ROAD TRIP! Canada and back. Advice?

wasted pixels · July 2007

I'm going to be driving to Canada in a week. It's my second trip to the country, but the first time was a short, miserable outing. I'd really like to have a better trip this time.

First, my car. It's a '98 Mazda ProtegÃ© with about 100,000 miles, so it's getting a little long in the tooth. It's a reliable little car, but I've never taken a trip longer than 500 miles in it. I just had a full-service oil change done. I grabbed a spare quart of oil, fix-a-flat, and I'm going to bring a gallon of water -- all just in case. I have jumper cables, some basic tools, and a flashlight in the trunk. What else can I do minimize the chances of a breakdown, and what else should I have in case of car troubles?

Second, the trip. I'm going to be crossing into Canada through Michigan. Does anyone have any advice on routes? Google Maps recommends Highway 69 (and honestly, Detroit scares the hell out of me anyway), but I'm very open to suggestions. For that matter, what is the best time to cross during the weekend?

Third, what can I do to make sure that I'm at least somewhat functional after a 12 hour drive? I'm going to be staying with my girlfriend, and I'd like to be able to spend some time with her instead of staggering in and mumbling, "Oh hey, where's your bed? ...also, I love you, and the trip was great. But yeah, bed?"

Last, any general advice or musings on road trips, visiting Canada, etc?

Thanks!

Organichu · July 2007

Not specific to your trip, but since you asked about staying alert...

Once every few hours, pull over, get out, stretch your legs. Do this whether you feel that you need it or not. Trust me.

SporkAndrew · July 2007

Long car journeys generally warrant some stuff that you're missing:

Baby wipes
Clothing Change (shirt, pants)
Blanket
First aid kit

It sounds stupid to say it, but if you ever need to change something with your car and end up covered in grime from the road, brake dust and oil you can just open the boot, freshen up with the wipes and change into something more comfortable.

The wipes are also useful to run over your face / back of your neck to wake yourself up a bit..

Spackle · July 2007

Where are you going in Canada? Just driving around?

Highway 69 goes through Port Huron and dumps you out in Sarnia I believe. I've taken this route to Toronto before and to Buffalo. It's not bad, getting into Canada is usually pretty fast. Getting back through Sarnia can be a nightmare though.

Staying awake on the ride is easy, they have these service stations all over the place with gas, food, coffee all nicely located in a single building. IIRC correctly it's not much different looking than Michigan driving. Be safe!

edit: Oh I see you're visiting your girl.

quovadis13 · July 2007

What direction exactly are you coming from and where exactly are you going?? Detroit really isnt that scary at all and crossing over into Canada from there is something that is very very easy (I should know, I do it basically everyday when I go to school). You can get onto the bridge directly from the highway and once you get into Windsor, the signs to the major highway (401) will be splashed everywhere. The time you go to cross over is a crapshoot though, since with the border you never really know how backed up it is. Although you will generally have a shorter wait time going into Canada than going into the States.

There really isnt a specific reason to go all the way to Port Huron/Sarnia unless that is where your final destination is nearby. The 401 is basically the main highway in Ontario until you get to around Toronto. I generally say that it is safe, well kept and you should have no problems with it, but it can get a bit crowded at times. If you do break down, you probably wont have too much trouble getting your car towed or anything, but I say that with no experience whatsoever. You should be fine with the basic equipment you have.

Sorry if I am rambling a bit

wasted pixels · July 2007

Leaving from St. Louis, MO, heading to Barrie, ON.

Detroit itself isn't scary, but the traffic was a nightmare the last time I came though, that's what scares me. >_>

DiscGrace · July 2007

If the route recommends taking I-69, then you might as well take it. It's a really nice and easy drive (I have spent many hours going back and forth on it, between college and home and my husband's family's home in Port Huron). Having crossed over both in Detroit and PoHo, I have to say the PoHo-Sarnia crossing is consistently faster and less backed up (the one exception being getting back into the US from Sarnia after going to a Barenaked Ladies concert at Summerfest one night, when the brilliant US customs side had exactly TWO BOOTHS open, arrrgh).

Plus I-69 through Michigan is mostly country driving without too much traffic (except through Flint, but that's almost always moving really well), and you usually won't see many cops except around Davison, which is nice. If you want to know some good places to stop and grab food in the state, let me know. Also, I cannot recommend highly enough stopping and getting Tim Hortons donuts and coffee in PoHo - there's a store right before the bridge on-ramp, so you practically HAVE to. :P

Ruckus · July 2007

Heat may be an issue, 30+ Celcius up here for the last week, and it's expected to last for a while longer. The water is a good idea, but a 4L (about a gallon) of premixed coolant may be smart.

