Death Valley in August with kids (should I avoid it ?)

In message "Toller"
wrote:

Can you document that? I have trouble believing a car will overheat going
uphill because the AC is on.

How do you think an A/C operates?

It uses energy (which comes from hydro-carbon combustion, which
generates heat) to draw heat out of the air and releases it into the
airflow system of the engine.

Luckily most modern cars are much better about handling heat, in some
cases even shutting down the A/C automatically when needed.

If you have a smaller car, you'll feel the difference in available
engine power and see the difference on your temperature gauge with the
A/C on vs off.

--
If quitters never win, and winners never quit,
what fool came up with, "Quit while you're ahead"?

"Toller" wrote in message
...

"PeterL" wrote in message
ups.com...
On May 31, 3:11 pm, wrote:
On May 31, 9:11 pm, wrote: Do you think that
driving and passing the night
in the Death Valley could be dangerous for my kids'health?

Alf, Death Valley is a National Park and thousands of tourists visit
it safely every year. The heat in August is extreme, but if your car
and motel room are air conditioned, and if you use common sense,
you'll be fine.

Thanks James.
I was told that when driving in the Death Valley you have to switch
off the air conditioned!!!
Is it possible to drive with the air conditioned ON ?
Really ???
Please, help me to clarify this.

On certain stretches, e.g. when the car is going uphill and using a
lot of power, if you also use the air con, your car may overheat. But
on flat stretches of road you can use the air con, no problem.

Can you document that? I have trouble believing a car will overheat going
uphill because the AC is on.

chuckle lots of long uphill grades in California have signs cautioning
motorists to turn off the air conditioning. The Grapevine southbound on I5
is one such I recall, as well as the northbound 395 north of Bishop going up
the Sherwin grade.

Then don't forget the old expedient should you note your car engine begin to
overheat - turn on the heater. The heater will serve to dump some of that
engine heat into the passenger compartment. Of course, if the cause of the
engine overheating is loss of coolant for any reason, even that expedient
won't help. That expedient helped me when I was caught behind a truck going
15 or so miles per hour up Old Priest Grade on hwy 120 and my car engine
started to overheat.

wrote in message
oups.com...
Next August and September I will be on vacation in the South West with
my wife and our two kids (12 and 8 years old). I've booked everything
(hotels, car, etc.) since February and I can't stand the wait to
leave!

When does school start in Italy? Shouldn't your kids be IN SCHOOL in
September? Many of us PLAN our vacations to co-incide with times that KIDS
ARE SUPPOSED TO BE IN SCHOOL. Less screaming crack monkeys in restaurants
and other public places, for starters. All tourist attractions are more
accessible with shorter lineups, etc..





Anyhow I have a big concern: on August, 25th I should drive from Las
Vegas to Furnace Creek in the Death Valley. I would sleep at Furnace
Creek and then I would leave to go to Lee Vining CA.

Yes I know that August is not the best month to go there!

My car will be a Suv and I plan to arrive in the DV in the late
afternoon and leave early in the morning.

Do you think that driving and passing the night in the Death Valley
could be dangerous for my kids'health?
Should I change my route ?

I would really appreciate any experienced advice.
Thanks from Italy
Alf

"Toller" wrote in message
...

"PeterL" wrote in message
ups.com...
On May 31, 3:11 pm, wrote:
On May 31, 9:11 pm, wrote: Do you think that
driving and passing the night
in the Death Valley could be dangerous for my kids'health?

Alf, Death Valley is a National Park and thousands of tourists visit
it safely every year. The heat in August is extreme, but if your car
and motel room are air conditioned, and if you use common sense,
you'll be fine.

Thanks James.
I was told that when driving in the Death Valley you have to switch
off the air conditioned!!!
Is it possible to drive with the air conditioned ON ?
Really ???
Please, help me to clarify this.


On certain stretches, e.g. when the car is going uphill and using a
lot of power, if you also use the air con, your car may overheat. But
on flat stretches of road you can use the air con, no problem.

Can you document that? I have trouble believing a car will overheat going
uphill because the AC is on.


Detroit iron, maybe.

