[Tanz440]

This fall we will doing a road trip, myself my wife and our small pup in my 2025 M440i LCI covertible. The plan is to travel from the Tampa Bay, FL area to just north of Houston, TX to visit family. Route should be about 1,000 miles each way.

Since it is a first for us on this route, as well as the first long trip for our pup we are going to limit the travel to daylight hours and do the trip in about 2 1/2 days.

In future trips, if this one works out, we plan to go more off the beaten track but for now it will be mostly highway driving (I-75, I-10, I-12, back to I -10 and then local roads through La. and into Tx.)

Hoping the weather cooperates and we can do a lot of the trip with the top down. Of course, space will be at a premium between our stuff and dog supplies, her food, treats and the very limited trunk space but we plan to pack light.

We will have a compressor, LED rechargeable road flares, jumper cables, tire repair kit, glass cleaner, quick detailer with a bunch of microfiber cloths and my Go bag.

The car is scheduled for a routine service so she will have a fresh change of oil and all fluids topped off. We should have less than 3,000 miles on her when we start the trip.

Looking for suggestions from others who have done a similar trip, especially with a pup. Our girl is small, about 15 pounds.

She loves the top down and seems content to just lay down in the backseat. We've been acclimating her to longer and more frequent drives although she has never been in the car when we are traveling 70+ MPH.

Thanks for any suggestions or advice.

[stbm5]

you might be over thinking this. not really a scenic drive. if it were me i'd go for a land speed record, use radar, waze and passenger with binoculars. shoot for under 15h and do it in a day.

[BlkGS]

That's a nothing trip for what's basically a brand new car. I'd set out with literally zero fears of that trip. If a 2025 car can't take a 1000 mile trip, that automaker deserves to be out of business.

[Tanz440]

Originally Posted by stbm5

you might be over thinking this. not really a scenic drive. if it were me i'd go for a land speed record, use radar, waze and passenger with binoculars. shoot for under 15h and do it in a day.

Yes I do tend to overthink. My days of 15 hr drives are over lol.

[Tejas1836]

Properly retorque your lug bolts first
Impact driver and proper impact socket [17mm probably] for lug bolt removal if needed.
Torque wrench for lug bolt replacement if needed
ETA: Wheel hanger tool, my bolts are M14x1.25, yours may be different
Example: https://www.bimmerworld.com/Tools/BM...14-Coarse.html

[Mason Hatcher]

In 19 I did a 3800 mile road trip in the 230i I had at the time. Fort Worth thru to south Texas, then Houston, Atlanta area, then DC and back. In 21 I did 5500 in the same car, Fort Worth to Albuquerque, Grand Canyon, Meteor Crator, NorCal and Tahoe, then through Medford Oregon, with a stop in Seattle to see the Space Needle and other things, plus Mt Ranier. Home through Idaho, Wyoming and Colorado.

I literally took a suitcase. I have BMW roadside assistance and AAA. Mapped out the segments ahead of time. It was epic, and I didn’t worry about a thing.

[pbonsalb]

I usually bring one of my winter wheels as a spare along with a lightweight aluminum jack (HF 1.5 ton), cheap clicker torque wrench, Milwaukee 18V impact wrench, adjustable wrench, pliers, screwdriver, zip ties, coat hanger, duct tape, a couple of giant trash bags, Milwaukee inflator, scan tool, etc.

Last 500 mile trip I blew out a tire and no goo or plug could have fixed it. I was back on the road in literally 5 minutes. I could have waited for AAA and tried to find the tire size I need at a tire shop that was open and not too far away, but that would have taken hours and cost at least twice as much. Using a dealer is even more expensive and BMW roadside assistance may be limited in some areas.

[RockCrusher]

Never traveled with a dog.

Did take a number of road trips over the years covering nearly 4K miles (round trip) or more (one time 8K miles). Mostly from CA to MO and back.

Kept my cars in tip top shape. Well, one time after a road worthiness inspection and the tech noted the rear tires were pretty worn and advised I replace them before my trip I declined thinking I could get 2K miles and get tires at my destination.

