Old yaris 218k miles, 30k+ road trip?

[seatech30]

Hello Everyone,

Long post warning? Thank you for reading. FYI will be posting on r/roadtrips for non-car technical aspects of this road trip.

My Yaris is currently hovering around 218k miles (351,000 km). It is coming up on its decaversary in June, and I figured what better way to celebrate than by reaching the moon with an epic all USA states road trip (considering shipping to Hawaii if it survives the first 49.) Well not really the only reason, I just always thought about making such a trip and I am currently unemployed and have the funds for it, so why not? I've mapped out all national parks that can be driven to and some other sites of interest, very rough draft and the count is currently at 25k miles rt. I figure after I finish putting in all the last stops I'll be at 30k or more. Expected starting time is about May/June.

My tires,ECOPIA EP422+, are past half worn at 38k/70k. I figure I may need new ones before I finish the trip, but may get by, also another reason for tackling Alaska and northern states first. I've been on top of my maintenance as much as I can, and going to mechanics for other items. Just switched out drums, and will do rotors too before beginning. All brakes are still good, ceramic, 2 years old. Brake and coolant fluids were changed at 160k miles. Water and fuel pumps are still stock, perhaps I should consider changing these before going? I'm estimating 5-6 oil changes. I plan to do a trans drain and fill and filter change before starting. Considering switching spark plugs before starting, last done at 176k, so may not be necessary?

The car has been suffering from engine vibration since 160k miles about 3 years now. Hasn't broken down on me. I have drained and filled the trans twice, changed motor mounts twice, spark plugs, battery, Airflow sensor swap, cleaned throttle body, 6 mechanics, nothing has been able to get rid of the vibration. It is more noticeable when in drive, but on neutral and park it is subtle (maybe even normal?) At this point, I have reason to believe it is not terminal.

Have:
3/8 Socket wrench set
3/8 breaker bar
1/2 torque wrench
3/8 digital torque wrench adapter
1/4 torque driver
1/2 3/8 1/4 adapters
fix-a-flat (spray can size)
Coolant extra 1L toyota mixed 50/50
Spare donut (non-edible)
Long flat head screwdriver (near pry bar status worthy, but not quite)
Spare lug nuts and studs
Spare head and tail light bulbs
Screwdriver set small generic
Load strap small generic
Dashcam front
Battery charger BESTEK 600A Peak 10000mA
Stock jack w/ jack handle
K&N car filters
Gerber Gator Combo Axe II
Snow cables (used 2 times)
Gloves, mechanic gloves & thick nitrile gloves
2 phones with offline GPS maps + battery charger pack

Spare full size tire/wheel
Emergency triangle
Dashcam back
AAA for trip duration
The Milepost?
Tire plug kit

Need:
Road Atlas

About me:
I've done plenty 430 (860rt) trips between SoCal and NorCal over the past 6 years. I've done a 2k mile road trip to Utah, and recently a 3k trip of the southern west coast. I did all the driving, but had company. On this trip, I'll be going alone, and plan to stay under the speed limit (...like always) and be safe as possible, especially the Alaska/Canada stretch. I will spend 1 week each in Vancouver, Montreal, NYC, Boston. During this time I'll probably take it easy, maybe 1 major hike in Vancouver but mostly just eating good food. On the trip, I plan to eat mostly simple diet, take vitamin supplements. I would like to do most of my sleeping in my car unless my gut is telling me not to. When I stay at the major cities, I'll be getting lodging of some kind. Considering couchsurfing, even if it is just to sleep in the car in someone's driveway where I know they're ok with it. I'll be backing a 32F degree mummy bag, another regular mummy bag, and another rectangular sleeping bag.


Primary concerns:
-Are a max of 400 miles daily too much for the car?
(I intend to tackle the day to day driving in 1.5 to 2 hour spurts around rush hours or morning/noon/evening until I reach a location where I can spend the night safely.)

-Should I switch out my stock fuel and water pumps before beginning the trip?

-Is one spare tire/wheel + donut combo enough... you know what I mean, or I guess I should ask if it's just a really bad idea not to bring more? (I've seen a post in the history of someone with a tow hitch rack with a full set of tires/wheels. lol)

-Road atlas reviews on amazon seem very polar. Would like to hear from some long drive experienced drivers.

-I would like to hear thoughts on whether or not this is doable, any advice/suggestions or critique is welcome.

Thank you for taking the time to read and reply to this. :help:

Update: Updated list of things needed. Starting trip on the 12th.
Hope imgur links are ok. Mod (https://imgur.com/a/A3tZJx0) and map (https://imgur.com/a/TPvjMxo).

[bronsin]

Drive 1000 miles a day if you want it doesn’t matter. Leave the water pump and fuel pump alone. Every day raise the hood and check the bottom of it for telltale coolant strains. On second thought remove the serpentine belt and rock the wp pulley. If there’s noticeable play change out the water pump before leaving.

Leave the Sparkplugs alone. They’re good for 100k. If you’re not burning oil they should be fine. If you are burning oil check the plugs for oil fouling and clean them.

I drove the haul road from Fairbanks to the Arctic Circle in 2011. You might want to consider not doing that because if you break down the law is you have to pay five dollars a mile for flatbed from Fairbanks to come and get you. That’s each way! You can’t just abandon the car. If you feel brave have at least a spare tire besides the doughnut. A string type plug kit is a good idea too.

I’ll post more as I read your post over again. Good luck, take pictures, and post here during your trip!

A Rand McNally road atlas Is what I use to plan and during trips.

[bronsin]

Every morning;

Check your tire pressure’s.

Check the oil level. Open the hood look for coolant stains on the bottom of it.

Start the engine in with the car in park look under the engine to make sure nothing is dripping.

[seatech30]

Hi Brosin,

Thanks for the advice on the water pump, I'll start definitely do the pull test on the WP.

