Young Members College Bound Convoy

[JohnK]

I have recently found myself admitted to Colorado School Of Mines and want to drive my 26 Roadster Pickup from my home in Truckee California To Golden Colorado. I am wondering if there are any other young members that are bound for more eastward colleges that would like to form an antique automobile convoy of sorts?

It's a crazy Idea but teenagers are full of those! lol

[Lil Teezy]

School of Mines is no joke, Congratulations! I have made the drive from the front range to NorCal and back many, many times usually through the Tahoe area as I have friends up there. It is both beautiful and harsh any time of year! I go several times a year some years and always use a little bit different route to see what I’m missing. I wouldn’t want to drive my T that far (my butt couldn’t take it) but your idea is not crazy. Having your T out here will be great, there is a big car scene in Golden and the trip is certainly possible with enough time. Good luck getting a group together! I’m no teenager, but I still haven’t grown up either! I’d be willing to try and schedule a trip to my usual haunts out there a few weeks ahead and drive back some larger parts instead of shipping them. Having a modern pickup along as a support vehicle on your trip couldn’t hurt. Taking all smaller roads will be mellow in the summer or fall except for the lack of amenities and facilities in between towns, so I’d think some over preparedness and some scheduled and unscheduled camping would happen. Much planning of the route will be prudent as there is no real easy (direct) way to get into the front range from the west on small flat roads, but T drivers have been over every pass around here that I know of. There are some intrepid T fans that have posted threads of full on desert drives all over Canyons, Moab, Death Valley etc.and there’s a lot of T owners in between home and here. The recent coast to coast T caravan certainly proved that it can be done with fun and local advise on routes should be available here on the forum. Worst case, you just trailer your car here and schedule some stops to tour locally in the T along the way. I’d think anyone along your route would be thrilled to help a group that was driving their T’s that far though and perhaps a relay type tour could be organized? Keep the idea afloat! -Chris, in Boulder

[Scott_Conger]

Sounds Fun!

Don't do it.

About every other summer, someone comes out of California, through Yellowstone NP and ends up in my shop outside of Yellowstone with serious trouble. Ten years from now this will sound like good advice...right now, just some nay-saying from some old poop on the internet that you don't know. Be wise and listen to your older self...today.

Your focus right now is on school, not wondering how to get your broken car to Golden. Or where to store it, or worry about the $$ spent fixing it, plus trying to study as well as finding your way around a new town with no wheels. If you absolutely must take the T, pack a U-haul truck with your stuff and drag a U-haul trailer behind it with the "T".

I wish you the best...please consider the advice made in your best interest.

[Lil Teezy]

Dang, as usual, Scott sure isn’t wrong.
However, my older self (now) keeps thinking that my younger self (in the 90’s) should have done more adventuring back when I had time, loose money and the exuberance of youth on my side. If you’ve been accepted at S.O.M. clearly you’re smart enough, have enough money and are brave enough to handle a trip to, and make out just fine in wild ass Golden, Co.
A trip like the one you’re considering would have been way more difficult for me thirty years ago, at your age now. I think mainly because support from other T owners would be harder to organize. We have this forum and other platforms to keep in constant contact now. Roads are nicer and more frequent and are all visible from your palm via satellite. Parts and tools are in collections of folks with shops along the way (heck, even outside of Yellowstone!) or shipped by suppliers overnight, and there’s almost no chance of getting robbed because no one needs cash on them.
Back then taking a Bronco loaded with gas and water and a tent straight west from here was considered crazy. Pocket full of cash, revolver and no cell phone service was the norm. Oh, and make sure to take extra beer and no weed with you into Utah and Nevada! Nowadays living in a 4X4 is a nationwide lifestyle and locals are used to friendly nomads.
A few years into the future from now this trip might not be possible at all because antique cars won’t be allowed on the roadways or gas prices inhibit car travel other than local driving. That’s hopefully a distant future, but considering all the factors, there may be a “window” for this type of thing now and not later. And boy do we know how time slips away once you start “adulting”!
Aren’t we always saying we need more young T owners getting after it? Think about Ben Yumori driving his car by himself across the country to and from every national tour. Or any of the dust bowl era travelers that we see in the weekly post by Tom Rootlieb, they made it…
Jus’ typin’ and thinking’ over here…. -Chris, in Boulder

[FreighTer Jim]

I have recently found myself admitted to Colorado School Of Mines and want to drive my 26 Roadster Pickup from my home in Truckee California To Golden Colorado. I am wondering if there are any other young members that are bound for more eastward colleges that would like to form an antique automobile convoy of sorts?

