Mini Cannonball. Any prep advice?

I'm planning on driving from west TX to AL and back this coming weekend.  Friday night is the start.  2100 miles round trip.  I'd like to get back home in time for church Sunday morning.

Any prep advice?  Diet or mechanical?

Eat stuff that doesn't make you poop, make sure car has the right amounts of fluids and nothing seems broken.  Get as much sleep as possible the nights leading up to it since it sounds like you won't get a lot once the trip starts.  Waste minimal time when stopped, you're going to need to average like 50+mph including time spent sleeping so you have to keep moving to make that distance in that timeframe.

Check tires, fluids, bearings and brakes. Then send it.

In reply to Crxpilot :

If you're tired then stop and rest. Nothing's worth a wreck because you fell asleep at the wheel.

Stampie's got a good word there. Please don't put anyone at risk to try to prove a point. 

Yikes! Do you have driving help?  A very comfortable car?? I did 1000 miles in 20 hours on a bike once and my best advice is try to drive when most people aren't, traffic kills progress. Flip side is sometimes those can become construction periods, check your routes. Be prepared for delays, see if there are alternate ways. remember if using GPS it may be rerouting you and 2500 other people the same way. This can be tough in unfamiliar areas to know if you are being lead into a choke point.  If you can stay fairly comfortable driving and have help the trip shouldn't be too bad. When you stop for gas/food take a quick walk, a few minutes around the parking lot if you have to.  For car prep, as long as it's in good condition; check/top off your fluids, tire pressures, fill the tank and hit the road. For a questionable car; bring your tools and a way to get onto the GRM forum, someone will come to help. Diet; try and eat your normal diet to keep unwanted stops to a minimum. If you can bring what you like to snack on with you and only buy "hot food/meals"  from reputable places that agree with your stomach. Have a safe trip, hope it is for something fun.

Agreed 100%.  Delivering some items to save $1000+ in express freight.  Also wanting to see how some previous items I did ship made their trip. 

Don't snack too much and not on sweet stuff.  Same with drinks.  Get out and run around the car every few hours, stretch, etc.  Check all fluids and tires before the trip.  Good sunglasses and clean the inside of the windshield well before going so the glare is reduced.  Have a little cash with you just in case.

Do you have a co-pilot?  Any masochistic individual want to see a fairly dull portion of the US with you?  Having someone to spell you at the wheel for even an hour out of 6-8 is really nice.

I get that church is great and all but removing that stress of "must be back by X time" is kinda nice.

Ibuprofen.  My back lets me know when I've spent too long in the car.  Regular Ibuprofen doses helps.

I did 1900 miles from Texas to NY in two days. It was long and boring but I did fine on protein shakes, water, and a few brisket breakfast tacos from Buc-ees. 

Maximize time moving, minimize time stopped and stops in general.  Drain your fuel tank all the way, then pee and get gas and food at the same time, repeat.   Comfortable clothes help, as does an audiobook or podcast you can binge.  

I commend the idea of church though "present but zombi-fied" is not really present. 

Take that out of the equation and you can get some real sleep in AL before the return. 

I've done the return trip from the Challenge to Michigan (1050 miles) more than once in my MINI. You have to be plus 10 or 15 MPH to the speed limit all day to do it in 17 hours. Quite doable, but I don't think I could do it two days in a row. Be careful.

¯\_(ツ)_/¯ said:

Eat stuff that doesn't make you poop

Alternately, eat stuff that makes you poop once and fills you all the way up.  MREs are great for this.  Lots of binders in there.

Reminds me of when I did a weekend trip from Philly to Atlanta and back with my mother.  Left late Friday night (to get through DC in the early morning), arrived in Atlanta Sat afternoon.  Loaded up my truck with stuff my grandparents didn't want (moving to a retirement home and seriously downsizing), got up Sunday and back to PA.  The truck was a manual so I had to do all of the driving. No cruise control (which makes my right knee ache just thinking about it...).

The trip took a week to recover from and I was a lot younger back then (31 years ago).

One tip I learned a few years ago: Espresso = all the caffeine, but without the liquid = don't have to pee as much.

John Welsh said:

I commend the idea of church though "present but zombi-fied" is not really present. 

Take that out of the equation and you can get some real sleep in AL before the return. 

This truly is the right answer. 
 

Signed, -A churchgoing man

In reply to Crxpilot :

Are you driving I-10 the whole way, or taking the more northern route?

Sonic said:

Maximize time moving, minimize time stopped and stops in general.  Drain your fuel tank all the way, then pee and get gas and food at the same time, repeat.   Comfortable clothes help, as does an audiobook or podcast you can binge.  

Related, especially in super middle of nowhere places, make sure you can see the gas station or at least a sign for it from the highway. And the bigger the station, the more likely there's real food on site or very close by. Run out as much fuel as possible, but with enough cushion that you can go a few miles further to find a more convenient stop or deal with unexpected traffic or whatever other variables.

A good audiobook can be a great thing for some long travel.  I wish I had a good one to recommend. 

Pete Gossett (Forum Supporter) said:

In reply to Crxpilot :

Are you driving I-10 the whole way, or taking the more northern route?

I-20 to Birmingham, then 65 north to destination

Jerkey.  Protein pick me up and easy to eat while driving.

Resist caffeine until necessary and cut yourself off after a certain amount (depends on your tolerance). All overdoing it will do is make you miserable.

Do a good amount of stretching on all necessary stops. Especially the core/back/hamstrings.

John Welsh said:

A good audiobook can be a great thing for some long travel.  I wish I had a good one to recommend. 

Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir is a good one if you like science fiction. It's about 20 hours and was great on my last long roadtrip. 

Your body might make it to church but your brain won't.

Depending on when Friday starts, let's assume 36 hours available.  That is an average speed of 70mph with 30 hours of that spent moving, and six hours for adding fuel, buying consumables, disposing of used consumables, sleeping (and you will need to sleep at some point), and doing whatever it is you needed to do that required a 2100mi round trip.

It's amazingly difficult to maintain a 70mph average.

Have a co-pilot, 1000 miles a day is doable but having someone to talk to along the way and switch off if needed is very helpful.  When we make the 900 mile drive between SC and southern WI to see family I drive the whole thing straight through but it's good to know my wife is there to switch off with me if I absolutely need it.

Pack food and drinks, the wife and I pack apples and make sandwiches before our long roadtrips.  It saves time and money not having to find an acceptable drive thru and keeps you feeling fresh and not full of greasy crap.

Comfy car with a big tank, reduce fatigue and keeps fuel stops to a minimum. Stopped time is lost average, a 70mph average is not hard to do if you have a good fuel strategy. 

Maximize your daylight, driving after dark is hard on your eyes, leave earlier in the morning if possible.

Go find a church halfway home from Alabama to go to on Sunday morning?