If all goes well - I'll be getting my hands on a nice 04 Disco II located 2000 miles away in North Dakota. Probably be a month or so before I pick it up but I wanted to get some pointers from the community regarding the trip.

1.) How do these newer Disco's fair on such long trips?

2.) Things I should bring with me (tools etc) keep in mind I'll be taking a bus to ND, and I dont want to be suspected of terrorism because I'm bringing a medium sized tool box full of "rover specific" tools on a greyhound bus!

3.) This will be my first Disco 2 so things I should take note of and look for?

4.) Any precautions I should take? Presumably I should purchase some extra coolant/antifreeze, maybe afew quarts of oil and fuel injector cleaner as well (after I pick up the Disco - before I make my trip home).

Any other members take there Disco 2 on such a "Long Haul"?

 

Are you traveling through Iowa??
I would bring the RAVE, May need it.
Definitely check fluids before the trip. Especially diffs, and transfer case.
A set of metric and standard wrenches/sockets.

 

Thanks for the tip. Havent fully decided yet what route I will take home. Was considering taking the lest mile route to save some gas: going through North Dakota, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Michigan, New York, Vermont and finally to New Hampshire. But I'm open to ideas and suggestions. Whats in Iowa?

 

If you come into MI you will be going out of your way.
You are going to take I-80 most of the way, from PA through IL, it is a toll road in OH, IN and IL so have money handy.
Not knowing where in ND it is...You will need to get to I-94 to I-29 south.
Then I-80/88 east towards Chicago.
Continue on I-80 though IL, IN, and OH. (toll road)
Then get onto I-86 east when you hit PA.
Follow that into Albany.
Then from there wherever you need to go to get home.
Its going to take you 2 days min, make sure you have a bill of sale with you, car insurance, a car charger for your cell phone, the sellers name and numbers and people who are going to miss you if you dont make it home on schedule.
"(friends name) I'll be back on Tues, if you dont hear from me Wed. morning I'm in trouble"
Take your time, have plenty of money and enjoy this wonderful country of ours.

 

Sounds like a fun trip. I just completed a 4,500 mile road trip in mine, but I did have the peace-of-mind of being original owner and knowing everything was in a perfect state of tune (or at least, as close as one can typically get).

My $0.02 worth on this would be:

1) Try to find a good/reputable mechanic close to where you're buying the Discovery (try yelp.com, maybe someone on here knows, etc.)
2) Plan on spending an extra day/hotel night in North Dakota after you pick it up to get everything sorted through. Drive it around town, listen for funny noises, go through as much as you can in the parking lot, take it to the mechanic, etc.

The logic on this is you don't want to get 300 miles into your journey and find out you have a failing driveshaft, overheating problem, etc. etc. You'll much more enjoy the journey if you have a reasonably clean bill of health, after which you can deal with Mike's 60K maintenance, etc. when you get home safely. Otherwise, I'm thinking you'll be worrying about every sound you hear, and not really enjoy the trip.

Welcome to the club! Owning a Discovery is a lot of fun, and road trips like yours are part of it!

RedAustinIX (Ed)

 

Man....that is going to be a haul.

Are you planning on going across the UP of MI?

I am in Dayton, OH so not exactingly along the way. Maybe some folks here along your path can PM you with contact info for "just in case" support.

Is the front drive shaft done?

 

Looks like everyone else has covered pretty much everything to look out for and to do and bring with you.
Just wanted to say good luck to you. I hope you have no problems at all!!!
Let us know how it went when you get back.

 

Don't forget the beef jerky! And bring a friend with you if you can.

I would second the recommendation of getting the Disco checked out close to where you buy it just to make sure everything is up to snuff.

You're going to have a blast, I moved from TN to WA after college and the drive out was EPIC, and I wasn't even in a Rover! If you can take your time to see the sights on your way, I would HIGHLY recommend it, how many times are you going to be in that part of the country again?

Depending on what sort of detours you are planning on stopping by the Badlands NP in South Dakota is pretty darn cool. Or if you're not outdoorsy, stop by and see a Twins game at Target Field, then a Cubs game at Wrigley

 

I would ask the seller to send you some detailed photos of known issues that could spell trouble. IE: Throttle body heater, P/S box, Brakes, Head Gaskets/VCG. If you plan to continue the purchase at least you will have a good idea of what to expect. Take a AAA card and a credit card.

 

Just upgraded my AAA plan to the Premier so that should come handy in any emergency, plus I'll be purchasing full coverage car insurance prior to the trip.

Ill definitely inspect all the fluids before I take the Disco home: diff, trans, transfer case, oil, coolant, power steering etc. But right now I'm waiting for the seller to provide me with the VIN # so I can make sure its legal! AAA grants me a slight discount on the carfax report so I'll be sure to use it! I was seriously considering bringing an entire tool box, but I think I'll settle with a American/metric combo wrench set, 1 double headed screw driver, flashlight, and socket set.

Yes I'm sure I'll enjoy the scenery - was really hoping to see the Niagara Falls at the least! But still alitle nervious - my last trip (from NH to PA with my broken D1) took almost 13 hours round trip - this trip will be around 2 days! Hopefully the driveshaft doesn't fail me this time or the alignment.

Thanks for all your support people! Still a big maybe so we will see how everything goes. If all goes as planned this will be one trip to remember. I'll take many pics on my way! If I see any landy owners I'm stopping to say hi!!!!