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Road Trip Help
Iris-the-lovebug - February 23rd, 2011 at 06:31 PM

Hi,

I'll be taking my 72 Superbug on a bit of a road trip and have been told by a few people don't forget to take this don't forget to take that.

I was just wondering if you guys can help me out. What would/could I possibly need for these trips.
Could I make a "Bug First Aid Kit" and what would it include????

Thanks in Advance,
Natasha & Iris


HappyDaze - February 23rd, 2011 at 06:56 PM

A mobile phone, fan belt, spare battery [for mobile phone].

Make sure the car is serviced properly, before you leave.


Bizarre - February 23rd, 2011 at 07:13 PM

NRMA members card


grumble - February 23rd, 2011 at 07:39 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by Bizarre
NRMA members card

x2 NRMA premium is highly recommended particularly as these little cars are getting on and have been known to have a hissy fit now and then. This at least means you can get the car home if the worst happens.Good luck on your road trip. Cheers Les


Lucky Phil - February 23rd, 2011 at 08:07 PM

You should carry at least a new fuepump, fanbelt and a bottle of engine oil.


waveman1500 - February 24th, 2011 at 07:47 PM

I'll give you the list of things I always carry, not just for roadtrips.

Spare fanbelt - very important for obvious reasons. If your belt snaps and you drive without one then you will cook your engine.
Bottle of oil - for top ups or just in case.
Spare fuses - I keep a packet of them in the ashtray.
Spare tyre - preferably one which holds air and has decent tread.
Spare wheel bolts - I carry four spare wheel bolts, enough for one wheel. I have had wheel bolts back out on me before and fall out, if I wasn't running stock hubcaps then they would have been lost on the highway! As it was, their threads were mangled so I swapped to the spares. On that occasion, I had just been given those wheel bolts which is why I happened to have them in the car.

You will also need some tools:
Some kind of prybar to get your hubcaps off (I use the old factory wheelbrace tool for this)
Big breaker bar with socket for your wheel bolts. Wheel bolts are often done up so tight that you can't get them off with a wheel brace. I carry a 600mm breaker bar in the car at all times to make sure that they will come off easily. I can now easily undo wheels with one hand after they've been blasted on with a rattle gun by some kind of tyre shop monkey. Due to my previous near wheel-loss incident as mentioned above, I also like to do them up nice and tight myself!
A jack which you trust to hold the car up, if your factory jacking points are not in good condition then bring something else.
Socket set, pliers and side cutters, a couple of screwdrivers and maybe a points file if you're feeling fancy. It really doesn't take many tools to work on a bug.


Iris-the-lovebug - February 25th, 2011 at 05:59 PM

Thanks Guys, Keep replying I really appreciate it and am taking it all on board.
I have a factory Jack but it only fits into the right hand Jacking point. Does anyone know what other sort of Jack I should take???
Just incase I need to use the left one.
And My tyres aresn't stock, so my spare isn't completely compatable, but it would be ok just to get me out of trouble????
Coz I don't think my tyres would fit in the place made for the spare (Thats why I still have the original still in there).


waveman1500 - February 25th, 2011 at 06:43 PM

I have the same issue with jacking points, one of mine is dodgy. I just carry the factory jack and hope not to get a flat on that side! A large bottle jack under the front framehead or rear torsion bar tube would do, but they're kind of high up for most jacks. I take a trolley jack with me to motorsport events if I'm intending to change wheels.

My spare doesn't match my other tyres either, but it is still close enough and better than nothing. Ideally, if you get a flat on the rear you should swap one of the front tyres back there and put your spare on the front so that the rear axle will have both tyres the same diameter to save your differential.


annosL - February 25th, 2011 at 07:29 PM

I got a scissor jack from wreckers, $10.00, for my daughters L bug as she is a bit afraid of using the original, works fine under the stock points but you could jack anywhere with it if the spot picked is strong enough. I'd recomend a small LED torch for the glove box for night time break down, and a workshop manual under the seat so you can do a bit of troubleshooting if your out of mobile range. My daughter has the odd-size spare saga too, not a big deal


vwo60 - March 9th, 2011 at 07:26 AM

the two things that i carry are the clutch cable and throttle cable, if one of them break's you are better of looking at them not for them.