Help, AC is out and we are driving 28 hrs

[langin]

We just went to go get it fixed, the mechanic thought it was just the belt but it wasn't, it is the compressor so now with parts & labour it will cost anywheres from $800-1000. Let me just say we are 17 days away from getting in the car and driving 28 hrs to WDW and we just don't have the $$$ to put into our van right now ( it's all into this trip, LOL)

Here are my ideas, we all (family of 5, DH,myself and 3 boys) have misty fans, we all have "Neck coolers" and we have an adapter for the car for the laptop but we could plug in a little fan. We changed our plans so that we are leaving around 2:00pm so we can put 6 hrs behind us before we drive through the night (there's another 12 hrs gone) so by breakfast the next day we will have more than half done, maybe leave earlier and only have 1 8hr day in front of us instead of having to stop and start up again the next day.

Help, any helpful suggestions would be greatly appreciated!

 

[Dax]

Honestly, Its not that bad...I have been driving around in the heat of summer in FL without A/C in my car all summer. Yeah its hot. But you wont get the bulk of the humidity until you reach the southern states. Try to do as much driving at night. Keep the windows down. You may have to yell at each other to talk, but its not as bad as you may think.

Good luck

 

[CarolA]

I drove cars for years with out A/C. I now drive a convertible... let's get real when it's hot and the tops down you might as well not have A/C.

Roll down the window.... really when you are on the interstate you get a good breeze. It works! I promise!

What you are doing now is probably the hardest driving without A/C... running errards, sitting in traffic etc...

I am more worried about driving thru the night since that tends to be dangerous. Studies show that most folks have a big drop in response time especially after midnight.

 

[dougsmom98]

I just wanted to tell you how I feel for you and this expense. We had the same thing happen to us this summer and put $1000 into the AC only then to have another major part of it go and have to spend an additional $1000. If we had know it was going to cost us $2000 we would have traded the van in and used the money as a down payment for a new one. Well, it is finally fixed. It was a major hassel not to have AC for half of the summer especially in the humidity. We live in Maine but the humidity and heat have been rough this summer, and it was awful. The worst part about not having AC was feeling totally windblown and sticky at the same time. I felt like a total mess all the time. I don't want to discourage you, but if you can somehow get it fixed I would. Good luck.
-Amy

 

[msmayor]

I personally would somehow find the $$ to get it fixed before the trip.

A 28 hour drive even under the best circumstances is no picnic. Doing it with windows down, road noises, etc. is brutal. What if you hit rain?

 

[dtsaos]

This may sound weird at first, but have you priced out how much it would be to take Amtrak from say Portland or Boston? I'm assumming that you're coming from the NE part of Canada, although I may be wrong! I think some of the stations have places to park your car, although I'm not sure how much that would cost. We were going to take Amtrak round trip from NJ and it was 2 adults, 2 kids for $465.00 in coach seating. However, not to rub it in, but we just got a new van so we're going to drive now.

Good Luck!

 

[cranbiz]

I would not worry about it. I just came back from FL driving and used the AC very little on the ride down and back and could have gone without it during the trip. While in FL, It was nice to have but again, I could have survived without it. Sure it was noisier with the windows down, but I just seem to prefer fresh air (except in GA) than reprocessed cold air.

I actually am having some issues with the clutch on my AC unit and needed to make sure that it was switched off when starting the truck, a lot of times I forgot to switch it back on.

 

[manning]

You kind of wonder how everyone survived before A/C was invented.

When I was a kid we took trips thru the south without A/C.

 

[maxaroni]

You kind of wonder how everyone survived before A/C was invented.

When I was a kid we took trips thru the south without A/C.

True and that could hold true to so many 'modern' conviences we have these days.

 

[lucyanna girl]

Just a thought. Does Southwest fly out of any airports near you? Our rates for October are awsome, $32 each way. You usually need to book 14 days ahead of time so you have just enough time. Download "Ding" off the Southwest website for the best prices.
If you are staying at a Disney resort you can use Magic Express and Disney transportation while you are on your trip.
When we drive the amount of money we spend on fuel, food, a night in a motel and time wasted adds up quickly, not to mention how nice it is to get there with everyones good mood intact.

