driving from ND to TN with Honda Civic 2006

[travelingfar]

Hi all, I need your expertise here and any opinions are highly appreciated.
I'm planning to drive my Honda Civic 2006 (186k miles) from fargo ND to Memphis, TN and I'm wondering if I can make it whole trip in 2 days (1050 miles). I'll be taking I 29 and planning night stay near kansas city, MO. I drove this car manytimes to minneapolis i.e. 250 miles. Has anyone here done a road trip with this relatively old car and so many mileage? Also what specific things I should ask mechanic to look for and make sure my car make it to memphis without breaking in between. I'm quite new at this and I wonder how risky this trip would be. I really appreciate your input.

Thanks in advance.

[Midwest Michael]

Welcome to the RTA Forum!

The only person who can tell you if your car is up for a trip is a trusted mechanic. As long as your car has been well maintained, there is no reason your car couldn't make the trip, but the list of things that could be an issue is not something that could be answered without a complete examination. Just tell your mechanic that you're about to head out on a long trip, and let them tell you what they find.

You should be able to complete this trip in 2 days, but it is on the upper end of how far you can safely travel in that time frame, so it will be 2 long days on the road (about 10 hours each day). If you are going to go via I-29, then you might be better off looking at St. Joe, Missouri, rather than KC - that is closer to halfway and would give you a chance to let KC's morning rush clear out a bit before you get there.

That said, if I were you, I think I might go via Minneapolis and St. Louis - the distance is about the same, but it would be 4 lanes nearly the entire way, as opposed to some 2 lane roads you'll have to take through the Ozarks between KC and Memphis. If you go that way, then Iowa City would be about the halfway point.

[glc]

Welcome to RTA!

There 's nothing specific to look at other than a good comprehensive inspection. Highway driving is easier on a car than city driving. I road trip with a 2003 F-150 with 183k on it.

I'd recommend a different route. I'd take I-94 to MSP, then I-35 to US-18/US-218 to Waterloo, I-380 to Iowa City, spend the night. Then US-218 to IA-27/MO-27 to US-61 to Wentzville, I-64/I-270 to I-55 to Memphis.

[AZBuck]

Welcome aboard the RoadTrip America Forums!

When I was a youngster (back when dinosaurs still roamed the Earth), in the days of planned obsolescence and yearly styling changes, watching the odometer 'turn over' at 100,000 miles and go back to zero was a memorable event. Now many cars are equipped with an extra tumbler that will allow them to register (if not actually drive) a million miles, and ten years is no longer considered an ancient age for a car. If, as you say, your car still gives you good reliable service on 250 mile runs, there's really no reason to be terribly concerned that it will break down on a thousand mile trip. Remember that highway miles are the easiest on your vehicle, and cell towers line the major Interstates so that you should rarely, if ever, be without phone service.

Still, if you haven't had your car checked thoroughly in a while, a relatively long RoadTrip is as good an excuse as any to give it a detailed inspection. Any good mechanic will know what to inspect and what to look for: drive train, tires, brakes, cooling system, oil leakage, structural integrity, etc. What's not clear from your question is whether you already have a mechanic that you trust to do such an inspection without finding unnecessary repairs that he can do to line his own pocket. If you do need to find such a mechanic there are a few routes you can go. The easiest is to simply ask your friends who have some auto experience or knowledge whom they use and see if they agree on someone. The second is to use a reliable public source such as AAA or Public Radio's Car Talk Mechanics Files.

Finally, While it's true that you can get to Memphis in around 1050 miles by way of Kansas City, that's only true if you also use MO-13/US-60/US-63 through the northern fringes of the Ozark Mountains. And even then, KC is not a good halfway point since it is 600 miles from Fargo, farther than we would normally recommend driving in a day. A better midway stopping point might be St. Joseph MO. As an alternative route, I'd suggest looking at I-94/I-35 through Minneapolis to Mason City IA, then US-18/US-218 to Waterloo, I-380 to Iowa City, and US-218/US-61 south from there to St. Louis and I-55 the rest of the way to Memphis. That's a flatter route of almost the exact same length, and should be easier on your car. Halfway on that route would be right around Iowa City.

AZBuck

[travelingfar]

Thank you very much for the quick replies. I am going to a mechanic tomorrow and let him inspect the whole car. Hope it won't have lots of problems.
I will definitely change my route now and use I 94 instead. Also, my wife found out about her friend who moved to St. Louis last year, so this will be a nice catch up for them.

Thank you again for your time, really appreciate it.

[AZBuck]

We're glad we could help, but as it is you were already approaching the limit of what it is possible to safely accomplish in a two day drive. Once you add the time needed to leave the direct Interstate route through St. Louis to detour to your wife's friend's home, you will have literally no time left for a visit unless you add additional time to your drive down, spend two nights on the road, and arrive in Memphis some time during the third day of this trip.

AZBuck