I have no reason to believe I'm burning oil, but I'll keep a close eye on the dip stick, I'll also pull the plugs out and do an inspection.

I was not planning to do the Arctic Circle (heard the name but didn't know what it was), but now that I've read a little on it... it seems like the kind of place I should visit on this road trip. So far only have Kenai Fjords, Wrangell–St. Elias, and Denali NPs on my list. However, a possible max $1550 bill for getting the car out does sound intimidating haha.


Yes, I've seen many good things about Rand McNally, however, seen some very bad reviews for the 2018 version. Which one are you using?


Thanks for the morning checklist items to add, in fact, I'll start a morning checklist to boot, double good idea!

Definitely, getting an extra full sized tire/wheel to bring along with the doughnut, have that in my need list.

Have you ever used the Milepost? I saw some good words on it. Seems a new edition will hit on March 1 before my trip, so I'll have time to wait on reviews to pop up for it.

Thanks again!

[bronsin]

Since prudence Bay is 400+ miles from Fairbanks, a round trip would be 800 miles at five bucks a mile is $4000!

I used a 2009 edition of the rand McNally road atlas on my 2011 trip. They’re all good. I can’t imagine why you would find fault with them. Maybe those people are just used to GPS?

I had a copy of the milepost but didn’t bring it on my trip I forgot it! On the trip I really didn’t find it necessary. Gas stations can be closed and you never know so fill up whenever you can. If it makes you feel more comfortable bringing along by all means.

PS gas was seven dollars a gallon in the Yukon Territory in 2011. A Canadian dollar cost $1.10 and that was very unusual. In Alaska gas was about four bucks a gallon

[seatech30]

Oh, when I typed in Arctic circle into maps, it routed me to Circle, AK. Yeah, not doing an extra 800 unfortunately. Maybe I'll find a cruise or flight for that later on.


One of the reviews came from a self professed Rand McNally fan, he said the 2018 version had less information than previous editions.


Maybe I should bring a 2 gallon fuel jug?

Thanks again.

[zoidberg444]

Dude. I'm so jealous.

The longest road trip I've done in my Yaris is 7500 miles from England to the Nordkapp and back.

I second Bronsin. I would pull the belt and check the water pump for play in the bearing. Although unless its bad i would just leave it. You're doing so many miles on your trip it could fail, get it dealt with if it does fail. Its not the worst repair to do. In fact you could probably do it on the side of the road if it came to it. I'd also get all the wheels off the ground and check the suspension of the car, play in the wheel bearings before you set off. I'd just inspect the spark plugs but they will be fine. Every couple of days depending on mileage, open the bonnet and check all your levels. I'd keep some oil in the car. Mine's an oil burner i always have a litre at the very least. When i went on my big trip in 2016 i had to take 4 litres.

I'd leave the fuel pump. Plenty of vehicles with more mileage than yours are still on their original fuel pump.

Do you have a jump pack or jumper cables in case you flatten the battery?

In my toolkit in my car i keep a 200mA test light and a £10 multimeter in case i have to diagnose an electrical issue.

I would recommend carrying a few bits of wire and electrical tape. I had to patch a wire on my old car with my butane soldering iron and a bit of wire i kept in my toolbox on my old car one night at the side of the road after hitting some debris.

Get a pack of cable ties, various sizes, small up to giant beefy ones, an assorted handful of nuts and bolts and a roll or two of duct tape. On my last road trip i had to use these to patch my car up after a small collision.

A bulb kit.

I'd keep a petrol canister with you when you get up into the more remote parts of US/Canada.

I really wouldn't worry mate. I've done multiple 1000 mile days in my car. I did my last roadtrip with a busted up front end (6000 miles of it) and a worn out clutch. I was regularly making commutes of 100+ miles every day of the week in mine.

You should do a thread in Photo/Media gallery to keep us updated.

Planning to go anywhere crazy like up on the Dempster highway in the NWT?

[Dodge Aries K]

This sounds awesome. If you're really going to every state let me know if you end up by Rockford, IL.

[bronsin]

I live in New Jersey across the river from Philadelphia. You’re welcome to stop by if you need work done on the car. Just message me here on the form.

PS the picture in my avatar was taken on the road between Kamloops and Prince George on my Alaska trip. I stopped to take a picture and an elderly couple come in the other way thought I had hit the movies with my Yaris! They didn’t See me standing on the side of the road and thought I was dead in the car! They were pretty pissed!

[seatech30]

I went after my front brake maintenance today.
Found the grease inside the sliding pins in nasty goop stage, cleaned everything up and re-greased with hi-temp brake grease.
The bushings on the bottom slide pins had expanded too much to slide back into place, so I had to replace them.
Replaced the boot bushings because they came in a kit from O'reily's.
Found one of my front shock insulators was all torn up. :rolleyes: and my bleeder caps were thoroughly cracks, so I'll be ordering those parts and replacing them.

One of the bottom slide pins looked very corroded while the rest just seem to have some wear patches, I think I'll replace the corroded looking one.

zoidberg444, I have the WP and spark plug inspection on my list for tomorrow, today dragged out more than expected because I had to wait on parts, and it'd been a while since I had done the slide pins, so was feeling overwhelmed with the decisions of how much grease to use. lol

I have a Battery charger BESTEK 600A Peak 10000mA, it was buried in my "have:" list in OP. I have spare bulbs for head and tail lights already too.

Looks like I should definitely get a fuel container then, maybe a 2 gallon (~7.6L), should get me max 80 miles (129km). Good idea on the zip ties, although, I feel like I will be carrying too much stuff now, haha, but it's a long trip. Getting paranoid, but I know that doing such a huge amount of driving in such a short amount of time will statistically increase my chances of encountering hazards.

I'm actually planning to document quite a bit of the trip. I just got an essential phone with a 360 camera attachment, so I plan to do some pictures and video in that format. I also want to do some time lapsing of my dash cam recordings. May even start a youtube channel, but not too sure on that just yet. We'll see how it flows once, I start.


