Driving across country in winter Do it or dont do it? need advice

[Lundqvist]

Hey guys well iv given up on the idea of taking my viper because its just not feasible with the things we need to bring back. But heres the story.

My gf moved here from indiana. Her car and most of her belongings are back at her parents house in indiana. Were considering flying to indiana for christmas and then driving back to california
on the 25th of december in her 1994 toyota corolla station wagon with all her belongings. My concerns.

How hard is it to drive across country in december as apposed to say summer time?

Her 1994 toyota corolla although pretty old has only 125k miles on it and for those cars its basically nothing so the car doesn't have TOO much miles on the verge of breakdown.

But im worried were gonna get stuck out in the middle of nowhere in winter with a broken down Toyota with all her things in it. My parents are very worried about this and im not sure what to do.

am i worrying to much. should i just man up and drive back to california in december 25th?

should we just sell her car there and ship her stuff and fly back? ANY ADVICE would be appreciated.

 

[LifeIsGood]

Just brainstorming here...don't know the costs of any of this, but here goes...

Rent something in Indiana to tow/trailer her car back to California...U-haul/Ryder/something truck that will be heavier...maybe have 4-wheel drive. Her car can be loaded on a car carrier and pulled behind the truck.

Most states do a good/great job keeping the major highways clear during any bad weather.

Take a southern route across the country...I10 or I20...less chance of snow.

Good luck.

 

[Leslie]

Just another thought....have her box up things she really wants now, ship back..

Then go get the rest of the stuff in 4 mos.

I live here in IN, change of season is beautiful here and so would the drive back be!

I personally would have used the move as an excuse to sell most of my stuff (purging) and car and get a new ride haha!

 

[purplesnake]

I live here in Indiana and you would be exponentially better of in her Toyota than you would have been if you had chosen to bring the viper. MAN UP, Clark W Lundqvist! Load up the Toyota truckster and head west! If you don't have a cousin Eddie living somewhere on the way, and you have trouble, contact DP Viper. He's a reasonable facimille!

 

[ninjakris]

I moved from washington to florida last year driving a 22' moving van while towing my wifes subaru legacy. It was a horrible ride in summer, let alone in winter. If you can fit her stuff in the car, load it up, head south, then west. While the rocky mountians were cool to look at, there is no way I would go through them this time of year without 4wd or awd. You can make it down to I10 in probably one or two days, and weather shouldn't be a problem. If you have never done a cross country drive, I do reccomend it. I was able to see a lot of the country and the different landscapes. The car should be fine, if you are worried about it, give it a quick tune up. Like you said, Toyota's run forever. Good luck with your trip.

 

[Timnineside]

Load the car up and drive it back! You'll be fine!

 

[SkyBob]

I did that very thing when I was 17 years old in my 1971 Plymouth Satellite Sebring. Never gave the perils a thought.

 

[RoyV101621]

If you are worried about the condition of the Toyota then have it checked out. Spend a little money on maintaining the car. Then there is no worry about the trip to California or continued use of the older car after you get there.

 

[SlayerLS1]

Haha when I saw this thread title, I thought you meant that you wanted to drive across the country in a Viper.

I haven't driven across the whole country in the winter, but I've done some 10 hour drives, etc. I think as long as you're careful when you hit bad conditions, you'll be just fine.

 

[texas_venom]

My advice would be to load everything up and move OUT of California to just about any other state while you can.

 

[johniew398]

Usually no worries; just check the forecast before beginning your trip.

 

[Leslie]

don't go thru Denver area this time of year..go farther south if you can....

I drove from CA to WV around Dec time frame and it was crazy!!!

 

[Leojmcca]

Not sure if your NoCl or SoCal

I've done this a few times. If your going to drive, don't take the 80 or 70, they are the northern routes and weather is a risk. I almost bought it on the 70 cutting through Utah when a blizzard hit!

Head south to the 40 and cut across the southern states. In the winter it is the best route to take if your in SoCal.

My advise taking the car or not, would be to UPS the stuff back to CA. Have the GF go through the stuff to cut down on the stuff. Buy boxes from Uhaul, box the stuff up and schedule them to come and pick it up. Unless you need the car, sell the car in Indiana. It is at least a three day drive back unless your doing 15 hour days.

 

[texas_venom]

I wouldnt recommend 40 either. This time of year you will hit snow in parts of New mexico and definitely in Arizona. I owuld head down south to 20 then take that over to 10 and across the far south US. Its the best bet for missing snow... and in the car you are taking I wouldnt want to be driving in too harsh of conditions. Too much could go wrong and you dont want to get stranded out in the middle of BFE in the cold.