It's a crazy Idea but teenagers are full of those! lol

Hi John,

Good idea for a route that is doable
but there are no realistic side roads for your
trip along I-70 or I-80.

FJ

[Angmar]

School of Mines is no small achievement, no matter what you will find that there are plenty of T owners nearby to help you keep your T on the road while at school in Golden. Post photos of your ride and be safe, perhaps a smaller journey?

[JohnK]

Thanks for the insight!

I think it would be good to make clear the "safety net" my parents are giving me. They have agreed that if anything goes horribly wrong they will come rescue me with a trailer and take the T home while I proceed in another automobile.
There are a few fellow students that want to join me and follow along in more modern cars, so being stranded in the middle of Nevada without transportation is unlikely.

As for a rough outline of the route, I'm considering Highway 50 to Ely and then going through Ceader City and south avoiding the worst of the rockies and freeways, then navigate back north to Golden. 50 is a bit steep in places but that shouldn't be too much of an issue if I take it slow enough.

[Steve Jelf]

Scott's advice is reasonable. On the other hand, there are a few Model T drivers who regularly make long trips. I haven't covered as many miles as some, but since 2018 I've driven my 1915 runabout from southern Kansas to the Old Car Festival in Dearborn every year except for the 2020 Covid interruption. On that first trip I had a rod go bad in Wisconsin, and had to stay there a few extra days while getting the car fixed. I have the advantage of being retired, and not having to meet a schedule. On the subsequent trips I've experienced a few events, but none that seriously delayed my getting from one place to another. Maybe I'm driving in a fool's paradise, but I enjoy Model T travel and mean to keep at it until I age out.

All my travel so far has been in the relatively flat middle of the continent, so the mostly stock 1915 has been quite satisfactory. Before I venture east of Wheeling or west of Denver I intend to have a Ruckstell and aux brakes. Between California and Golden you will need to do some serious climbing and descending, and your car should be adapted for it.

In addition to US 50, a non-interstate route south of it is the very scenic US 160. But however you go, there will be some stretches where your only choice is between an interstate and a very long detour. My only encounter with such a circumstance was crossing the Mississippi at Hannibal, where the only bridge is on I-72. I phoned the Illinois highway patrol and had an officer follow me across with his emergency lights on so I didn't have to worry about getting run over. When I go to California I'll find a nine mile stretch west of Needles where I-40 is the only road. I'll call the CHP for that.

For detailed route planning, some state DOT websites have very good county road maps. Other states don't offer that service, and Google maps with satellite view are your best bet. One of my current projects is a road atlas on flash drive. So far I have all the county maps for thirteen states, and recently finished downloading detailed maps of all the counties and towns in Wyoming.

I expect the biggest challenge of your contemplated trip will be finding anybody willing and able to convoy with you. But given the safety net your folks have offered, I would be inclined to be sure the T is in top shape, plan extra time for unplanned events, and go ahead, in a group or solo.

A bit of help crossing the Mississippi

A 2021 event. Radiator repair meant a day's delay.

A 2022 event. I will have new tires before my next trip.

[Luke]

Chris has it.

John, since this is a Ford forum I'll offer you a 'quote' from the great man, as a gentle foil to Scott's well-meant advice:

Life is a series of experiences, each of which makes us bigger, even though it is hard to realize this. For the world was built to develop character, and we must learn that the setbacks and griefs which we endure help us in our marching onward. The natural thing to do is to work—to recognize that prosperity and happiness can be obtained only through honest effort.

It seems to me you're planning a new experience, you've got a fallback in place, and you're heading your life towards 'honest effort'. Good on you, whatever happens along the way - go for it!

There is another thing that Henry is purported to have said, and which JFK also said in a different way: "To do more for the world than the world does for you — that is success". So when you've got to school, in your T or not, please do us all a favour and tell us about it, perhaps it will encourage others to go forth and learn new things too.

