Hello,
Having done several long distance road trips in the TR, I can offer the
following advice. I can provide more, if you really want more.
Qualifying statement:
I have driven the TR6 to Nova Scotia, 1800 mile round trip.
Ditto to Prine Edward Island, I think I drove over 2000 miles on that one.
Drove to Ashville, NC for the 94 VTR, that was over 2400 miles RT.
Steps worth taking:
1. Travel in a group. It is always good to have a friend to commiserate with.
2. A little planning goes a long way. Make the trip fun! Find some
tourist-y things to do en-route.
3. Make sure the AAA membership (gold if possible) is up to date. 200
miles of free towing! This buys you some piece of mind. And don't be
afraid to ask for a flat-bed, should you actually need a tow.
4. Some sort of communication device. In a group, CB is okay. Nowadays,
folks even call each other on the cell phone... yikes!
5. tools. I carry a toolbox with a standard set of wrenches, 5/16-3/4
with two each of 1/2 and 9/16, an assortment of screwdrivers and a full
set of 3/8 drive sockets. I also have an assortment of vise-grips.
6. Most Importantly: make sure the car is up to the task! Go over it some
weeks in advance and thoroughly check bolts for tightness, make sure the
belt(s) are okay abnd that the fluid leaks are "in check". You should do
this no matter what car you are using for a long trip.
7. Lastly, fluids. I take a couple quarts of oil, some trans fluid and
some brake fluid, just in case. It is way cheaper to lose some space in
the boot for these items than it is to shell out $3.00 for a quart of oil
in the middle of nowhere at 4 AM.
Having said all that, in the TR trips that I have been on, I have had no
major failures. Amongst the other TR's that I was travelling with, we
have seen various calamities such as the TR-Valdez TR4 (the owner
neglected to look into a pesky oil leak until we got to Ashville, the
problem was that the timing chain tensioner had punched through the
timing cover on the front of the engine). There was a clutch failure (Hi
Tom!) and one guy had the unfortunate experience of throwing a connecting
rod on his TR3 in Virginia somewhere. That experience was expensive for
him, a $600 tow. No AAA!
But, it is written that the purpose of the journey is not to arrive. The
person that wrote that obviously drove a Triumph (or more likely an MG!)
Make the journey fun, and if you arrive - great! If not, at least you had
an adventure.
Ta-ta,
rml
p.s. I'm still tossing around the idea of driving to Dallas for VTR. 1800
miles _each way_. That'll be an adventure, for sure.
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Quote: How many Triumphs do you own??? A few.
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