LA2DC

[Hyper4mance2k]

I don't know where else to put this, but this looks like as goo of a place as any.
In 5 weeks I will be driving from LA to DC in my 2015 BRZ Series.Blue. I'm moving because I will be beginning grad school at American University and I work in Public Policy. Plus, I'm over LA(especially the traffic).

Anyways, the thread... I plan on taking my lil BRZ across the country with my @Slambert Performance trailer hitch, and my small 40x48 utility trailer that I am in the process of converting into a mini teardrop.
I don't yet have a complete oil cooler kit(I pieced together almost everything, but the fittings put me out of budget before my move), so with the 800 lb load I want to avoid the Rockies, or any other large passes(even though those are the most scenic routes). One thing I know that I must do is stop and get in some fishing.


But I digress, again, what are your tips for me? I plan on oil & transmission fluid change before I go. The car only has 16k on it now, so I suspect the diff fluid is fine since she hasn't seen a track day yet. Otherwise, she's been bulletproof for me.


I am building a mini teardrop trailer to tow behind my car. Any aerodynamicists have tips for shape? I need aprox. 70 ft^3 of space, so that means it'll be a smallish trailer. I've done dome research, but I am in the process of moving the axle above the leaf springs to lower it, get it closer to the ground and reduce its profile behind my car. I'm repacking new bearings and adding bearing buddies. I have an extra tire & I will bring an extra hub if I can source one.

I will keep this thread updated, as well as vloging it on my youtube channel. (Same name, Hyper4mance2k)
https://www.youtube.com/user/Hyper4mance2k

Trip plans!!
I am leaving LA on August 11th & I plan to land at 86EXPO at Summit Point Motorsports Park on August 17th.
LA>Phoenix>Albuquerque>Amarillo>Dallas>Memphis>Nas hville>Summit Point Motorsports Park>DC

I plan to do it in 6 days and I hope I can to stop to do some fishing along the way.





(Mods feel free to move this if you think there's a more appropriate area)

[Jfheisenberg]

Good luck on that trip! Dont like LA that much? i been living in the east coast for 12 years and im sick of the weather here, at least you get a nice weather in calif all year round. I have been to northern california last year and loved it.

[swarb]

traffic > snow

Have you considered shipping your stuff freight?

I would be terrified of the trailer causing an accident. You could also enjoy your drive much more and not worry inside your hotel with your stuff sitting outside.

Going east your route is pretty flat. There are some hills in the TN area from what I remember.

[ybotspawn]

I think you should do it Top Gear style and stop by a bunch of race tracks on the way.

[Hyper4mance2k]

Originally Posted by swarb

traffic > snow

Have you considered shipping your stuff freight?

I would be terrified of the trailer causing an accident. You could also enjoy your drive much more and not worry inside your hotel with your stuff sitting outside.

Going east your route is pretty flat. There are some hills in the TN area from what I remember.

How would I ship Freight? I looked at getting a truck & trailer $3600 + gas, PODS were $2800 with a military discount... All way too much money. :/

Originally Posted by Jfheisenberg

Good luck on that trip! Dont like LA that much? i been living in the east coast for 12 years and im sick of the weather here, at least you get a nice weather in calif all year round. I have been to northern california last year and loved it.

NorCal is a completely different worl than SoCal. It really should be it's own state, Orefornia.
I grew up in Seattle, where I spent 25 years. I've been in LA for the last 5 years, I spent 2 years in Miami, and almost a year in Alabama and Arizona respectively. I'm ready for something new.
Good weather all year equals drought and dead everything. Everything here is brown 350 days a year. I need to see more life.

Originally Posted by ybotspawn

I think you should do it Top Gear style and stop by a bunch of race tracks on the way.

I thought about that, but $$$ I wanted to drive through Atlanta and go to Porsche's Driver Experience Facility, but it's way overpriced.

[swarb]

Just search freight/logistics companies and ask if they will ship without a business licence, some companies will work with individuals. Many trucks go across the country and have extra space. Our country runs on semi-trucks, it is the cheapest form of transportation.

Another idea is to buy a van, stuff all your stuff in there, pay a car shipping company for shipping and sell the van when you get there.

Or maybe the car shipping company can ship your filled trailer? dunno, just throwing ideas out there.

[jawn]

Originally Posted by Hyper4mance2k

Good weather all year equals drought and dead everything. Everything here is brown 350 days a year. I need to see more life.

I hear you on that. I was out in CA a few weeks ago, and even the Bay Area is starting to look a little crispy around the edges.

It's raining right now over here. Everything is green.

[ashtray]

Auto transport companies typically want your car to be empty when transporting - so "filling a van" or "shipping the trailer" isn't an option - for common transporters. That said, a trucker could put your trailer on his flatbed and have room for other loads and do a cross country trip.

I'd check out U-Ship and see what options are out there. If you were to tow it yourself, you'd have added fuel expense, potential strain on the engine, slower cruising speeds, and potential for problems (trailer brakes or starts to shake, stuff subject to being stolen while you sleep in hotel, etc).

Its a LONG drive - I'd prefer to pay a bit up front to have the stuff transported and then just enjoy the drive.

