It's Road Trip Season -- Going for a BIG E28 drive!

[garageboy]

Hi all. Hat tip to Fedaykin528e for taking his E28 cross country. I wish you a successful and fun journey!!

The GOOD news is that I'm going on a road trip of my own -- this has been in the planning for too many embarrassing years, but it's happening. I'll be on the road from May 20th or so until July 4th weekend. The ultimate destination right now is Yellowstone National Park... although Glacier National Park is now part of the trip as well. I'm being hopelessly irresponsible to take so much time off from my business (6 weeks), but things are under control now, I have people that can cover for me, and I will mostly take care of my clients remotely while I'm on the road with my laptop and jetpack...

Here is the general list of stops, in order. I will start in Queens, NY, and I will return to Queens NY.
1. Leave NYC towards Flight 93 Memorial in Shanksville PA (with a friend -- she's flying in from Belgium)
2. South Bend, Indiana, home of our next President's campaign headquarters
3. Chicago (see Ben T?)
4. South Dakota: Badlands NP, Black Hills National Forest, Mt. Rushmore, Pine Ridge Reservation (and others?)
5. Wyoming (Sheridan, I-90)
6. Montana: Billings, Red Lodge, Beartooth Highway
7. Yellowstone NP (in via NE entrance): from June 1 to 7, including 3 nights in the Old Faithful Inn! Woohoo!
8. Jackson (Grand Tetons) (drop off first friend at airport; pick up cousins)
9. Montana (through Yellowstone, up to Missoula, final destination Glacier NP); drop cousins at airport... first time alone so far
10. Salt Lake City (I've done Utah and Arizona and Colorado before) - visit friend
11. Possibly visit an 08 campaign friend in Cheyenne...
12. Head to Denver, Boulder, Ft. Collins, possibly Colorado Springs - visit friends and relatives
13. Pick up another friend (he's flying in from Philly to Denver); Leave towards Kansas City MO... St. Louis MO...
14. Nashville!!!
15. Spartanburg (if factory tour in early July can be arranged; can't "call" until May 1 apparently)
16. Great Smoky Mountains NP
17. Blue Ridge Parkway
18. Philadelphia PA (drop off friend whose wife gave him 8 whole days off!)
19. Back home to NYC

I finally finished the timing belt service and fuel lines on the E28 and I'm planning to take it. I promised my traveling companions that if anything major goes wrong, I'll park it, rent a vehicle, and continue the trip (no doubt after making a gallant effort to fix the car). It's really in great shape now so I should be good... if something goes wrong in a major way between now and when I leave, I'll just take the E39. That bitch hasn't thrown a code since I rebuilt the DISA valve.

I'd be happy to try to connect with any E28ers on the way. Knowing that you are all near my travel route gives me more confidence that I will make it on this 6000-mile journey with the E28 the whole time. Any travel suggestions? I'm close to figuring out accommodations in the major places (Yellowstone -- Red Lodge Montana and Gardiner Montana -- and Glacier) and I still have to figure out Badlands and Great Smoky Mountains. Thanks for your thoughts!!! Happy Spring!!

[Shawn D.]

Good luck on your journey!

[Das_Prachtstrasse]

Sounds like quite the adventure! Wishing you safe travels my friend

[Bonsaibacker]

Good for you! I think all of us would like to do something like this with our cars- a great life experience. Best of luck and savor it!

[tschultz]

I'd like to try something like this sometime!

We could set something up with a group of people while you are in/near Denver. Could be a group mountain drive or even simply sonic/brewery gathering. Just have to let us know approximately when.

[davintosh]

I'm right along your path, right on I-90 before you head across the fruited plains of South Dakota. Give a shout when you're close to Sioux Falls, and we'll see if we can arrange a time to meet up and share a beer or three; maybe I can help you see there's more to our fine state than a couple of carved mountains.

[garageboy]

I'm right along your path, right on I-90 before you head across the fruited plains of South Dakota. Give a shout when you're close to Sioux Falls, and we'll see if we can arrange a time to meet up and share a beer or three; maybe I can help you see there's more to our fine state than a couple of carved mountains.

Haha. Indeed. I'm excited to visit Native American reservations, too. And learn more history.

And it would be an HONOR to finally meet you and break bread/beer together! I will be in touch as I get closer! Thanks!

And thanks for the others' well wishes.

