3700 mile family vacation results

Thanks for the statistics of your trip. Interesting and useful for our trip planning.... unfortunately without the entertainment of the tweens. :lol:

 

Glad you had a good trip and enjoyed getting good gas mileage. I guess it is a case of whatever floats your boat, but I would never take my Prius on a trip like that. Sometimes comfort and safety are more important than saving a few bucks on gas. For that type of trip the Prius stays in the garage and the big 7 series BMW hits the road. Cannot even imagine my two teenagers in the back of a little car for that long.

 

Kirbinster,
then you have missed one of life's greatest adventures... we've crossed North America at least 12 times with our families.... four kids, tents, dogs... and lots of fun. Yes, we did hear " are we there yet?" several times but although they are all over 40 now ( not the dogs) we all share great memories. Try it and you might like it. I suppose if we had the Prius then we might have had to tow a small trailer.
But then some folks are not suited for that so each to his own and, as you say, whatever supports your floatation device.

 

I'm very pleased to hear that the Prius will not choke on mountain passes! I have yet to try it.

Thanks for the review

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(kirbinster\";p=\"105529)</div>

There have been recent posts on the safety of the Prius that were pretty convincing. Also, some posts on the long term comfort, although definitely not posh, of the spartan seats.
I am glad for the post because we are readying to embark on a 7000 mile, 31 day trip. Very helpful.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Canuck\";p=\"105566)</div>

No I did not miss it nor your point, I merely stated that I would not do the trip in my Prius I WOULD do it in my large BMW for the sake of comfort and safety. I like to economize where it makes sense, but comfort and safety are more important on a very long trip at high speeds. That is why I have the 7 series. For local stuff you cannot beat the Prius, and that is why I have it.

 

Just got around to reading this post, I too prefer the comfort of a larger vehicle, when traveling with the family (4 teenagers and sometimes friends), which would be quite tight in our Prius (I don't think a 7 series could even handle that load comfortably on a long trip) and lets not assume all Prius owners have a selection of vehicles to choose from.
Our now "2nd" car is our 9 passenger Ford Expedition, which we use sparingly ($55 per tank full every week as opposed to $25 every 2 weeks) but it is our vehicle of choice for our semi-annual family commutes between Fl. and Pa. due to the room and comfort it affords.
However, though our Prius lacks the space, I believe the safety of the vehicle is unparalleled for a vehicle in its class or for that matter even larger vehicle.
Their have been numerous posts, regarding Prius survivability, in this Forum, however the one that stands out the most is the "Wreck North of Seattle" thread from the end of May, if you haven't already read through it, check it out and you will have a new appreciation for the Prius's passenger safety.
As for long trips in the Prius, my wife and I are anticipating the day when the 2 of us can head out on a cross country journey in our hybrid.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(longjohn931\";p=\"105641)</div>

That's what we have, just the two of us.

 

That's excellent news dgw!
My wife and I were wondering whether or not to take the new Prius or the Sienna minivan on our vacation to Williamsburg, VA (about 300 miles one-way) We have 2 kids (10 & 14), who are good on car trips.
I did a test packing of the Prius, and all the luggage fits fine, so it looks like we'll take it.

 

longjohn931,
I would like to look at the "wreck north of seattle " but I don't know where to find it, please help?

 

Great to hear your news! We have been planning a trip in our Prius from Illinois to the Colorado mountains (delayed two months because of house guests and a hospitalized mother) in August. Not only that, because we are leaving our 5th wheel behind, we are going to load up the tent camping gear because I found I could not plan a vacation that did not include national/state park camping! This will really be an interesting trip (we thought tents were a thing of the past for two old coots - guess we'll find out!) Thanks for the great report.......

 

Hey, you are never too old to tent. My creaking bones getting out of the sleeping bag in the morning sometimes wake up the young folks who most often sleep in 'til noon. :lol:

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Canuck\";p=\"105788)</div>

HA!

