[MJBO]

Only concern I have with road trips on my G81 are tyres.

Granted my 20/21 inch combo are not the best for that, which is why for future road trips I’m tempted to get a set of square 19 inch wheels with easy-to-find tyre sizes so if I need to replace along the way it’s not a disaster.

I need to order one of these too: https://modernspare.com/product/2020...e-kit-options/

Wife and I have taken our dogs on the Melbourne to Sydney return a few times (900km each way) and do it in a day. Not sure they’d love the top down though. No issues in our X3 or M3T.

[Tanz440]

Originally Posted by Mavus

you are good to go 1k mi is nothing. one item that I use on road trips is bug splatter removal fluid cuz the front end gets some nasty creatchers wedged in there

What brand do you recommend?

[Tanz440]

Originally Posted by StradaRedlands

Sounds like a great trip! Try to get off the interstate for parts of it... slower isn't always bad! I'd ditch the jumper cables and get a quality jump pack. Get AAA gold with 100 mile tows. Bring a pillow, blanket, and trail mix or something along with extra water for JIK situations like the bridge shut down mentioned above.
Have fun and enjoy the ride as well as the destination!

What brand/model jump starter do you recommend?

[StradaRedlands]

Originally Posted by Tanz440

What brand/model jump starter do you recommend?

They're all fine. So much better than jumpers!

Noco is pretty highly recommended: https://www.amazon.com/NOCO-GB40-Ult.../dp/B015TKUPIC

I have this in all our cars: https://www.amazon.com/AVAPOW-Starte.../dp/B08NPC4VVR

[Mavus]

Originally Posted by Tanz440

What brand do you recommend?

https://www.griotsgarage.com/bug-smu...ontent=General

been using it for years and it works so well. For nasty crusty deposit you may need to apply 2-3 times and agitate btw applications

also get a roll of blue shop towels and a small bottle of water to wipe off residue at the end

store the bottle in a leak proof bag during travel

[oVeRdOsE.]

new car people road trip are different than shitty modded box road trip I must say !

I bring :

- tool
- air compressor and tire plug
- tywrap
- tape
- metal wire
- more tools

because doing 4000km with a 600whp wagon, some stuff will fck

[Efthreeoh]

I've done some of that trip on my tour bike 2-up with my wife. From Tampa we took 19 to 98 to Mobile, AL then picked up 90 to New Orleans (our destination before riding back to Virginia). Further West from New Orleans I'd stay on 90 until Lafayette, LA, then pickup Interstate 10 to Houston (90 runs along with it).

As far as the pup, our pups aged out back in 2017 and 2019 but we road tripped with them all the time in our Jeep with the top off/down. Our dogs weighed around 30 pounds each. We'd set up a big dog bed in the back of the jeep with the rear seat removed. Yours at 15 pounds and at interstate speeds, I'd keep him on a really short leash with a harness. Get collapsable water and food bowls for him.

The issue with convertibles is you get sunburned without noticing because the wind is continuously pulling the heat from your skin, so you need to keep up with the sunblock.

A new car at 3,000 miles, I'd bring a credit card and a cell phone.

Here's hoping for a great trip.

[pbonsalb]

Originally Posted by Tanz440

What brand/model jump starter do you recommend?

I have had issues with my Noco jump starter and trickle chargers. The button fails and it will no longer cycle through options. 1 jump starter — GB150 — and 3 trickle chargers. Won’t be buying any more Noco. I have taken them apart and cleaned contacts but will probably need to replace the switches under the buttons.

I bought a couple of Gooloo jump starters and think it is just as good or better a brand. Wait for Amazon sales next week. I bought one GT4000 and one GT4000S Gooloo 4000 series.

[Efthreeoh]

Originally Posted by MJBO

Only concern I have with road trips on my G81 are tyres.

Granted my 20/21 inch combo are not the best for that, which is why for future road trips I’m tempted to get a set of square 19 inch wheels with easy-to-find tyre sizes so if I need to replace along the way it’s not a disaster.

I need to order one of these too: https://modernspare.com/product/2020...e-kit-options/

Wife and I have taken our dogs on the Melbourne to Sydney return a few times (900km each way) and do it in a day. Not sure they’d love the top down though. No issues in our X3 or M3T.

I gotta ask. Do your pups bark with an Australian accent?

[No one]

Originally Posted by Efthreeoh

I gotta ask. Do your pups bark with an Australian accent?

Of course they bark the Queen's English. That's why he doesn't understand them.

[Efthreeoh]

Originally Posted by No one

Of course they bark the Queen's English. That's why he doesn't understand them.

But seriously though, I have a friend who rescues dogs. Through some US Government contacts, he rescued a mature dog from Turkey. As a serious question I asked if the dog understood English and it did not. It was just funny to me.

