Anyone ever driven across the country in their TJ?

Reidminer

TJ Enthusiast
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Syracuse NY
Hello! So I am moving across the country, from upstate NY, to Oregon, in July this year. I’m looking at roughly 2,400 miles of travel, that I’m planning on doing in about 7-9 days.

I should mention, I’m driving a 2001 wrangler tj with the 4.0 inline 6 5 speed manual with stock gears running 35’s(bought it like that have yet to do a regear). It’s got 109k miles on it and will have about 116k when I do the move. I’ve timed my oil changes so I’ll be doing that and a tire rotation before I leave, as well as doing the spark plugs. Are there other things I should do(maintenance wise) of the Jeep before making a 2,400 mile trip? I’ll be averaging 350ish miles a day because I don’t want to go crazy on my baby doing a shit ton of miles in a day.

I won’t be hauling a trailer, bringing only what I’m fitting in my Jeep so I won’t have to worry about that. The Jeep is in great condition, built by a mechanic, pretty much no rust at all(it’s a NJ Jeep and for a upstate ny’er this thing is as good as they come on the upper east coast). I’ll attach a pic if that helps anyone with giving advice.

Cheers!

09CD3A58-F6A0-405B-86D7-C3FFF3EE8104.jpeg
 
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I did the same thing 3 years ago in my 99 w/2.5 towing a single motorcycle trailer and a Rottweiler in the back. NJ to Oregon in 5 days and all went well. Although I have to say it was tough on my old ass. We were doing about 600 + miles a day with my son following me in his XJ towing a boston Whaler. It was a nice trip
 
Highway driving is easier than stop and go. Limiting your miles per day isn't going to effect the Jeep one way or another in my opinion. Once it's up to temp and everything is heat soaked, that's it.

If it's been a while (or ever) since you've changed diff fluid and/or transmission fluid that's a good thing to do, road trip or not. If your wheel bearings, ujoints, tie rods, ball joints, brakes are good I don't know what else you'd even check. That was always my sort of short list to check before a long trip. But if they're worn they need replaced regardless.

I like to do a coolant flush every few years too.

I drove my '05 on 35s with 4.10s from Ohio to Key West, New York, The Carolinas, Oklahoma, and Minnesota and never had a single hiccup.

edit...
Tire pressure, make sure it's all where you want it. I always pumped in a few extra psi on a long drive.
 
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I once drove a YJ from the East coast to the Baja peninsula and back. Make sure your maintenance is up to date, bring a decent support kit along, and you should be fine.
 
I did the same thing 3 years ago in my 99 w/2.5 towing a single motorcycle trailer and a Rottweiler in the back. NJ to Oregon in 5 days and all went well. Although I have to say it was tough on my old ass. We were doing about 600 + miles a day with my son following me in his XJ towing a boston Whaler. It was a nice trip
Oh damn nice! Thanks for the input. I definitely don’t want to do 600 miles a day lol. I want to stop along the way at a few places that I know I probably wouldn’t see otherwise and don’t want to be in my Jeep, driving, for like 10+hrs each day.
 
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Oh damn nice! Thanks for the input. I definitely don’t want to do 600 miles a day lol. I want to stop along the way at a few places that I know I probably wouldn’t see otherwise and don’t want to be in my Jeep, driving, for like 10+hrs each day.

I had to be at the house closing so we had to push but it was a nice trip. Where you relocating to out here.
 
Highway driving is easier than stop and go. Limiting your miles per day isn't going to effect the Jeep one way or another in my opinion. Once it's up to temp and everything is heat soaked, that's it.

If it's been a while (or ever) since you've changed diff fluid and/or transmission fluid that's a good thing to do, road trip or not. If your wheel bearings, ujoints, tie rods, ball joints, brakes are good I don't know what else you'd even check. That was always my sort of short list to check before a long trip. But if they're worn they need replaced regardless.

I like to do a coolant flush every few years too.

I drove my '05 on 35s with 4.10s from Ohio to Key West, New York, The Carolinas, Oklahoma, and Minnesota and never had a single hiccup.

edit...
Tire pressure, makes sure it's all where you want it. I always pumped in a few extra psi on a long drive.
Gotcha okay, makes sense. Yeah I’m also limiting miles per day as I don’t really feel like driving for 10+ hrs per day and I want to make a few stops along the way too.
I just bought this Jeep in beginning of October, as it is in the picture. The mechanic that built it made it for his son last winter, they put a thousand miles on it and then the son decided he wanted a beamer lol(their loss). So I’m not sure when the diff/trans fluid has been last changed but the u joints are new(since it was built) not sure about the wheel bearings, I feel and hear no issue with them. Tie rods/draglink was actually just replaced about a month ago due to an asshole cutting in front of me and I tapped him. He paid for it all, so new parts who am I to complain. Brakes are pretty good, though I may want to at least do the front before I do the trip. Coolant flush I actually just did as well! I had noticed it looked like chocolate milk so from reading some threads on here I did a full coolant flush and it’s good as new!
Thanks for the reply by the way, very helpful!
 
