[IdahoDoug]

Well, if you're coming out to the PNW from Washington DC, you will likely be on the I-90 leaving Montana. Which means you'll pass through stunning Coeur d'Alene, Idaho. We live nearby and you can count on tools and a heavy pit stop if you're having issues along the way. Even have parts sent here ahead, etc. Pelican knows my address - heh.

Don't wait too long for that road trip, and don't try to make the car perfect, either. I think some of your parts spares are too much and if you're buying new parts to carry - just put them on the car instead. 7k miles won't wear things out like your parts list implies.

On the camping vs hotels. Camp. You will fundamentally improve the trip if you are camping. Getting up in a hotel, doing morning stuff, packing, and only then re-engaging with the car that sat out all night alone in the parking lot is a fundamental difference. You want to lay in a tent listening to the cooling engine tick off the heat, poke your nose out in the morning and see the dew on that fabulous 944 quarter panel shape, etc. I have no graphs, charts or research data to prove this. Only solid instincts and a lot of roadtrip experience.

I think you should consider sleeping in the car. I just went to the garage while you were fast asleep 5 minutes ago and measured the interior distance from the RR cargo corner to the back of the folded driver's seat. 6'4". I left the seat at my driving position, but you could easily get 6" more I suspect merely by sliding the seat forward. In fact, I think it would be way cool to consider going solo and removing the passenger front seat also and building a super roomy cot arrangement that would give you that entire side of the car. Full length - 8 feet or more. Cover the windows with silver metallic bubble insulation cut to shape and held onto the inner surface with suction cups. They sell it at Home Depot in rolls. I have made a set for 3 of my 8 cars and it's terrific. Reflects heat, total privacy, light and I've been using this for more than a decade. Now you're not carrying a tent, ground cover, stakes or poles. And if you pull up to your campground reservation and its raining, you just get the gear off your cot, roll into it, pop open a paperback and go to sleep. I'd snag a 12v fan for some air movement and sound masking, and buy a new 2nd battery you can stow on the floor where the back seat was and be able to run stuff at night such as a laptop, reading light, fan, and charge things without worrying about a dead battery. A cheap charger a couple times a week at a campground with electric. At trips end you have a new battery to install under hood. You did get the exact one the 944 needs, right? Heh...

I have a lot more input, and as you can tell I am a lifelong devotee of sleeping in vehicles and road tripping. Additionally, in 1979, I was driving a 1975 Triumph Spitfire that I had shoe horned a 1973 Triumph GT6 engine into. Good night all!