Wrong. Made it from Livermore CA to Fresno when a rear tire picked up something. Cost me an extra day and night out of my precious vacation time to get tires.

I stayed on the freeways to make good time. On secondary roads it is one 55mph or 45mph or even lower speed zone after another. And in every wide spot on the road is a LEO looking for a customer.

And then on July 3 2019 I decided to take the loneliest highway (50) east. Just outside of Ely NV hit a mule deer. Was not speeding. Was very dark. Deer stepped from behind guard rail right into the path of my 996 Turbo.

After this I resumed staying on freeways as much as possible.

I had a V1 radar detector and a hand held CB radio. I used the CB radio to listen to big rig drivers report on LEO sightings and road/weather conditions.

Weirdest report was a big rig driver that ran into a swarm of locusts. Shortly after the report came across the CB radio I encountered this swarm of locust, too. What a mess. But the big rig driver cautioned against using the wipers. So I didn't. After a moment or two was out of the swarm. Then a few minutes later -- as the big rig driver also reported -- and I could see the lightning up ahead -- ran into a t-storm. The heavy rain blasted all the locust bug bits from the car.

Weather... I have been known to stop at a hotel and go to the TV in the lobby and watch some weather channel to stay on top of weather conditions. In the summer there's t-storms: heavy rain (TX, oh my...), wind and hail. Hail really scares me as it can total a car in no time if the hail is large enough), and tornadoes.

I carried the necessary tools to change a tire. While the VW Golf TDi and more recently a M-B Metris van had a full size spare all the other vehicles had a space saver and some just had a flat tire kit. (Make sure the space saver is properly inflated.

Carried a spare bottle of engine oil. Every gas stop I checked the oil level. Don't recall ever having to add any oil, though. Still just to be safe...

I gas up at busy stations. Truck stops are my go to choice. Busy. Fresh fuel. Nice facilities. Generally easy access and egress.

Left the detailing stuff at home. I just used DIY car washes (but not automatic/drive through car washes) to soap blast/rinse blast the bugs off the car. When I got home then I gave the car a thorough cleaning.

Of course ever since they became available I carried a cell phone and always had a premium auto club membership just in case. But there may not be cell phone coverage. (When I hit the mule deer my cell phone had no coverage. But a motorist stopped and his cell phone had a bar or so... Managed to get a call in to the State Police office in Ely to report the accident and arrange for a tow truck.)

With a few exceptions -- the mule deer accident is one -- I had a lot of fun on the road trips. Really nice to see the country at least the country west of the Mississippi River. The country is beautiful.

[erickonphoenix]

I'm assuming you're taking I-10 over. I used to commute between NOLA and Houston for work so I spent a lot of time on that Interstate. It's generally pretty chill but triple digit speeders are common so watch your six O'clock.

Keep your eye on Waze. There's a few areas that can tie you up for hours if there's an accident.

On the east side of NOLA look out for incidents in the tunnel under the Mobile river. If there's an issue there you can divert to I-90 north to escape it.

You also want to watch for incidents on the I-10 bridge over the Mississippi river. It always backs up a bit, but if there's a serious issue you can divert to hwy 190 to the north.

Atchafalaya bridge is 18 miles long, if there's an accident there you will be stuck for the duration of the clean up. There are a few spots to turn around but if you're jammed up you probably won't get to one. I've spent the night on it before. You can take the route 190 north of it but you will need to catch any problems early.

Other than that, relax and enjoy the drive. Be safe.

[dumptruck]

Originally Posted by pbonsalb

I usually bring...zip ties…duct tape…giant trash bags

[agorski]

Originally Posted by Tanz440

Hoping the weather cooperates and we can do a lot of the trip with the top down.

Looking for suggestions from others who have done a similar trip, especially with a pup. Our girl is small, about 15 pounds.

I once drove a convertible with the top down 180 miles from Houston to Austin and got one heck of a sunburn.

A friend of mine lost a pet (cat?) when it jumped out of the open sunroof on the interstate. I'd tether your puppy down.