In article ,
Lawrence Akutagawa wrote:

Then don't forget the old expedient should you note your car engine begin to
overheat - turn on the heater. The heater will serve to dump some of that
engine heat into the passenger compartment. Of course, if the cause of the
engine overheating is loss of coolant for any reason, even that expedient
won't help. That expedient helped me when I was caught behind a truck going
15 or so miles per hour up Old Priest Grade on hwy 120 and my car engine
started to overheat.

I was just about to mention Old Priest Grade. (For the original poster,
it's nowhere near Death Valley. It's a shortcut on one of the main routes
to Yosemite.) A few years ago, I was going to Yosemite on a hot day and
had the AC on in my car. Just before I got to the top of OPG, I realized
that I hadn't turned off the AC for the climb. The engine had plenty of
power and the temperature gauge hadn't budged. That car isn't even all
that young (1993 model, now with more than 90K miles on it). So although
the person who plans to visit Death Valley should certainly keep an eye
on the temperature gauge as he climbs those hills, there's little chance
that he'll actually have any problems with the car.


Patty

sharx35 wrote:


Detroit iron, maybe.

Detroit Steel, and they usually have good AC and cooling systems systems. Nex

In message
(Todd Michel McComb) wrote:

In article ,
Toller wrote:
I drank a full gallon of water, but no salty snacks. I guess I
am lucky to be alive!

You really shouldn't do that. Do a web search on hyponatremia if
you want to read the various medical mumbo-jumbo. There was a news
article not so long ago about a woman who died after winning a water
drinking contest in, I think it was, Sacramento. Same deal.

Jennifer Strange...

--
If quitters never win, and winners never quit,
what fool came up with, "Quit while you're ahead"?

sharx35 wrote:

When does school start in Italy? Shouldn't your kids be IN SCHOOL in
September? Many of us PLAN our vacations to co-incide with times that KIDS
ARE SUPPOSED TO BE IN SCHOOL. Less screaming crack monkeys in restaurants
and other public places, for starters. All tourist attractions are more
accessible with shorter lineups, etc..


I'll be back a couple of days before lesssons begin.
In Italy schools start on the second/third week of September.

So, if you plan a visit to Italy: come after 10th!!!

wrote in message
oups.com...

sharx35 wrote:

When does school start in Italy? Shouldn't your kids be IN SCHOOL in
September? Many of us PLAN our vacations to co-incide with times that
KIDS
ARE SUPPOSED TO BE IN SCHOOL. Less screaming crack monkeys in restaurants
and other public places, for starters. All tourist attractions are more
accessible with shorter lineups, etc..


I'll be back a couple of days before lesssons begin.
In Italy schools start on the second/third week of September.

So, if you plan a visit to Italy: come after 10th!!!


Thanks for the update. Have a great trip in North America, forumgrey!!!

Toller wrote:
"PeterL" wrote in message
ups.com...
On May 31, 3:11 pm, wrote:
On May 31, 9:11 pm, wrote: Do you think that
driving and passing the night
in the Death Valley could be dangerous for my kids'health?

Alf, Death Valley is a National Park and thousands of tourists
visit it safely every year. The heat in August is extreme, but if
your car and motel room are air conditioned, and if you use common
sense, you'll be fine.

Thanks James.
I was told that when driving in the Death Valley you have to switch
off the air conditioned!!!
Is it possible to drive with the air conditioned ON ?
Really ???
Please, help me to clarify this.


On certain stretches, e.g. when the car is going uphill and using a
lot of power, if you also use the air con, your car may overheat.
But on flat stretches of road you can use the air con, no problem.

Can you document that? I have trouble believing a car will overheat
going uphill because the AC is on.

Depends on the age of the car (older ones may have poorly-integrated air
conditioning with inadequate cooling upgrades), the state of maintenance
of the cooling system, and the amount of reserve power (if you're going
flat out just to get up the hill you'll likely be in a situation that
the cooling system was not designed to handle). Personally I'd watch
the temperature gage and if it started to do anything unusual I'd turn
off the air.



--
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--John
to email, dial "usenet" and validate
(was jclarke at eye bee em dot net)