 1971 Dan Gurney and Brock Yates won it in Ferrari.
Normal highway driving is very easy on a car. I have driven across the continent 9 times and gottten excellent gas mileage while maintaining normal highway speeds. My own needs for regular pit stops were between 2 and 3 hours of driving. My cars did not seem to even notice this 2000 miles+ treatment, and oil consumption was minimal.
Your friends seem to think that cars are organic creatures like themselves and need to “replenish” themselves.
As others say, let them surf the internet and come up with “proof” that backs up what they say.
It’s unanimous: the car won’t care…but the passengers will!
Stop when someone says “let’s take a break”. Your friends have needs too. IMHO you don;t need to convince them to make a marathon out of it, they need to convinec you to take reasonable breaks!
Stopping every 2 hours is a good call for the driver and passengers to stretch legs and empty bladders.
That sounds like my in-laws. We usually take at least one long trip a summer. 10+ hours each way. We usually stop once to get gas, bathroom and food. The stop is usually less then an hour. Then on our way again.
Driving straight through is no problem for the car. As long as it has gasoline and all the fluid levels are at spec and the temp guage is ok, you can drive a car continuously no problem. It causes less wear per mile driven in fact than if you stopped for a break, as the parts don’t need to go through a thermal cycle each time.
That said however, if I have occassion to drive 2000 miles – and I sometimes do – I rent a car. I have rented a car w/unlimited miles for a week for less than $200. To me, that’s a bargain. You save 2,000 miles of wear and tear on our own car, and you get to drive an almost new car with all the gizmos new cars have, and you get to try out a different make and model than you usually drive so when it’s time for a new car you have some experience what you like and don’t like.
All in all, consider to rent a car for this trip instead. I find I get the best rate at the nearby Sears retail store, which has an Avis office on site. I find I usually can’t get quite as good of a rate from the airport and downtown rental places.
GeorgeSanJose wrote:
I find I usually can’t get quite as good of a rate from the airport and downtown rental places.
Many airports force extra fees and taxes on cars rented at the airport, in which case renting elsewhere can save money.
Back in my younger days, I went from NJ to Florida, and back to NJ, in a co-worker’s Ford Maverick. While I did not know it before the start of the trip, the car had never had any maintenance in the two years that he owned it.
While we did break down twice on the way to Florida (the first time for a broken shift linkage, the second time for a burst radiator seam), we managed to make the return trip without incident, and without any stopping except for gas and restrooms. We managed to make it back from Florida (almost non-stop) in 20 hours.
If that essentially un-maintained Maverick could withstand 20 hours of high speed driving without breaking down, then a modern, well-maintained vehicle can do it without a problem.
I wonder if your friends realize the earth is not flat?
@MTraveler
Thanks so much for the reminder about the Cannonball Baker race! I was a subscriber to Car and Driver in those years, and remember reading about the first two races. It was a hoot, as the links you posted demonstrate.
I once ran from near Sacramento to Boston solo in three and a half days, in a Nissan four banger. Yes, of course, there was a woman involved…why else would a guy do something so senseless? The next day we headed off to Nova Scotia, another several hundred miles. All I needed was gas and a bit of oil, cruised all day at 65 or 70, no problems at all. Of course that little truck had careful regular maintenance.
Some folks don’t believe or understand in fixing/maintaining vehicles. So after long periods they have defects like really overheating/high temp and in their own simple explanation think the vehicle needs a rest.
IMO, there are two issues and two different deciders.
Regardless of the facts, the OWNER of the car is the only one to have a legitimate say in how the car gets driven. If they think the car should rest, and reasonable attempts to dissuade them fail, you should let them make this call. What are you going to do if your facts prevail and then independently there’s a major breakdown? If it’s your car, same thing, listen reasonably to them, then make your decision. To me, THIS is not a group decision any more than what kind of oil to use. Let the owner decide or use a different car.
But, I agree with posters suggesting this is really about everyone’s comfort/endurance. I think it’s more important to compromise to make everyone happy. I have a creaky back and when I’m alone, I often stop every 30-45 minutes to get some air and stretch. Someone else might be embarassed about a weak bladder and not want to have to always be the one to ask to stop. The last thing you need for 2,000 miles is cranky people.
I suggest separating the issue of the impact on the car from taking breaks to learn what everyone really cares about.
@statesbro , In Ireland we have recently just built a freeway infrastructure without rest stops. An achievement, when the civilised world has this stuff pretty much understood for 50 years. Despite the country not being big, it is very possible to stress yourself out with bladder and hunger issues, which is deeply unpleasant for all. When you travel early in the morning and the entire country is closed it can get grim…