Luke.

[Scott_Conger]

the addition of parents willing to haul a broken car home and supply transportation to the destination is an entirely different set of circumstances than was originally stated. Not having to worry about the financial hardship involved in remediating a debilitating breakdown or suffer time-delays in getting to the destination and actually attending school, there isn't much to dissuade anyone from high adventure.

Who wouldn't do this trip if someone else would be there to pick up the pieces if things went sideways? Now it's just an adventure on the way to college. Quite a different thing from being college age and stranded with primary transportation broken down on a desolate road in UT. And to get around the Interstate bug-a-boo, there are definitely some desolate stretches of road.

As for being a wise choice, everyone who thinks this is a great idea and encouraging blindly to "go for it!", has surely seen the car which is to be driven, knows that it is up to the task and has some expectation of actually making the trip, right? Sure you have.

While it is a big adventure and may be successful, it is a trip which very few T's would be expected to make without some level of trouble. That's not an opinion frankly, it is borne from my experience fixing T's for very experienced owners who did not survive the Sierra's and Yellowstone unscathed on their way East. FWIW from one Old Fart's experience mopping up the pieces.

[JohnK]

Scott,

I do agree that things will likely go wrong on the journey, but Isn't that the fun of Model Ts? As you stated having someone to pick up the peices (or atleast take the car home go be fixed by me later) is a huge asset.

As for the inquiries of time and mountains, my pickup has a ruckstell and I intend to add aux brakes ASAP. It's rather mechanically sound otherwise, in warmer weather I daily drove it to school and back where many issues showed themselves but none of them all that major (and I'm sure many more will in the spring as well).

[Steve Jelf]

...everyone who thinks this is a great idea and encouraging blindly to "go for it!", has surely seen the car which is to be driven, knows that it is up to the task and has some expectation of actually making the trip, right?

A very valid point. I should have mentioned that I never attempted any long trips with my car as I received it. Before I made my first drive of over 100 miles it had some new Stutzman wheels, rebuilds of front and rear axles, plus engine and transmission. Except for the rod failure, most of the interesting events have involved tires. For that reason, I intend to have new tires all around before I go again. Do I expect all future trips to be trouble free? That would be foolishly unrealistic. But I do hope to avoid major breakdowns with careful planning and preparation.

Here on the forum we have been treated to accounts of trouble-plagued expeditions by folks who have ventured across country in recently purchased, unfamiliar cars, and have struggled as a result. But we've also seen long distance Model T travel by Ben Yumori, who has a long-distance driving award named for him, the Hardemans, Dean, Seamus, George Akin, and others who have managed to rack up the miles largely unscathed. I believe what separates the second group from the first is preparation.

[Reno Speedster]

Taking a long trip is always a challenge, and the area you are looking to cross is not easy. But, it sounds like you have a good support network for the trip. Doing the drive would be an adventure, and let me tell you as you get older and have more responsibilities there are less opportunities for adventures. Just have a plan for a breakdown.

I got involved in the T hobby while in grad school at University of Nevada, Reno and made life long friends. If you have the ability to take your car and somewhere to store it, why not take it?

[jamlip]

Hi John,

About 15 years ago, when I was in my early 20s, I rode a (recently bought, history unknown) 70cc Honda Passport alone from Chicago to San Francisco. It was amazing.

This is the United States - money can help get you out of most of the smaller problems, and your wits can help keep you out of most of the bigger ones. The remaining element of chance is what makes the whole thing an adventure.

I say do it, with care. The ups and downs will give you a lifetime of great memories.

[Loftfield]

Absolutely do it!!!!!! in 1968 I drove from the family home in Chardon, Ohio, to college (William and Mary) in Williamsburg, Virginia, in my 1915 roadster, in January. It was cold, it snowed, I had endless little problems, but it left me with some of the best stories of my life. It was also illegal as at that time W&M, like most in loco parentis colleges, forbade students to own or operate an automobile within 50 miles of Williamsburg. Likely an illegal rule but who as a student was going to protest? I figured no one would believe a 1915 Model T roadster, had a place to hide it off campus, got by with it, graduated on time, truly happy I had made that trip.

