Best vehicle for a cross country road trip?

Tell your neighbor to join the TourX page on Facebook. Although knowing TourX owners, he probably already did.

 

Prevailing speeds are WAY up. I wouldn't use a Volvo 245, because IMO it cannot keep pace and IMO is highly problematic in strong winds. Seen too many of these roll.

 

I've got my hat. I'm ready!

 

its got cop tires. hold out for the push bar though... because, you know, badass.

 

I like this idea, but two considerations: One, windowblown sand will rough up the windshield and paint of any nice vehicle like this. Maybe talk to Safelite and find out if they have an ample supply of replacement windshields. And two, you see lots of Buick dealers in the Eastern 1/2 of the USA but they can be scarce in the USA West. Buick dealers have to know about so many vehicles made by different people in different places, Not sure if they will always be of much help.

I've car camped, a ton. But circumstances are up in the air, right now. I can't give current "car camping" circumstances on NFS and Bureau of Land Management lands right now. And we've lost a lot of very nice places to hang out, in these fires. I feel like I will be starting from scratch, myself.

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Another thought: I'm writing this from the Memphis area, and people have been in love with Buicks for a long time around here. Except this model; didn't catch on here. Almost have to call them rare. You can well imagine, I'm a hawk about spotting cars around me and I've seen them in Nashville. But not many, anyplace else. This might be a rarer vehicle than you think.

 

Here’s mine!

We’ve owned BMWs for years, but last weekend we went car shopping because Mrs. Steerforth’s BMW was getting a bit long in the tooth and was close to taking a big drop in value due to age.

We went and looked at BMWs, but she didn’t click with anything that she test drove, despite years of driving them. So we went over to the Mercedes dealer just to have a look. She fell in love with one, so I bought her first Mercedes-Benz.

That thing is the most comfortable car in which I have ever ridden. If I was going to take off on a cross country trip, I’d be very happy to do it in that vehicle. And it has lots of room for your gear.

 

Get a DriveAway car. I did this in about 1988 when I needed to move across country. Someone needs their car delivered. You need a car. They give you a car for free, and you deliver it to the destination. You have to achieve a certain number of miles per day-- something like 350 miles if I recall correctly-- and report each evening where you are spending the night. It's totally free, you just need to pay for gas. I was given a Toyota hatchback to deliver, and I loaded it to the gills with my stuff and drove it from Massachusetts to Seattle.

https://www.gonomad.com/1562-drive-across-the-usa-with-auto-driveaway-cars

 

Take the mattress out, fold the seats back up and sell it.

 

Get a small SUV or larger. A Hyundai Santa Fe would work well for ya.

 

Why sell it? Caravans make a good everyday car. I have been driving them for twenty years. Take a look how many of them are out there.

 

Found this beauty online — was a trade-in at a Jeep dealership in Seattle. $28k w/48,000 miles (had in checked-out by a Seattle MB dealership). It seems NOBODY wants to buy large sedans (any sedans?) nowadays. Had it nearly two years — only regular services required. Found on CarGurus.com. The trick is: low miles, dealer-maintained with service records/clean Carfax. And perhaps a bit of luck! Planning a drive from Kansas to Savannah next month — can’t wait!

 

Merc's a great suggestion. Google Alex Roy M5 if you want to know how to really get their quick. Requires some mods to the vehicle

 

I owned 3 for a total of about 500k miles. Never rolled one. Never came close. With OD cruise at 80 all day long. I have seen many more SUVs and pickups dirty side up than Volvos. But you asked - that was my favorite for long-distance travel.

 

Honda Pilot