DCS 2012 Caravan Thread

[dmc6960]

I know not everyone going to/driving to the show is on DMCTalk, most of us have our local circles and know the going-ons of within. Post your starting locations and desired timing, and throughout this thread we can get a few designated routes planned out for traveling in herds. Some of my fondest DCS memories were the caravans going to Memphis and Pigeon Forge. We had 18-22 cars on the final leg of the Pigeon Forge one. What a blast.

My plans for tentative purposes...

Depart Minneapolis/St Paul on Tuesday, June 12, drive south down the "Avenue of the Saints" into St Louis, approx ~10hr drive time. Spend night in St Louis area. Wednesday, June 13, drive down I-64/57/24/75 into Atlanta, spend night somewhere just south of Atlanta. Drive time ~10hr. Thursday, June 14 (first day of show), drive into Orlando, drive time ~8hr (early start on Thursday, would like to arrive at or before 4:00pm).

Driving home I plan to do a similar route if not the same, but do it in 2 days instead of 3.

[dvonk]

man, if i had a DeLorean (and if it were driveable), i would totally rendezvous with you in iowa or missouri; it sounds like a blast to drive in a DeLorean caravan.

in lieu of a D, however, were just going to fly.

[Rich W]

The non-mountainous route (the long way) from Chicago to Orlando.

I have been debating what route to take since the location of DCS 2012
was first announced. After having many issues towing trailers through
the mountains, blowing trailer tires, loosing transmissions, eating up brake
pads and in general, extra wear on the tow vehicles and the trailers,
I have decided to "go the long way" and take I-57 and I-55 to around
New Orleans and "make a left", taking I-10 most of the rest of the way.

This route will add about 6 hours and about 360 miles to the trip, however
the terrain will only include a few hills vs. mountains, so I think it will be a
much easier route for the tow vehicle, trailers and all their tires and brakes,
not to mention their transmissions (and A/C, depending upon June temps).

As of now, I plan to depart the Chicago area on Monday evening with my
Diesel RV towing my 20ft enclosed trailer with the DeLorean Convertible
and my F350 Dually towing my 32ft enclosed trailer with the DeLorean Limo.
My brother will pilot the RV (with my mom and most of his family inside) and
I will pilot the F350 with one or more of my nephews riding "shotgun".
I plan to stop for fuel about every 4-5 hours or every 250-300 miles.

Each "break" stop will be about 500-600 miles apart (3 break stops planned).

First "break" food stop will be in Memphis early Tuesday morning and we will
make sure to stop for a few Elvis T-Shirts after a quick meal and power nap.
Back on the road before noon, taking I-55 to about Hammond, LA at I-12,
make a left and take I-12 to I-10 and continue to next stop in Pensacola, FL.

Another power nap for the drivers, while my mom, my sister-in-law and my
four nephews check out one or more nearby beaches in Pensacola. After a
little rest and food, back on the road (I-10 East again) until we get to the
Jacksonville, FL area (make a right) and head down I-95 to Daytona Beach.

Another power nap for the drivers while my nephews check out the Nascar
Museum and the Daytona 500 Speedway. I plan to rest up here, maybe
take the DeLorean Convertible out for a ride on the sand at Daytona Beach,
then head over to Orlando, to check in sometime on Wednesday afternoon.

While my nephews enjoy the pool at the hotel, I plan to catch up on some
much needed "real sleep", to be "fresh" to start the day on Thursday. My
nephews will do the Disney Parks on Thursday and Friday, and they will be
hanging around for the car Show on Saturday (when not in the pools).

My trip back will start later Sunday afternoon, taking a similar route home,
(except for Daytona) but I may stop for less time at the break stops while
heading back. It will be great to have the RV for the power naps between
the long driving stages, but it will still take a while to drive this route home.

Later,
Rich W.

BTW: I will try to post some actual planned "times" on each day as we get
closer to the trip. Maybe I can meet Farrar and Steve along the way on I-10.

[Lenny]

http://dmctalk.org/showthread.php?89-DCS-2012-June-14-17-2012-Orlando-FL

Post #28

I don't know how to paste a link to an individual post. I suggested that we could all meet in Wildwood, go down the turnpike together.

[dmc6960]

http://dmctalk.org/showthread.php?89-DCS-2012-June-14-17-2012-Orlando-FL&p=4953&viewfull=1#post4953


I don't know how to paste a link to an individual post.

If you click on the post number, you'll notice its actually a direct link to the post. The copy the path and paste it wherever you want.

