Road Trip

beechfront

Member
Joined
Apr 3, 2019
Location
nebraska
TDI
mk7 golf
Road Trip Tools

Planning to put about 8,000 miles on my mk7 TDI over the next few weeks into some pretty remote areas.
Fairly new to VW diesels and wondering if there is anything I might want to bring along for simple roadside repairs?
Thanks in advance.
 
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Lightflyer1

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Sep 13, 2005
Location
Round Rock, Texas
TDI
2015 Beetle tdi dsg
AAA card and credit card. Other than the tire tools and jack there really isn't much simple to work on. Some basic hand tools maybe. An OBDII dongle and the Torque app. if you don't have VCDS.
 

beechfront

Member
Joined
Apr 3, 2019
Location
nebraska
TDI
mk7 golf
Kinda my thoughts as well. I do have an OBD11. Gonna bring an extra fuel filter, tire pump, plugs, etc.

I was also happy to find a full size spare easily fits where the donut was located.
 

Lightflyer1

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Sep 13, 2005
Location
Round Rock, Texas
TDI
2015 Beetle tdi dsg
I would skip the tire pump and plugs and just bring one or two of those fix a flat aerosol cans. They work in a pinch. Unless you are buying fuel from some really crappy place I wouldn't even bring the fuel filter. You should have at least 600 mile range. Fuel up at good places in populated areas.
 

Jetta_Pilot

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Apr 14, 2005
Location
West Hill, Ont.
TDI
2015 Passat Highline TDI Candy White (SEL Premium) long gone 2002 Jetta TDI
Kinda my thoughts as well. I do have an OBD11. Gonna bring an extra fuel filter, tire pump, plugs, etc.

I was also happy to find a full size spare easily fits where the donut was located.

What PLUGS are you talking about ???

Just my opinion, but a fuel filter isn't necessary.
Walmart sells a tiny top up compressor for about 15.00 and it fits in the glove compartment. It's made by SLIME !
 

beechfront

Member
Joined
Apr 3, 2019
Location
nebraska
TDI
mk7 golf
Tire plugs, haha. I've had good luck with them in the past. Personal preference but I'd take them over the fix-a-flat cans.

Good point with 600miles range I should be able to skip any shady looking stations and fill up only at "good places".

thanks for replies.
 

andreigbs

Veteran Member
Joined
Sep 27, 2004
Location
Walworth Co., Wisconsin
TDI
N/A
I second (or is it third?) skipping the extra fuel filter. The one you have one should be fine, assuming you've been on top of maintenance.

I, too, prefer the tire plugs and a good portable compressor over fix-a-flat cans.

I would probably want to have a liter of topping off oil, just in case. I'd also make sure my wipers are in good condition. Nothing like a roadtrip with rain and crappy wipers.
 

Lightflyer1

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Sep 13, 2005
Location
Round Rock, Texas
TDI
2015 Beetle tdi dsg
I have had a portable compressor for over 2 decades and carried it. Never had a use for it and it sits unused in its case to this day. I am not a fan of fix a flat cans either but they have their place, which is to get me to a place who can do a professional job of patching or replacing the tire. You do have a spare so unless you get 2 flats in close proximity of each other you should have no need of them either. Just an easy backup if needed and quick. Getting the car in shape before leaving goes a long way towards not needing anything en-route. If your oil is full when you start and you are a quart low during your trip, you have other issues that need to be addressed. I do wipers once a year.

Really unless you are heading into the the wilds of Alaska, Canada or Mexico you shouldn't have any need of anything if your car is in good repair "before" you leave. A cell phone, AAA and your DL and a credit card with regular checks when you fuel should do it. Or you can load up all kinds of tools and support parts like you were competing in the Baja 500. They will all just be in your way, add weight and reduce your capacity for other things you may actually need and/or use.
 

Jetta_Pilot

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Apr 14, 2005
Location
West Hill, Ont.
TDI
2015 Passat Highline TDI Candy White (SEL Premium) long gone 2002 Jetta TDI
My preference to fix a flat, is let a professional do it.

But if necessary I carry one of those kits that has a rasp for the hole, another tool looks like a hook. Also some stringy things and a type of rubber cement. This lets you fix a tire even without removing it.
Haven't needed that in many years though.


Unless I'm wrong you have to remove the tire from the rim for a plug?
 

Lightflyer1

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Sep 13, 2005
Location
Round Rock, Texas
TDI
2015 Beetle tdi dsg
I am a customer of Discount tire. They have always fixed my leaks professionally and for free and quickly. I am a big fan of them as they have good quick service. I will always try and get to a place like this to have the repair done. With a spare and a can of fix a flat you should be able to get to a place. A proper repair involves removing the tire and putting a patch on from the inside.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iPRUdaxXgVw
 

tactdi

Veteran Member
Joined
Jun 21, 2010
Location
North Carolina
TDI
2005.5 Jetta
AAA and a credit card is fine is you have the time to wait. Same goes for having run-flat tires on your car (discussion for another time).

