How to enjoy an awesome holiday with your family? Of course, you don’t ignore this post that guides your some tips for planning a road trip.
Photo by Deva Darshan from Pexels
Everyone needs a good road trip every now and then. Nothing compares to the sense of freedom one gets from traveling to a faraway land. That sense of freedom can, however, be diminished by a few avoidable circumstances.
Forgetting essential items and having unexpected car troubles can really add a sour note to your road trip, so take these tips into consideration before taking your road trip! Without further ado, let’s jump into planning the perfect road trip.
Budget
A lot of people just aren’t good at budgeting, but when it comes to a road trip, it’s more important than ever. Don’t end up stranded thousands of miles away from home with no money. Instead, find a free budget template online and use it to determine exactly how much money you’ll need before taking your trip.
Determine how much gas costs in every location that you plan to stop, and bring enough money to pay for it. Look up online hotels and make reservations in order to save yourself the extra fees that sometimes come with last-minute bookings.
Look up local diners and find out how much food costs wherever you’re going. If you’re on a tight budget, you can even bring enough of your own food to last the duration of the trip. Plan for vehicle-related drawbacks and set aside enough money to pay a mechanic if need be.
It’s easier said than done sometimes, but really try to think about every day of your upcoming trip, determine how much you’ll need to make it work, and set that money aside.
If there just isn’t enough, consider downgrading a few aspects of your trip by eating cheaper food, booking cheaper hotels, or finding less-expensive activities. Alternatively, consider saving up just a bit longer until you have enough for the road trip of your dreams.
Plan for vehicle-related drawbacks
When taking a road trip, you probably put more stress on your vehicle than usual, which is why there’s an increased chance of something going wrong.
If you’re a preemptive planner, you can even pick up an OBD2 scanner. With a good OBD2 scanner, you can check the status of your vehicle before the big road trip. A lot of the time, if part of your vehicle is on the verge of malfunctioning, a scanner will make it clear beforehand.
Different OBD2 scanners provide different feature sets, and typically, the more expensive ones will read more codes and provide more features that better-equip you to deal with a potential vehicle problem.
To learn more about OBD2 scanners (which one to buy, how to use one, etc.) check out OBDSolaris: your hub for all OBD2-related information.
If you encounter vehicle problmes, don’t panic!
If you have vehicle issues, just pull out your handy OBD2 scanner! You can determine and possibly even fix the problem on your own. Of course, an OBD2 scanner has its limitations, and it can’t fix everything.
If the issue ends up being outside what you can handle yourself, call a mechanic. Trying to fix a problem that you’re not equipped to handle can end up causing more issues.
Don’t forget something obvious
It goes without saying, but it’s happened to almost all of us at some point. You arrive at your destination only to discover that you’ve forgotten something obvious like a toothbrush, a hairbrush, socks, underwear, etc. To help avoid this, we’ve made a checklist for essential items.
- Clothes (socks, shoes, underwear, shirts, pants, accessories, etc.)
- Make sure your clothes are appropriate for the climate. Whatever your current temperature is, the place you’re going might be different.
- Toothbrush, hairbrush, soap, shampoo, and other personal grooming products.
- Phones, tablets, laptops, and any other electronic devices that you might need to manage your personal and professional life.
- An OBD2 scanner in case you need it
- Your wallet and necessary contents (identification, money, cards, insurance info, etc.)
- On-road entertainment for the driver (music or a podcast)
- On-road entertainment for passengers (tablets loaded with movies and music or even a portable Bluray player.)
- Anything else that you use and will miss on a day-to-day basis.
Plan the perfect road trip
These are just a few road trip tips that might end up saving you some regret. Planning the perfect road trip really comes down to planning for problems. Come up with a sensible budget to avoid being stranded without money, plan for car problems, and bring everything that you might miss.
If you manage to do those three things, you’ll be fine! It’s better to be safe than sorry. If you don’t encounter any of the potential monetary drawbacks we’ve mentioned, awesome! You’ll return home with more money than you expected to have.
With that extra cash, you’ll have greater ease of mind, and you’ll have a much better time as a result. Remember, budget, plan for problems, and bring everything that you’ll need.