robertbruce

What is GF? Go to California and drive the PCH.

saleen556

JoesC5

To start out, how about a reasonably short trip, say over to Shenandoah National Park and drive down from Front Royal, VA to Waynesville, VA on Skyline Drive, then over to Staunton, VA and then to Cass VW and ride the steam powered train.

Lots of "Corvette" roads in West Virginia as you work your way back north to get on I-66

dkb218

What precautions would you take on any other car before starting off on a long road trip? Can't see what would be different because you're driving a vette. It's a car. Nothing more. Nothing less. Enjoy it.

dmaxx3500

its ''ONLY'' a car

just drive the damned thing

and you have insurance

etaylor14

You can get dings, scratches, little stones etc, kicked up by other cars just driving to the corner grocery store! They are beautiful cars and love to be driven. I had a C6 and now the C7 my wife and I drive all over the country I am 74 yrs old and want to spend as much time behind the wheel as possible. It never gets old!!! Drive it and enjoy or you can save it for the next owner..

SilverGhost

your vette in a nitrogen bubble in a deep mountain storage facility is probably the best protection you can expect to buy at the present time. any thing less is just a start down the slippery slope of compromise.

23/C8Z

The it's only a car mentality is relative.

bought mine new and yeah it takes its kicks now and then and is xpel equipped but unless you are FAMILIAR with the route you're taking it's a HUGE gamble. Bending these wheels is not fun. Stumbling across some road construction project at 50mph and hitting plates other vehicles just need a rebalancing we need Wheels.

To me? It's the most expensive car I ever bought and probably ever will. So i dont treat mine like any other car. Mine is not a daily driver. It's well cared for but driven spiritedly, not babies or pampered. I dont have enough disposable to track it. I dont have enough disposable to track a base C7 Z51.

just my thoughts. And I have almost 5k miles on mine bought in October 2016. Weather limits my enjoyment of the car (and work schedule).

wife and I may drive out to bowling green next week. Was gonna take the car and still might. But like others mentioned, I will lower deductible and speak to them about my concerns up front and document their responses. I have ncm so I'm pretty sure they will have my back.

if not I'll take the 2016 Sierra. Or rent a Tahoe.

something about being in a truck makes those trips more enjoyable anyway (limits the interaction will Leo's as well).

Carlisle from me is about 3hrs. That's about as far as I'm comfortable going with it. But let's see what happens.

hope2

Suggestion for OP: Destin Florida, Sterling Shores Condo. Rent one with under the building parking, 24 hour security. I own a unit there, can't beat it, great view, great grounds, walk to Back Porch restaurant so drink all you want.

trawler

SSTG

RIC96

Leave it at home, safe and comfy. I'll buy your pristine vette in two years, for bluebook value, and offer you my thanks! Drive the damn car... that's why you bought it.

Kevin A Jones

Take a very scenic drive to Chincoteaque wild pony round-up/swim. Not too far, lots of fun and plenty of beautiful scenic photo ops for your C7.
http://www.chincoteague.com/pony_swim_guide.html

tobaccokid

9mm and/or Rotweiler

Carlos Thomas

That was me. Here is the post if you want to look it over: 4,174 Miles & 11 Days Road Trip

My ADVICE

1. You should not hesitate on taking your Corvette on any sort of road trip in the US or Canada. Unless you plan on going off road, the Corvette, I believe, screams AMERICANA and there is no better vehicle to enjoy all the things our beautiful country has to offer.
2. With regards to your Corvette being safe, I was never worried about it getting stolen or broken into. I never left anything in the car and we stayed at hotels and AirBnB's. Some hotels had valet, some had a parking lot, some had a garage and some had parking right in front of your door. Don't live your life worrying about these things. You have insurance.
3. One of the things I did each night was take a damp cloth and clean the bugs off. Then I used my Griot Speed Shine to get it looking good each night. I would use my California duster and the mini wheel duster for the brake dust first (I have ceramic pads, so the dust was not much, but I still cleaned it each night), then the damp cloth on the front, then some Griot Speed Shine. It took 15 minutes each night before calling it a day. It made me feel good each day coming out to a clean car. When I told people we were on a 4,000 + plus road trip, they often wondered how the car looked so clean (see pic below). Two times during the trip we stopped at a local manual car wash to use the high powered hose/soap. That made the bugs and dirt come off on those stretches when we had a lot of bugs. Also when I got home, it made for a wash a lot easier.
4. I don't have XPEL, Sealant or a Bra. I got zero rock chips in the paint. I even was forced to drive 10 miles on a gravel road (watch the video in my write up). I did get a rock on the windshield pretty bad, but I stopped at Safelite within 45 minutes and they took care of the crack really well for $70. If you use a bra for the trip, make sure it is secure and does not flap around. Then you will have serious paint issues. I am fine with using the rock chip repair kits online. There are some really good ones. Chips can happen anywhere on your car.
5. As for your route. If you live in Maryland and are heading south, I would take the coast as much as possible and go ALL THE WAY to Key West, FL. You can't go to Florida and not go all the way. I might do I trip from San Francisco to Key West, FL. We are planning another trip between Christmas and the first week of January. Potential doing a southern route of some sort. You are looking at about 1,500 miles one way if you follow the coast to Key West. Round trip for an enjoyable trip would be about 9 to 10 days. If you go shorter you will be rushing things. Making it longer is always recommended if you have the time. I would use Google Maps and plot a route. Post it here and members will help flush out a really nice trip for you. That is how I did it.
6. Only drive in the day time. We never drove at night because you can't see anything. If you are up in the air...meaning should be stop at this place while your driving...STOP. My view on it is...you drove all that way and may never see this place again. Experience it.

