Road Trip Hotel Stay Car Safety/Security Suggestions

[joesgt281]

Hey guys, I'm picking up my new-to-me 2008 Shelby GT-500 this weekend in LA and driving it back to Houston.
I'll probably stay overnite in LA and El Paso and am concerned about hotel car security.
What would be the best all-around plan to keep the car safe?
Stay at a hotel with valet, where the car is in plain site of the attendant (with me parking the car, not them)?
See if they'll let me park it up near the lobby, in the best lit area possible?
If I was running with a bunch of Stangs it wouldn't be an issue, but it'll just be my by myself.
Any thoughts?

[abrahamfh]

Need a little more details in regards to where in Los Angeles you will be staying. I am very familiar with hotels all over LA County but depending on what area of LA will determine how cautious you will have to be.

I almost always have the vehicle valet parked and I ask to walk back to see where it is. Unless I am staying along the outskirts of Los Angeles, like Valencia, Calabas, Thousand Oaks, Camarillo, Ventura, Santa Monica, and Malibu then I don't even worry about. Then again my VW isn't really sought after as would a Shelby GT500.

Just remember, anything South of THE 10 is bad news.

[daveSanborn]

Any thoughts?

Yep.  Why can't you leave LA on I-40 and come back into Texas well north of El Paso....   i.e. avoiding spending the night in El Paso.  Texas has some great cities, El Paso ain't one of them.  If you're not parking the car next to the nightstand IN your hotel room, you may as well just hand the keys to anyone of the first 1000 homeless/desperate/criminals/drug dealers you see on your drive into the city.

[joesgt281]

Need a little more details in regards to where in Los Angeles you will be staying. I am very familiar with hotels all over LA County but depending on what area of LA will determine how cautious you will have to be.

the guy lives in Placentia, CA

[joesgt281]

Yep.  Why can't you leave LA on I-40 and come back into Texas well north of El Paso....   i.e. avoiding spending the night in El Paso.  Texas has some great cities, El Paso ain't one of them.  If you're not parking the car next to the nightstand IN your hotel room, you may as well just hand the keys to anyone of the first 1000 homeless/desperate/criminals/drug dealers you see on your drive into the city.

Yeah that's one of the things that sparked my concern.
When you get into this part of Texas, there's damn few options and loooong stretches in between towns.

[blue65coupe]

Placentia, CA

And I thought Cali couldn't get any stranger.  I wonder if that's in Uterus County?

[joesgt281]

And I thought Cali couldn't get any stranger.  I wonder if that's in Uterus County?

LMAO

[daveSanborn]

Yeah that's one of the things that sparked my concern.
When you get into this part of Texas, there's damn few options and loooong stretches in between towns.

I've made your I-10 trip across Texas quite a few times.  I ain't doing it no more though.  I realize it's a little bit longer, but I-40 is a much better route.  Let's see... Palm Springs, Vegas, the mountains of AZ, Flagstaff, the mountains of NM, Albequerque, and then down into Katy.....  which BTW a LOT of this route is the famed Rte 66 route and is absolutley beautiful scenery..... 1603 miles




..... or a 1518 mile trip through a desert wasteland of pretty much nothing except for tumbleweeds and dead amarillos...

[abrahamfh]

the guy lives in Placentia, CA

EAST of Knotts, be extra cautious but don't stress about it too much. It's better than South Central or South West Los Angeles, but still don't let your guard down one bit.

[Kats66Pny]

What Dave said. I've driven that stretch on the I-10 back and forth from San Diego to Texas more times than I want to remember. Going through west Texas is pure hell.

If you valued your sanity, I'd suggest taking I-40 out of Cali.

[joesgt281]

EAST of Knotts, be extra cautious but stress about it too much. It's better than South Central or South West Los Angeles, but still don't let your guard down one bit.

thanks i appreciate that!

[joesgt281]

Yeah that I-40 route looks ALOT better!
Coming back on I-10 you can see the border fence for a good part of the drive!

[gtscode]

I too have done I-10 to San Antonio from San Francisco more times than I cared to.  Stopped at a Gas Station in West Texas that actually scared the $hit out of me and I wouldn't stop.  Swear there were dueling banjos playing in the background.

I-10 is fine, DO NOT STAY IN EL PASO!!  Either stay before El Paso or after El Paso, I know the daughter of the Chief of Police there and trust me just keep moving through!

It is a new car lot less likely to have problems then with a classic.  Just get a ground floor hotel room and sleep with the curtains open if you have too.

Kat my only speeding ticket ever was driving from San Antonio to Bryan Texas, I was late to a meeting and was doing 82 through Dime Box, Texas.  Will never forget it!  I lived in San Antonio for three years and actually enjoyed it a lot.