Dodge Aries K, Rockford, IL isn't much of a detour from my current route through Illinois. I'll send you a message when I get closer. I should be there about 37 days after I start my trip according to my route estimate.


Brosin, I'll actually be visiting a friend in New Jersey, haven't checked where he is just yet, but I'll definitely let you know if you're nearby. HAha, guess they had not seen the mythbusters video where they tried to drive a fast low car under the legs of a deer/moose?

Thanks again for all the support and great ideas! :thumbup:

EDIT: Forgot to mention I'm using furkot to map out my road trip. It's actually pretty neat and you can set parameters for max distance driven per day or max hours.

[zoidberg444]

zoidberg444, I have the WP and spark plug inspection on my list for tomorrow, today dragged out more than expected because I had to wait on parts, and it'd been a while since I had done the slide pins, so was feeling overwhelmed with the decisions of how much grease to use. lol

I have a Battery charger BESTEK 600A Peak 10000mA, it was buried in my "have:" list in OP. I have spare bulbs for head and tail lights already too.

Looks like I should definitely get a fuel container then, maybe a 2 gallon (~7.6L), should get me max 80 miles (129km). Good idea on the zip ties, although, I feel like I will be carrying too much stuff now, haha, but it's a long trip. Getting paranoid, but I know that doing such a huge amount of driving in such a short amount of time will statistically increase my chances of encountering hazards.

I'm actually planning to document quite a bit of the trip. I just got an essential phone with a 360 camera attachment, so I plan to do some pictures and video in that format. I also want to do some time lapsing of my dash cam recordings. May even start a youtube channel, but not too sure on that just yet. We'll see how it flows once, I start.


Brake service is a good idea. How old is your brake fluid? I flushed mine before i went to Norway and i'm glad i did because the mountainous terrain really gave my brakes a workout. I'm sure your brakes will do some hard work on your trip criss-crossing mountain ranges and the like.

Yeah. Normally when i go on a trip and I'm camping my car gets a bit... full. :laugh:

https://i.imgur.com/WjMs8l2.jpg

The Yaris takes it like a champ though!

[seatech30]

zoidberg444, :eek: haha, that's fully packed! How do you like the electric cooler? That's another item on my list, I've been debating. However, I think I may go with the $300 coolers since I'm not going to be driving 24/7 nor may be around outlets often enough.


I did my brake fluid change about 3 years ago at 160k miles, and had never done it before that, so I think it will be fine. However, I think I do need to top it up. I noticed it had moved down a bit. I was given a verbal warning on the mountains because I was going 5MPH over the limit, and "braking too much." I was in second gear, which tops out around 30MPH, limit was 25MPH. So I kept lightly tapping the brakes to try and stay below. Didn't care to argue since it was just a warning. If I had gone into 1st I'd be stuck at 15MPH -__-

[zoidberg444]

zoidberg444, :eek: haha, that's fully packed! How do you like the electric cooler? That's another item on my list, I've been debating. However, I think I may go with the $300 coolers since I'm not going to be driving 24/7 nor may be around outlets often enough.


I did my brake fluid change about 3 years ago at 160k miles, and had never done it before that, so I think it will be fine. However, I think I do need to top it up. I noticed it had moved down a bit. I was given a verbal warning on the mountains because I was going 5MPH over the limit, and "braking too much." I was in second gear, which tops out around 30MPH, limit was 25MPH. So I kept lightly tapping the brakes to try and stay below. Didn't care to argue since it was just a warning. If I had gone into 1st I'd be stuck at 15MPH -__-

I'm surprised how good it was actually. It was a cheaper one from a camping place that i got before going to Cornwall last year. It can run on 12V and 240V mains so you can leave it running in the tent when camping. Although on hot days it struggles so i i would probably spend more money if i was getting one for a really long trip and running only on the cars 12V.

I read the recommended service interval for brake fluid is 2 years. There is a little gadget you can get that checks the moisture content in the fluid and tells you if its time i change it. I did mine in 2016. I'll probably do it again this year for my winter service.

[bronsin]

I saw the pictures of the cracked rubber bleeder caps. Change them if you like but it means nothing. It’s more important to hit the bleeders with a little penetrating oil every year and tighten and loosen them too. Otherwise show bleeding become necessary the bleachers may snap off when you try to loosen them. There is no requirement in the owners manual to change the brake fluid but it’s a good idea if you’re driving In mountainous areas. Just bleeding is probably enough.

[Brettguy]

damn that sounds like a trip i wanna take, in my experience (ive done 2 6000 mile trips, one in 13 days, the other in 6) was that rural, countryside driving gets pretty monotonous and i found myself doing 90+ average just to avoid boredom/exhaustion. the "highspeed driving"cold tire pressure is 35psi if i remember correctly and thats what i used.

i have an old cobra radar detector that saved me quite a few times in northern texas. it might be beneficial to have as it also shows compass and battery voltage, also its a good idea to have a splitter for the cigarette lighter so that you can charge more than one device at a time. another thing was my casio protrek, it showed me altitude the entire time and i was fascinated as hell with it (mostly because i live at sea level lol)

hmm what else, a lumbar support pillow also helped me alot! i used a small rectangular head pillow, it allowed me to change seating positions and keep my back from seizing up, every 20-30 mins or so i would recline the seat and stretch every way i possibly could (while still being safe) to get the blood moving

im an absolute health nut normally but being in a rush during my 6 day trip made me rotate trail mix, 5 hour energy's and cigarettes lol, also cigs and 5 hour energy's are potent as hell and obviously terrible but they're still healthier than falling asleep at the wheel..

message me anytime, i really enjoy talking about roadtrips :P

[libraryelf]

I drove from FL to CA to ship my 2008 hatch back to ship her to HI. Pick up a nail and had to have a tire plugged. Engine light on for have the trip and then I looke at change the oil sticker and it was time for an oil change. I drove only during the day and stopped at dusk. Left on a Thursady and arrived in HI on a Tuesday. I took 75 to I10 to I20 and back to I10. I avoid where the hurricane went thru in Texas. In other words, I took the long way around. Change the oil once I got to HI.

