traveling long distance with a SXS tips or tricks

As Many of you know, I will be traveling from Washington State to North Carolina. On this trip there will my wife, my 2 year old, my 10 year old, myself and 2 80lbs. dogs in a ford expedition towing my can-am commander. drive time is about 51 hrs. and over 3000 miles to cover. does anyone have any tips, suggestions, do's or dont's?
thanks guys.

Yup keep it rolling slow and steady make every stop count. Every stop will cost you one hour even if you just stop to check a tire and take off again, deduct one hour!! Driving fast doesn't help, just heats up the tires causes blow outs and uses more fuel that causes more fuel stops.
"A steady drip makes a hole in the rock"

Good luck

the_duck_plucker wrote:

As Many of you know, I will be traveling from Washington State to North Carolina. On this trip there will my wife, my 2 year old, my 10 year old, myself and 2 80lbs. dogs in a ford expedition towing my can-am commander. drive time is about 51 hrs. and over 3000 miles to cover. does anyone have any tips, suggestions, do's or dont's?
thanks guys.

change fuel filters if you can in the expedition, and air filter and oil, most people forget the fuel filters, I'd change the tranny fluid if it's got any miles on it, that will be a hard trip towing, pull over every 150-200 miles and get out and walk around with the dogs. you'll be filling up every 200 miles towing anyway so it's a good excuse.

Tie the wife and kids on top, leave the dogs to keep you company, your drive will be a lot more peaceful


BTW - welcome to NC!

RZR_Joe wrote:

Tie the wife and kids on top, leave the dogs to keep you company, your drive will be a lot more peaceful


BTW - welcome to NC!

I have thought about that! But unfortunately they are looking forward to the road trip.

Check the wheel bearings on the trailer and have a spare tire for the trailer.

You and the wife switch driving every two hours. Get out and stretch your legs for a couple minutes and roll on. It will make your trip much easier.

Portable dvd plaver for the kids a good thing, cable lock your ride to the trailer,at stops always park under a light, have a safe trip,

What happened to the motorhome Duck?

njcraddock wrote:

What happened to the motorhome Duck?

We decided to wait and buy one when we get there. It would be to expensive to buy one now, pay to ship the commander, get a car dolly to tow the car, ect.

Damn that is a long trip. Good luck buddy and be safe!

Rohypnol (Ruffies).

Duck Plucker......keep the left door shut and the hammer down!!!! I say you could easly take 7 hours off that drive time......just mash on it!!!!!

Now, there is some good advice given in this thread so I won't repeat any of it......but I know you can shave that total time....mash on it!!

Foxfire wrote:

Duck Plucker......keep the left door shut and the hammer down!!!! I say you could easly take 7 hours off that drive time......just mash on it!!!!!

Now, there is some good advice given in this thread so I won't repeat any of it......but I know you can shave that total time....mash on it!!

I would live to but the wife wants to "see the sights". I told her that she can get good and drunk one night and I'll have us there before she can sober up. I'm not looking forward to this in December/January thou.

the_duck_plucker wrote:

Foxfire wrote:

Duck Plucker......keep the left door shut and the hammer down!!!! I say you could easly take 7 hours off that drive time......just mash on it!!!!!

Now, there is some good advice given in this thread so I won't repeat any of it......but I know you can shave that total time....mash on it!!

I would live to but the wife wants to "see the sights". I told her that she can get good and drunk one night and I'll have us there before she can sober up. I'm not looking forward to this in December/January thou.

GOOD CALL

do a head count after every stop

Stick the wife, two-year-old, and the dogs on a plane. Tell them you will see them when you get there. There's 99% of your potential headaches. Then take your older son and the Commander on a two-week cross country journey being sure to stop and four-wheel several places along the way. Glamis, Paiute trail, Moab, go skiing in Colorado, see the arch in St. Louis, duck hunt in Arkansas or Reelfoot Lake in TN, then spend a few days at Brimstone or Coal Creek before crossing into NC. Justify it as spending quality father/son time to the wife. He'll be grown and gone before you know it.

njcraddock wrote:

Stick the wife, two-year-old, and the dogs on a plane. Tell them you will see them when you get there. There's 99% of your potential headaches. Then take your older son and the Commander on a two-week cross country journey being sure to stop and four-wheel several places along the way. Glamis, Paiute trail, Moab, go skiing in Colorado, see the arch in St. Louis, duck hunt in Arkansas or Reelfoot Lake in TN, then spend a few days at Brimstone or Coal Creek before crossing into NC. Justify it as spending quality father/son time to the wife. He'll be grown and gone before you know it.

njcraddock wrote:

Stick the wife, two-year-old, and the dogs on a plane. Tell them you will see them when you get there. There's 99% of your potential headaches. Then take your older son and the Commander on a two-week cross country journey being sure to stop and four-wheel several places along the way. Glamis, Paiute trail, Moab, go skiing in Colorado, see the arch in St. Louis, duck hunt in Arkansas or Reelfoot Lake in TN, then spend a few days at Brimstone or Coal Creek before crossing into NC. Justify it as spending quality father/son time to the wife. He'll be grown and gone before you know it.

All kidding aside I would do that in a second... Just going to brimestone for us is around 280 miles or so. I can easily get there 45-to an hour quick with out my wife and youngest. I'll stop once midway to top off the tank and fill up my gas cans.. With them I'm stopping for pee breaks, food, blah blah.

If your pulling your machine on an open trailer be very careful at night.. I've talked to several people first hand who had their whole trailer machines and all walk off in the middle of the night from hotel parking lots.. The little locks that lock the tongue onto the ball are easily removed. Couple guys can swing the trailer around to their truck and its gone..

I'm stressing out about that actually. I am planning on cable locking my SXS to the trailer, and cable locking my trailer to the expedition. If I get real worried, I'll just piss off the wife every night and she will make me sleep in the truck.

They make locks for your trailer wheels.. Some are pretty much like a tire boot. Pretty easy to install but much harder to remove then a cable.. Honestly it would be worth the 50-80 bucks just for that trip much less any other time you use it.

the_duck_plucker wrote:

I'm stressing out about that actually. I am planning on cable locking my SXS to the trailer, and cable locking my trailer to the expedition. If I get real worried, I'll just piss off the wife every night and she will make me sleep in the truck.

When the commander comes on the road with me I always just find a good spot in the hotel lot and pretty much park the trailer back into a corner and angle my truck where there is no way to move it even if you got it un hitched. Has worked so far!

8ball_99 wrote:

They make locks for your trailer wheels.. Some are pretty much like a tire boot. Pretty easy to install but much harder to remove then a cable.. Honestly it would be worth the 50-80 bucks just for that trip much less any other time you use it.

you can also buy the locks for motorcycles and atvs tires

what highways are you takeing ? we live in southeast iowa, its about 12 = 13 hrs from here, but we drive it straight through. (over 700 miles from here). we go down to st. louis mo., take 64 east all the way over to lexington ky.. then go south on 75 to 92 or 63 west to 27 south to huntsville tn. that works for us. have a good time, good place to ride. pushrod

there is a few different routs im thinking about.
1st night in Boise ID
2nd Salt lake city UT
3rd Denver CO
4th Wichita KS
5th Little rock Arkansas
6th Moody AL
7th Laurinburg NC.
the wife is wanting to see the Grand Canyon, so that might change things up a bit too.