[silverblueBP]

I agree with Dave, take the roads less traveled and you'll enjoy the drive. I've made the trip from Kansas to Oregon a number of times and after the first trip, I traveled off the beaten path as much as possible. Staying overnight in small towns was a lot less stressful!

If you are adamant about going through El  Paso, let me know and I can ask my Uncle for "safe" places to stay. He's lived there for 30+ years.

[daveSanborn]

Yeah that I-40 route looks ALOT better!
Coming back on I-10 you can see the border fence for a good part of the drive!

Notice on the linked google map that El Paso isn't listed, but Juarez is.  That pretty much sums it up!  Seriously though, a few years back my MIL who lives in Yuma AZ came across a sweet deal on a little BMW Z3 that I couldn't pass up.  I flew into Yuma, jumped in the car and headed straight for Flagstaff to get on I-40.  It would have been easier to just keep heading east on I-8/10 out of Yuma, but the scenery on I-40 is 1000 times better... plus, since it's going through mountainous terrain the highway is a LOT more fun, especially with a sportscar.

[joesgt281]

Notice on the linked google map that El Paso isn't listed, but Juarez is.  That pretty much sums it up!  Seriously though, a few years back my MIL who lives in Yuma AZ came across a sweet deal on a little BMW Z3 that I couldn't pass up.  I flew into Yuma, jumped in the car and headed straight for Flagstaff to get on I-40.  It would have been easier to just keep heading east on I-8/10 out of Yuma, but the scenery on I-40 is 1000 times better... plus, since it's going through mountainous terrain the highway is a LOT more fun, especially with a sportscar.

I hear ya.....I'm thinking I'm going to enjoy 500 hp and a 6-speed on I-40 ALOT BETTER than the other route!

[silverblueBP]

Now yer talkin  :10

[abrahamfh]

thanks i appreciate that!

It will be a little pricier than any hotel you can find in the neighboring area, but the closer to Knotts you can stay the better.

[joesgt281]

It will be a little pricier than any hotel you can find in the neighboring area, but the closer to Knotts you can stay the better.

OK bueno!

[Kats66Pny]

Kat my only speeding ticket ever was driving from San Antonio to Bryan Texas, I was late to a meeting and was doing 82 through Dime Box, Texas.  Will never forget it!  I lived in San Antonio for three years and actually enjoyed it a lot.

It's small towns you have to worry about when traveling through Texas. Those small town cops know everyone and if they recognize you're from out of town, they will pull you over for doing 3 miles over the speed limit.

[Midlife]

I've made your I-10 trip across Texas quite a few times.  I ain't doing it no more though.  I realize it's a little bit longer, but I-40 is a much better route.  Let's see... Palm Springs, Vegas, the mountains of AZ, Flagstaff, the mountains of NM, Albequerque, and then down into Katy.....  which BTW a LOT of this route is the famed Rte 66 route and is absolutley beautiful scenery..... 1603 miles




..... or a 1518 mile trip through a desert wasteland of pretty much nothing except for tumbleweeds and dead amarillos...

But I-10 has The THING!

[daveSanborn]

True that... we stopped to see it.  WTF?

Should be called the NOTHING.  If nothing else, the 1264 billboard signs 100 miles in any direction do break up the otherwise bleak scenery.

[joesgt281]

True that... we stopped to see it.  WTF?

Should be called the NOTHING.  If nothing else, the 1264 billboard signs 100 miles in any direction do break up the otherwise bleak scenery.

What an awesome marketing scheme!
When we went across the country when we were kids in the 60s, dad had NO option but to stop.
We kids were so psyched up by the time the exit came up we felt like our lives would have no meaning if we didn't stop.
So here's some pics from last years trip....at least it is someTHING.
(and no jokes about which of the two in the 2nd pic is older!)

[AzPete]

+1 million on all said. Lived in Az. 71-08.....hated it any time I went to LA or the I10 route into Tx. I have parked Honda Gold Wings (2) in motel rooms, hired locals to secure them, and slept with one eye open. I would head to I-40, stay in small towns off the interstate,  and talk with the owners about parking in in front of the office if they have a night clerk. Oh yea, pay up on your ins. just in case.....

Another option is to take a second driver and just do not stop over night.....

[camachinist]

I'd bring an extra driver and drive straight through. Right now you can get a IAH-LAX oneway for 228, which is the same or cheaper than two hotel rooms and the food is a wash, plus security isn't an issue. 1600 miles or so is no biggie. We towed that plenty straight through with two drivers. I had the same security concerns for the race car and didn't have an enclosed trailer so hated hoteling.