Joined
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505 Posts
Every single thing in this thread is good advice. Evlkarl is right - that road is great. I did that one about 20 years ago and saw all kinds of reeeeally cool cars blasting it.
Having done a few military moves in my day I've spanned one end of North America to the other and top to bottom... and a few chunks in between.
Most importantly (since you're moving): Don't overload your car. You may be tempted to pack a lot of stuff in there (I always have been). Watch the weight. I nearly ruined a set of springs on a car once. And I see a lot of overloaded little cars on the road, sagging in the back, and I know their little front wheels are just skimming the road.
Every vehicle I've ever owned always travels with a kit containing the following items minimum:
- A light of some sort... currently, I have a 3 LED light that actually clips to the brim of my hat, so it's hands free
- Utility knife
- Four hose clamps (pocket change)
- Fuse kit with tester (about $5 at any WalMart)
- One roll of electrical tape (under a dollar)
- Battery kit (terminal cleaner, terminal protectant spray, felt pads and at least one new cable attachment)
[All the above fits in a little bag that used to be a men's shaving kit]
- One roll of Gorilla Tape (couple bucks)
- Ratchet and a basic set of sockets, universal pliars, one phillips and one standard screwdriver
- Some plastic sheeting (I use a mattress cover for moving... bought it at the UHaul store for 2 bucks, I think) in case of broken window or leaks or heavy rain and you don't have a rain poncho or ground cover or...
- Automotive fire extinguisher
- Jumper cables or battery starter unit
- First aid kit with the basics
- Spare quart of oil
- Mechanix gloves
At one time or another, I've used every single one of those items over the years except the fire extinguisher, either on my car or other folks' cars broken down somewhere. All of it takes up almost no room and, in a pinch, you can sufficiently fix a number of common issues to get you from the middle of nowhere to... somewhere.
I tend to carry a few other items just from experience (water, bungee cords and such), but this is my basic kit that's all set to go into my Mini when it gets here. I didn't get the First Aid kit in the picture, but it's about the same size as the bag with the fuses/hose clamps/etc. As you can see, it doesn't take up much space at all.
Having done a few military moves in my day I've spanned one end of North America to the other and top to bottom... and a few chunks in between.
Most importantly (since you're moving): Don't overload your car. You may be tempted to pack a lot of stuff in there (I always have been). Watch the weight. I nearly ruined a set of springs on a car once. And I see a lot of overloaded little cars on the road, sagging in the back, and I know their little front wheels are just skimming the road.
Every vehicle I've ever owned always travels with a kit containing the following items minimum:
- A light of some sort... currently, I have a 3 LED light that actually clips to the brim of my hat, so it's hands free
- Utility knife
- Four hose clamps (pocket change)
- Fuse kit with tester (about $5 at any WalMart)
- One roll of electrical tape (under a dollar)
- Battery kit (terminal cleaner, terminal protectant spray, felt pads and at least one new cable attachment)
[All the above fits in a little bag that used to be a men's shaving kit]
- One roll of Gorilla Tape (couple bucks)
- Ratchet and a basic set of sockets, universal pliars, one phillips and one standard screwdriver
- Some plastic sheeting (I use a mattress cover for moving... bought it at the UHaul store for 2 bucks, I think) in case of broken window or leaks or heavy rain and you don't have a rain poncho or ground cover or...
- Automotive fire extinguisher
- Jumper cables or battery starter unit
- First aid kit with the basics
- Spare quart of oil
- Mechanix gloves
At one time or another, I've used every single one of those items over the years except the fire extinguisher, either on my car or other folks' cars broken down somewhere. All of it takes up almost no room and, in a pinch, you can sufficiently fix a number of common issues to get you from the middle of nowhere to... somewhere.
I tend to carry a few other items just from experience (water, bungee cords and such), but this is my basic kit that's all set to go into my Mini when it gets here. I didn't get the First Aid kit in the picture, but it's about the same size as the bag with the fuses/hose clamps/etc. As you can see, it doesn't take up much space at all.
