[cnn]

Van is 2007 LX with 30K miles.

Planning long trip to East Coast 3-4K miles, anything to watch out for?

Basically a 3-4K miles trip:

Omaha NE ---> St Louis ---> Nashville, TN ---> Atlanta GA ---> Hilton Head SC ---> N Carolina ---> Philadelphia ---> DC ---> Montreal Canada ---> Toronto ---> Chicago ---> Omaha NE


Van is up to date with maintenance (new oil, filter, brake is good etc.)

I will bring:

- Emergency toolkit, extra light bulbs

- Extra Oil Filter

- GPS etc. etc.

The $1M question is: is there any Honda part that I need to carry in the trunk? At 30K miles, I cannot think of any part that I should carry with me.
Maybe extra drive belt?

Any advices will be appreciated.

PS: BTW is Hilton Head SC better than Myrtle Beach?

 

[VanMan09]

1)You will find Nebraska the most boring state to drive through, and make sure you have plenty of gas because some areas gas stations are few and far between
2)Plan your trip where you are not going through st.louis at night and have to stop anywhere
3)Be prepared to drive 80-90mph through Atlanta or you will get run over
4)Chicago traffic is awful, once went 20 miles in 2 hours(during snow season though)

Hoping to go to myrtle beach sometime, never been to east coast beaches, good luck with your trip, you may want to make sure your XM/Sirius Radio is up do date.

 

[davedrivesody]

I just returned from a 3,600-mile trip with no problems at all.

Here's what I brought for the van:
- car wash soap and a small bucket (for the bugs on the front bumper)
- quart of oil (never used any)
- Windex (for the windshield)
- tire pressure guage
- air pump

I didn't even consider bringing any spare parts.

Enjoy the trip!

- Dave

 

[dvpatel]

Moved to the Road Trips forum.

Hilton Head Island is definitely better than Myrtle Beach. MB is too commercial. HHI on the other hand is like a small town with very minimal commecialization. You do have hotels and putt putt courses in addition to the Golf Courses but I prefer HHI over MB any day of the week.

Also, forgot to mention. If you go to HHI, Savannah is a short drive away and a good day trip. Its nice to watch HUGE ships rumble by you only a few feet away at the Savannah River.

 

[cnn]

Moved to the Road Trips forum.

Hilton Head Island is definitely better than Myrtle Beach. MB is too commercial. HHI on the other hand is like a small town with very minimal commecialization. You do have hotels and putt putt courses in addition to the Golf Courses but I prefer HHI over MB any day of the week.

Also, forgot to mention. If you go to HHI, Savannah is a short drive away and a good day trip. Its nice to watch HUGE ships rumble by you only a few feet away at the Savannah River.

Many thanks dvpatel for your input!!!

 

[dvpatel]

You're welcome.

On the HHI thing. If you are not booked into one of the fancy Ocean front properties (Condos or Resorts), you can ask a local for where the free parkings are and you can actually park for free all day and get beach access for free all day. When we went (a couple of years back), we stayed at a Days Inn as we knew the owners and didn't spend a dime to park or for beach access.

Also, the Vagabond Dolphin Watch cruise (the evening one) was good and we saw a bunch of dolphins.

 

[Steve Pert]

We have been to Hilton Head twice for vacations. It's very nice and laid-back, and not too commercialized. Sometimes the retail stores and restaurants are too hidden from view; you might not even know something is built there behind the trees.

There are paths all over for bicycling, and lots of bike rental places. If you like kayaking, inside the Palmetto Dunes resort at their bike rental store you can rent kayaks. They have suggested paddling routes on the canals that take you past the golf courses and big expensive houses. (Some of Palmetto Dunes is gated, but the bike shop is before security.) They have two-person kayaks, so it's suitable for small kids if they are paired up with adults.

Enjoy your vacation.

 

[cnn]

Thank you all for tips.

- Savannah GA is beautiful. Downtown is nice, good restaurants. River street is old-fashioned and charming.

- Hilton Head Island's beach is one of the best. Nice smooth sand. Warm water.

- While in Hilton Head, our AC went out! Turned out it was the AC Clutch and Stator! Hilton Head Honda estimated it for $600 (parts and labor).
Since the van was 37 months old (barely out of warranty) and 34K miles, they agree to split, so I paid $300 out of the door. Kind of disappointing to see this part fails so early. Normally the AC Clutch and Stator fail around 100-150K miles.

- Went to Durham NC, nice place.

- Visited Washington DC.

- Then Montreal Canada and back to Omaha NE.

Total 4000 miles. I averaged 23 mpg (2 adults and 4 kids, standard luggage weight, tires at 35 psi, speed 70-75 mph).

 

[dvpatel]

Glad you like both HHI and Savannah that I recommended.