I have needed AAA to tow me off of I95 outside of Savannah one Friday afternoon. Luckly the driver towed me to a NAPA where I could buy a coil to replace the one on my Jeep that crapped out. If not, I would have been towed to the Jeep dealer, and it would have been Saturday morning before I would have gotten back on the road (at the earliest).

Back to TDI content, in my Jetta, I had a flat outside of Lafayatte, IN, one Sunday night in the rain. Luckly I had a full size spare, instead of a donut. My buddy had to be at a conference Monday evening in VA, which we where planning to drive to starting Monday morning. If we had a donut or runflats, it would have been late Monday morning at the earliest before we would have gotten on the road (having to find a tire dealer), and would have gotten to the conference in the late evening.
 

Lightflyer1

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Sep 13, 2005
Location
Round Rock, Texas
TDI
2015 Beetle tdi dsg
Beachfront said he has a full size spare. Hence the fix a flat just for an emergency after that. If you use the spare stop and have the flat fixed. Shouldn't take but an hour at the most I would imagine. Never in my lifetime have I ever had 2 flats anywhere near each other, time frame wise. Any time I have needed a tow I have had to wait, no matter who it was. Someone I called or AAA or Hagerty or any other. But if you are broke down and need a tow, you need a tow. They will tow you where ever you want within reason, be it parts store or dealer or home.
 

beechfront

Member
Joined
Apr 3, 2019
Location
nebraska
TDI
mk7 golf
plugs can be easily done with wheel still on the car.

normally I would be perfectly fine with only donut spare. this is portion of road I am somewhat worried about.

https://www.themilepost.com/highways/dempster-highway/



Dempster Highway

Connects: Klondike Highway to Inuvik, NWT
Route#: Yukon Highway 5, NWT Highway 8
Length: 456 miles
Road Surface: Gravel
Season: Open all year
Highest Pass: North Fork Pass Summit, elev. 4,229 feet/1,289m
Map (1 detailed pdf file available):
Klondike Highway Junction to Inuvik, Northwest Territories

The Dempster Highway begins about 25 miles/40 km east of Dawson City, YT, at its junction with the Klondike Highway, and ends at Inuvik, NWT. Facilities are few and far between. It is strongly recommended that motorists carry a full-sized spare tire (or 2 spare tires if they are an unusual size) as well as extra water and gas.
 

Lightflyer1

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Sep 13, 2005
Location
Round Rock, Texas
TDI
2015 Beetle tdi dsg
I forgot that was where you were going. I would add another full size spare and the plugs and a compressor. some survival gear might not be bad either. Maybe rent a sat phone for the trip just in case. Are you guys allowed to be armed up there? When I was in Alaska long ago it was the rule to never go anywhere without being armed, when not in town.
 

Owain@malonetuning

Associate Vendor , w/Business number
Joined
Jul 1, 2016
Location
Vancouver
TDI
PD jetta wagon
Sounds like one heck of a trip! Definitely worth bringing a fuel filter and a 20L jerry can in case of a bad tank of fuel, along with at least 1 full size spare, accessory belt, and oil pan or install a skid plate. Might consider slightly oversized tires as well for some ground clearance.

Wouldn't expect much in the way of phone, vehicle service, or AAA north of grand prairie, it's truck and snowmobile territory. Will be hundreds of miles between small towns where most haven't seen a mk7 tdi. NWT has 6 villages over 1000 people, the Yukon has two, in an area about triple the size of texas. Prepare accordingly and bring a lot of sealed rations (less smell). Get as much info as you can from local truckers.
 
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beechfront

Member
Joined
Apr 3, 2019
Location
nebraska
TDI
mk7 golf
I just realized my last reply to this thread did not actually post.

--

So anyway I did the trip and am back. Was about 7,300 miles round trip, 13 days. The Dempster portion ended up being 1,122 miles round trip after driving to Tuktoyaktuk.

--

The car performed great. Would I have rather had a truck on that 1,100 miles of rock/mud/gravel? yeah. But I would not have wanted to pay the fuel bill getting up there. At 50mpg average I spent less than $450 on fuel which to me is just amazing considering how I drove. The 600+ mile range was extremely comforting as well. Only issue with the car was intermittent TPMS errors only on the Dempster which I assume was due to massive amounts of dust / mud. More of an annoyance than anything. Once back on hard top did not have another error.
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As I had said in my previous missing post... I had decided against the extra fuel and 3rd tire as did not have room for them after I got all my camping gear, photography gear, clothes, cooler, etc. in the car. No flats though was very comforting knowing I had the full size spare in there. I brought along some power service diesel kleen + cetane boost which I added as I got further north and the fuel sources were somewhat questionable. Probably didn't make a bit of difference but same with the full-size spare.... made me feel better.
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I also want to say that the extra power thanks to the tune (malone) was very welcome through the mountains and for extra passing power on the highway.
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Since this was originally intended to be more of a thread about mechanical aspects of taking a long road trip with a TDI... I'm not going to discuss the actual trip too much. I have another thread specific to the trip itself where I will post some more details/pictures of my travels if anyone is interested.
 
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