Together we have logged over 150,000 miles on the open road and what an adventure it has been! From beautiful mountain passes to some of our favorite memories, we’ve learned a thing or two exploring the world. Here are our tips on how to road trip like a pro.
Bring food and water to eat along the way
So often we are trying to power through an eight hour drive only to realize we are hungry with 200 miles left on the gas tank. You wouldn’t believe how much time these extra stops will add to your timing- you go from getting in at 6pm to getting in at 8pm quickly so having a few snacks in the car will help you get through those stops.
Know how many miles your gas tank can go
It’s so important to know when you need gas. When driving through rural places such as Utah, there can be 300+ miles in between gas stops with little to no cell service in between. Nothing is more scary than thinking you may be stranded. Make sure to fuel up often and get an extra gallon if you need it for a long haul. Don’t always bring extra gas with you because it’s dangerous to haul but sometime’s it’s necessary.
Bring your essentials like insurance cards spare tire, and a car jack.
A good skill to have is to learn how to change a tire. Go on Youtube and learn how and practice one or twice at home before hitting the road. It will save you hours if you get a flat on your trip and you’ll also feel like a bad ass- win win!
Prepare for anything
For example your window breaking into a million pieces and having to stop three times to make sure glass isn’t flying into your bedroom only to discover that glass did indeed fly into your bedroom, kitchen sink, refrigerator, and everything else you own. Ok, how about you don’t plan for that. Just plan to stay calm if adversity happens and laugh it off if you can.
Have a rough idea where you’ll be going
We’ve planned 99% of our trip with reservations ahead of time. The 1% we decided to “wing it” and “see how far we can get” ended in us staying in a shady hotel room because we couldn’t find a good place to park. You’d think we would learn but nope! Every single time. Some people can rough it, figure it out as they go along, live free! Not us. We are planning adventurers and therefore planning is what we reccomend.
Plan for a lot of time
Books on tape, a good ol’ fashion CD, or road trip games are a great way to pass the time. Make sure to download your books ahead of time because once your radio goes out, your cell service will probably as well. Oh and also bring a phone charger so you can have access to your GPS and books on tape.
Cash for tolls
A lot of tolls are now mailing you a bill but there are still cash tolls out there. Don’t get hit with a fine, just bring a few extra dollars along with you to make sure you can pass through.
Have fun
People often say to us “we could never be in the car for that long.” Well you can do it if you make it fun! We enjoy talking about the meaning of life, dreaming up new ways to travel the world, sitting silently lost in our own thoughts or listening to a good book. We also make the road trip part of the adventure. We talk about the land, why the agriculture looks the way it does, and hypothesize the answers. 90% of the time we’re probably wrong and the other 10% of the time we google it. Take time to learn about our world and you’ll be amazed how fun it can be.
Happy and safe travels everyone!