[SeattleGuy]

Your journey sounds deliciously ambitious. I hope you enjoy every mile of it. I just did a West-Coast jaunt from Seattle to LA and back up via SF.... I really enjoy having an E28 on the Open Road.

[SlickDizzy]

Good luck! I took my 535 from Milwaukee, WI down Route 66 all the way to Santa Monica CA last fall, then drove north through Utah and across the plains back home. It was an experience!

Bring some basic spare relays and sensors - I'm not as familiar with the M20 cars but I had a crank sensor fail on my trip and thankfully had the thought to bring a spare along, so I was back up and running within an hour. Would have been the end of my trip if I didn't have one.

[Mike W.]

I did a 6K round trip one time in the E28. An upper control arm bushing decided to get real cranky one morning in Gallup, NM I think it was. It was bad, but after a few miles it settled down and was back to only the usual shimmy. IIRC that was the biggest problem I had besides the terrible headwind in Kansas which killed mileage on that tank. 276K on the chassis when I left.

[Adam W in MN]

Todd, Stuart, and I are in the Minneapolis St Paul area if you wanted to stop by. I could host at my house and include others here on the board that are board lurkers but live in the area. If that works for your itinerary and route let me know a date to plan for.

I have a lift if you needed to do any mid road trip repairs.

[garageboy]

Todd, Stuart, and I are in the Minneapolis St Paul area if you wanted to stop by. I could host at my house and include others here on the board that are board lurkers but live in the area. If that works for your itinerary and route let me know a date to plan for.

I have a lift if you needed to do any mid road trip repairs.

Wow, Adam, you gents are too kind. Thank you very much! I am fast to offer help but slow to impose on others... maybe I should get over myself and reconsider, and it would be nice to meet folks.

I will update this note with status regularly once the trip commences... I had to make hotel reservations around Yellowstone, so I have from the 20th May (assuming I leave on time; bad assumption) until June 1st to get from NYC to Red Lodge MT... with some touring in South Dakota around Badlands/Rushmore/Black Hills/Wounded Knee... so I'm pretty flexible so far.

T-minus 21 days and counting...

[e28Sean]

15. Spartanburg (if factory tour in early July can be arranged; can't "call" until May 1 apparently)
16. Great Smoky Mountains NP
17. Blue Ridge Parkway

You'll be in my back yard! If a BMW factory tour is available, quite literally. The tour is well worth doing, if you can arrange it (they may or may not be running tours at any given time, depending on a number of factors). And the Blue Ridge Pkwy is a real treat. Beautiful scenery, and and some amazing bits of road.

[T_C_D]

Todd, Stuart, and I are in the Minneapolis St Paul area if you wanted to stop by. I could host at my house and include others here on the board that are board lurkers but live in the area. If that works for your itinerary and route let me know a date to plan for.

I have a lift if you needed to do any mid road trip repairs.

Great idea!

[garageboy]

15. Spartanburg (if factory tour in early July can be arranged; can't "call" until May 1 apparently)
16. Great Smoky Mountains NP
17. Blue Ridge Parkway

You'll be in my back yard! If a BMW factory tour is available, quite literally. The tour is well worth doing, if you can arrange it (they may or may not be running tours at any given time, depending on a number of factors). And the Blue Ridge Pkwy is a real treat. Beautiful scenery, and and some amazing bits of road.

Hey Sean!
In fact, we are planning to be in the Spartanburg area on either July 1, 2, or 3rd. We are shooting for the 2nd because we want to be in the mountains and off the highways for July 3rd because that will be a crazy travel day.

Sadly, I confirmed a couple days ago that the factory tours are OFF the entire week of July 1. So that sucks. Frank P just told me the new Foundation 50-year anniversary exhibit (replacing ICON) will be up and running by then, so we will visit that, and of course, I'll stop by CCA HQ to say hello. I hear the Zentrum is like a big branding advertisement for their new cars, which is about as utterly uninteresting to us as possible (especially if they lock the cars). Question: WITHOUT a factory tour available, is there any point in going to visit BMW? For my friend that will be with me that has NOT been to Germany... is there something interesting to see? THANKS!!

Also trying to figure out which hotel to stay at in the area. Suggestions appreciated! I haven't been to the factory since 2000. OMG. That's a long time.