The second part of that is "do you need that particular stuff"? You could sell stuff in LA (or store it with family?) and then just buy new stuff when you get to DC. (There's an Ikea nearby for cheap new furniture.) Then just ship a smaller container of stuff that doesn't fit in your car.

I know - these aren't answers to your questions about making your own trailer - but honestly, in this case I think using U-Ship would be the smarter choice than to do 3,000 miles towing an un-tested home made rig. (were you planning to put brakes on the trailer?)


If you look at a map, you need to cross the Rockies and the Appalachian mountains - with the Rockies being more of a challenge but with a southern route you can avoid the steeper parts.

[showoff3civic]

Originally Posted by Hyper4mance2k

I don't know where else to put this, but this looks like as goo of a place as any.
In 5 weeks I will be driving from LA to DC in my 2015 BRZ Series.Blue. I'm moving because I will be beginning grad school at American University and even though I got into USC, I'm so over LA traffic.


Anyways, the thread... I plan on taking my lil BRZ across the country with my @Slambert Performance trailer hitch, and my small 40x48 utility trailer that I am in the process of converting into a mini teardrop.
I don't yet have a complete oil cooler kit(I pieced together almost everything, but the fittings put me out of budget before my move), so with the 800 lb load I want to avoid the Rockies, or any other large passes(even though those are the most scenic routes). One thing I know that I must do is stop and get in some fishing.


But I digress, again, what are your tips for me? I plan on oil & transmission fluid change before I go. The car only has 16k on it now, so I suspect the diff fluid is fine since she hasn't seen a track day yet. otherwise, she's been bulletproof for me.


I am building a mini teardrop trailer to tow behind my car. Any aerodynamicists have tips for shape? I need aprox. 70 ft^3 of space, so that means it'll be a smallish trailer. I've done dome research, but I am in the process of moving the axle above the leaf springs to lower it, get it closer to the ground and reduce its profile behind my car. I'm repacking new bearings and adding bearing buddies. I have an extra tire & I will bring an extra hub if I can source one.


I would love some support from the community. 2800 miles would be a testament to the road worthiness of your products, not to mention the advertising space and exposure a huge logo would get on the side of my trailer. I realize how highly unlikely this is, but a guy can dream.


I will keep this thread updated, as well as vloging it on my youtube channel. (Same name, Hyper4mance2k)


Tentatively I will leave August 12th and my trip looks as follows:
LA>Albuquerque>Amarillo>Dallas>Nashville>DC


I plan to do it in 9 days and I hope I can to stop to do some fishing along the way.





(Mods feel free to move this if you think there's a more appropriate area)

I drive the entire east coast for work, moving from LA to DC isnt much of an upgrade when it comes to traffic. The first time going to VA I made the mistake of hitting DC at about 15:00 and hit 395 traffic, to move 15 miles took 3 hours. I've since learned unless going directly to the DC metro, go around through PA on 81. Screw that place....

http://www.nbcwashington.com/news/lo...189744731.html

[Hyper4mance2k]

I already have a registered and safe trailer; I'm just converting it from a utility trailer to a teardrop. It's not that hard. Everything large I own is being sold. It comes down to a cost benefit analysis, and frankly shipping anything amounts to more in money than my things are worth and I can replace them for less than the cost of shipping, even freight.
The things I am keeping are all going to fit nice & tidey in my car & very small trailer, and I am having some things shipped at a later date.

[Hyper4mance2k]

Originally Posted by showoff3civic

I drive the entire east coast for work, moving from LA to DC isnt much of an upgrade when it comes to traffic. The first time going to VA I made the mistake of hitting DC at about 15:00 and hit 395 traffic, to move 15 miles took 3 hours. I've since learned unless going directly to the DC metro, go around through PA on 81. Screw that place....

http://www.nbcwashington.com/news/lo...189744731.html

Both Time magazine and Forbes disagree with that article from a local news station. Sepulveda and Wilshire is the busiest intersection in the US. I work on that corner.

Originally Posted by Hyper4mance2k

USA Today and Forbes Magazine both say LA has the worst traffic in the nation.
USA today said DC was 9th & it didn't even make Forbes' list.
LA Ranked 10th worst in the world, the only US city to even make the list.
Yahoo News ranked LA worst, DC didn't make the list.
Trust me, I've researched this. It's part of the reason I am pretty sure I'm moving to DC.
It takes me an hour to get 3 miles away from my work. I have a 63 mile commute. I spend 4-6 hours a day in traffic.every.single.day. Not because of weather(it's always 95 and sunny here), but because 19million people in a 100 square mile radius. I'm so over it.

I moved here in 210. According to the US Census the population of Greater Los Angeles in 2010 was 13 million, now the census report for 2014 is a population of 18.5 million, and its growth is not slowing.

[jawn]

Bad traffic's like AIDS. A lot of AIDS and slightly less AIDS. Doesn't really matter to me; it's still AIDS. I still lose my mind.

[mixxxx]

Wouldnt be the i-15, I-70 a more scenic route, no? Doesn't add much to the travel time.

I did the I-40 route and it is pretty flat and boring

[ronboogieon]

How's traffic in the Orange County area? Possibly moving down there to get away from the Seattle weather. Summers are one of the best anywhere but winters are so depressing.

Plus looking forward to taking the BRZ on the PCH and new twisties to explore.