Coast-to-Coast Road Trip

[StealthGTI]

Our first order of business was to get a "Been There" mug from West Virginia. With that accomplished, we were on our final stretch home... I-64 ALL THE WAY! Even with its performance issue (had you forgotten?), the car pulled the trailer great over the mountain passes on I-64. We made one special stop before home; so, we left I-64 briefly. You may know that my car's four year anniversary was on Veteran's Day. I decided to stop where I bought the car and visit with the man who sold it to me...

The car on Veteran's Day 2016...

Just over four years later...

My wife still has the bad habit of watching the back-up camera when I'm backing the trailer. She really freaks out when I'm stunt-parking near other cars, and even more-so on a dealer's lot. Me: "What? It's just a Honda... No Worries!"

After our visit, we were less than 90 minutes away from home. I had hoped to get home before dark. But have we arrived anywhere before sunset on this trip? Backing up my driveway in the dark is awful because I cannot see anything, including her car. It's nerve-racking. To make matters worse, I wind up slipping the clutch more when I cannot see. We got the trailer up, but the smell of the clutch indicated that my car was not happy about it. HAHA! We offloaded the cats (but didn't unkennel them), the Husky bins, and the cargo rack so that we could make a quick trip to grab more cat food and cat trees...

We also made a brief stop at the Mission BBQ across the street. The cats are settled in their temporary quarters. I'll share photos when they're more comfortable. In the meantime, my trailer is uncoupled and the car visits the doctor...

 

[Charlotte.:R]

Sorry to hear about your mom

Great story and pictures.

 

[vjmvjm]

Thanks for detailing your great adventure. You made a lot more stops than I would have, especially with the cats. BTDT on cats across the country in a hatchback!

 

[daconchslop]

Day 1 took us to Morrisville, TN. I wanted a short day so that we could practice the load and unload of the trailer, basically getting our act together for the longer haul. I lucked out and found a nice long parking spot for the night...

Reload in the morning took about 45 minutes...

From there, we went to a car wash. To my wife, I was just being prissy about my beloved GTI. The truth was I was sneaking her onto the Tail of the Dragon, where I knew the car would be photographed. She has balked at riding the TOTD because she was certain that it's a dangerous road that would make her sick. I took a risk and was on the Dragon before she could protest. HAHA!

After stopping at the store, we ate lunch at the Tapoco Tavern and then drove the Cherohala Skyway...

From there, we drove to Chattanooga to take a photo at the VW plant. For my previous visit, I was able to shoot on the weekend when the plant was closed. This was also when the plant was building only the Passat. It was very peaceful. On this night, the lots per packed and we clearly arrived during shift change. People were driving like absolute maniacs, probably because they were late and panicking for a parking spot, and the workers flooded the roads and sidewalks like ants. I found a decent spot to shoot a photo, which happened after sunset since we didn't arrive as early as we had hoped. That was thanks to the long lunch stop, but the food was worth it.

Something I haven't mentioned yet is that my wife is collecting Starbucks' "Been There" series mugs from each state. So, we made a couple of wild detours along the way to get mugs from AL, GA, and MS. We stopped for the night in Columbus, MS. A lot of hotels lack "pull-thru" parking spaces. But I'm usually able to execute a "stunt parking" maneuver to work with what I have...

Oddly enough, I was able to get my trailer and car centered in that spot better than the vehicles that were already present. Go figure! ;-) You'll see more of this trailer witchcraft in practice, for sure.

So awesome! Love the “Undersize Load” and Cherohala is such a great cruise. Please keep the updates coming.

 

[StealthGTI]

The car is repaired. It was an injector, just as my local VW guru, Euro Pros of Yorktown, practically diagnosed over the phone. Knowing what I know now (hindsight, right?), I'm still wondering why a trained VW dealer mechanic wanted to pursue fuel pump AND controller replacements before eliminating all cylinder #3 suspects. It's too easy to think they just wanted to make more money from me. I hope it was just incompetence, though who'd want that at a dealership? I'm glad I knew enough to say NO! Anyway, the car runs great! Euro Pros also found a thermostat housing leak that wasn't there last month. So, I guess that solves my long-time mystery coolant migration. In summary, I now have four new injectors, a new water pump, and new thermostat/housing. I went straight to Discount Tire to get my punctured tire replaced...

I was hoping everything would be fixed in time to go on Jake's BOTD run. Sure enough, everything worked out great!

See more info in his thread.

That's it for my written story. My wife and I recorded about 10 hours of video. I'll piece-together about ten episodes for my YouTube channel. Don't worry, they're not an hour each. Much of what we recorded is "B-roll."

Thanks for following along!

 

[OldVWFan]

Is this the first time the water pump / housing were replaced? If so, I guess I don't need to worry about my 20,000 mile 17 GTI Sport in Reflex Silver. Great stories.

 

[StealthGTI]

Yes, first time. I had reported a coolant consumption mystery on my YouTube channel about a year ago. Many where dogging me about the water pump housing and to check it. I checked it, the dealer checked it, and my local VW guru checked it. NOTHING. They even checked it last month before the trip. NOTHING. I was losing about an inch per year, which is almost nothing, which is what I tried to convey on my channel. Still, if we wait long enough, someone will be right. Now that everything is new again, I'll watch the coolant level and see if anything changes in a few months.

Is this the first time the water pump / housing were replaced? If so, I guess I don't need to worry about my 20,000 mile 17 GTI Sport in Reflex Silver. Great stories.

 

[jimlloyd40]

@StealthGTI thanks for sharing the story. It was very entertaining and well written.

 

[StealthGTI]

Thank you!

 

[acevskaivona]

You have made the trip that I always dreamed of. I am from Europe, and I think every person who likes traveling would like to journey from coast to coast in the United States. I am planning such a trip with my girlfriend for the following autumn. Traditionally it should be done by car, but we have chosen the train. Traveling by train gives a more comfortable experience while traveling. At least I know that the Ferrovial system in the USA is well developed, but not better than in Germany. This country has the best trains I have ever traveled with.
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