 

[Chip 'n Dale Express]

Not quite sure which resort you are staying at, but are you able to downgrade to a lower category resort to save some money? I'd suggest looking at flights, or even renting a van for the week, but I think they're kind of moot, seeing as the money would be better spent on the A/C itself, instead of being tacked on.

I think it would be a BRUTAL drive down... the whole east coast has been hit with a big time heat wave. Down here in Florida, my car thermometer has been in the mid to high 90's all week long. And don't forget the rain storms... with windows up and no A/C, your windows will be so foggy.

 

[Belle1962]

I second renting a car. You can get them fairly reasonable nowadays. check here www.rentalcodes.com for coupons or codes. I have paid off my car and now rent whenever I go on a trip to avoid adding those extra miles to my car.

 

[twoeeyy]

on the positive side most cars get on average 15% better fuel economy without using the A/C, with gas prices being so high maybe it is not so bad.

 

[manning]

Look at it this way Tyler... They will be acclimated by the time they get there!!

 

[minijeanie]

I give you lots of credit..

great ideas on how to beat the heat
but more importantly, can you deal with all the noise from the highways?

Good Luck!!!



Please write back & let us know how it turned out

 

[RichNKatHolly]

Can you try your hand at renting a car through Priceline once you hit the states? I'm not sure they rent to non-US citizens, but I don't see why not (just check that first).

Worst that can happen is you don't get the rate you want and then back to plan 1 - drive without AC.

 

[langin]

As I mentionned in the OP, we are leaving in less than 2 weeks (Aug 16) and driving from the east coast of Canada, we are driving 2925 kms each way. The cost of renting for the entire drive is equivalent or more to the cost of fixing the AC ( which is approx $1000) and I just cannot justify spending that money on top of what we've already put into this trip. This is our "once in a lifetime" trip. I really have looked at all the options for not driving down (this was not my first choice) but for a family of 5 it is the most economical. We don't know any different so if it's bad then we will really have to just grin and bear it and make the best of it. I am just looking forward to spending some time with my DH and my 3 boys (age 12 and twins 9). I continue to try to think of things I can do to keep us from melting in the van while we are driving, so please more suggestions on how to beat the heat! The third leg of the trip will be obviously the worst because we will be hitting the southern states but hopefully it will be for only one day and then we get to our AC room. We are staying off site in the Doubletree in the Downtown Disnet area.
Thanks again for all the suggestions and keep em coming. Wish us the best!

 

[dtsaos]

Just a thought. Does Southwest fly out of any airports near you? Our rates for October are awsome, $32 each way. You usually need to book 14 days ahead of time so you have just enough time. Download "Ding" off the Southwest website for the best prices.
If you are staying at a Disney resort you can use Magic Express and Disney transportation while you are on your trip.
When we drive the amount of money we spend on fuel, food, a night in a motel and time wasted adds up quickly, not to mention how nice it is to get there with everyones good mood intact.

yeah, this is what I started to think about after I mentioned taking the train from Maine. I looked into southwest out of Manchester NH and Providence RI and you could get it for $59 each way pp from these places-not bad considering gas prices. I'm pretty sure that both of these airports charge very little for parking your car. It would probably take you around 8 hours or so to get to either of these airports-not a bad amount of time w/o a/c especially since it would be in New England, (it's about 60 degrees right now where I am!)

Oh, it said on their web site that you have to book by aug 1st TODAY to get these prices. Good luck and let us know what you decide!

 

[ducklite]

I would somehow, someway find a way to get that A/C fixed. It's been in the 90's everyday for the past couple weeks, with no end in sight. And the afternoon storms have been terrible. I was driving in one yesterday, you couldn't see fifty feet in front of you, no possible way you could have the windows down in that.

Can you borrow a car from a friend or family member?

In all honesty, if I had no A/C, I would cancel the trip, and try again next year.

Anne

 

[dtsaos]

Not to sound like lecturing or anything, but another thing you may want to think about is since your van's giving you trouble in the A/C department, who's to say it won't have some other major problems and it would be horrible if something major happened during the drive either way. If it was me, i would definetly look into the other options like Amtrak or flying from New England just for that reason alone. Since you're staying at double tree, you'll have pretty decent bus service everywhere and you'd just have to arrange for car service or Mears bus to pick you up and bring you back to the amtrak station or the airport. Okay, I'll shut up now...