Hey everyone. Never made a thread of my own before. I've seen various others start road trip threads before and figured I'd make one.

Starting on December 17/18 (game time decision), myself and my girlfriend will be leaving for a 2 week cross country road trip across the southern part of the US. Starting location is Southern New Jersey and end location is Fairfield (Northern) California. (~5,500 miles)

The goal of this thread is to get some input from others on how to prep for the road trip, advice on things to bring that are less than obvious, and mods that I might want to consider prior to leaving to make the trip easier on myself. Also to log my trip with pictures, updates and hopefully 0 to few problems that i experience along the way.

XJ stats:
- 2000 Sport
- 147K miles
- 31 x 10.5 Firestone Destination A/T
- 3 inch lift
- Rotella T6 oil
- 784 fuel injector mod

Things that I have done in preparation include:
- New radio installation with a aux port so I am not limited to CDs
- Junk yard cruise control installation that went less than ideal and needs to be fixed
- New radiator
- New 195 t-stat and housing

Thats about it. I am planning on getting my AC fixed and am going to have my XJ undercoated this week for good measure. Also going to attempt a EMT roof rack this week as well to put my spare tire (still need to acquire), extra gas can and other misc stuff.

If anyone has any input as to suggestion, general advice or questions, please fill me in!

Take along a good assortment of tools. Metric and SAE wrench and socket set, misc pliers etc. Jumper cables. Check the condition of your hoses and belt. Carefully inspect your undercarriage for rusted brake lines or fuel lines that might pop. If you have a spare serpentine belt and hoses lying around, take them with you just in case. Various assortment of Hose clamps, duct tape, zip ties, electrical tape, wire crimper, butt connectors, and a small spool of wiring could also come in handy.

Thank you! ill make sure I have all of that with me!

If you pass through Vegas hit me up! I'll take a night off depending the day and me and my girl can show you guys around a bit. Safe Travels. Subbed too

5500mi round trip? Bring cash for the toll booths, looks like your going to be hit i76 then i80 will take you "straight to" downtown Fairfield. Straight to Fairfield or not somebody is probably going to want some toll money.

X2 on bocefus

The roof rack and tire might take 1-2mpg from you. You'll want the cruise control. Extra coolant, brake fluid and oil? Emergency triangles even though you won't need them. Extra food and water? Paper/shop towels. Phone charger. Definitely a good camera.

Start with fresh fluids all around (tranny, diffs, oil). Post pictures and stories on the way.

Having driven across country multiple times, here is my suggestions:

Keep weight to a minimum.
Keep the tire in the back if you can.
invest in a good bottle jack(the stock screw jacks are slow and suck)
invest in a tire guage and check tires every gas stop
bring 2 cell chargers
do a headlight upgrade
Gallon of water, overnight food, sleeping bags
basic tool kit
2 gallon gas can
get new wipers
get an alignment
have a gps and a paper map
Pre plan your route with fuel stops, hotels and alternate routes in case of weather.

Awesome! Will do. Im sure we will be heading through there

5500mi one way! Ill pick up some triangles and I just got a 4.8A car charger with two slots and a selfie stick lmao.

Definitely going to do the engine oil, diff cases, tcase changes prior to leaving. Never done tranny before but maybe I'll ask them to do it when I bring it in for the cruise.

Thanks for all the tips! I have a tire gauge and bottle jack already. H4 headlight conversion was done when I first got the jeep so thats good to go. Ill have to get on the wipers and alignment though. Also gas can I already have. All the other stuff ill chuck in the trunk!


Got some progress done on the roof rack today. Will finish up tomorrow as I need to run back to home depot to get a few more EMT connectors and some U-bolts. Will post pics up tomorrow when its light out.

Just have to paint it and attach it onto the jeep

That looks great. What is the total cost of materials? I might be interested in doing one of these.

Just have to paint it and mount it

Overall I want to say it came in around $120. More than I've seen people on this website do it for, but still reasonable in my opinion

Was driving home from a Cleveland Cavs game last night and my engine temp gauge starting going all goofy. Decided I'm probably going to replace the temperature sending unit in the back of the head. Dropping the heep off at the mechanic tonight to get the evaporator core replaced. Going to be around $1200 most likely. Stupid road trip. had to decide to drive through the south...

EDIT: no rear temp sending unit in the 00. going to have to replace the front one in the tstat housing. even easier.

Just got the projected cost of the AC fix from the mechanic. $1960 for the evaporator core, condenser and accumulator or compressor or something else. Lame. Better give me frost bite.

You heading through Arizona? Southern part that is