How do you get ready for a long road trip?
 

I need as many tips as you can provide since this is going to be our first and one month long road trip. How do you prepare yourself for a long road trip? What do you pack besides clothes, maps and cell phone? Do you take a laptop, cameras, camcorder, binoculars? Do you take all your stuff every time to your hotel or are you brave enough to leave most of it in your trunk overnight? How do you prepare your car for your trip? I know these are probably silly questions to all of you who are used to long road trips but for us this is something new. Will be driving our 2003 Toyota Camry and staying in hotels. Driving from Birmingham, AL to Death Valley then to Nebraska and back to Alabama. Do you make all reservations in advance? How do you decide where and for how long to stay? We are interested in history, culture and are hikers, birdwatchers. Our trip is going to be in March. Thank you for all your help.

Aside from having the car checked out thoroughly (including oil change, tire rotation, change filters, etc), we keep an extensive bunch of crap in the car.

Cooler with food, beach chairs (we like to stop and picnic and to have a beer in the evenings), blanket, pillow.

Most things come inside with us at night and don't leave anything in the trunk.

Leave as much of your itinerary including hotel phone numbers, as you can with two people.

Arrange to have the mail held at the post office along with having newspaper delivery suspended.

Leave a couple of lights in your house on timers.

Have a neighbor check on the house.

I have never been on a trip of that length, but my husband and I regularly make a 10-hour trek to see my in-laws. We have recently started getting books on CD, which can be a wonderful way to pass time. We particularly like anything with a bit of suspense- Da Vinci Code and anything by John Grisham.

In addition to your local library, you can rent the CDs at Cracker Barrel restaurants across the country, as well as "truck stops" like Pilot.

We're doing a RT to Austin from San Jose in a week (a 11 or 12 day trip), so I'm interested in this post.

We have upgraded our technology lately to great benefit. One upgrade is satellite radio. We have a pod that can go in our house or our car (XM). If you are traveling a lot and don't want to keep trying to find radio stations, it is great.

The other is the ipod I'm getting my husband for Christmas. I can put all (almost 1000) of his cds on it (but it is taking me a month to do so), but the other cool thing is that itunes has these free podcasts you can download. They have tons of free lectures from universities, comedy programs, just tons of stuff. You have to look to see it all. And it is all free! I bought an adaptor for $40 off of Amazon to play the ipod in the car, so now we will have our entire cd library with us whereever we go!

Happy travels.

We did something more than three weeks on the road last March after many years of business travel by plane. I can comment on your questions because I had to answer some of them for myself.

I would not book rooms in advance unless I was spending some time in or near a big city or was traveling during Spring break. You may make more or less mileage than you planned, and there are plenty of places on the highway. Just start looking a little early if you are concerned. We had mixed luck with discount coupons from state welcome centers. Some of the places were fine, some were horrible dumps in the middle of nowhere and could only get customers by offering coupons. You will want to look at a place before you decide to stay there.

GoTravel is correct to start with having the car serviced, and ask them to check things like belts, hoses, transmission fluid, anything they would want their mom to have fixed before she went on the road! Take a small trash bag and a brush to sweep out the inside of the car regularly. It will get pretty funky. Toss out old maps and tourist brochures regularly or you will get buried.

GoTravel is also correct about taking good care of yourself: a cooler with food you like, water, and I like his suggestion of taking comfortable outdoor chairs if you like to picnic. I'll try that next time. Have both snacks and something you could eat for dinner and/or breakfast if you wind up staying somewhere with poor restaurant choices (greasy spoons). What will you wear on bad weather days, inevitable on such a long trip. We hadn't lived down south in many years and suffered terribly from allergies last spring. I would start taking meds a couple of days in advance next time.

Then consider your own coffeemaker and coffee; the coffee kits in hotel rooms are universally bad, and coffee is highly variable around the country. What the locals love, you may hate.

Drive as much as possible on older routes that parallel the interstate. They are much more interesting if you are at all interested in traveling to see how people live. Most of the time you lose going through towns you will make up with the lack of truck traffic in the country. You will also see local restaurants with real food as eaten by the locals instead of the same old fast food places. Gas is usually cheaper off the interstate as well. Toilets are more of a problem. Stop in the local tourist office and chat with the folks on duty, especially if it isn't crowded. They are a good source of recommendations.

I don't like listening to audio books, CD's and especially satellite radio. It is like kids watching DVD's in the back seat. This is a really beautiful, really wonderful country, and it is all different. Look out the window, listen to the local radio stations, eat in local restaurants. Connect rather than just passing through.

