The longest non-stop drive?

[DuckDoc]

I have a cousin who is importing two recently refurbished 110's from the Netherlands (via Southampton). They are coming into Baltimore and we are driving them to Chicago. Both are 1985 110s but they don't have new engines, just well maintained ones with overhauled gearboxes. Lots of work done on them, and in reasonably good shape.

I did this drive in 1999, and I left at about 5am and only stopped for gas, bathroom breaks, and once for a quick snack......but that was in a new car, not an old truck.

What's the longest drive any of you would risk in a vehicle like this, and what sort of breaks should we give the trucks? We're both good at driving long distances without stopping much, so, the breaks would really be for the trucks themselves.

And, on a related note, what is the longest drive anyone has done in an old Landy?

Joseph

[mongoswede]

The longest drive I know of in an old landy was around the world.

http://www.beastlyadventure.com/

http://www.junglerunner.com/

any distance should be possible...just maintain a speed that the truck likes...which may be slower then you like. Also keep tabs on your fluids and temperatures and perform any maintenance when it is needed.

[Tim Smith]

You should be fine so long as the trucks are in good shape. Since these will be new to you, just be sure check your fluids at gas stops to make sure there isn't an unknown leak which could pose a problem.

[yorker]

Check your fluids and make sure the gauges all work properly and you should be fine- there really is no reason to "rest" the vehicles. It is only ~ what? about 700 miles?

[Tim Smith]

Check your fluids and make sure the gauges all work properly and you should be fine- there really is no reason to "rest" the vehicles. It is only ~ what? about 700 miles?

Good point. I did over 1000 miles in a sight unseen truck which is still to this day my current driver. Other than a little nerves because of the unfamiliar sounds (don't they all sound special?) and running out of fuel somewhere in Georgia due to a bad fuel gauge, the trip was pretty straight forward.

You should bring a set of wrenches so you can actually fill things like the transmission if needed and possibly tinker with other assorted parts like the ignition or carb but otherwise, you should be fine.

[KevinNY]

Other than a sore ass and your ears bleeding gravy, you should be fine. Drove from Albany,NY to St. John, New brunswick once in a day.

[Tim Smith]

Other than a sore ass and your ears bleeding gravy, you should be fine. Drove from Albany,NY to St. John, New brunswick once in a day.

If memory servers, that was on massive tires too. Talk about ears bleeding.

You might want to get a set of ear plugs if you are not used to the sound of one of these trucks on the highway for a few hours. It should help but I'm not one you should ask about that.

[Broadstone]

I just took my 110csw 2.5 NAD fron southwest france to England last week 1300 miles. This trip was via the French and Italian Alps, Geneva, Paris, Omaha beach to the ferry onto England. It sat two years before I took this trip and it performed flawlessly except for a leaky clutch master cyl and a badly worn U-joint which I just greased every day. Even climbing in the mountains it barely registered on the temp. gauge, very slow pace at times though and letting most people pass me. I just brought the basics with me, tools and all the fluids, extra fuel, a good jack and spare and my wife who speaks good French!! I would not worry too much, AAA would be a good idea though just in case. Good luck and enjoy!!

[DuckDoc]

Many thanks everyone!.....I feel well enough reassured now. We're doing the drive tomorrow, so, it will be fun to see how it works out.

Broadstone......very strange to read about your trip as.....I will be following a very similar route next week, although starting in Nîmes and then heading to St Jean de Maurienne and then following almost the exact same drive ......also in a 110, but in a V8.

[ccec]

The Drive...

I know you're leaving tomorrow...

But maybe you'll get this post.

1. Think about how many miles you put on a vehicle with no problems... e/g. I put 9K on my RRC last year with no break-downs. With that much mileage, I could have driven from where I live to Punte Del Este, South America, without even a hickup.

2. My personal longest drive in a Landie was from San Luis Obispo, CA to half-way down Baja and back (1,500 miles) with no problems in a 1966 Series IIA SWB.

Enjoy the ride!

--ccec

[DuckDoc]

Thanks everyone for all the reassurances! In the end, it was a pretty uneventful drive, though, we woke up far too early in the morning.....went to bed too early, and am now up too early!

I think the most I have put a truck like this through before has been about 350 miles in a day, and that was part of a trip from Spain to the UK, via France, Italy, Switzerland, Germany and the Netherlands. Each part was in small segments of about 250 miles, sometimes more, sometimes less, and the longest individual trip was about 350 miles - overall, we did about 2.500 miles, but it was over a month!....and far more interesting than the trip we just completed!

[spacemutt]

I did the Macmillan 4x4 Challenge, which was a 3 day endurance, navigation event in my 110. That was 3 days driving at least 14 hours a day, plus a day getting to the start line. It was all on small, twisty, country lanes through Wales, Ireland, Northern Ireland and Scotland. Not those nice smooth roads you have over there. Only once did I need to let my co-pilot take over for a while as my throttle leg was cramping up.

[DuckDoc]

I did the Macmillan 4x4 Challenge, which was a 3 day endurance, navigation event in my 110. That was 3 days driving at least 14 hours a day, plus a day getting to the start line. It was all on small, twisty, country lanes through Wales, Ireland, Northern Ireland and Scotland. Not those nice smooth roads you have over there. Only once did I need to let my co-pilot take over for a while as my throttle leg was cramping up.

I must ask.....what age of truck do you have? Are you going to do it again in March next year? Wouldn't mind doing it myself if we are over to show the baby off to our family.......maybe I should go on the reserve list......hmmn

[spacemutt]

I took my 1983 V8 110. I was going to take the 130, but had a brake problem. The plan was to drive to the start on the Thursday, ready to go Friday morning. But we couldn't get the brakes right. So at the last minute, we bailed out and swapped into the 110, which, at the time, was cleaned and polished, ready to be sold! We chucked in all the kit we needed and set off, late on Thursday night. So we'd worked all day, and driven all night to get to the start of a 3 day endurance event. Great...

Click here for pictures.

[leafsprung]

did 1600 miles, with no stops in a 57.