[seatech30]

Brettguy, thanks for the info and suggestions. I'm planning to stick to under speed limit for this one. I really don't want to risk adding to my budget with fines and tickets. Also reducing the risk of hitting something on the road or increasing my changes of avoiding hazards.

I will probably look into something to keep my back cooled/aired. Luckily my seat is pretty good as is and don't need to worry about lumbar, but it can get a bit warm and sweaty some times. Haha, I was thinking about going Vegan for the trip to avoid needed a cooler box... but still working on that, we'll see.

libraryelf, I plan to get a full size spare tire to add to my already maxed out list of tire repair tools. I'll PM you with some questions about your trip I'm interested in hearing about.

Thanks!

[Dodge Aries K]

Dodge Aries K, Rockford, IL isn't much of a detour from my current route through Illinois. I'll send you a message when I get closer. I should be there about 37 days after I start my trip according to my route estimate.

Awesome, sounds good. You can see all the cool abandoned buildings here hahaha.

[seatech30]

Hello Everyone,

Thought, I'd update you guys on the mod/trip. I've more or less finished my mod, and taken care of car maintenance as best as I can.

Hope imgur links are ok. Mod (https://imgur.com/a/A3tZJx0) and map (https://imgur.com/a/TPvjMxo).

[kimona]

The mod looks good! That'll serve the purpose.

[Brettguy]

jesus christ now that is a damn map! get a dashcam and a couple Tb's worth of hard drives lol.

something that just crossed my mind was watch out for claustrophobic conditions, make sure you dont get tied up in a sleeping bag and start overheating, i know someone whose had that happen to them and it was traumatic, keep clutter down and don't allow anything to interfere with temperature regulation/be able to move around as much as you need (dont make any zippers hard to get to)

anyways seriously huge props for doing this trip

[seatech30]

Brettguy,

I have 3 DR01 Aukeys, and 2 2TB portable HDs. 2 are for realtime recording front and back. The third is to record timelapse. I plan to speed up the video to 1min per 1hour of driving and posting on youtube. Having the third camera for timelapse will save me time processing video.

I'm ok with enclosed spaces and open spaces. I've been sleeping on a cot in a sleeping bag for over 2 years now. I have had cases where I wake up with my body overheating, but I leave the side open so it's easy to uncover myself.


I pretty much finished the mod. I need to add a 12V socket and a set of 120mm fans in the exhaust vent in the trunk that I plan to run with a battery pack when the car is stationary. The idea is that it should help keep the car cooler... we'll see. I've been debating on window tint to 35%, but there are 5 states that it isn't legal for, so not so sure.

Kimona, thanks! Hopefully haha.

[zoidberg444]

Hello Everyone,

Thought, I'd update you guys on the mod/trip. I've more or less finished my mod, and taken care of car maintenance as best as I can.

Hope imgur links are ok. Mod (https://imgur.com/a/A3tZJx0) and map (https://imgur.com/a/TPvjMxo).

The interior turned out great dude. Really impressive how it turned out.

Just one suggestion for your route. I noticed your headed up to Montreal in Quebec. I have been there myself. I have been to Quebec City, Montreal, Ottawa and Toronto and i would recommend seeing Ottawa and Quebec City and missing Montreal.

Best of luck for the trip. I'm planning a 6000 mile Euro road trip in August/September.

[NYC-SE]

I would strongly recommend going to Montreal. It is one of my favorite cities.

[Guinness]

I love Montreal as well. I need to pass along the best place to get croissants. Definitely life changing! La Banquise is the place to go for poutine (but be prepared for a 30-45 min wait to get in). Scwartz’s for a great deli sandwich.

[seatech30]

zoidberg444, Thanks, I was trying to rush it, but it came together good enough, the liner/carpet hides the imperfections. If I could do it over, I wish I could use some kind of plastics instead of wood.

Thanks for the suggestions. I'll look them up. My schedule/route is fairly flexible if I think it's worth it. I have to go to Montreal. My late coworker used to rave about it.

NYC-SE, will definitely do Montreal.

Guinness, Thanks for the tips on food places. I'll have to make sure I stop by those. 30-45 doesn't seem too bad, Poutine is definitely on my list of things to eat again due to my late coworker raving about it as well. I've had in a different country, but some Canadians that were with my group said it was not 100% the same. I think I may have heard of Scwartz, unless I'm thinking about Spaceballs. lol

[Dodge Aries K]

That map... holy crap! That's so awesome.

[Type-Y]

This thread re-affirms my thinking that the Yaris really is the true successor to the original VW Beetle.

[2007yariz]

Since it's summer, will you just let the car run all night with the AC on while you sleep? I know you mentioned a battery powered fan, but IDK if that will be sufficient.

HF in luray caverns (I think the map dot represents)

BTW Blue ridge Parkway is free while Skyline drive is not.

[seatech30]

Hi Guys, I should be making it into Alaska today. Total of 4 days from Vancouver. Hardest pushes were the first 3 days, especially the middle one from Prince George to Kinaskan Lake.

I've done all the NPs in California, Oregon and Washington. Stayed 3 nights in Vancouver. Couldn't stand Porland, so I left. Had to stall two days for a b reactor tour, and suffer through Seattle side traffic three times. Everywhere away from big cities has been my best times.

My favorite picks so far have been Crater Lake and Pinnacles. I ended up spending much more time in Pinnacles than I planned and ended up in bay area traffic because I had sent a package to Fremont amazon locker, thinking I'd wiz by at non rushhour times. Lol

Something amazing has happened while on the mountains and driving slow on the freeways. I almost got a 500 mile tank! 489. Could have totally pushed to the next station, but it was almost midnight and didn't want to get stuck on the freeway that late at night and tired. I still had .4 gallons. I had never known how to achieve above 42MPG. Now I do.