Others are entitled to their own opinions! :-)

I would add some concern with theft safety. Obviously if your parking in front of your room at a motel in Nebraska I wouldn't be concerned with theft from your car as long as it has an alarm, you'll hear it. But if your in a major city even in the subburbs of a major city I'd take into my room anything you don't want to find missing the next morning. Better safe than sorry.

Oh, and don't ever, ever, ever leave anything in the trunk if you want to see it again. Thieves know that you are just passing through and are unlikely to come back to testify against them even if they get caught.
The only exception might be one of those old-fashioned motels where you park right outside your room.

I agree about immersing yourself in the local flavor, that is why we travel. But there is something wonderful about traveling the open road with your favorite tunes! Of course, I'm a puker in the car after about 8 hours, so the open road has a bit less appeal for me. :)

Oh good grief. I have left a completely packed van in a hotel parking lot several times a week for 20+ years and have never experienced a break-in in a hotel parking lot. I've never HEARD of anyone I know who has had a break-in and things stolen from their trunks or vehicles. I don't stay in fleabag hotels, but ordinary, mid-range hotel chains.

My advice was going to be what my mentor taught me over 20 years ago. IF you pack a big suitcase, leave it in the trunk and just take in a small duffle with the stuff you need for the overnight stay.

Over the years, my packing has evolved into smaller containers and more of them. In other words, I don't pack a big suitcase, but pack smaller bags with like items. That way, I can find what I need quickly. I keep all my toiletries in a small duffle and put the clothes I want for overnight and the next day in another small bag.

I guess if anyone WERE to break in, it would be harder for them to grab lots of items than one or two big bags with almost everything in them. But, that's not the reason I do it :-)

I also email myself confirmation numbers and other important pieces of info. I can check my yahoo account from most hotel business centers or local libraries so I have the resource info available if I need backup copies.

It might be worth bring a few spare car parts just in case you have trouble in the middle of nowhere on a Saturday night -- windsield washer fluid, Fan belt, empty gas can etc. I am not sure what all, but a good mechanic can make suggestions.

I would not leave anything, anywhere [trunk]in the car - no matter where you park. Potential thieves know you are traveling and that you might very well do this exact thing and break in. I would always park nearest to the room or under a light or near the lobby entrance. Just to be safe!

Hope this helps...
Debi

For a trip like that I wouldn't take anything that you truly wouldn't want to lose. When we go camping, I leave my wedding ring at home. Especially things that you will be taking on and off everynight like watches, earrings, etc. Don't take anything with senitmental value is what I'm trying to say.

Good advise Debi. We will follow that on our trip.

Lots of CDs, lots of water in the cooler, some snack bars in the back seat. No motel reservations. Having the car checked out is a no-brainer. We go into supermarkets that have a deli or other food section and either pick up salads/sandwiches or soup if they have it. Ignore fast food as much as possible. Carry the laptop, of course, and check in with our e-mail relatives every night. Carry clothes for almost any eventuality (old bush pilot told me to always be ready to walk home). GPS takes care of the map question.

Like what was mentioned, have the car thoroughly checked out. Then we stop our mail, and our paper. We put timers on the lights to turn on the time we usually get up in the mornings and shut off when we usually go to bed at night. Never pull your drapes or blinds, this is a sure way of letting burglers know no one is home. Have a neighbor check, we have my stepson. Then for clothes I only take for a week, mix and match. Every place has laundry facilities. Depending on where etc a light jacket and raingear. A small cooler. A coffee pot, not all motels/hotels that we stay in have one in the room and I must have my coffee in the morning. Also I take coffee with of course. All maps, tour books etc. I leave phone numbers with my daughter to where we will be each day and motels/hotels that we will be at if we know.We have our cell phone always, all car registration papers proof of insurance etc. Always in the car. I am a bird lover so I do bring binoculars. Of course my camera is a must. Garbage bags for the car and a laundry bag to put dirty clothes in so I do not have to put back in suitcase. Also some plastic silverware, and paper plates for a quick picnic along the way.We have a bar across the back of the car and we hang our clothes rather than cram them into a suitcase. That way do not have to take several suitcases. All toiletries, medication etc. We carry our medical cards with us with information on who to contact in case of accident or illness.

Listen to local radio stations? Have you ever driven across Nevada and parts of Utah? :-)

I must admit this is kinda funny. OP is getting tons of suggestions on things to take along, and then almost everyone also says to empty the car every night and take everything into the hotel room. Is she supposed to spend an hour loading and unloading the car every day, or is she supposed to be on vacation?