 

[Lundqvist]

its soo funny, with the different opinions in the thread it seems like everyone has there own idea.. and thats what its like here.. were kind of debating what to do. but it seems like people are reccomending it by going thru basically southern states.. but even then.. there has got to be snow in new mexico.. parts of texas..

were a young couple coming in a 1994 toyota..driving across counry (which we never have done) getting caught in a billizard sounds kind of scary..

IS it possible to ship the car? maybe we can ship the car.. and put all her stuff in the trunk of the car. is that possible?

 

[LifeIsGood]

Yes you can ship the car...do some research, it can get expensive.

 

[Bonkers]

If safety/time are a concern - load up the car and ship it home, most
car haulers don't have cargo rules inside the vehicle.

If not, I would drive it just for the experience.

Road trips can be expensive themselves - not including the normal
expenses (hotels, fuel, food, ect...) you also need to be prepared
for unexpected costs (repairs, tickets, ect...) So cost-wise it probably
won't be finically much different to do either.

 

[viperbilliam]

OK, if you insist on living in CA.......I've been there and done the cross-country drives along the southern routes. If it's possible to avoid winter and do it later, do it. A cross-country drive can be memorable but a nightmare in the wrong weather that you are not prepared for. Definitely do not consider driving over the mountains in the northern routes.

"Man-up" doesn't mean parking your head up where the sun doesn't shine! It helps that your Toyota is front-wheel drive; take chains that you know how to put on. Best yet, get good winter tires on it and make sure the car is propertly winterized - have the sparkplugs been changed? Do have a winter emergency kit that includes blankets, flashlight and batteries, and plenty of bottled water. If you can't or won't do all of these things, then definitely ship it. It's probably a 2000 mile drive this way and will take you about 4 days if everything does right. Don't hurry it - not worth it. So, the cost of this road trip as Bonkers pointed out can cost more than shipping especially if you have to get new tires. Don't skimp on the tires - it's all you got between you and the road.

 

[TowDawg]

The $$$ cost to ship the car back or drive it back is probably close to, if not more, than the value of the car.

I would do what others suggested and have her go through everything, ship what she wants, and sell the rest (including the car).

 

[ROCKET62]

And how is this is Viper-related?

 

[wikkid]

Dump the GF and save yourself the heartache, along with some gas.lol

 

[BigBadViper]

I would drive it. Make sure you have some money and if the weather gets too bad stop and hang out at a hotel for awhile.

 

[madninjaskillz]

As someone who has driven coast to coast 3 separate times (first in an 03 Mustang, 2nd 06 GTO, 3rd 05 Viper) I would say go for it. I really enjoy driving though and I drove both the Mustang and the Viper during the months of November and December. All of the major highways I travelled (20, 10, 5) were all clear and easy. The Viper was the most engaging of them all for many reasons. Not the least of them being that I didn't have new front tires on it. You will learn a lot about your car if you do this and I think it will be a good experience. One other thing, I was alone when I drove the Viper and was able to make my own schedule. I pretty much power drove from SC to middle Texas in one day and then on to LA the next after staying with a friend in TX. When I had my GF/ wife with me, things were not nearly as relaxed because of their small bladders and need for sleep ect. Women complicate things. All things.

 

[Mopar Boy]

Radom thought. There are open car carriers that I have seen advertising cross country shipping for $400. Ad in time, fuel, food, etc and it is not logical to drive it unless you want the trip to see the country. If that is the case, that would not be the vehicle of choice for this time of year unless you were 100% confident of its mechanical abilities. Not 95% sure. You can drive an older car 20 min to and from work in the city, but start working the cooling system as you climb a mountain for 15 min at high altitude, or work the brakes for 20 min brakes going down the other side on potentially snowy grades, you may find you are taxing systems that have not been under that abuse before.

 

[Chuck 98 RT/10]

And how is this is Viper-related?

That's what I was wondering. And just so I don't feel like I wasted my time I'll reply like it's Viper related.

I wouldn't drive a Viper in snow for two reasons.
1. Snow equalizes the fun factor between cars. You might as well be driving a Toyota Corolla station wagon.
2. Nothing kills the undercarriage of a car like the salt the government dumps on snowy roads. I'd drive a Toyota Corolla station wagon on salty snow packed roads but not a Viper.