[DeDondeEs]

We are embarking on our 2nd annual road trip to Disney World in a few weeks. We did this trip last year in our Odyssey and had a blast. We were thinking "Gee Vegas is hot in July, but it is just too dry, where can we go where it is hot and humid?" D

But before we embark I was looking at some maintenance issues. The car has around 45k miles on it. My wife is concerned about the tires. They are the original Michelin LX4 tires. Since we keep the vehicle in a garage there are no signs of cracking and dry-rot, and the treads are 6/32" with no signs of uneven wear. That seems all good to me, My wife is more concerned because the tires are "old", is there something I am overlooking before I reassure my wife for the third time that the tires are fine?

Also the Oil life percentage is 80%. The oil and filter was changed a month ago with Mobil 1 synthetic, so I should be good for the road trip without an oil change in the middle right? It is about 4,500 to 5,000 miles round trip.

I changed the cabin and engine air filters last weekend. When I was putting the bolts onto the air intake box in the engine, one of the 4 bolts snapped. There are 3 remaining bolts holding the box on securely. Are these bolts replaceable? It seems like they have some special washer or something on them so the bolts stay connected to the upper part of the air intake box so you can't lose the bolts.

 

[txn]

You are good to go.
Oil: 80% is equal to 6000 miles.
Tires:
You can hit a nail and blow the tire so don't worry too much if the tires don't show any sign of cracking.
- Make sure the spare is fully inflated to 60 psi.
If the tire blows, put on the spare and head to the nearest tire shop. Every town has a Walmart near the interstate.

Check ATF, P/S fluid, brake fluid and windshield washer fluid.
Bring a jumper cable just in case.

PS: I just came back from a 3200 miles road trip from TX in the Ody. One of the stop was Ft Lauderdale.

 

[nicomtl]

Oil: 80% is equal to 6000 miles.

On our Odyssey, the Maintenance Minder counts about 4000 miles (6000 kilometers) per oil change, so 80 would be around 4800 miles. Could be because we do mostly city driving...

For reference, we are at 30% and, as we will be going on a 1500 kilometers trip of our own in three weeks, we'll change the oil before going, just to be sure.

Nicolas

 

[txn]

Before I left on my 3200 mile trip, the oil life was 60%.
When I came back, oil life was 15%.
So every 10% is roughly 700 miles (for highway driving).

 

[jrbettis]

I-10 Mobile, AL

Just an FYI,
when you get to I-10 in Mobile, AL if you notice traffic East bound backed up heading into the Wallace tunnel going under Mobile Bay. You can exit I-10 and take the old tunnel under Mobile Bay. Yes we have two. Original two lane and really big four lane. I hate seeing out of state travelers lose time sitting on I-10 when there's another route. Google map it or G Earth it. I't under the Fort, kinda hard to miss from a satellite. Drive safely. Don't forget the movies.
wallace tunnel eastbound5 Traffic Camera Mobile Al | WKRG.com Mobile

 

[DeDondeEs]

Just an FYI,
when you get to I-10 in Mobile, AL if you notice traffic East bound backed up heading into the Wallace tunnel going under Mobile Bay. You can exit I-10 and take the old tunnel under Mobile Bay. Yes we have two. Original two lane and really big four lane. I hate seeing out of state travelers lose time sitting on I-10 when there's another route. Google map it or G Earth it. I't under the Fort, kinda hard to miss from a satellite. Drive safely. Don't forget the movies.
wallace tunnel eastbound5 Traffic Camera Mobile Al | WKRG.com Mobile

Thanks for the advice. We're actually stopping to see some family in Birmingham along the way, so we'll miss Mobile on the way down, but we will probably take I-10 back, is there a congestion issue going westbound too?

So basically we are taking I-40 east all of the way to Memphis, then taking I-22 into Birmingham. Perhaps you can give me some advice on getting from Birmingham to Orlando.

Last time we took I-65 to that US-231 via Dothan to I-10 then to I-75. This time all of the mapping sites are telling me to instead take US-82 out of Montgomery and go to I-75 via Albany, GA. Can you travel pretty quickly on this route? To me it looks like a lot of 30 mph zones and stoplights. But that's just my judgement by looking at all of the small towns along the way from the map view. The Dothan route wasn't so bad, but man that stretch of I-10 in the FL panhandle is boring (no offense to anyone who lives there).

 

[jrbettis]

I-10 Mobile, AL II

yahoo has a route skipping the panhandle altogether.
AL just has I-65 as our big traffic evac route. And roads going into Tuscaloosa for gamedays!
Lots of arteries for two lanes.
memphis, B'Ham, ATL (not liking that) Macon then I-75 on down.
B'ham to Columbus show a whopping savings of 20 minutes!
small towns, think Smokey and the Bandit.
Interstates make a big difference! Except when a truck jackknifes, West Bound lane, in the tunnel like last Friday.
The bulk of the FL panhandle is Air Force base and Naval flight training.
Adjacent to white sandy beaches of Destin and Navarre.
Lots of acres!

 

[jrbettis]

I-10 Mobile, AL III

yahoo has a route skipping the panhandle altogether.
AL just has I-65 as our big traffic evac route. And roads going into Tuscaloosa for gamedays!
Lots of arteries for two lanes.
memphis, B'Ham, ATL (not liking that) Macon then I-75 on down.
B'ham to Columbus show a whopping savings of 20 minutes!
small towns, think Smokey and the Bandit.
Interstates make a big difference! Except when a truck jackknifes, West Bound lane, in the tunnel like last Friday.
The bulk of the FL panhandle is Air Force base and Naval flight training.
Adjacent to white sandy beaches of Destin and Navarre.
Lots of acres!

It seems the speed of a four lane outweighs the ATL traffic. seems the fastest route if speed matters.