Time for a road trip... a LONG one
 

Sometime around June 11th-ish, the gf and I are going to drive from Houston to Los Angeles then to Vegas then back to Houston... in the X5.... maybe (which you'd come to understand after reading the whole post).

While this isn't a very difficult drive, it is a long one.
#1: what should I plan to do to the 4.6 for this drive? Coolant flush... diff and TC change..

#2: we're going to straight shoot to LA from Houston but on the way back from Vegas, were going to do a little sight seeing.

any suggestions what to do besides the casinos?
places NOT to go...?

#3: should I even attempt to do this in the X? It is a long drive and while I do have confidence in her, the Bronco seems to be more durable if we are to go off the beating path on the way back and should we hit bad weather, I don't feel so bad having dent removers taking any hail dents out of the Bronco. Plus, she can pretty much go more places than the X, albeit slower and gets worse MPG HOWEVER, she takes regular vs. 93 in the X. hum... On the way back is when we're going to do the "tourist" stuff. Route back (so far):

Rt 93 out of town
Hover Dam
Oatman, AZ
Kingman Army boneyard
Grand Canyon
deer farm
Homolovi ruins
Newpaper rock
el malpais
wheels museum
walter white's grave (yepp.....)
Unser racing
Breaking bad home(s)
Tinkertown
Route 66 Auto museum
Russels gas station

^^ that's all we got for now (update later). using roadtrippers to see what's up. Anything up there a really bad tourist trap?

Thoughts? What's the longest you've taken your X5? How did she fair?

Thanks!!

I drove to San Antonio TX about 1750 miles straight, from allentown, PA last year. Mine always burned a little more oil cause of the seal issue but i have it contained to where you never see the smoke really. I added i think a quart or 3:4 after the whole trip. I also had about 500-600 lbs loaded up in the back and just me as a driver.

3-4 months later i did same drive and same exact route drive back home to PA, straight thru as well, it pretty much did it without a hiccup. Drive was about 26-27hours each way.

I just stopped for food, bathroom and gas. I reset my MPG leaving each time and never touched it till i got home. 20 exactly on the was there avg, 19.9 way back but i did have an extra 100lbs or so.

The drive consisted of cruising 70-75 max thru PA/VA. When you cross into TN you do hit the mountains for a but which im sure saps some of that avg mpg. On the way there for a good 1/1.5 hours crusing 80-90, then by knoxville about 75, then found another group rolling again, was doing 85-95 sometimes 100 for 1.5 hour or so. Arkansas was pretty boring and no one rolling plus cops everywhere so 73mph ish cruised thru that whole state

Texas was mostly 75-80 till SA.

Way back same thing for tx, and arkansas. After passing nashville this is on the way back, there was a bmw z4 leading, honda crv, caddy cts, and me then, for a good 2-2.5 hours we were rolling 95-110 sometimes getting up to 120. I let the z4 lead and kept distance incase of cops, i didnt have any jammers installed. But we got thru scotfree till knoxville i think then split off. Rest of way was 75ish crusing.

Hope that helps you.

Edit: i actually took a mini clip of that drive back was surprised to aee a crv rolling with us, but was a good time.. https://instagram.com/p/p37SL4R5NF/

I am thinking about a similar distance trip (Indianapolis to Nova Scotia) but my biggest fear is a mechanical failure along the way....not a big deal while in proximity to my local indy (Ress Motor Works in Indianapolis, these guys ROCK), but what happens in the boonies? I wouldn't trust the local mom and pop or GM stealership to do emergency repairs, and if I was lucky enough to be in proximity of a BMW dealership, incoming dead credit card, lol!

My other vehicle is a Chevy S10....that can get repaired anywhere cheaply, but not exactly the same driving experience ;)

I'd look at the typical (fluids, filters,etc.) What is the state of your cooling system? Typically around 90-100k the expansion tank will fail, maybe other hoses. My order is failure went
Upper Radiator hose - I replaced all the front hoses
Expansion Tank - replaced it
Rear heater hoses - replaced them
This all happened within 2 months.
When did you last do the level 2 service?

OP, do it a week or so earlier and join us on this trip => http://www.xoutpost.com/off-topic/xo...-9-2015-a.html

I'm taking the coupe on this trip, though.

I see no reason to not make this trip in an X5.

On the return trip, (or while actually spending a few days in Vegas) you have to do the Hoover Dam tour. You will get a sense of the drought in the west while you are there -- the lake is about 200 ft below the normal high tide mark, which is denoted by a white band where the water normally would be. You also need to take the road from the dam to Kingman, and about half way to Kingman there is a left turn that goes to Grand Canyon West, home of Skywalk. Do a Google search on SKYWALK. It's breath taking. You can do the dam tour and Skywalk, and return to Vegas in a day. The dam is about 30 minutes from the strip, and Skywalk is another 1.5 hour drive -- plan on about 2 hours driving one way from the hotel to Skywalk and back, so a total of 4-ish.

In Vegas, skip the strip and go Downtown. Well, don't entirely skip the strip, but also do not miss the downtown area. They have made Fremont Street into a pedestrian mall, and the overhead patio cover is a huge video screen that they play music videos on, and there are speakers up and down the street that the sound comes from. There was a Doors concert the night we were there last. Very cool. You might remember Fremont Street from the 007 movie, Diamonds are Forever. JB was driving a Mustang around the downtown area while the inept cops were chasing him. He put the Mustang on two wheels to drive through a skinny space that the cops crashed trying to keep up. This was filmed on Fremont Street, and the surrounding cross streets.

So, downtown and the strip -- night time is the best time for both of these -- the dam tour, and Skywalk.

I missed your route plan, but Kingman is on I40, and if you turn east from there toward Flagstaff, then when you get to Williams, the South Rim of the Grand Canyon is only about 45 minutes. If you schedule right, you can get sunset and/or sunrise at the South Rim, and this is the best time for pictures. East of Flagstaff, there is a meteor strike that is worth the effort to go see.

I should clarify, I'd definitely do the trip in my X5! I realize I never stated that.

Your trip FROM Houston should put you to Las Cruces in time for bed, then Los Angeles at the end of the second day. Get on I10, and do not get off except to pee and get more gas.

Las Cruces is home to High Desert Brewing Co. (HDBC Intro Page). They make some pretty decent craft beers and the dining is very casual and the food is good. They are not too far from the hotels that line the shoulders of the freeway.

I did a similar road trip last year. Started in NYC and finished in LA, via the Carolinas, New Orleans, four corners, Las Vegas, San Francisco and everything in between. Must admit though, I hired a car (as I was visiting the US) and didn't worry about it. There's a great car yard full of old muscle cars and aging wrecks just north of Kingman. Too many places of interest to list. One of my favourite places has to be Alabama - great people and food too. You'll enjoy yourself for sure, just get the X thoroughly checked out before you head off.

First of all, the X5 is an awesome long distance cruiser. Did Vegas to DC and back in mine, including the Dallas to Vegas run in one day. Fully loaded. With two dogs in the back seat (and my lovely wife sharing the driving).

If your route takes you near Tucson, you can divert down I-19 to Green Valley, AZ and check out the Titan Missle Silo Museum. Real missile in there (defused), etc. Quite the relic from the cold war.

In Vegas, there's the Atomic Testing Museum east of the strip on Flamingo. Worth a trip.

Do yourself a favor and get the app "Waze". Crowd sourcing driving -- points out hidden cops, potholes, disabled vehicles, etc. Quite a nice app.

Check your belts, hoses, tire pressures (including the spare), etc. Fresh oil and filter wouldn't hurt unless you're getting it done on the trip.