I'm still debating how to post pics, whether you guys want to see them all or just top picks. I've been doing my best to take as few pics as possible. Let me know what you guys think. I was thinking maybe get an instagram, but I don't think that's for albums.

Type-Y I hope you enjoyed my last paragraph.

2007yariz, I got stuck in Washington west side which is almost desert. It hit 90F and I was Frying. I ended up getting an Airbnb the second day. I think if I can be out of the car most of the day and get back to it by sundown I'll be ok. The fans I made don't pull in as much air through the air intake of the car as I expected. You can tell they stop straining when I open the door. I have been running them at lowest speed (3 settings) so I'll have to test at full later on. I'm not looking forward to anything above 75F in humidity. Lol thanks for the insider tips. I actually didnt get to do the caves in Oregon, but the Luray caverns may be a good substitute. What do you mean not free? Does an annual NP not cover the entry? I'll look into it.

I've uploaded a timelapse video, 1hr to 1min, of my California drive so far, if anyone is interested. All50orbust on YouTube. I plan to post highlights in real time as I have time. I'm also posting on reddit with the same username.

Edit: sorry, after posting, I realized the top entries has been flipped, due to not having a timestamp (tossed receipts too soon.) Top two entries should be 44MPG each when the gallons is switched around. Now I'm curious if I goofed on the other 48.37.
Sent from my PH-1 using Tapatalk

[zoidberg444]

Hi Guys, I should be making it into Alaska today. Total of 4 days from Vancouver. Hardest pushes were the first 3 days, especially the middle one from Prince George to Kinaskan Lake.

DUDE. What's it like driving to Alaska? Gimme details. Been to Vancouver and done the rockies by car a few times but i'm thinking about flying to Vancouver and doing an Alaska road trip. How remote is it up there? Is it sleeping in the car or camping only up there?

Something amazing has happened while on the mountains and driving slow on the freeways. I almost got a 500 mile tank! 489. Could have totally pushed to the next station, but it was almost midnight and didn't want to get stuck on the freeway that late at night and tired. I still had .4 gallons. I had never known how to achieve above 42MPG. Now I do.

That is really impressive with a 1.5 and a 4 speed auto. I've got my 1.0 to do in excess of 60 a few times. Especially when i was in Norway and the roads were all 80kph.

I'm still debating how to post pics, whether you guys want to see them all or just top picks. I've been doing my best to take as few pics as possible. Let me know what you guys think. I was thinking maybe get an instagram, but I don't think that's for albums.


GIVE US PICS!!!! :cry:

[seatech30]

DUDE. What's it like driving to Alaska? Gimme details. Been to Vancouver and done the rockies by car a few times but i'm thinking about flying to Vancouver and doing an Alaska road trip. How remote is it up there? Is it sleeping in the car or camping only up there?
On my way from Vancouver, I stopped at a Walmart in Prince George (backup was Treasure Cove casino), Kinaskan Lake campground, walmart in Whitehorse, furnace campground in Tok (has showers...), Walmart in Wasilla (two nights), now canpground in Denali NP for convenience to my transit bus into the park tomorrow morning. I ended up having to go all the way back to Wasilla from Kenai because none of the walmarts in Anchorage seemed suitable (safe or allowed overnight parking.) The drive itself is amazing. So many beautiful mountains and scenery the whole way. Plenty of pullovers, rest areas, way stops for pit restrooms. Gasoline is kinda scarce so make sure you plan out your fill points and be aware many on the road are not 24/7. It wasn't much of an issue for me, it just meant I paid top dollar on a few occasions or had to wait for them to open, luckily not that long, 7am. Unfortunately, there are not enough stopping points at what should be view points (places to pull over for good pictures.) There were so many places I wanted to stop and take a picture, but didn't because I didn't want the risk.


That is really impressive with a 1.5 and a 4 speed auto. I've got my 1.0 to do in excess of 60 a few times. Especially when i was in Norway and the roads were all 80kph.
60??? Insane. Yup, I'd seen others post about achieving 50+ and wondered how the heck they did it. Now I have an idea.


GIVE US PICS!!!! :cry:
Here's a few till I post the rest somewhere.


Edit: formatting

[seatech30]

Well... This (http://www.yarisworld.com/forums/showpost.php?p=813959&postcount=40) has now happened.

[Brettguy]

i clicked through a couple threads related to your link and could only see issues with an abs wiring harness (with multiple recalls in canada) this is way beyond my knowledge but those threads didn't show any critical/scary info so it seems you're cars still in good condition

things that i saw were worth checking would be brake reservoir level and brake pedal feel just in case the lines were tampered with

i know this is all low effort info i wish i could've given u a better answer :redface:

[castles]

see if any of the solutions in this thread can help you...

http://www.yarisworld.com/forums/showthread.php?t=11583&page=2

oh, never mind... I see you are already posted there. lol

[Dodge Aries K]

I'd be going back to that place who messed it up and start rolling heads. They may have damaged the ABS sensors while aligning the car.

[seatech30]

Brettguy and castles, thanks for the help and reminder to check brake fluid level, it's been a few days since I checked, I try to do it every couple days. Brakes have felt the same, so my money is on damaged sensor or harness. I did do some dirt roading so it's possible the sensor may be dirty as someone suggested in that thread. I tried semi hard braking in a parking lot but didnt do anything. I'll be stopping at a friend's place in a few days, I'll see if he's cool with me taking my wheels off at his place.

Dodge Aries, you're probably right, but I really don't want to let another day slip by, and I get the impression they're just gonna sly out of it and want to charge me. Just don't want to deal with them really. If it means I just don't have ABS, I'm ok with that. I've been driving fairly slow anyways. Haven't had to slam my breaks once so far.

