So wife and I are heading out Wednesday afternoon from here in central Minnesota and driving to Albuquerque in the 01 c5, straight through, staying a few days and leaving there Sunday and driving back straight through again. Looking forward to the trip but trying to be well prepared. Its got 109500 miles, I recently replaced the starter and master cylinder with a tick. I have no way to be sure the clutch or slave cylinder were ever done, but I am the SEVENTH owner of this thing, and I figure no way with all those new owners that the car has had such an easy life that the clutch and slave are original and still grabbing good, so I'm not gonna stress about the slave going out on me during the trip.

Yesterday I changed the oil, topped off all the fluids, packed some extra oil, coolant, and dot 4. Have an emergency roadside kit with mini compressor and basic tool kit. I am bringing a can of fix a flat, I know, I know, but my tpms isnt working on any of the tires anyways so if I need to use it in my run flats so be it, my passenger rear tire jas a slow leak already. There are some long boring stretches out there. I've put on a little over 5k miles in the last year and now i will be doing 2500+ in 5-6 days. It runs perfect but we will be in some hot weather and running long days. Anything else I should be looking out for? Any other suggestions of what else to pack? If all goes well it should be a fun trip and looking forward to getting some real mileage on it! Will post some pics if I find any great photo ops

 

For a trip that distance, I would just make sure I had good tires that I could trust. Might want to have that leak checked out before you leave.

 

Check the front of the air conditioning condenser for debris. A small feather duster and fish it down in between your radiator and condenser clean out any debris. Check air filter. C5 tend to pick up a lot of straw like debris in the front on long road trips. Validate those tires

 

If you don’t have it already, add emergency road service to your insurance policy. Nice to have that as a backup if needed.

 

Got the emergency roadside and cleaned the air filter 500 miles ago so that should be fine, was thinking about just replacing it though. I'll give the A/C condenser a look and a good cleaning, dont need that to have any problems! Any ever carry any extra little parts like spare coil packs or 02 sensors? Not sure how many miles those are typically good for on a c5.

 

A camera so you can take photos of the trip and post them here!

 

A leaky tire is a no go in my book. Get it looked at. Check belts and hoses. Replace if needed. Change your oil if getting close to needing it. I prefer to change oil at home vs on the road.

Don't bog your car down with spare parts and tools. You could load a truck full of spare parts and tools and still not have the right ones. There is only so much you can do on the side of the road. If you have maintained your car, it is unlikely you will have an event that will strand you. There is always some risk but it is true for any vehicle including a new one.

I take duct tape, pliers, tire repair kit, tire inflator, flat and phillips head screwdrivers, windshield cleaner (Invisible Glass / Windex), and paper towels. If you are planning to run 90+ MPH then a quart of oil. Check your fluids at each stop. Watch your gages along the way.

Years ago I did a 5,000 mile trip with my 200k mile Z06. I did all prep work before leaving. The only repair on the road was a blown turn signal bulb. Last year I did a round trip from Michigan to Florida with ZERO issues. My Z has 285k mile now.

Take fluids for YOU. You need to stay hydrated while on the road. Stop to stretch along the way. Enjoy the trip.

 

A couple of good credit cards always come in handy.

 

Credit cards check
Extra fluids for the car check
Fluids for me check (how many energy drinks are too many?)
Camera check
I inspected belts over the weekend and they look like they have been replaced in the last couple years
I will get the tire checked out after work, I do have a small portable compressor and tire patches and stuff already packed, and because my tpms isnt working I put on some valve stem monitors to watch the pressure so I can fill it whenever it gets low, hopefully the local shop can patch it today though. Live in a small town but maybe could stop somewhere else during the trip if they cant do it

 

Wow, before I realized a c5 was in my price range and I joined the forums and did a lot of reading I never would have thought they are such reliable rigs, and no one around believes me about getting low 30's cruising with a v8

 

WOW ! Just WOW!
Those are PeterBuilt numbers.

 

Make sure your AAA Plus or Premiere membership is up to date.

 

Just made it home! Trip went great, even with running a/c all day and being in very hot weather cruising 80mph half the time she still squeaked out around 28mpg for whole trip, pretty close to what the computer said as well. Did hit a lot of really rough bumpy roads and now my abs and active handling system lights are on so now I'll look into those. Didnt get much photo ops but there was one spot in Colorado I thought had a nice skyline I took a moment to get out and snap a couple pictures, so for anyone who dosent know what a stock black c5 with c5 z06 rims looks like, behold!

 

Welcome back. Sounds like you had a great trip. Picked a great spot to take a very nice picture.

 

WB
Sounds like you had a great trip

 

My wife and I are heading out on a round trip to Indianapolis (1600 miles) again. My 2001 vert has 78000 on it and I carry some spares just for a warm fuzzy feeling. Fuses, since it’s an auto I carry spare tranny cable bushings, fuel pump relay, extra headlight nylon bumper stops, antifreeze and oil. A small socket set, hand tools lugnut sockets. I have a Z06 tire kit and all this fits in the center cubby with room to spare. I just changed the oil pressure sender so that’s not a concern. Tires are a year old and the ever present AAA coverage. The C5 is a great road trip car.