[e28Sean]

Sadly, I confirmed a couple days ago that the factory tours are OFF the entire week of July 1. So that sucks. Frank P just told me the new Foundation 50-year anniversary exhibit (replacing ICON) will be up and running by then, so we will visit that, and of course, I'll stop by CCA HQ to say hello. I hear the Zentrum is like a big branding advertisement for their new cars, which is about as utterly uninteresting to us as possible (especially if they lock the cars). Question: WITHOUT a factory tour available, is there any point in going to visit BMW? For my friend that will be with me that has NOT been to Germany... is there something interesting to see? THANKS!!

Also trying to figure out which hotel to stay at in the area. Suggestions appreciated! I haven't been to the factory since 2000. OMG. That's a long time.

Bummer. The Zentrum collection rotates, and sometimes there were a few interesting old cars in there, but, i'm not sure it's worth a special trip. The last time I set foot in the Zentrum (I used to work at the plant) it was all emptied out for renovations, SO i have no idea what it's looking like today.

[garageboy]

Bummer. The Zentrum collection rotates, and sometimes there were a few interesting old cars in there, but, i'm not sure it's worth a special trip. The last time I set foot in the Zentrum (I used to work at the plant) it was all emptied out for renovations, SO i have no idea what it's looking like today.

So... we made a decision. It sounds like the Zentrum is like Die Welt in Munich... just a big advertisement for their new stuff. Even if there is some one-of-a-kind 740-xdrive-turbo-M-blahblahblah there, I so much can not give two shits about their diluted brand nowadays. If I was already going to be there, I was going to visit the BMW CCA HQ and the Foundation Museum... but without the factory tour, it just doesn't make sense.

So we will go from Nashville --> Great Smoky Mountains Park --> Blue Ridge Parkway.

But the whole Greer/Spartanburg area is probably off the route now. Thanks, e28Sean, for your kind thoughts!!

[e28Sean]

But the whole Greer/Spartanburg area is probably off the route now. Thanks, e28Sean, for your kind thoughts!!

the foundation museum is totally worth a trip, in my opinion. Either way, cheers! Glad I could help.

[bafbaf]

Todd, Stuart, and I are in the Minneapolis St Paul area if you wanted to stop by. I could host at my house and include others here on the board that are board lurkers but live in the area. If that works for your itinerary and route let me know a date to plan for.

I have a lift if you needed to do any mid road trip repairs.

I'm in Minneapolis as well. It'd be fun to get together with other E28 owners.

[garageboy]

I'm in Minneapolis as well. It'd be fun to get together with other E28 owners.

Not sure if I will be getting that far north yet, but I will definitely contact you all if I do! You guys are awesome!

Right now, I'm failing to find a replacement windshield. I waited too long. To get it next week, it'll be $400 shipping. So I guess I will wait... I wish there was an Ivo windshield I could buy somewhere along my route!

[davintosh]

I'm in Minneapolis as well. It'd be fun to get together with other E28 owners.

Not sure if I will be getting that far north yet, but I will definitely contact you all if I do! You guys are awesome!

Right now, I'm failing to find a replacement windshield. I waited too long. To get it next week, it'll be $400 shipping. So I guess I will wait... I wish there was an Ivo windshield I could buy somewhere along my route!

Unless your windshield has gaping holes in it, I'd wait until post-road trip to replace it. That Murphy guy...

[garageboy]

Unless your windshield has gaping holes in it, I'd wait until post-road trip to replace it. That Murphy guy...

I hate it when you're correct. Will you be in Sioux Falls around Memorial Day?

[davintosh]

Unless your windshield has gaping holes in it, I'd wait until post-road trip to replace it. That Murphy guy...

I hate it when you're correct. Will you be in Sioux Falls around Memorial Day?

Should be; I'll pm you a phone number for when you're closer.

[cbumga11]

I'll buy you a beer in St. Louis or if you need repairs/parts you can utilize my garage. Depending on the day, I'll escort you in my e28 towards Nashville.

-Chris

[garageboy]

I'll buy you a beer in St. Louis or if you need repairs/parts you can utilize my garage. Depending on the day, I'll escort you in my e28 towards Nashville.

Much obliged. Admittedly, we aren't planning on spending huge amounts of time in St. Louis, but if time permits, I do expect to pass through, so that would be awesome! Thank you! (as long as you let me buy you a beer too!)