So I’m moving back home from Idaho to Texas. It’s a 1517 mile trip. I will be making it in a 92 camry with almost 290,000 miles on it. I plan to get an oil change as well as fix a leaky fuel line. I don’t know as much as I’d like to about cars so is there anything else I should do before making the trip? For background the car is from Arizona originally and I bought it in Idaho and has since taken me to salt lake and back twice (about 1000 miles there and back). I just don’t want to break down halfway there. Any advice I can get would help a lot, thanks in advance.
No one wants to break down. But it can happen to any vehicle of any age. Just make sure your tires are good enough , have your cell phone and at the age of this thing if it dies just rent something and let it go .
The best thing you can do is have pre-trip inspection performed on the vehicle.
Tester
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Common sense goes a long way. Maintain modest speeds, check fluids at every fill up and have your phone charged up. I have made a 7000 mile vacation trip over a 3 week period with an 11 year old Buick while towing a camper. Replaced one spark plug wire for $14.
Camrys are reliable cars and if a mechanic checks out the vehicle before you leave, your chances of a trouble-free trip are as good as any.
We always travel with our AAA membership, cell phone and several credit cards.
I absolutely agree. There could be serious safety issues pending on a car this age that you would not want to learn of the hard way, such as brake issues, worn out tie rod ends, and rusted out critical areas (like strut towers, unibody “rails”, or crossmembers) that can be seen by a competent shop with the car on a lift and a good worklight.
That too is excellent advice. Or at least one credit card, either a MasterCard or Visa. Lots of places don’t take American Express.
I wouldn’t even think about problems on this short a trip in my '87 Toyota pickup.
I took a dip in a public pool while I was on a trip. There were no lockers so I stowed everything but my clothes and car key in the truck (attached the key to my swim trunks.) Somebody busted the window and took all my valuables. Since then I stash the valuables in a hiding spot when I have to leave them behind.
Good advice above. Whenever I’m taking a long road trip w/an “iffy” vehicle I use the internet to look up the phone numbers of the police and tow companies in the major cities along the way, and store them in my cell phone. Doing this of course makes it impossible for the car to break down, as I’ve never had to phone any of them … 
I agree with everyone here, have the mechanic do a check make sure nothing looks iffy or is at the end of its life so to speak. Drove my 96 chevy astro from Miami to galveston and back and she still runs. Each car is different it’s just a matter of being as prepared as you can to make other arrangements if it does happen.
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