Advice for a Fly-n-Drive newbie

I am preparing to embark on my first fly-n-drive this weekend and I’m looking for any pointers to make the journey better. Let’s start with the details:

Home is near Fort Wayne, Indiana. The vehicle is near Tampa, Florida. Driving distance by the expected route on I-75 is about 1110 miles .

The car is a 2006 MX-5 that belonged to spin_out (Mark). Danny is facilitating the sale and has been great to work through the details in advance.

Departure from Fort Wayne is Saturday around 9:00 am and touchdown at St.Pete/Clearwater around 11:20 am. Another member of GRM (hobiecr) has graciously agreed to swing by and pick me up on his way to visit Danny. Huge thanks in advance for that detail being taken care of.

I visited the local BMV yesterday and it looks like they will issue me a 96 hour “temporary delivery permit” to put on the car for the journey based on a bill of sale. Insurance has already been taken care of with my provider.

I am flying as cheap as I can of course, so I am only permitted my personal item which is 6”x12”x16”. It will contain a partial change of clothing, foam earplugs, minimal toiletries,12V outlet USB charger and phone charging cord, snacks, paperwork, and a small towel in case of rain and any leaks.

Items I could bring: Small code reader, tire pressure gage, Aux input adaptor and head unit removal tools to install it so I can listed to audiobooks and podcast on the trip home (Phillips screwdriver, ¼” drive racket, extension, and of course a 10mm socket), disposable mechanics gloves, small flashlight, and a drain cleaning tool.

The MX-5 has no spare but does have a small 12V compressor and tire plug kit.

What else should I consider bringing to be better prepared for any issues on the road? Keep in mind it has to be “carry on” eligible as I will have no checked bag. I figure I will check fluid levels and purchase any fluids in the area if needed as the 3 ounce limit for carry on won’t get me too far.

I likely can fit everything I mention above with no issue but will replace items if better or more practical items are mentioned.

Please share your thoughts or experiences with fly-n-drives and any "should have brought this" stories.

Congrats for joining the fly-n-drive club!   Essentials are:

AAA card

Cell phone

SPF 50 -- can buy in FL

Rain-X -- can buy in FL

and an appetite for scattered covered chunked peppered

seriously, it's a 2006 MX5.   a flat tire from road debris is your most likely risk.

Can you fly with tools?

Im looking into this option as well (also for a NC Miata ha!) so I’m in for info. 

spandak said:

Im looking into this option as well (also for a NC Miata ha!) so I’m in for info. 

see above

Compressor and patch kit is really all you need, but if you're worried, pick up one of those cheap toolkits (black plastic case, screwdrivers/sockets etc) from Harbor Freight when you get there. I'm of the mindset that if you have it, the malicious gods of chance will move on to a sucker without one. Or wait until you take said toolkit out of the car.

Duct tape. Buy it, and you probably won't need it. Same goes for brake cleaner. I just drove about 2,000 miles in my `87 300SDL and thankfully never needed either on the road. We won't discuss the one rear caliper piston that had to be freed up before the drive back to Florida...

One thing I would do is see if folks on here (or in the road side assistance thread) will offer their phone numbers to you. You can have a safety net along your route in case anything major happens. 

We see this once in awhile here. A man down along hwy “xx”. Forum is good with help and sometimes a garage to repair things, but it’s always hard getting the communication going between real time and forum speed. Lol. If you had phone numbers in advance, you can pretty well avoid that. 

First, let me say that I have personally interacted with both Danny and John each year at The Challenge.  I want to assure you that you could not be in the care of two finer people.  I will add Mark into that as well.  All wonderful people.  

The advice that I wanted to add is if there is an item that you think you might buy to take with you then instead get onto Amazon and have that item shipped directly to the car (Danny or John.)  Those bulky items will then just be there at the car waiting for you.  

I don't intend to encourage fraud but if you were to have a socket set shipped via Amazon and then never really needed this set on the trip, and you now find this to be an un-needed set, you could return it to Amazon.  

I recently did my first fly and drive, picked up in CO and drove home to CT. 

As far as tools go, I wanted to have a tool kit available (ratchet, sockets, etc.), so what I did was buy an off the shelf Stanley kit from Walmart in Colorado.  I didn't end up needing to open it, so when I got back home I swung by my local Walmart and returned it, no questions asked.