[Dodge Aries K]

Well, if it's not fixed by the time you make it here I have a TechStream cable and software and we can figure out what's wrong with it.

[zoidberg444]

It could well be dirt fowling one of your sensors if you have been dirt roading. A blast with a jet wash if you come across one under the wheel arches and in the wheels might help.

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[IllusionX]

Well... This (http://www.yarisworld.com/forums/showpost.php?p=813959&postcount=40) has now happened.They could have messed up the ABS sensor or not properly plug it back in the back.

Sent from my ONE A2005 using Tapatalk

[seatech30]

Watched a few videos, looks like I should check the ABS fuse, which is simple enough until I get a chance to remove a wheel.

[seatech30]

...you "get off with a speeding warning." ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

I filled up my tank before entering Yellowstone, and was doing really good on gas mileage, so much so, that I figured I was going to shatter my personal tank range record. I pulled out to a walmart around 490 miles on my tank, and looked up what the nearest next gas station ahead was. It was around 30 miles. Knowing my car gauge, I knew I could make it to the next gas station just fine if I coasted around 60MPH like I'd been doing most of the tank. So I hoped on the road, excited to beat my record, and around mile 505 on the tank, I get pulled over because the officer claimed that he saw me go from 80MPH to 60MPH and what was he to think? I told him there was no way and tried to explain what I was doing. I mentioned to him I had video to prove it and he didn't seem interested. He simply carried on with his agenda. Being dumbfound at the turn of events, I simply complied with him and gave him my ID and registration when he asked for it. When I remarked on the video again, he asked if I could step out of the car. Then once outside he asked me to sit inside his car so he could get out of traffic. On a personal level he was cool, but it still irks me that I was given a warning for speeding when I had proof and wasn't given a chance to provide said proof. If he just needed to run my info, that's fine, but don't smudge my record for it.

I still managed to get to the gas station with 518.5 miles on the tank and filled up 10.936 gallons. Could have totally been a bit less if I hadn't needed to pull over, turn off and on the car and get back up to 60MPH.

On another note, had a great time in Yellowstone and especially liked the drive after exiting the park going eastward to Cody. Slept in a empty "free campsite" park which was kind of creepy, but my gut told me it was ok. The morning after, I saw a deer cross the road right in front of me as I was leaving said park, and I got to drive through a swarm of sheep. The day was off to such a nice beginning. Guess that'll teach me for trying to save gas and being safe on a long road trip.

https://youtu.be/oRSOl2ltObg

[ern-diz]

What a dick!

[NYC-SE]

Out of state plates are like a magnet for cops. I never understood why, because if the driver doesn't pay the fine there is limited actions the state can take to force compliance. Much easier to force compliance from your own state's citizens.

[zoidberg444]

Did he search your vehicle? Sounds like a fishing expedition to me. Hoping to either find Cannabis or cash/valuables he could seize under civil forfeiture.

[ern-diz]

Did he search your vehicle? Sounds like a fishing expedition to me. Hoping to either find Cannabis or cash/valuables he could seize under civil forfeiture.

F civil forfeiture! Don't get me started lol...

[seatech30]

Yeah, he ran my info once inside his car. I figured he just thought it was suspicious of a slow car from out of state (possibly with a hispanic inside, gonna give him benefit of the doubt on that one) but I'm assuming the law doesn't allow him to stop me on a suspension (reasonable cause) so he made up the whole 80 to 60 thing then got me away from my evidence. Like I said aside from not letting me show my evidence he was pretty cool dude, didn't say anything off, but clearly just intent on running my info. Or maybe he really did believe he saw me do what he said. We'll never know. i just had to post it to be able to let it go and get it off my mind.

[seatech30]

Finally got some down time. See pics. That's one chip off my shoulder. I'm sure the lights will go off once I drive a few miles. The other connector was plugged in ok, but the surrounding shell was also loose.

Thanks for all the support guys.

Edit: yup, it turned off soon as I move a few feet. In retrospect, I would have been able to notice if I'd looked from the back of the car, just didn't think it'd be so obvious.

[Dodge Aries K]

How's the trip going so far? Glad you were able to stop in and have breakfast with us!

[seatech30]

Hey, yup, it was cool meeting up and seeing your yaris collections haha.

I just got to Detroit area. Camped out overnight in Isle Royale on Thurs, it was a great time. Hiked my legs off then took the ferry back and drove till 1AM, and had to pull off at a rest area to sleep. Got to see some of the rain damage first hand and I heard a story of a tacobell that got wiped out, they showed me a pic of the hole left behind.

[zoidberg444]

Are you halfway through your trip yet?

[seatech30]

I guess you can say that. I'm at day 48 of hopefully 90ish. Done 16k miles out of probably 30k (furkot estimate is 28.3k.)
On my "third" day in Montreal. Leaving tomorrow for Maine then making my way south.

I managed to do a bit of trial and error with resizing images on my linux laptop, ran into an issue because I've mixed all my images together, but would like to not shrink the 360images, so trying to make a script that will leave those alone and shrink the rest. Once I have that done I'll be able to post 6 weeks of pics for you guys.

[zoidberg444]

I guess you can say that. I'm at day 48 of hopefully 90ish. Done 16k miles out of probably 30k (furkot estimate is 28.3k.)
On my "third" day in Montreal. Leaving tomorrow for Maine then making my way south.

I managed to do a bit of trial and error with resizing images on my linux laptop, ran into an issue because I've mixed all my images together, but would like to not shrink the 360images, so trying to make a script that will leave those alone and shrink the rest. Once I have that done I'll be able to post 6 weeks of pics for you guys.Nice one. Looking forward to seeing.

You get a chance to see Ottawa or Quebec city while you were up in the frozen north?