[Farrar]

I am (and probably a few other Louisiana owners) are hoping to meet up with other owners heading east on I-10. I sent a message to the Texas group but was told it's too early to plan anything right now.

Points of reference: Houston is about 5 hours west of New Orleans on I-10; New Orleans is about 10 hours from Orlando.

[Ron]

If you click on the post number, you'll notice its actually a direct link to the post. The copy the path and paste it wherever you want.
FWIW: Right Click>>"Copy Shortcut" does it in one step.

[dmc6960]

Bringing this back, I know Rich has a travel updates thread, but thats a little different from a Caravan thread.

I am looking for people to join with for a caravan. I do not need personal support with my car, I can however realistically offer personal support to other people who may need it. Also, driving in a caravan is just damn fun.

My approximate travel route is as follows....

Tuesday June 12th, Minneapolis to ~St Louis area VIA Avenue of the Saints.
Wednesday June 13th, ~St Louis area to ~Atlanta area VIA I-64/I-57/I-24/I-75.
Thursday June 14th, ~Atlanta area to Orlando Disney Hilton VIA I-75/FL Turnpike.

Planned arrival at the hotel is around mid-afternoon on Thursday. Apparently none of the Atlanta folk seem interested in Thursday activities so they seem out for joining up with. Anyone else think they will join me or already have approximate plans I could join?

[Iznodmad]

Jim,
There was a thread somewhere about the Florida group having a mini tech session on Thursday. I plan to drive the whole way on Wednesday and will have all day Thursday to do whatever. I know a couple of the locals and might try to arrange something with them. I think you have my cell phone #. I used to have yours, but my phone got wiped out a couple of months ago or so. Send me a PM with it again if you don't mind.

[ydjk58]

I'll be leaving wednesday from Williamsport, PA, heading down US 15/11 and jumping on I95 down near DC, so if anyone wants to join along, they are more than welcome, I wish I was taking my delorean, but I am currently awaiting on a new one, so I will be in my ford flex, just look for a red one with a DMC plate and irish flag on the front, as well as a DMA sticker on the rear. It's not to hard to miss, it is a rolling brick after all. I'll have my jump pack and some tools with me in case anyone needs help on the way down, if I should encounter anyone.

[Kenny_Z]

Another power nap for the drivers, while my mom, my sister-in-law and my
four nephews check out one or more nearby beaches in Pensacola. After a
little rest and food, back on the road (I-10 East again) until we get to the
Jacksonville, FL area (make a right) and head down I-95 to Daytona Beach.



Pensacola is in the middle of a monsoon and is experiencing some heavy flooding and a lot of road closures due to damage. It may be repaired before you get here, just wanted to give you a heads up.

[dmc6960]

Now leaving the Twin Cities on my caravan of 1. Next stop, somewhere past St. Louis...

10958

[Iznodmad]

The plan as of right now is to leave tomorrow no later than noon. 2 DeLoreans in our caravan, might run into more along the way.

[dmc6960]

Greetings from the Hardee's in Mt Pleasant, IA!

10960

Only problem so far is a front turn signal that went out. Came back on after kicking it but went out again once back on the road.

UV/IR windshield works great. One hand sunlit through the windshield is fine, while the one through the door glass is getting burned.

Turned the cooled seat on for about 3 minutes then got too cold.

[dmc6960]

Now settled in Paducah, KY for the night. Total mileage today was approximately 631. Fuel economy is at 30-31mpg, at an average speed of about 70mph. All car's systems are working great, minus that one front turn signal. Will try to fix that tonight.

[EdFerri]

I'm leaving Jacksonville Thursday morning, probably around 10 to 11 am.... Not too sure if anyone else will be heading through here at that time....

[dmc6960]

I'm leaving Jacksonville Thursday morning, probably around 10 to 11 am.... Not too sure if anyone else will be heading through here at that time....

Actually, I may be. If I'm doing good with time tomorrow I'm thinking of detouring slightly to the east and spending the night in Savanna, GA. Leaving Savanna in the morning would put me through Jacksonville on Thursday around 11:00-11:30. I'll know for sure by tomorrow night.

[ydjk58]

Well, I just got up and am getting around. I should be leaving around noon, driving the distance alone. I'm thinking a brief layover at south of the border, then continue through the night, I'll be taking US15/11 to I270 to I95

[Iznodmad]

Getting ready to hit the road. Later start than I wanted, but it always seems to
Work that way.

