Long distance road trip advice

I am thinking about making my Ghia a daily driver. I have an upcoming trip to Ocala and was thinking about driving it there and back. How many miles do you guys normally drive before calling it a day?

Just stop and take breaks when you need gas and keep it over 1/4 tank at all times. Ocala is not that bad of a trip unless your car is two inches off the ground

Last summer I went from 10:00am to 3:00am stopping only for meals and bathroom breaks. I had two drivers for half of that though.

Two years ago I left the keys at 8am and got back home around 2am.

The only limits on any road trip are driver endurance and the gas budget.

Just remember, the interstate likes 70+.
Your Ghia likes 60-ish.
You will make new friends who will tell you your #1...
KC

I am fine with getting passed in the slow lane

ASBug wrote:Just remember, the interstate likes 70+.
Your Ghia likes 60-ish.
You will make new friends who will tell you your #1...
KC

Try 58mph for 5000 miles. I get a pass though cuz it was the Jolly Rancher and everybody loves the thing.

You will need to have tools and a spares kit with you at all times if you intend to drive it every day. I carry, a spare belt, coil, points, fuel pump, fuses, gasket kit, fuel filter, zip ties, cotter pins, bits of electrical wire, electric tape, safety wire, quart of oil, flashlight, and some other stuff I can't remember.

My 67 Squareback took me from Montgomery, AL to Crystal River, FL many times. It was my daily driver in 1975!

Drove the Thing from LaGrange to Pensacola and back last fall. The Thing isn't as comfortable as I remember the Square being, but it did fine.

I like to avoid interstates, but the trip to Pensacola was 90% interstate. Grandma, and the two year old grandaughter were my co-pilots.

We always get honks, waves and once were even videod for about 5 miles! They then pulled up next to us and asked if we would change lanes so they could film the other side!

Be sure to carry a few extra nuts and bolts in with your other goodies. The Pensacola trip taught me it is difficult to find a generator pulley nut when you need one the most! Lower shock bolt worked fine though

It may sound lame but I never leave home without my AAA card.

Every other weekend I drive from Peachtree City to Augusta and back... Don't try to push your car too hard... and it should do fine... and mine IS only 2 inches off the ground!

i used to drive mine from ellijay to newnan and back most every other weekend. as long as your mechanicals are kept up with you'll be fine like glenn said just keep tools and some basic parts with you and you'll be fine.

and mine was significantly less than 2 inches off the ground lol

Make sure that ALL the cooling tins are installed and correctly, take your tool bag and spare parts,(points, belt, coil, fuel filter, gaskets, Oil, Clutch/Accel cables, fuses, wire, Bulbs) so you can repair simple stuff on the side of the road. Yeah I take all that stuff with me, even on a trip to the Bank! I don't like to turn high rpm's on my engines. Like someone said above, keep it around 60-65 and you will be fine. I've been to Charlotte, Chatt, Tampa, Gulf Shores and Montgomery in some of my ACVWs. Most recent trip was Tampa in my Bus.

Tools + AAA = Go Any Where!

rpm750 wrote:

Tools + AAA = Go Any Where!

...and get home too!

Just remember there are lots of vw folks that live along that way reach out and let a few of the know your route and they can help ya lay Over or tweek your car to get you on your way. Start off with clean oil, properly adjusted valves and good fuel. Happy trails

type4revolution wrote:Just remember there are lots of vw folks that live along that way reach out and let a few of the know your route and they can help ya lay Over or tweek your car to get you on your way. Start off with clean oil, properly adjusted valves and good fuel. Happy trails

There is always this site: http://www.aircooledrescue.com/ Looks like it's being revived.

Is there a way to do something such as that via Ga Dubs site? If any here were to break down near me, I would be gald to help any way I could. I think most here would as well.

That is a great idea.
Just knowing that I could have a Dub towed to a driveway to work on it would be a help. Most of us have towing on our cars, but mine is just 120 miles.
I litterally live at the north edge of the state on the western side and there are people at the Fl. line on here.
Most of the time a VW person has the "specific" tools to work on the general stuff that goes wrong on an ACVW.
I'm Game.
KC

That is a great idea. I'm in.

I don't have much... but I'd be willing to be in as well.

drvr8 wrote:I don't have much... but I'd be willing to be in as well.

Your Avitar shows you have a paved drive and a garage...
In the cold of winter, just having an area out of the wind and off the mud to work is a great improvement over an interstate median repair when a fellow dubber is only 3 miles away...
KC

Point well taken... I didn't even think of that!

ASBug wrote:

drvr8 wrote:I don't have much... but I'd be willing to be in as well.

Your Avitar shows you have a paved drive and a garage...
In the cold of winter, just having an area out of the wind and off the mud to work is a great improvement over an interstate median repair when a fellow dubber is only 3 miles away...
KC

Just a space to work, cup of coffee, sandwich, frosty brew (if inclined) would be a lifesaver!

It's feasible too that all one may need is a simple part (coil, points, etc.) delivered 5 or 6 miles from home.

We need a map, and a list somehow. I'll gladly join in, but haven't a clue how to start it!

For safety's sake, we should probably limit it to city (closest to your house, not necessarily mailing), and tools available (basic hand tools, intermediate - i.e. vw specific engine case tools, or full shop), then some kind of contact #.
Let the provider determine if they are comfortable helping out or not. This way no one just "drops in" if they have a skip in their engine with out calling first.
-Just some thoughts.
KC
_Edit -
The Aircooled rescue site is a good resource.
Several of the members here appear to be on it (Glenn...).
I would like to have a GADubs specific one, but should we reinvent the wheel?
KC

You guys are pretty great

Yea. I'm listed on AIRS. Got a call once but the guy had it fixed before I could fire up my bus and get out of the garage. Always willing to help a dubber in trouble if I can. Never pass up an air cooled car in trouble. Happy to head out anywhere on I-75/675 from the south side of the perimiter to Macon and I-20 to Augusta. Plenty of spare 12 volt parts to get you home and enough tools @ the house to rebuild your car if need be.

I know no one asked but here is my 4 cents (inflation)....There are a lot of GA people listed on the airs now, if we started promoting that site then most of the work is already done...and...I only have to remember one site when I break down in the rain at 2am BTW, I just signed up on the airs.

Someone has taken the info from the AIRS list that wasn't being updated and has updated it and is hosting it on a site where it will continue to be updated.

http://www.aircooledrescue.com/

I signed up on this new site and had to do it using Mozilla; using Explorer I couldn't save any of the info I entered.