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What fun, I drove an F150 out to my daughter and her husband (Pgh.- Eugene ). I did it in 7 days. It really was a life’s changing trip. Soo much to see. I’m going to camp on the way out with my wife. ( she doesn’t t know this yet ) to the W coast. ‘06 LJ and a small expidition trailer. Going to see some National treasures.
As for the trip, scapegoats post #3 is what I did. We’re living to tell about it. Go for it and if you can post up about the trip.
Gods speed
 
Gotcha okay, makes sense. Yeah I’m also limiting miles per day as I don’t really feel like driving for 10+ hrs per day and I want to make a few stops along the way too.
I just bought this Jeep in beginning of October, as it is in the picture. The mechanic that built it made it for his son last winter, they put a thousand miles on it and then the son decided he wanted a beamer lol(their loss). So I’m not sure when the diff/trans fluid has been last changed but the u joints are new(since it was built) not sure about the wheel bearings, I feel and hear no issue with them. Tie rods/draglink was actually just replaced about a month ago due to an asshole cutting in front of me and I tapped him. He paid for it all, so new parts who am I to complain. Brakes are pretty good, though I may want to at least do the front before I do the trip. Coolant flush I actually just did as well! I had noticed it looked like chocolate milk so from reading some threads on here I did a full coolant flush and it’s good as new!
Thanks for the reply by the way, very helpful!

Make sure that chocolate milk color doesn't come back right away and your engine oil isn't cafe au lait looking.

It was probably just old coolant but that can indicate a head gasket leak
 
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O
What fun, I drove an F150 out to my daughter and her husband (Pgh.- Eugene ). I did it in 7 days. It really was a life’s changing trip. Soo much to see. I’m going to camp on the way out with my wife. ( she doesn’t t know this yet ) to the W coast. ‘06 LJ and a small expidition trailer. Going to see some National treasures.
As for the trip, scapegoats post #3 is what I did. We’re living to tell about it. Go for it and if you can post up about the trip.
Gods speed
Oh nice!! Sounds fun. Yeah I’m thinking 7 days to do it so that I’m not super rushed, driving all day every day. I want to enjoy the drive and stop at some places(like national/state parks) that I probably wouldn’t see if I don’t do a road trip lol. I’m excited. I’ll definitely post after I’ve done it!
 
Make sure that chocolate milk color doesn't come back right away and your engine oil isn't cafe au lait looking.

It was probably just old coolant but that can indicate a head gasket leak
Yeah I’ve been checking periodically since I did it, so far it’s staying green! Engine oil, same thing. It was uber black(like normal old used oil lol) so I changed that as well, it’s looking good now
 
2400 miles with 35's, manual tranny, and no gears? it's going feel like you rowed a small boat across the country. I would drop in some gears if I were you. Get a loan if you need to, but gear it.
 
2400 miles with 35's, manual tranny, and no gears? it's going feel like you rowed a small boat across the country. I would drop in some gears if I were you. Get a loan if you need to, but gear it.
Why do you say that? I’m truly wondering lol. So far I’ve driven 200 miles on the highway at once in it and it drove like butter( as well as a lifted Jeep can). Fifth is useless unless it’s a flat straightaway but 3rd and 4th do great for highway use. I know I should regear for tons of reasons, but it’s not monetarily smart for me to do that before the trip. As long as my Jeep runs like normal on the trip, I’m happy
 
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wow. that's a haul.

Longest I've driven a TJ was when I bought mine and drove it from northern Ohio to eastern Oklahoma or when I drove it from northeast Oklahoma to southwest Colorado...both about 800 miles.
 
wow. that's a haul.

Longest I've driven a TJ was when I bought mine and drove it from northern Ohio to eastern Oklahoma or when I drove it from northeast Oklahoma to southwest Colorado...both about 800 miles.
Yeahhh it’s a good distance that’s for sure haha. That’s why I’ll be breaking it down over 7 days, so I only average 350-450 miles per day. I want to enjoy my time not rush through it ya know?
 
Yeahhh it’s a good distance that’s for sure haha. That’s why I’ll be breaking it down over 7 days, so I only average 350-450 miles per day. I want to enjoy my time not rush through it ya know?

that's not bad if you've got the time. I'm always in a rush and end up packing it into as few days as possible. It wasn't in a TJ but my longest road trip was 1500 miles from Miami through Dallas up to Oklahoma City. Did 15 hours the first day, slept for about 5 hours in Shreveport, LA and did another 8 hours to get home.
 
Ive done a few 500 mile trips. Latest was 900 miles in December. If you have a soft top, I recommend a pair of ear plugs.
 
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that's not bad if you've got the time. I'm always in a rush and end up packing it into as few days as possible. It wasn't in a TJ but my longest road trip was 1500 miles from Miami through Dallas up to Oklahoma City. Did 15 hours the first day, slept for about 5 hours in Shreveport, LA and did another 8 hours to get home.
Yep, that’s why I’m giving myself that much time lol. Yeah I’ve done family road trips to Florida when I was young and once we did it in a day and a half...not fun at all. I get antsy in the car after extended periods of time. So for this trip, my plan is as long as I get 400ish miles done every 24hr period, I’ll be golden.
 
Ive done a few 500 mile trips. Latest was 900 miles in December. If you have a soft top, I recommend a pair of ear plugs.
Hard-top thankfully!! When I went about 2hrs away for my to buy my hardtop, it was hell listening to that soft top& soft top doors. I’ve got a hardtop and full doors this time so it’ll be pretty good
 
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