Tools and maintenance for cross-country drive?

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Pajamarama

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Atlanta, GA
Hi there --

As mentioned before, I'll be doing a cross country drive in my 09 Fit Sport from Atlanta to SoCal shortly after Labor Day.

All of my possessions will be in the back (edit: not bag...). Decided against the roof rack or rear mounted storage back.

Here are the auto repair related tools I'll have with me. If anyone

- jack and 2 jack stands
- 3/8 and 1/2 inch breaker bar, socket and metric socket sets
- tire air gauge
- cig lighter based tire air pump (made by Slime...love that name) which is only good for getting tires up to min pressure
- original compact spare tire, used 1 or 2 times for short periods
- can of fix-a-flat
- jumper cables
- cig lighter based battery tester
- roll of paper towels and some mechanics gloves
- flare and 50 ft of rope

I'd appreciate it if you can let me know if there's something obvious I'm forgetting.

As far as I know, the biggest enemy I'm going to face is the heat. Pavement will be scorching throughout the south as well as the air temps. I have a Bluetooth OBDII connector as well as Torque installed on my phone and tablet.

Also, just for forun, here is the maintenance I have performed on the car in the last 30 days:
- oil change
- man transmission fluid change
- spark plug change
- air filter change
- checked radiator coolant -- it's only about 2 years old and still looks good and sufficient level from what I can tell.
- topped off A/C refrigerant
- rotated tires (2 year old -- lots of tread left)
- new wiper blades and topped off wiper fluid
- will be rotating the tires before I leave. Will check brake pad thickness at that time.

Oh and I'll have roadside assistance service through my insurance company.

I hope I've covered everything but thanks for any and all advice!
 
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I'd replace the pcv valve before your trip with an oem version. Usually the internal spring breaks around 60k miles.

A quart of oil for top offs. Check level daily in the morning after long hwy trips.

Gallon of Honda pre-mix coolant.

Flashlight

Test battery- clean and grease connections.

Pack of Luna bars, I like the chocolate coconut, apples, bananas, peanuts etc. No alcohol even after long trips that way feel fresh the next day.

A few gallons of water to drink.
 
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Originally Posted By: Donald
First aid kit. Tow strap. Fuses. You have not said if you will be going through desolate areas.


I am.

I-10 and I-20 from Dallas to Tuscon is pretty desolate if I remember correctly from doing this trip the first time.

Again, good suggestions. Thanks.

Edit: I also topped off the wiper fluid reservoir and will do so again immediately before I leave.

Someone else IRL suggested Rain-X for the windshield. Might do that, might not.

Oh, and I'll also have the entire official Honda Fit Service Manual in electronic form on both my laptop and tablet.

I'm looking to be the best prepared CC driver ever!
 
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Anything can happen during a trip. But you are driving a Honda. And trips across the country are pretty routine with the ultra reliable vehicles today. Most likely you will end up doing absolutely nothing to your car on your drive.
 
Originally Posted By: DeafBrad
Anything can happen during a trip. But you are driving a Honda. And trips across the country are pretty routine with the ultra reliable vehicles today. Most likely you will end up doing absolutely nothing to your car on your drive.


That would be absolutely perfect with me.

Oh, and will have some duct tape. Can't believe no one mentioned that yet. :-p
 
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Maybe Rain-X the windshield in case of downpours. Applied via the directions and follow them to a t. Also raise the wipes so the solution doesn't get on the rubber.

For $10 Meguiars has some waterless wash, that along with a few plush microfibers for removing bird bombs and bug splatter. It will leave a little bit of wax protection behind to make future clean ups a little easier.
 
Originally Posted By: JC1
I'd skip the fix a flat and get a tire plug kit.. I would also add a small inflator for the tires if needed to repair a flat tire.


Agreed, I'd add leather gloves to protect your hands if inserting a plug, plus they could be handy in other repairs.

Along with the duct tape, throw in a couple of wire coat hangers. In a pinch, a lot can be done with a coat hanger.

I wouldn't worry too much. You'll be better prepared than 99.9% of people traveling cross country by car.
 
Originally Posted By: DeafBrad
Anything can happen during a trip. But you are driving a Honda. And trips across the country are pretty routine with the ultra reliable vehicles today. Most likely you will end up doing absolutely nothing to your car on your drive.

I'd agree with this. Do any outstanding maintenance, check the obvious things and carry tools for any known weaknesses of your vehicle (like pliers, wire and wire cutters to "sling up" the exhaust on my Volvo which dropped its exhaust on the road trips 3 times). Otherwise have your AAA up to date, carry a cellphone and the names and phone numbers of dealerships along the route. Being left at the side of the road these days is pretty unlikely.

You can never anticipate every possible problem, and probably nothing that would leave you at the side of the road will go wrong anyway. In my (now fairly long) experience the only things that have done that were an ignition coil (twice, on different '50s and '60s vehicles) and a voltage regulator ('60s). The headlights got so dim we couldn't see the road - pulled off and waited until morning when we could drive in daylight. The Volvo exhaust ('85) had the decency to wait until I was in a major center the first time, and after that I got used to slinging up the center, and pulling off the back end and throwing it in the trunk. A little warm to the touch but hey, better than waiting for help.
 
Originally Posted By: daman
A small pull behind trailer for all your emergency supply's lol.


Yeah I was just thinking that.
shocked.gif


I will have to make sure I leave room for my actual stuff, some of which is actual auto repair tools but most of which is not.
 
Sorry if I missed it, but what's the point of this trip? (moving, career change etc?)

If it's meant to be a round trip, why not just rent something new and return it when you get back?
This way if there's any issues, your not on the hook for the repairs (help is just a phone call away).
 
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