My brother drives a 98 Protege too, with couple hundred thousand kilometers on it, he's never had major breakdowns. One thing he did hate and has replaced was his spare tire, he replaced his donut with a fullsize so if he does blow a tire his range and speed aren't limited.

G-Prime · July 2007

Like others have mentioned I would take the I-69. I live in Sarnia and the border crossing is usually quick to get through. You're best bet would be later in the day since the transport traffic has slowed down by then. It gets pretty backed up at around noon - 4pm.

As far as the Detroit-Windsor crossing.. well I would try to stay away from it. I have always had problems there for some reason.

Pheezer · July 2007

Spend as much of the road trip as possible on American highways. Cross into Canada at the closest point to your destination. Canadian highways are shit and a lot of them are single lane, undivided. I say this as a Canadian: American highways are better maintained and safer.

Also you'll find that alcohol is a great deal more expensive North of the border, although the beer is better. So if you intend to show up with a bottle of wine or something, buy it before you cross. You can export an exorbitant amount of liquor without any taxes, it's just on the way back home that you'll experience duty. I think. It's like that if you're Canadian, anyhow.

And don't drive for more than four hours at a time. If you feel tired, pull over and nap for a half hour to an hour. It won't delay you significantly but it'll greatly increase your odds of not dying.

G-Prime · July 2007

DrDizaster wrote: »

Spend as much of the road trip as possible on American highways. Cross into Canada at the closest point to your destination. Canadian highways are shit and a lot of them are single lane, undivided. I say this as a Canadian: American highways are better maintained and safer.

If he is going to Barrie most his trip should be on the 400 series highways. I'm pretty sure most of the are all are multilaned and divided, although I am not sure as you go further north. As long as he sticks to those he would be ok as far as safety and quality of the roads.

Al_wat · July 2007

I would cross at Detroit. Take Hwy 401 all the way to the middle of Toronto, then go north on Hwy 400. The 400 goes straight through the middle of Barrie.

Its pretty straightforward once you are in Canada.

edit: I would like to point out that the 400 series highways are well maintained for the most part, and I think the fewest lanes they ever have are 2. You might hit some delays because of construction.

If you are going on a weekend, the 400 will probably be slow due to cottage traffic.

If you are going during the week, take note of the time of day that you hit Toronto and the surrounding areas. In the morning, its slow going into the middle of the city. In the afternoon, its slow going out of the city. The airport (you will hit this just before the 400) is always a bitch too. Just be patient when you hit Toronto. The traffic there sucks balls.

Chizzer · July 2007

Stick to the 400 series highways, and you'll be fine. And trust me, heed warnings about shit-ass traffic around Toronto.

Alpine · July 2007

Yeah, you'll take the 401 from Toronto to 400 North, that'll take you right into Barrie, ON.

I live just a town over from Barrie, the highway between Toronto and Barrie is fairly boring.

Kate of Lokys · July 2007

Napping would be a good idea. For general staying-awake advice, brush up on this thread from a while back, there was some decent stuff in there.

Also, man, what the hell, he's going to be driving Highway 402/401/400 the whole way, not taking rural road 35 from Coboconk to Minden or something. The 402 into the 401 is two lanes each way for the first 250km past the border, then everything from that point on will be at least three lanes each way.

One major difference between driving in the US and driving in Canada is the number of service centers. Some rare parts of the US are moderately isolated, but most of the time there's a mile-high McDonald's sign visible off every freeway exit. Not so in Canada. There are long stretches with nothing available off the highway, unless you want to spend 10-20km on back roads looking for the nearest Tim Hortons. The worst bit is from London to Toronto: it's the hardest part of the drive, with the fewest possible stops (especially once you hit the edge of the city). I would strongly recommend stopping at the McDonald's at the 289km mark, east of London, whether you think you're tired or not, because it's 100km through potentially nasty traffic from there to the next possible pulloff, and that could take two hours if there's construction or an accident to be cleaned up.

Oh, and drive carefully on the 400 north from Toronto to Barrie. There have been a lot of accidents on that stretch of road lately, so take it slow and try to stay out of the passing lane.

pacbowl · July 2007

Music. Bring lots of music. Nothing is more annoying than having to scan the local stations every hundred miles or so. Also bring a cooler with some drinks and maybe a sandwich or some snacks.

Sorry, I have no advice about Canada or the best way to get there. Never been there myself.

Al_wat · July 2007

Definitely bring lots of drinks and snacks for the ride. Like other people have said its good practice to stop every few hours just to stretch and perk yourself up.

Also don't get tempted to speed a lot. I made this mistake on a recent long voyage and got slapped with a massive ticket.

Your chances of getting caught amplify when you are driving for a long period of time. So be vigilant and make sure you obey the rules of the road.

Penny Arcade

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