Although you're almost 34 years older than I am, my idea of "roughing it" is a motel/hotel where Room Service stops at 9pm.

Jay

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(timyr6\";p=\"105780)</div>

timyr6

Here is one of the links to the May 31 thread about the accident.

http://priuschat.com/forums/viewtopic.php?...p?p=95065#95065

longjohn931

 

My husband and I are on vacation with our Prius. We left the CA Bay Area over 2 weeks ago. We drove through the Sierra Mts. across Nevada and Utah. We visited Flaming Gorge and then went on to the Rocky Mountains and Estes Park. We took a drive down to Colorado Springs where my husband hiked Pike's Peak. We were going to drive up there but he ended up just getting up early and driving to the trail head. We then went back to Estes Park and took TrailRidge drive one more time before heading to Boulder, CO. After a couple of days there we took off for Prescott, AZ. We've seen some beautiful country and the car has been perfect! Only problem is that I had to get the oil changed when I got to Prescott. The guys at Grease Monkey aparently take care of a lot of Prius. I switched to synthetic oil on this visit. The tech said that all his Prius owners have switched. I was actually at 10915 miles when I got it changed. Didn't see anyone I trusted before that and the local dealer couldn't get me in until 6:30 Monday night.

I've seen quite a few Prius on my trip - the most dense consentration was at the YMCA Family Camp in Estes Park. Didn't see one black or red until Prescott. My Salsa was the only one until then. I can tell you that white, silver and Tideland are the colors most often seen.

Anyway, we will be heading home in a couple of days through the Grand Canyon and Bryce Canyon and who knows where else. My husband typically drives 80mph regardless of the terrain and our trip average is about 47mpg. Part of that was dragged down by a nail in the tire. But that is the only problem we encountered. So I treated her to an oil change and a well-deserved bath. Now, if we could just figure out where that funny smell inside is coming from......

 

To kkister.....we have seen all those awesome places! You are probably going to the North Rim of the Grand Canyon since you are stopping at Bryce. If you haven't been to the South Rim, please don't miss that on another trip. Be sure to hike down as far as you can - it's a whole different world. (We took the mules to the bottom of the canyon on an overnight one year and it is spectactular!)

Zion is another beautiful park (we saw a rattlesnake there on a trail.) And also you will be going through Capital Reef. Too far off your path, is Canyonlands National Park and farther up in Utah is Arches Nat. Park, so if you haven't been there, go back another time! These are all my most favorite places in the world, with the Grand Canyon at the top of the list.

Wish I were with you! What a great trip you have had!

 

If you're serious about the smell, have you checked the HVAC pollen/dust filter?

In warmer temps I'm lucky if I can get 3-4 months out of mine. You'd be surprised the amount of garbage it picks up, that stuff stinks too.

Especially all the dead bugs. Yuck.

 

The smell started AFTER getting the oil changed and the car cleaned. We took out the backpack with the food but the food is all freeze-dried so that shouldn't smell. It's a little 'fishy' smelling. I wondered if a little oil got spilled during the change and we are smelling that. It's most noticable after it has been sitting awhile. Well, that is all it's done since I got the work done and it's been sitting in my sister-in-law's garage. I'll go drive it around today and see if I can get rid of it - the smell.

 

to Ericksens - We drove by Arches on our way to Arizona. My husband was planning to hike the Canyon but was warned away - quite seriously - as temps this time of the year is 120 degreees. So we are looking at the maps and re-routing. We lived in AZ and have been to the canyon before so it wouldn't be a huge loss if we missed it this time around. Might make it to Vegas to the M&M Factory store. Seen most of the shows but all those bright colors!! I'm a simple kind of gal. Give me my Prius and M&M's and I'm a happy camper.

BTW, the smell is better today. Husband fessed up that my daughter had spilled her coffee in the car and then used a blanket to mop it up. A little cleaning and things are much better. I did check the cabin air filter and was surprised that it was pretty okay. I'll probably get a new one when I get home. Wasn't there something about cuttin up something else to make one at home?