[StradaRedlands]

Sounds like a great trip! Try to get off the interstate for parts of it... slower isn't always bad! I'd ditch the jumper cables and get a quality jump pack. Get AAA gold with 100 mile tows. Bring a pillow, blanket, and trail mix or something along with extra water for JIK situations like the bridge shut down mentioned above.
Have fun and enjoy the ride as well as the destination!

[pbonsalb]

I have AA Premier, which offers 1 tow up to 200 miles. I once got a 100 mile tow. I’d rather get the car home where I can fix it than be at the mercy of some random shop or a ridiculously expensive dealer. But if I am further away, that is not an option. I had a few 50 mile tows back when I was drag racing and breaking stuff. Have not had one of my cars towed in years, but have helped friends and family occasionally. Not sure the fee is still worthwhile. If I have paid $160 a year for 20 years for my wife and I, it might have been cheaper to just pay pet tow. Not sure what a 20 mile, 50 mile, 100 mile, or 200 mile tow costs.

[No one]

Going topless is not particularly effective aerodynamically. On a long and speedy trip fluttering your hair should impact your gas expenses.

[pbonsalb]

The person buying the 2025 M440i convertible is not concerned with aerodynamics or gas expenses and presumably likes the flutter in their hair.

[Suds]

Send it, I recommend the trip.

[No one]

Originally Posted by pbonsalb

The person buying the 2025 M440i convertible is not concerned with aerodynamics or gas expenses and presumably likes the flutter in their hair.

Why did the person skip 2025 M4 convertible then? Presumably not hairy enough to justify?

[Mavus]

you are good to go 1k mi is nothing. one item that I use on road trips is bug splatter removal fluid cuz the front end gets some nasty creatchers wedged in there

[RockCrusher]

Originally Posted by pbonsalb

I have AA Premier, which offers 1 tow up to 200 miles. I once got a 100 mile tow. I’d rather get the car home where I can fix it than be at the mercy of some random shop or a ridiculously expensive dealer. But if I am further away, that is not an option. I had a few 50 mile tows back when I was drag racing and breaking stuff. Have not had one of my cars towed in years, but have helped friends and family occasionally. Not sure the fee is still worthwhile. If I have paid $160 a year for 20 years for my wife and I, it might have been cheaper to just pay pet tow. Not sure what a 20 mile, 50 mile, 100 mile, or 200 mile tow costs.

On July 3 2009 hit a mule deer in my 996 Turbo. This just west of Ely NV. Long story short my insurance company wanted me to have the car fixed in Ely, at a gas station...

I had to spring for a tow. From Ely to Livermore CA -- about 600 miles -- cost me $1200. $2/mile. Tow truck driver had to spend the night at a local hotel before driving back to Ely.

[pbonsalb]

Probably would cost a lot more today. But yes, your 996 Turbo would have been at the gas station in Ely for a long time getting fixed and you probably would not have wanted it after they were finished. That is a difficult situation to be in — the kind we all want to avoid and I am not sure any roadside assistance is a great option in those circumstances though Porsche or BMW would have towed you to a dealer that was competent to fix the car.

[Tanz440]

Originally Posted by pbonsalb

I have AA Premier, which offers 1 tow up to 200 miles. I once got a 100 mile tow. I’d rather get the car home where I can fix it than be at the mercy of some random shop or a ridiculously expensive dealer. But if I am further away, that is not an option. I had a few 50 mile tows back when I was drag racing and breaking stuff. Have not had one of my cars towed in years, but have helped friends and family occasionally. Not sure the fee is still worthwhile. If I have paid $160 a year for 20 years for my wife and I, it might have been cheaper to just pay pet tow. Not sure what a 20 mile, 50 mile, 100 mile, or 200 mile tow costs.

We have AAA Plus. Cheap insurance.

[Tanz440]

Originally Posted by pbonsalb

The person buying the 2025 M440i convertible is not concerned with aerodynamics or gas expenses and presumably likes the flutter in their hair.

Exactly.