Long Drive with High Mileage Truck

[88man]

For the guys who travel to the various mountain states> What is the oldest or highest mileage truck you have taken on the cross country trip? Anyone do it with a truck that has over 250,000 miles?

 

[Tradewind]

290,000, Just carry spares. belts, hoses, alternator.
Service it and check everything a week or two before you leave.\

Maybe it's time for another truck...

 

[sneakypete]

Carry the pink slip just in case!

 

[Cubguy]

The pickup I use to go back and forth to work is a 1983 gmc 1500 with a 6.2 diesel. It currently has 309,000 miles. I travel about 400 miles a week with it for work.

 

[Deleted member 28227]

I drove to MT from CO for Elk with a Corolla with 230k... does that count?

 

[LCH]

My daily is a 1997 Ranger with over 300k on it (odometer stopped awhile back, so not sure exactly). I'd trust it to get me anywhere and back, but it's not all that comfortable to ride in, tops out at about 65 mph, and no AC. I usually take my wife's newer SUV if I'm going somewhere more than 4-5 hours away.

If you take care of any known issues before starting out, then I look at it this way.. if it went 300k without major malfunction, what are the odds it'll detonate in the next couple thousand?

 

[JLS]

My Dodge has 276k. Keep up on your maintenance and do not ignore funny noises.

 

[HighDesertSage]

I'll be taking my 1998 4runner with 280k 11 hours to Idaho this year. I just paid a mechanic to go through everything. Just take some precautions and you'll be fine.

 

[trasko]

My old Ford diesel had 235k (or 335k? Only had 5 digits) when I got rid of it. It comes down to maintenance at that point. I do my own work, I keep an eye on belts, fluids, etc and do maintenance when it's do. No new noise goes undiagnosed. I have zero worries about reliability. IMO this is mostly a mental decision: are you going to be worried the whole time about it? If so, address the issues or take something else. Otherwise take it and be happy you've got money and time to hunt rather than a shiny new truck. If it breaks? No big deal. You should have water/equipment to thrive wherever you are. It just means a tow bill or some other adventure. Good luck and have fun.

 

[LCH]

I have rented a small car a couple of times to go out west. I drove a rented Fiesta to Arizona last year, the fuel savings vs. driving my own was enough to nearly pay for the rental, and had no wear/tear on my own stuff.

Granted, it would be tougher to get a couple elk in a Fiesta, but Coues deer are small. And as it turned out, I didn't even have to fit one of those in the car.

 

[Rancho Loco]

Had a 300,000+ mile work truck, 2002 Chebby 2500HD with the 6.0 gasser. I drove that all over BFE here in Montana with no worries, even in the winter. I loved that truck. Still see it driving around town so it hasn't died yet.

 

[WapitiBob]

Leaving Friday for Wyoming, 997 miles one way.

413,025 on the odometer

 

[Gr8bawana]

Not cross country but took my '97 Dodge with about 260,000+ miles on my son's elk hunt probably 1100 miles round trip. Still has original gas engine and trans.
Preventive and regular maintenance is the key.

 

[JMBC]

a couple yrs ago I drove my 91 ford exploder from Missouri to Wyoming. I usually just rent but wanted to make a quick run back out. Stressful! Every time I stopped for gas the radiator was puking so id fill it up too. I had a new one in the back lol. Coming back I limped past my daughters house in Colorado and was gonna change it but said the heck with it and do it at home. The ol exploder is still my beater at home. in conclusion...probably wont drive that again. Think I got a few more white hairs in the beard.

 

[rideold]

02 sequoia with 250k. Drove it on a month trip from Colorado through the black hills to the UP and back down. Family camping trip. Went just fine.

 

[LopeHunter]

140,000 miles on 2005 SUV. Heading out with 5 tags on 3000 mile circuit. Yep, title is in the glove box just in case gives up the ghost. If does fail, most likely will rent a vehicle to finish the hunts then circle back to where rented, ship gear with UPS and then fly home.

 

[Pagosa]

I’m with you Rancho. I drive my 2008 Chevy 2500 gas all over the country. It has over 250000 and just this year I have made three trips between Montana to West Virginia. I’m currently averaging 4500 miles per month in Wy for project work. I see more diesels broke down along the interstate than anything, mostly dodges and chevys.

 

[WapitiBob]

Karma bit me in the ass. Sitting in a campground 2 hours from anywhere, 1000 miles from home, and it appears the fuel pump went out on the old girl. Evidently they only last 400,000 miles.
If I didn't have service it would have been ugly.

 

[Local577bowhunter]

For the guys who travel to the various mountain states> What is the oldest or highest mileage truck you have taken on the cross country trip? Anyone do it with a truck that has over 250,000 miles?

I have a 2005 f-350 with 240k on it, before taking it 2000 miles I went through the whole truck and replaced all the usual things that go bad, ball joints, bearings, shocks, body mounts, universal joints, anything that’s not been replaced in a while and anything that has the potential to shut you down. It’s worth the money to replace it all and know you won’t have issues.
I give it a fresh oil change before I leave and as soon as I get back. I’ve driven it two years in a row 5,000 miles round trip and it’s done GREAT!! runs smoother on those trips than it does at home, it gets to open up and clean out while running 80 mph for 30 hours straight. Ive been surprised to get 19 mpg as well. I say ask yourself this, “do I foresee any issues with this truck in the next couple months of just driving around home? If you feel comfortable with it as a daily driver than go for it, when it comes down to it it’s only a day or two of driving it’s not a year long excursion. Just keep up with the maintenance and spend the time and money to do it right. Don’t be the guy broke down In Kansas on your way to a dream hunt because you wouldn’t spend $100 on a part
Good luck!! And remember if you don’t feel comfortable with your truck you can always rent one, it’ll cost a few hundred dollars but that’s nothing compared to the experience

 

[Mallardsx2]

I change everything and check everything before I leave and cross my fingers. lol I'll be driving with 150K on my ram 2500 cummins this season.

I like to think it is just getting broke in.

Word of advice : CHECK YOUR WHEEL BEARINGS BEFORE GOING ON ANY TRIP.