I just got back from my camping trip. That was only a measly 650 miles and 10 days though. [emoji23]

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[Brettguy]

hey seatech just wondering in hindsight what you think of your preparation? was there anything that you wish you brought or do you feel that you brought too many things? this is a wealth of information as it is im just curious

[seatech30]

Zoidberg, Frozen north? Lol we were getting 90s weather while I was there. Unfortunately no, I even ended up having to cut my stay short to make it to Massachusetts in time to meet up with a friend. I really enjoyed Montreal though. Aside from the construction, but there's been construction almost every whwre I've been so far.

I made it out to the eastmost point in Maine today and back down to Massachusetts.

I don't think I've camped out for more than 3 nights in a row... I plan to chance this once I'm back though.

Brettguy, I've been thinking about the roof trunks, wish I'd had more time to research those and possibly test one out before leaving. Just seems like something I wont be able to try out during the trip.
I made the decision to leave my crampons because it was gonna be Summer... Bit me in Lassen and North Cascades and Crater lake.
Almost decided to leave my DSLR, but last minute knew I would hate myself if I did, so far 100+ pictures a weeks agrees. I just didnt want that extra item to worry about, but it's paid off more than a lot of good pictures.

The whole try out before you leave idea is true. I thought I'd wing it and be good to go. Almost quit my trip the first night. It's amazing when I look back now and realize how much I would have missed out on. Essentially I've reorganized a good deal of my stuff in the car to make it easier to gonfrom driving/parked covert mode to sleeping mode. Having almost nothing visible in the day has paid off greatly. I can only imagine how much trouble it would be crossing the border 8 times and getting pulled over once if i had had a ton of bags/luggage/coolers/w.e. in plain sight or just a disorganized mess in general. On my 6th border cross one of the officers decided he had to take a look a my trunk, i was like sure no prob, popped it open. All he saw when he lifted my sleeping bag covering up my cooler and grocery thermal pouch. Closed it back up and let me go. I can understand their suspensions, so I think it's just been good for both sides in general.
Digressing, the reason I almost quit the first night was because I arrived at my sleeping site, and wanted to avoid attention and being outside the car too much. So i parked, put my panels down in the back seat area. Jumped in the car and covered up my sleeping area. Then i was trying to shuffle everything out of the way, then remembered I forgot to turn on my fans, but didnt want to go out of the car again so I'm trying to do this from inside, wedging and moving cooler, bags, packba ka around. I was sweating like crazy cause my body heat had ramped up. Luckily I managed to pause myself, and waited to cool off and then slowly made my way to the fans from inside the car. Once I got them on, i just laid there with the fans blowing air on me. Looking back and even at the time I remember just laughing at how ridiculous it was and wished I could have recorded the moment.

I plan to make a video once i get back of my setup routines.

[seatech30]

OK, for those who care to look at lots of pics, I put small sized versions into my google drive. (https://drive.google.com/open?id=1VARzLj-JGW5uCVMeofQUIC0RQIRkfmGV)

I hadn't had a chance to finish my script till this morning. I processed week1.

I just finished week 9 this past Friday. On Thursday, I reached the moon with my yaris. :thumbup: Based on avg distance from the earth to the moon according to space.com. 238855 miles!

I spent almost a week in Massachusetts with friends, and then made my way down to North Carolina. I should be in Florida tonight. Unfortunately, both of the BBQ places I visited so far were on vacation, Shealy's and Little Pigs. Gonna try another today and hopefully they wont be out too. Bad timing for BBQ, I guess.

Congaree was surprisingly cooler than expected. I would like to come back and do some kayaking there in the future.

[zoidberg444]

Nice pictures dude. Looks like you had great weather in Yosemite. Last time i made it stateside it only rained 2 days of my 24 day trip and one of those was the day i was in Yosemite.

I'll mirror your comments about good organisation being the key to road trips/camping. When i went to Norway i had to reorganise my car after my second time making camp. Afterwards i realised i'd brought a few to many things with me as well (my camping chair and table). I'm glad i got a really big carry all bag for my tent. I got into the routine of packing it as i would to unpack it. I also got a very small suitcase with my most critical stuff in and 2 nights of clothes. Saved me dragging around my big heavy bag with 3 weeks of clothes in if i stayed in a hotel for a night or having to get to much out of my car. I had a separate bag for my electrical stuff too. Anything i wanted quick to hand i kept in the passenger seat/footwell.

[seatech30]

Anyone have a strong reason (aside toyota dealers nation wide rolling in their graves) for not doing a 8k oil change? I'm almost at the end of the trip, and I have like 18qt stocked at home (costco sale and rebate). I've done two 7k before and was hoping that would be enough, but looks like im gonna overshoot the last 7k by 1k.

Probably should have mentioned I have 5-30 full synthetic mobile1 from costco and a k&n filter (been using this brand for a long time).

[zoidberg444]

I change mine at 10K intervals - roughly every 6 months. Its hasn't blown up yet.

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[seatech30]

Zoidberg444, just what I needed to see. Thanks! Lol

[seatech30]

Hit 250,000 :headbang::thumbup: yesterday, 15 miles from Roswell. Also 100 miles away from 30k on this roadtrip already. Will be going over with about 2k by the time I'm done. Feels good to know I'm almost done.

Also hit two skunks the other day... Hope you can forgive my r/ copy pasta:
Was driving East in Colorado. Stopped at a walmart to take a break and buy supplies. Got back on the road and got into the forest area.

All of a sudden in the distance, I saw what seemed like two white plumes fluddering in the air above the road. My mind stuggled to make sense with what I was seeing. I let go of the gas to give my brain more time to process. I actually freaked out for a split second because I could make absolutely no sense of it. Finally my brain arrived at the conclusion that it was garbage bags being tossed around by a light breeze. Yup this is how confusing it was, and I didn't want to dead stop on the road. I begin to accelerate and as I see them go under the car I realized my mistake.