I didn't own a decent 12V air compressor yet so I ordered a Viair one on Amazon and had it "drop-shipped" to the seller's house, along with a couple other little things (power inverter, for example).  That worked out well, since the seller was a friend.  Sounds like you're in a similar situation here... something to consider.

In reply to therieldeal :

Hell of an idea!  

I see we were writing at the same time.  

In reply to fusion66 :

You will not be able to bring tools in carry on. Like others have said, swing by wallyworld or harbor freight and grab a small set and return when trip.is over. Have fun!

I generally agree with Angry that choosing the right SPF is probably your greatest risk.  

anything that will break on the road will be unfixable with whatever you brought.. - murphy

Just send it...  

Recently did my first fly-n-drive in May to get the Jaaaag (you can read about it in the first few pages)

A few things I'll add:

• Bring a small thank-you gift for Hobiercr (He's picking you up at the airport).
• Wear your GRM shirt (It looks good in selfies) and take lots of pics of yourself (and anyone traveling with you) with the car along the way.
• Bring some CASH.  Seriously.  My credit card got locked down on the return trip.  Thank God I had cash to fill the tank to be able to get home.  (Credit Card company thought the card was stolen due to unusual out of state activity).
• Mentally be prepared to make adjustments to your intended plan.
• have FUN and enjoy the ride.

You can buy snacks, no need to carry on (unless you want them on the plane)!

Bring/buy a towel big enough to lay on, sucks sitting in a nice clean seat after you rolled around on the ground and got your shirt and pants all dirty.

Screw the audiobook stuff, top down all the way home.

I think that the rest of the gang has you set up on what you need, but I'll offer that I'm right on I-75 in Georgia at mile marker 142 (middle of the state) if you need anything. I have tools, a garage, a truck and could scare up a trailer. We're about 5 hours drive north of Tampa.  If you're coming up 75 out of FL there are limited options for major restaurant stops. Valdosta (exit 4 ish) is your first, then exit 62 (Tifton) until you get up into our area. Most of the exits are rural roads between towns, so often only a sketchy gas station form the 70s.

Shoot me a PM and I'll give you my cell # in case you need help or want to grab a beer or something.

In reply to ultraclyde :

PM sent - thanks for offering the support if it is needed!

Thank you for all of the input and advice. Some good thoughts that I can use to be better prepared.

I am looking forward to the trip and will try to post a couple of updates and/or photos as progress is made.

Thanks all!

I'm on a fly and drive with a car that's a lot older than a 2006, the biggest things I can say are this:

AAA

Buy a tool kit from Harbor Freight, the 120 piece kit is very well put together and pretty cheap. I think I hit a sale because I got it for $79

Basic fluids is a good idea, oil etc

Patience, it can take some thinking to get thru some interesting problems

GRM on the Road Assist List.

I wouldnt futz with the radio, just a $20 bluetooth speaker if you really need something different.  Otherwise, its two days.  Enjoy the drive.

ultraclyde said:

I think that the rest of the gang has you set up on what you need, but I'll offer that I'm right on I-75 in Georgia at mile marker 142 (middle of the state) if you need anything. I have tools, a garage, a truck and could scare up a trailer. We're about 5 hours drive north of Tampa.  If you're coming up 75 out of FL there are limited options for major restaurant stops. Valdosta (exit 4 ish) is your first, then exit 62 (Tifton) until you get up into our area. Most of the exits are rural roads between towns, so often only a sketchy gas station form the 70s.

Shoot me a PM and I'll give you my cell # in case you need help or want to grab a beer or something.

Ditto to all of this, other than I’m in Gainesville, about 2 hours north of Tampa. Exit 384 on I-75. PM me and I’ll give you my cell number. 

In reply to dyintorace :

PM sent - thanks for the offer of support if needed!

If you need me to bring some tools to "final check" the car out before you leave, let me know. Tire gauge, torque wrench for lugs, etc. or anything else you need. I can also throw in a jack/stands if you want to look under the car, though I don't think you will need to. I've got a box of L shop work gloves and I'll throw a handful in on Saturday.

Re: a gift. No need. Pass it forward. I have received more than my share of help/advice from this group.

In reply to hobiercr :

I would greatly appreciate it if you brought a torque wrench to do a quick check on the lugnuts before departing. I will have a tire gage and disposable work gloves with me so I am good there. No need for a jack or jack-stands. I will have a towel to lay on and call that good enough for this inspection. many thanks!