This is what the car looked like 1,200 miles into the trip.


15 Minutes Goes a Long Way


If things get super buggy or you hit weather. 3 minutes of this and your good to go.

Hopper12

OP: Just some thoughts since you asked for opinions.........

• Every fall for the last 12 years we've taken a 2+ week road trip (we take other road trips, and fly to other places, but we love long road trips together) - always 3500 - 4500 miles. I don't tell my wife where we're going - I spend a lot of research time about 6-8 months in advance, find fun places to go/stay, tell her what type of clothes she will need, and I try to surprise her with some great places. If I do a good job, she signs up for another year. BTW, I've found some really nice places and booked some great adventures, and have a lot of fun surprising her.
• We take a 'fun car' on these trips. We always have something around to take - over the last 12 years we've taken Maserati, CTS-V, Land Rover, and the last 4 years, a C7. Of all of them, the C7 is our favorite by far. She always wanted to take a larger SUV, especially before we bought our first C7 (partly because she drives a SUV and - at least for the first bit - feels 'like my butt is going to scrape the ground'). But she quickly grew to love going in the C7 and is amazed by the mileage, the amount we can pack in it, etc.
• We specifically bought the C7s to take on road trips. It's not a DD, but I would never think of taking a different car/SUV and leave the C7 at home. I'd just be missing it the whole time wishing we were in it instead.
• Does stuff happen while we're driving all these miles? Sure. Had a couple of windshield chips, some road rash on the nose (xpel'd the front of our GS and it worked great last fall - no chips at all), driven on gravel roads (no problem), driven thru horrendous rain/thunder storms (they don't melt), hit snow on some high passes (drives just like any other RWD vehicle in snow - just slow down and watch for the stups), park at restaurants and hotels (I'm pretty careful - never take up two spots but I can always find a decent enough spot), used valet with no problems, etc. And when we're back, I clean it up and it looks just like it came off the show room floor.
• Several years ago I got over worrying so much about what 'could happen', and just relaxed and decided to enjoy the fun cars and, if something did happen, I'd just fix it/get it fixed. I will never 'save any fun car for the next guy'. Ever.
• BTW, I don't totally buy the 'it's only a car' thought either, so don't get me wrong. It is only a car, but a special one. If it wasn't special, we wouldn't have purchased it. But if we spend time worrying about it, it's wasted energy and we won't really enjoy.

So my advice would be to take it, don't worry about it, enjoy it, let others see it and have fun with the conversations that will occur, drive defensively and watch out for the stupid/distracted drivers that exist everywhere, and think of the bit of rash or chips as badges of honor for enjoying that beautiful C7!

4thC4at60

My longest road trip to date is 7,640 miles....

I have several 5,000+ mile trips.... have had some health issues the last 90 days (I'm an old guy), but will be on the road again VERY very soon...... !

Phanni

I would not hesitate to drive either of my Vettes anywhere in the USA and most of Canada (forget Mexico). I wouldn't drive it in snowy conditions (if possible), but in the end, They're simply C-4s waiting to happen. Use some kind of front end protector and enjoy the trip, If you're going to fret about damage on your trip, don't take the Vette.

TJC333

Florida in July? No way. 95 degrees and 95% humidity.

kupitz

The wife and I take the C6Z to the Finger Lakes (Watkins Glen and Geneva mostly) Great driving roads and most of the hotels are small enough that you can see the vette outside your window, prices ar reasonable too, like $100 a night at most of the lakefront properties.