Change your fluids and keep an eye under the hood
First, you sure make sure your car is road trip ready before you even set out. Take the car in for an oil change and make sure all of its fluids are full. Even while you are on the road, make sure to keep an eye on what is going on under the hood. If you don't know how to change a tire, rig up a jump start or add coolant and other fluids to your car, learn before you begin your trip. A car can be your worst enemy or your best friend on a road trip, depending on how much you know about its mechanics.
Clean your car before and during your trip.
Go ahead, leave the napkins and gum wrappers under your seat. Leave the receipts from your last business-related drive in the glove box. Don't sweat the dog hair in the back bed ... but you'll be sorry. A few days into your trip, when the old gum wrappers are joined by new fast food wrappers, when the glove box starts overflowing with hotel receipts and local maps, when dog hair starts sticking to your luggage and your gear, you'll rue the day you failed to pull out the Shop-Vac. As your trip proceeds, take time every couple of days to purge your car of undesirable flotsam and jetsam. Even if you can tolerate some chaos, the accumulated junk and minor filth will start to drive you mad in the close quarters that define a road trip.
Find where the gas is cheap
Luckily, in the age of the smart phone, it is easier than ever to find where gas is the cheapest. Apps like GasBuddy will help you locate the best deals for gas on the go. If you don't have a smart phone, you can figure out your gas budget ahead of time using an online fuel cost calculator, which will map out the cheapest stations to purchase gas during your trip.
Have a loose plan.
Delays are the one thing that you can count on when driving significant distances. Admittedly, the archetypal "BRIDGE OUT" sign is a rare sighting these days, but the flashing "Road Work Ahead, Merge to One Lane" message is not. You don't have to have seen a lot of Chevy Chase movies to know that things aren't always going to go your way. If you over schedule your road trip, it is almost a lock that you will find yourself slogging the last few miles long after you had intended to be asleep, trying to cancel one hotel reservation so you can pay for another well short of your originally planned destination. On the other hand, having no plan at all is only recommended for the most hardy souls.
Bring a paper map
Sure, it's nice to have a digital copilot suction-cupped onto your dashboard, but what happens when there's a Garmin malfunction in the middle of nowhere? Don't put all your faith in technology, because the moment you do it's bound to fail. An added bonus of keeping a paper map on hand is that it can function like a travel log. Make the map personal. Write in notes about memories you made in certain cities, get a little BBQ sauce on the folds between Houston and Austin, and keep it somewhere special so you can take it out years later and experience your road trip all over again.
Consider a satellite radio subscription.
The days of regional radio offering a musical or informational palette that you can't find anywhere else are almost all but gone, so tapping into the local vibe via radio is far less satisfying than it used to be. Were this not the case, I wouldn't recommend a satellite radio subscription. But it may be the traffic reports from major cities that tips the balance; if a city like New York or Los Angeles lies in between your car and your destination, you are going to need some timely traffic information to hope to beat the inevitable traffic congestion. SiriusXM features traffic and weather for more than 100 cities. (A good traffic app for your smartphone is another alternative.)
Don't eat at the drive-thru
Food is not only one of life's greatest joys, it's also one of the best ways to experience a new region and culture. Ordering food through a window for days on end doesn't just pack on the pounds, it also becomes expensive. Instead, take a few extra minutes to explore a back road and see what you find. Odds are the eats will be cheaper, more authentic and taste way better than anything you will pick up at a rest station fast food joint.
Call Rawhide Travel and Tours and start planning that special vacation or event today. 602-843-5100 or visit our website rawhidetravel.com
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Rawhide Travel and Tours Inc
6008 West Bell Rd # F105
Glendale, Arizona 85308-3793
(602) 843-5100
rawhidetravel.com
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