[No one]

Originally Posted by Efthreeoh

But seriously though, I have a friend who rescues dogs. Through some US Government contacts, he rescued a mature dog from Turkey. As a serious question I asked if the dog understood English and it did not. It was just funny to me.

Why would it speak English in Turkey, where they have a language of their own? It's possible but unlikely. There is a very nice movie "Water for Elephants". They didn't know an elephant understood Polish(?) and thought it was hopelessly dumb while it wasn't at all, they just had failed to teach it English.

Sorry.

[Tanz440]

Appreciate all the advice and comments.

I'll come back after the trip and post some photos and a quick report.

Thanks again.

[afadeev]

Originally Posted by Tanz440

This fall we will doing a road trip, myself my wife and our small pup in my 2025 M440i LCI covertible. The plan is to travel from the Tampa Bay, FL area to just north of Houston, TX to visit family. Route should be about 1,000 miles each way.

Since it is a first for us on this route, as well as the first long trip for our pup we are going to limit the travel to daylight hours and do the trip in about 2 1/2 days.

You are kidding, right?
1,000 miles is nothing, you can cover that distance over I-10 in 1000/80= 12.5 hours, not including ~3 stops for gas. Zero preparation required.
Maybe spend a night in New Orleans, for fun. Otherwise it can be done in one day straight, all during daylight hoursl

Originally Posted by Tanz440

Hoping the weather cooperates and we can do a lot of the trip with the top down.

Driving top-down at highway speeds will not be fun. Especially for your dog!

Originally Posted by Tanz440

Looking for suggestions from others who have done a similar trip, especially with a pup. Our girl is small, about 15 pounds.

Time to level-up your dog!
Ours are 110, 60, and 50 pounds. They need restroom breaks less frequently than humans. Otherwise, they sleep through the drive.

Things I have in all my cars, all the time:

1. V1 radar detector
2. Android Auto/Car Paly with nav and Waze (for cop trap alerts)
3. Dynaplug Tire Repair Kit
4. 12V Tire Inflator and Repair System
5. AAA membership for those rare corner cases when #4 & #5 are not sufficient (happened 1 time in 35 years of driving).

HTH,
a

[RockCrusher]

Not everyone can drive long distances in one stretch.

My sister decided to leave CA for AR. She asked me to convoy with her as she had never driven any real distance. I OTOH had driven from CA to points east a number of times via the same route we were going to follow and could darn near do it my sleep.

So we set out from the Central Valley. She told me before we left she could only drive around 300 miles a day so I always had 2 rooms reserved at our day's destination.

Oh she in her low miles 2012 Infiniti F35 me in a new and barely broken in MINI S. (On the way to CA I stopped in Albuquerque to get the MINI's first post break in oil change.)

I have driven from the SF Bay Area of CA to KC MO in 2 days -- 2 long days to be sure. And one time I managed to drive straight through stopping once in a while only to catch 40 winks stretched out in the car with the rear seats lowered and using the back of the seats and the trunk for a sleeping platform.

But convoying with my sister it took forever to cover the approx. 1900 miles. Well, for forever make that 6 days and 5 nights.

[BeEmVe]

I am going to second/third the comment about tires. With so many vehicles having run flats getting a flat on a road trip is a PITA. A PITA that might leave you parked at a hotel for several days while a new tire is procured. That can also happen with go flats and a non repairable go flat. So think about that scenario.

[snowbimmer]

Tanz440, I've had one flat in the last 200,000 miles - and it was my fault for trying to turn around in a construction site because I got impatient. Luckily, I was 2 miles from the dealer at the time and the nice lady at BMW Assist got me a tow in about 30 mins.

I've done these trips recently. A total of 52,651 miles. M550s, M5s, M850s.




Zero tire problems. Combination of run flats and non run flats. Michelins and Pirellis. Never even added air. Had to let some out when I was in the hot desert SW once.

I carry a plug kit and a mobility kit and a can of whoop ass tire sealant. You never know what's gonna happen, just be prepared. Obviously a flat in a podunk town on a Saturday night would suck trying to get a replacement tire there, but really - how often do you get a flat? Be vigilant about potholes and stay off really crappy roads.

Enjoy your car. It's why you bought it.

Safe travels - and.......pics. Or it didn't happen.

[noemon]

Things I carry with me on 1000+ mile journeys.

NOCO Boost GB70
Mongoose Radar detector

Makita:
Socket driver
Cordless Ratchet wrench
Air compressor

Most used sockets, 8mm, 10mm, 13mm, 17mm, 19mm, 21mm. T20, 40, 60+ a set of the mini ones, T5-10. M8, M10, M12. 1 lt of engine oil. Tyre repair kit. Adjustable wrench and 2 screwdrivers, 1 of each.

Mequiars bug foam, ONS waterless wash, a bunch of microfiber towels doubling as cushions for the don julio bottles wedged on the side of the suitcases. A set of front pads rarely, if the ones on the car are below half life.