[dmc6960]

Well I didn't make it into Savannah, so unfortunately I will not be driving through Jacksonville tomorrow, I went south on I-75 instead. Hit a little problem today, in which one of the fuses for the electronic fuel injectors kept popping. My EFI is setup with two banks (left and right), each on their own fuse. Its a little hard to drive through the TN hills on half an engine, it sure idles smooth though! Stopped at a PepBoys in Nashville and got a new inline fuse holder, I was suspecting the one I had was having a poor connection, causing the fuse pops. When measuring the current through that circuit it wasn't overloaded at all, but I'm still going to Ohm out each injector to make sure one isn't going bad. After getting the new holder installed I had no problems the rest of the day. It did unfortunately slow me down enough not to make it worth while to go to Savannah (I was hoping to go see the ocean before dark). I'm in Valdosta, GA now. Total mileage for today was about 611 miles. Fuel economy suffered while running on the half-engine, about 25mpg. Since I had to have the throttle nearly wide open to maintain speed, a lot more fuel was dumped in even with half the injectors not running. Once fixed though, I was back up to 29-30mpg.

I gotta say, I took I-75 through the middle of Atlanta and except for downtown, I sailed on through. I was quite surprised and impressed given the time of the day it was, rush hour.

I also realized I was mistaken on yesterday's mileage. It was 720 miles, not 631.

[ydjk58]

Got to the hotel safely around 430 am. Killing an hour right now at the steak n shake up the road till I get to check in and get some shut eye before the days festivities

[Iznodmad]

I stopped in St Augustine Florida for the night around midnight. Gonna make the rest of the short journey this am. See everyone later on today!

[Farrar]

Let me know if there is anyone passing through New Orleans or the surrounding area (on I-10) as I'd like to say hello and snap a few pics. :)

[Farrar]

I guess you all don't love me any more. *snif*

[dmc6960]

Well I made it home last night around 9:00pm. Only problem the whole trip was that one fuse for 3 of the injectors, it was still popping on me occasionally. The last time it did it, I actually got exited because when I replaced it it immediately popped again. Yay, a consistent state I can troubleshoot from! Pull out the meter, hmm, everything seems fine? Put another fuse in, no blow. So I'm going to have that to think about for a while, and another oil change to do as I just drove over 3000 miles this past week.

Overall trip average MPG was about 28mpg, wil many fillups at 30 and 31. Max speed was 88mph (woo!), average speed was 78mph south of Illinois, and 72mph in and north of Illinois.

Outside of the Hilton itself I didn't see one other DeLorean the whole trip. Might be the first time that has happened too. An ironically enough, some of the hottest conditions I experiences the whole week were in central Iowa of all places comin home yesterday. The UV/IR windshield is spectacular and I couldn't be happier with it.

See you all in 2014 in Dayton, OH. Hopefully arriving with an entourage of a few more cars than just myself.

[stevedmc]

I guess you all don't love me any more. *snif*

Amen.

[Bitsyncmaster]

Well I made it home last night around 9:00pm. Only problem the whole trip was that one fuse for 3 of the injectors, it was still popping on me occasionally. The last time it did it, I actually got exited because when I replaced it it immediately popped again. Yay, a consistent state I can troubleshoot from! Pull out the meter, hmm, everything seems fine? Put another fuse in, no blow. So I'm going to have that to think about for a while, and another oil change to do as I just drove over 3000 miles this past week.

Overall trip average MPG was about 28mpg, wil many fillups at 30 and 31. Max speed was 88mph (woo!), average speed was 78mph south of Illinois, and 72mph in and north of Illinois.

Outside of the Hilton itself I didn't see one other DeLorean the whole trip. Might be the first time that has happened too. An ironically enough, some of the hottest conditions I experiences the whole week were in central Iowa of all places comin home yesterday. The UV/IR windshield is spectacular and I couldn't be happier with it.

See you all in 2014 in Dayton, OH. Hopefully arriving with an entourage of a few more cars than just myself.

With a DVM reading the current, you will only get an average. If you just use the injector specifications and up the fuse size two or three times that should work.

I would like to get one of those IR windshields but this trip the AC was more than enough. It just did not get as hot as I expected in Orlando.

[dvonk]

I guess you all don't love me any more. *snif*

we all hate you because you didnt come to DCS!

j/k :wink:


...ironically enough, some of the hottest conditions I experiences the whole week were in central Iowa of all places comin home yesterday.

i can vouch for that... we flew back into Omaha yesterday; the weather here is noticeably hotter than in FL. ugh. :dead: