I could actually make part of that! I'll have to keep it in mind. Thanks for the heads up!
Jonathan
That's my thought. With it ending in Concord, it's not too far from my home. Now, it is an 1800 mile drive to the starting point. But, you're not tired at that point. That or I may try to catch the last few legs.
I've been on four long hauls and two short hauls. The last long haul was 2011. I'd have to think hard about a partial from Birmingham to Charlotte. With the 30th coming up in June, that will be another long haul.
[This message has been edited by Old Lar (edited 04-18-2013).]
I will be leaving Chicago area on June 4th at like 4am to make the stop in Memphis. I will then carry on all the way to Charlotte and hit Deals Gap and the part of The Blue Ridge Parkway on the way home on Saturday the 8th. Just don't have the funds for the 2 day haul each direction and the long haul this year. (plan on making a over night trip to the 30th show and other trips this year too)
Thanks who ever started this thread.
I Have done 2 long hauls the past to years in my Fiero and the 2 years Prior to that did Long Hauls in my dads 70 Cultlass (442 clone)
Also if any of you are fart of NIFE I am the Scott Campbell the one that wrote the September issue on Power Tour.
Hope to see many more Fieros' out there on the road on Power Tour in Years to Come
MAN! That June 3rd day in Little Rock is a hop skip and jump for me.... However, I will be taking some kids to church camp on that very day. That rules me out.
However, I will get to teach some kids about Christ and thats more rewarding to me. I do wish I could have made that event though.
So for you long haul veterans, any suggestions for a first timer? Supplies to bring? Things to watch out for? What to expect?
I'm pretty sure I'll do at least the second half from Birmingham to Concord. Not sure about the long haul.
Anymore when I travel in the Fiero, I carry a tool box. I also carry many spare parts like an ignition module. I also carry an old working distributor, distributor cap, rotor, wires, and many other pats that may fail.. This past year the rotor broke while I was in Iowa which was an easy fix once I was towed off I-80. I have, several times, had the parts to repair other Fieros that have broken down.
It is a lot of driving and venues open at noon and are usually 250-300 miles apart, so you are looking at 4-6 hours of driving per day.
It does get rather pricey and at ~$4.00/gallon for gas and hotels at ~$70/night plus food etc, you can easily drop $1000 for the trip, less if you share a room and make your hotel reservations early (now may be too late), usually not at the "host" hotel recommendations as they tend to be even more costly.
There will be lots of cars as the past there were up to 2000 cars on the long haul.
AAA can be your friend and there are GM technicians that are part of the crew for some repairs. Take a camera and a few changes of cloths.
If anyone is thinking about doing any of it book your hotels now through the hotel sites... BUT... MAKE SURE YOU GET THEM WHERE YOU CAN CANCEL THEM. because then if you have problems and can't make it you can cancel and you won't be out anything. Sometimes it is a little bit more expensive to book that way but could save you more in the long run.
Also another hint is to look outside the box while on Power Tour and see what else is in the area to do. If you are Long Hauling you only have to show up at the show to Stamp your Credentials but otherwise you are free to do what you want when you want.
I put together a binder every year with sections for each day. In those sections i have my hotel reservations, the days driving directions, info on sites i might want to see on the way, and sites that i might want to see when i get to the city. Also in the binder is a database of all my hotels and cost that are expected so you can budget your trip, I have always had to do it on a budget and not had the opportunity to just spend like there are holes in my pockets. A list of phone numbers of people that you know that might be on power tour, just in case you run into problems, and possibly there hotels too.
I take small business cards that i make up on my computer with a picture of my car, my email and my cell phone number and leave some on my windshield an carry some with me, because you wont be by your car at all times and neither will others be when you get to their car. So this way you can always try to contact each other at a later time if you want to meet up an talk about anything.
Some suggestions about the driving portion. Always keep your take about 1/4+ full on the road and always make sure to fill up before getting to the venue. You never know where you are going to be in the middle of no where and hit a 4 way stop with a 2 mile backup of cars waiting to get through it, and also pulling into the venue there could be up to a 4 mile crawling back up to get in (longest i have seen). Great idea to make sure that your coolant system is in top notch before hitting the road, it is NOT rare for temperatures to be near 100 when on tour.
Over all have fun talk to lots of people and just keep an open mind and an open plan...if you over plan the trip and have every min of every day figured out before hand it won't be as enjoyable.
I probably have more tips but don't know what exactly you are looking for so ask anything and probably between OLDLAR and PHIL and I we could answer many of them... there are over 20+ years of power tour between the 3 of us.
Hope to see you out there as it gets closer we can get each other info and meet for a cold one or something a little stronger even.
Is the Tail of the Dragon an official part of the tour or is it just going to be near there? I couldn't find any mention of in on the official website.
NO it is not going to be official part of the Tour. Many People are going to be hitting it on the way between Chattanooga and Charlotte. However I am going to hit the Skyway that day. And then on my way home since i am not long hauling i am going to get a jump on heading home early Saturday morning and hit it on my way home to chicago
I'm going to try and take a long lunch and go to the AR State Fair Grounds on Monday the 3rd to check everything out - work is just under ten minutes or so away - but I likely won't be in my Fiero.
Is the Tail of the Dragon an official part of the tour or is it just going to be near there? I couldn't find any mention of in on the official website.
