Thinking about a Christmas road trip, 230miles?

[rekogniz11]

My wife and I are thinking about taking our Pinzgauer on a small road trip. We live in Denver and have to drive to Grand Junction for Christmas, the total trip is about 230 miles one way. Due to the weather in the mountains we are considering taking our Pinzgauer (710m). My Pinz is very well maintained and has esbar heating. I have not drivin any distance near this in one run. has anyone made this trip before or know if it is good to run a Pinz for this duration in one haul. This may be a really stupid question but just want to know prior to considering this.

[Bryn Pinzgauer]

I've done those sort of distances a few times. I don't think it is any real problem if the truck is well serviced and the fluids etc. are checked. I will leave others to comment on effects of altitude as I have no experience of that.

[ka]

i drove a 712amb all over the place way farther than that in one day. nothing changed! well, except the hurricane i was chasing totally soaked me. that sucked.

[ScottishPinz]

That sort of distance should be no problem, just allow plenty of time and as with any winter trip in remote country have food, clothing and sleeping bags in case you don't manage to complete the trip because of breakdown or extreme weather. We did similar millage most days on or Europe trip last year. This Christmas we are going 120 miles north.

[Profpinz]

230 miles (370km)...That's just down to the local store in Outback Australia!
It will do it easy! ...Don't worry about it!
Add a Zero on the end and that is roughly the distance we did on the last Australian Treffen in a week and a half! .... and we had some Haflingers along!

[Denis]

Good day

I did trip from the Province of Québec to Moab Utah and back. It was something like 10 0000 Kms .

The elevation was from 30 m in Québec to 33000 m in Colorado and everything went perfect. 250 Kms should be a breeze for your truck if it is in good condition like you said.

Denis

[krick3tt]

I drove from Seattle to Denver and back. Do not let a little distance bother you, that pinz will make it if you have done the maintenance. Enjoy the scenery.

Morris

[indigoth]

I echo everyone else's thoughts ... get in and go.

my maiden voyage in my pinz was farther than you plan on going. i was in an unfamiliar vehicle on less-than-familiar roads and i drove it literally as fast as I dared with absolutely NO hint of any kind of trouble of any kind.

assuming your pinz is in reasonable shape, you should be fine.

[Jerbearyukon]

No problem 250 miles like prof pinz is a cake walk for the north. Not many places that aren't atleast that round trip.

You need to try 5000 miles then you might have some adventures.

Take the proper gear with you in case you get stopped somewhere, but if she's maintained like you say you should be ok.

Just have fun..pull some ppl out on the way and it will be a new memory.

Jer Bear

[KINSPINZ]

No big deal. Plenty of us have done that trip a few times on our way to Moab. getting there is no big deal though on the way back you do have the backside of Vail pass and the backside of Eisenhower tunnel. Both are slow and steady. If you travel at night make sure all of your running lights are working to avoid any close hauling a$$ semi's from getting to close. Throw in your chains for extra security.

[texas pinzgauer]

In addition to the wintertime gear that everyone else is reminding you about, I would also encourage you to pick up some decent quality over the ear hearng protection from a huntng supply place or a store like Sports Authority.

These trucks are LOUD and even only a few hours of highway driving will wear you out!

[Thomas-E]

Do a search, there are many people that have done trips over 1000 miles and others that have gone MUCH farther!:shock:

Do a google search for "Blue Monkey" and check out a trip from London to South Africa, others have driven across the U.S. and down to Chile!

I haven't done any really long trips yet but have done one 600 mile one.

Remember that the Pinz is a precision, well designed TRUCK. It was built to be rugged and reliable.

I would echo prior comments...
Make sure that the vehicle is serviced;
Check all the fluid levels, Adjust brakes, Tires O.K.?
When did you change your Oil and Fuel filters?

Most of these things are really the normal things that you should routinely check. (pretend that you're doing a Pre-Flight inspection)

Go for it!:D

Thomas E. - 712m (soon th be a 712C amper)
Sonora, CA

[w5yk]

The elevation was from 30 m in Québec to 33000 m in Colorado

33000m is way up there alright.

[rekogniz11]

Thnak you for all the replys. We made our trip (one way so far) with confidence and it was absoluty an adventure. The heater worked great in the mountains. We took a few 12v hetaing blankets to keep my better half warmer and she had no complaints (what a trooper). We did get into some pretty bad roads around Eisenhower Tunnel, Vail and Glenwood Canyon but besieds that is was a smooth trip. It took us around 5 hours to make the 258 mile drive. The Pinz was less than thirsty with only going through one tank of fuel. I did notice that it took a while longer to start after we stoped for food and fuel after 3 hours of non stop driving. I must say that it was definity worth the 5 hours to drive.

[wwcommando]

My first trip was from Prescott, AZ to Las Vegas, NV towing a Jeep Wrangler, absolutely no problems, just need to be careful when braking...