After 28k miles of driving and not hitting anything but bugs and a frog, I felt pretty bad, but also dying from the stench that worked its way into the car. (Didn't see the frog until I parked somewhere and saw it hanging from its leg on the bottom of my bumper. Brought new meaning to frogger and a piece of the little kid inside me died.) For about 1 hr I was afraid to open the windows thinking it would get worse. I was thinking I was going to need a car wash to get the stench off, but finally worked up the courage and found out the air was fine.

I then proceeded to drive through 10+ miles of a minefield of deer, probably the most deer I've seen in one place so far, and I've seen A LOT, well exception to Nara Japan. Needless to say, I wasn't about to up the ante, and I drove about 40MPH while the occasional car blasted past me. I've seen the damage bigger road kill can inflict, and I wasn't about to risk that on my tiny Yaris.

[seatech30]

Finally got back to home base this Sunday. 13 weeks and 1 day total. 32064 miles, about $10,100 in all expenses (pre-trip included.) 50/59 NPs.

I decided to not ship my car to Hawaii because it was going to cost about $2200 for a roundtrip. I'd rather use that money for something else. Id like to visit the last 9 NPs sooner than later. I'm also heading back out with my parents next week on a 3k loop through some of my favorite NPs in the four corner states. Will be renting an SUV and staying at hotels, though.

For anyone interested, I finished dumping the rest of the 13 weeks of pictures on my google drive. Link in a post above.

[zoidberg444]

Nice one mate. I'm heading over to Europe next week. Although i won't be doing anywhere near 30,000 miles. [emoji23]

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[seatech30]

Nice, how many countries are you driving through? I saw someone on r/roadtrip did 14 in 13 days. That would be cool to do some day.

[ern-diz]

Wow, 13 weeks and 1 day, 32,064 miles, ~$10,100 in expenses, 50/59 NPs.

So impressive. Must have been an incredible adventure to experience live.

[seatech30]

I saw some really cool things and places. Mostly a lot of driving though. I was head knocking more times than I'm willing to admit, but got much better at breaking out of the cycle and pulling over to recollect myself or take a nap, near the end.

I definitely don't regret doing this trip the way I did. Maybe if I'd written down more stories, but I kind of felt like I had to leave some of it to the moment and to myself.

The order in which I did the caves couldn't have been any better. Luray, mammoth NP, great basin NP, carlsbad NP.

Here's my spreadsheet (https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1a4JlKeMPpPu_pF4k-yJuuoOsc1ImFnDVNGnYaR36Vz4/edit?usp=sharing) for anyone interested in a breakdown of costs and such.

[Dodge Aries K]

Glad you made it back home!

[zoidberg444]

Nice, how many countries are you driving through? I saw someone on r/roadtrip did 14 in 13 days. That would be cool to do some day.I don't have much of a budget this time. I'm hoping to do 8 or 9 in 3 weeks.

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[seatech30]

Hi Dodge Aries K, thanks! How's the yaris collection?

Zoidberg444, should be fun. I wonder what it would be like driving in Europe. I found quite a few states had their quirks on the roads. NJ and NY were definitely the most annoying because of all the honking. I think Utah took the price for most polite and considerate at passing. After a while I realized everyone woild drive at least three car lengths before getting back in front of me. Anyone observed the same or was it just me?

[Dodge Aries K]

Yaris collection has sadly been downsized a little. Sold my white 2016 (one less loan, yay!) and replaced it's spot with a 2012 Scion iQ because... uhh... I don't know why. It's quirky and I like it plus it's paid for so that's even better hahaha.

[zoidberg444]

Hi Dodge Aries K, thanks! How's the yaris collection?

Zoidberg444, should be fun. I wonder what it would be like driving in Europe. I found quite a few states had their quirks on the roads. NJ and NY were definitely the most annoying because of all the honking. I think Utah took the price for most polite and considerate at passing. After a while I realized everyone woild drive at least three car lengths before getting back in front of me. Anyone observed the same or was it just me?

I've driven in Northern Europe and Scandinavia before. People there seem to drive much the same as they do in the UK. I've heard driving habits in Southern and Eastern Europe can be different though. I guess I'll find out.

[seatech30]

Dodge Aries K, wasn't the white one your priced possession? One less loan is always great, though. I've never driven an IQ. Does it feel torquier than the Yaris since it's lighter and only about 14ish HP less?

Zoidberg444, look forward to hearing from your trip. Safe travels!

[justanotherdrunk]

awesome adventure

[Dodge Aries K]

No, the white one was a tool for taxi work. My prized one is my black one that I bought brand new. I'll die in that car hahaha.

As for the iQ, it feels slower due to the cvt transmission and big dumb heavy 16" steel wheels but it handles being thrown around busy city streets better, although with a harsher more firm ride. But it's so damn quirky, i probably like it way more than I should. It makes me really wish that it wasn't so decontented for the US market though, just like the Yaris itself.

[seatech30]

Ah got it. 16!!?? Haha that seems outrages. CVT is kind of weird. I've been driving a RAV4 rental for my roadtrip with my parents. I like that the "manual" shifts go into the higher gears unlike on the yaris (mine at least) but it doesn't feel like it does when I use it on my Yaris. Still not a bad ride. I like it quite a bit, but been scraping 33MPG being careful so far.

[majoroson]

I also thought to take this Toyota, but it just so happened that my wife and I went on vacation since we were on our honeymoon. I tell you right away, plan your budget. Calculate the amount that can be allocated for a honeymoon trip. If funds are not enough, consider a plan for saving up for the remainder of the term. If you're critically short of funds, consider taking out a small loan. Some may think that a honeymoon is a pointless waste of money, but with the arrival of children, in the bustle of household problems, there will not be enough time for travel and privacy with your husband or wife. Vacaytrends.com (https://vacaytrends.com/best-sandals-resort/) can help you decide how to organize your honeymoon. Based on the amount of money you have and your preferences, choose how to spend your vacation.

[bentjazz]

Wow. What an adventure. Thanks for sharing. Really awesome stuff....