Jonathan
That area is about 3.5 hours from Concord twords Tn. it is on the NC and TN border,The Blue Ridge Parkway ends/Begins near there so it is possible to do both in the same day Web Site: http://www.tailofthedragon.com/
88 Formula CJB Arrived Finally. #689 of 1252 Time to start Working TONY! There are Two kinds of Fiero's : Notchies and Donors! Click here for My 88 t-Top Build
Hey guys, I actually live like ten minutes from the tail of the dragon here on the Tennessee side. If any of you plan to come this way I'd love to meet up with you fellas. My car is not so great right now as I cannot still figure out why it has this damn miss. It is drivable tho and I could certainly meet you guys at the resort or on one of the beautiful lookouts along the road. There is one particular one where you can see the dam and the lake from a nice vista. PM me if you plan to be there and when and Ill surely drive up there and hang out with you guys. I will say to PLEASE be careful up there, it is certainly a fun road but if is also quite dangerous, during the summer it is like not a day goes by that they don't helilift someone out of there after a crash. If you take it at like 2/3rds you can enjoy it and not risk finding you and your nice Fiero getting picked out of the trees off of some of the cliffs along the road....peace
Pete
------------------ "May the grins begin when you turn the key and hear the engine roar over your shoulder" ......Gall57 (slightly modified LOL)
NO it is not going to be official part of the Tour. Many People are going to be hitting it on the way between Chattanooga and Charlotte. However I am going to hit the Skyway that day. And then on my way home since i am not long hauling i am going to get a jump on heading home early Saturday morning and hit it on my way home to chicago
I'll bet Killboy gets some AMAZING shots of people coming through the Dragon, though.
I don't know what the path is from Chattanooga to Charlotte, but if the plan is to take US 441 between Cherokee and Gatlinburg, the road has been taken out by a landslide. The National Park Service says that the roadway is closed indefinitely. I've been trying to let Hot Rod know about it through their Contact Us link and their Power Tour Forum, but it's so bogged down that my computer just sits and clocks for more than a half hour at a time. I've been trying since about 8PM.
From all our experience doing HRPT -- Phil's 13 Long Hauls and my 10 or so -- we've been told that they do a few actual runs of whatever route they pick to make sure the route is "good to go" by the start date just in case they have to go to Plan B, but I'm sure they will appreciate you contacting them at this point with the information. It will save them some time so they can reroute if that's the route they were planning.
Sorry to hear about the road closure. Phil & I drove that route to Gatlinburg a couple of years ago from the Cherokee area. Nice drive in a Fiero.
I don't know what the path is from Chattanooga to Charlotte, but if the plan is to take US 441 between Cherokee and Gatlinburg, the road has been taken out by a landslide. The National Park Service says that the roadway is closed indefinitely. I've been trying to let Hot Rod know about it through their Contact Us link and their Power Tour Forum, but it's so bogged down that my computer just sits and clocks for more than a half hour at a time. I've been trying since about 8PM.
The route likely doesn't go through there. The route I'm planning to take only gets on US 441 near Etowah to cross over to Telico Plains. This is my route from Chattanooga to Charlotte / Concord. http://tinyurl.com/aqel42q
Thanks for the heads up!
[This message has been edited by Formula88 (edited 03-08-2013).]
Formula88 that is very close to the route i was thinking about taking maybe we should hook up for a day of driving... doesn't have to be that day but any day at Memphis is good for me.
The route likely doesn't go through there. The route I'm planning to take only gets on US 441 near Etowah to cross over to Telico Plains. This is my route from Chattanooga to Charlotte / Concord. http://tinyurl.com/aqel42q
Thanks for the heads up!
That's US 411 that runs through Etowah, not US 441. You can turn in Etowah and follow (forget the road number) over to 39 and then 39 into Tellico Plains.
The section of US 441 that's out is Newfound Gap Road between Cherokee and Gatlinburg. I'm pretty sure it's on the south side of NewFound Gap.
Edit: WARNING! I see you're coming through Calhoun. Coming down the hill from I-75, you hit a 35 MPH zone at the city limits. DO NOT exceed the speed limit. Down to the stop sign, turn right, then left on 163, underneath the trestle and the PD is on the right. DO NOT exceed the speed limit while you are in the city limits of Calhoun. Experience speaking. I also know 4-5 people who live in that area. They'd give you the same advice.
[This message has been edited by fierofool (edited 03-08-2013).]
I am out for this year... just can't make the dollar stretch that far and to much going on around the house...this is my first in 4 years that i will be missing ..... maybe see some of you at the 30th and you can rub it in there.
------------------ LETS GO DRIVING!!! [
Power Tour Long Haul 2009, 10 (muscle car) Power Tour Long Haul 2011, 12 (Fiero)
no thing really gained or loss.. excpet for your car being in the lot with the rest of the cars from the tour and maybe some freebies (keychaines, stickers, t-shirts etc)
Anyone that reads this that might be from the chicago or IL area and want to go to memphis with me for the day/night looking for a co-pilot or wing man leaving early on the 4th and comming home on the 5th. Let me know or see my other thread for more details.
I don't know what the path is from Chattanooga to Charlotte, but if the plan is to take US 441 between Cherokee and Gatlinburg, the road has been taken out by a landslide. The National Park Service says that the roadway is closed indefinitely. I've been trying to let Hot Rod know about it through their Contact Us link and their Power Tour Forum, but it's so bogged down that my computer just sits and clocks for more than a half hour at a time. I've been trying since about 8PM.
While up in the area this past weekend, I saw an electronic reader board on US 441 that said NewFound Road between Cherokee and Gatlinburg had been reopened.
Question: If they are in Chattanooga on the 6th and arrive in NC on the 7th, does that mean they will leave Chattanooga on the morning of the 7th? Some of the Georgia people are planning to hook up in Chattanooga.