[Lil Teezy]

Scott has definitely nailed the jello to the wall, as my one buddy likes to say. For sure the big question is “can the car make it?” I’m sure that’d be addressed to a pretty thorough degree, but breakdown should be expected and it’s definitely very ambitious. A dose of reality is actually a really kind gesture here.
You better make sure any “friends” that go along are hip to the fact that you’ll be doing 30ish miles an hour for daaaayyyyyys! Good way to lose some, haha! I don’t follow the Facebook T action, but I’d make an effort to get into it. Correspond with any and all clubs in between and get some awareness going ahead of you at least.
If you don’t or can’t really get a “caravan” of other old slow cars going and you do have folks your age willing to make the trip, just bring a trailer anyway. Some folks could go ahead to designated stop over points and hang until you trundle up, follow behind, or backtrack if necessary. Some very big expanses of nothing at all to cross out there, that’s for sure. Maybe you have a contemplative nature and don’t mind having the space to think… id think zooming from spot to spot at full highway speed and safe from weather, and then driving around some locales that you are curious about is the best of both worlds. You could cover some more interesting sections (or heck maybe the really empty parts) in the T and have the crew take turns riding or following, so it doesn’t get too spread out.
Whether you drive the whole way or not bringing your car to Golden will be fun since you’re well used to operating it. The area really is one of the bigger car scenes anywhere and folks are very used to antique autos in traffic. The whole area is really dense and has plenty of smaller roads to move around. Besides a huge T community, the hot rod guys, model A guys, the early v8 and In-liners, supercar Ferrari guys, muscle car, import tuners and low riders are all super cool, all get along, get together a lot and do a lot of driving around the front range. You’ll be in goooood company.

[Jerry VanOoteghem]

Referring to one of the points Levi makes, it is one thing to drive a Model T all day long at 35 MPH, it is a whole different thing to follow a Model T in a modern car at 35 MPH.

[BUSHMIKE]

Which stories do you think my kids like to hear:

I used to quite regularly take my 1949 John Deere R on 20-25 mile road trips. No destination in mind, just a general direction. I would pull into a cafe or beer garden and the R always drew instant attention. Brought a ton of smiles from folks on the road. Put an even bigger smile on mine!

I used to quite regularly take my Subaru Outback on 20-25 mile road trips……

[JohnK]

Thank you all for the realistic input.

Although I am not entirely deterred from the idea of driving 'Gilbert' (my little sister named it) all the way to Golden, I think I need to "manage my expectations" lol.
I'm thinking instead of trying such a long journey for a first trip, I should perhaps "test the waters" so to speak with a few shorter trips this summer around Nor-Cal. Postponing the great Golden adventure to a later date.

Also getting Gilbert to Golden is one thing getting her back is a whole different kettle of fish. And getting her back I must as for atleast the next 4 years Truckee will be my home base as my folks aren't planning on moving to Colorado lol.

Thankfully I can fit my Little Engines American live steam locomotive into the back of my 95 Tacoma so whatever happens I can still get a dose of cantankerous machinery while I'm off at school!

[Scott_Conger]

Little Engines American

now 'yer talkin'

Allen Mogul under construction here

end of thread drift

[Steve Jelf]

Drift continued:

Little Engines rings a bell with me. The Lewises moved from Wilmington to Lomita in 1946. The Jelfs moved from Wilmington to Lomita in 1950, but I wasn't aware of Little Engines until years later. The museum and former factory are a few blocks from Larry Smith's place.

http://www.lomita-rr.org/museum-informa ... le-Engines

[JohnK]

Allen Mogul, Nice! Good mid size locomotive bit big for my taste not to mention having to do transactions with Steve Alley Lol.
It's remarkable the crossover from the live steam hobby to Model Ts, atleast half the members at my local club (Northern Nevada Live Steamers aka Ken Schroeders place) have owned a T. I s'pose it is a bit of a logical match though lol.

[Scott_Conger]

John

all my dealings were with Gene Allen ca. 1994.
Only partially done...too many projects. Fitted with equalizing brakes and will have Walschaert's valve gear.

[hull 433]

Have a good time in Colorado and say hello to everyone at CRM.