C'mon, it's not like she's heading into the great unknown. Keep it simple and you'll enjoy it alot more. I can understand keeping some food and water to minimize stops, but it almost sounds like she's going on a month-long expedition to the desert. I think every gas station in the country sells water nowadays, right? And don't bother checking your e-mail every day unless you get really bored. Unless you talk to your family members every day now, why call or e-mail them every day while on vacation? You are not going to Siberia for goodness sake.

And no, you don't need to empty your car every single night. I really don't think thieves patrol the parking lots of every hotel preying on unsuspecting travellers. If they did, wouldn't everybody have their trunks popped open in the morning? I don't think you have to worry about your dirty laundry and cooler full of water being stolen. Bring in the laptop and camera and don't worry about the little stuff.

ditto Weasel

I forgot to mention that we never take every single thing out of the car. Why would you??? Most of the things are in the trunk, Except for the clothes hanging up in the back. We take a small overnight bag with things we need and a change of clothes, Car is locked. Chances of the car being stolen or broken into is so small sure not going to ruin a vacation worrying about that. We take no food with, like what was mentioned every gas station has water, and alot of them has groceries etc. So right keep it limited, take the basic essentials, and enjoy your trip. I also take of course my purse, cell phone and camera in with us.

We leave tons of stuff in the car but clear out the trunk.

The way I figure things is that if someone is going to rob your car, the first two places they are going are the glove box and the trunk.

If someone wants to steal my beach chairs (cooler goes in room because it is valuable with my Pinot and Miller Lite) they are welcome to them.

We travel by car a lot. The most important thing to us is to take our own pillows. We can put up with a bad bed if we have our pillows. Also, my husband likes his cocktail before dinner so we have his rum but we always take a nice highball glass. The hotel glasses can be pretty bad. The same with coffee mugs. WE take our own and find that most hotels have a coffee maker so I leave ours in the car but always carry filters and good coffee. (they usually just have those weak pouches in the room) Also I always carry some zip lock bags. They always come in handy for one thing or another.

This is my favorite kind of trip now, although I can never go for more than 13 days.

One thing no one else has mentioned. That's something I have come to do more than a few times now. I don't "set" many places for hotel/lodging reservations, but I do tend to make 2 different Priceline stops, ususally midway and/or near the end of the trip. Of course you can not canel etc. so you would lose the $ if you don't get there. But we have had great luck and fun doing this. Have very high end surprises, and it helps not to have to look for lodging every single night. It makes a change.

And it also keeps you rather on schedule as you can dilly dally serendipity for longer some places but then have to finally skeddaddle to get to the next fixed room. So you have a more structured entire in the long run.

We take a lot less than most people do. I feel you can always buy something when you need it, rather than dragging your entire ownership around.

Hi first and foremost, I have 2 friends who have been travleing on road trips and have had their computers stolen out of the trunks. So be careful , with your expensive items. I always take them with me even if I am just going in for a quick bite to eat. safe travels .

Although I'm the type who packs a "motel bag" and leaves the rest in the car, I do actually know two people who had their CARS stolen from motels! But I wouldn't leave my computer in the car.

We take dumb bulky things like beach chairs, noodles to float in the pool, coolers, fishing gear, favorite knives and pots and pans, a box of things like spices, plastic bags, foil, tons of reading material,etc., but this is because our long car trip is taking us to a vacation condo somewhere, not because I would use it on the road. A garbage bag for the car is essential, along with bottled water, maps or mapquest directions. Alas, I can barely read a MAP in the car without getting carsick, and books on tape put me right to sleep, so its the radio (or Ipod or CDs) and the scenery for me. Actually, I sleep a lot in the car even withOUT books on tape, now that I think of it!

Just use common sense with your belongings. Dirty laundry can stay in the trunk while jewelry/computer/camera go with you inside. Stuff in between, you decide.

You have a relatively new car, and a very popular model in the US. It's also extremely reliable. Therefore, I won't worry about it, if it has been maintained properly. Check all fluids and most importantly, tire pressure. Learn to change a spare, or at least know where the spare and the jack are, so others can help you. Other than that, your chance of a major breakdown is so low you probably should buy some lottery tickets from various states as you have better odds there.

As for hotel, if you're not in a hurry and have the routes all planned out, then using Priceline can get you better hotels at much better price. But if you want flexibility, or if you're in a huge hurry, then don't ahead.

[If you carry a laptop and have a wi-fi plan or knows know to use it to connect to paid service, etc; then you can try Priceline the same day or the night before. Or if you can call someone to do it for you. This can actually works. I have helped my sister (another Fodorite) bid on Priceline during her roadtrip in the afternoon for same-night stay.]

A couple years ago my grandparents were on a cross-country road trip and several cars in the motel parking lot where broken into that night, including theirs. Apparently though, the thief/thieves didn't care for the loot that they stole from my grandparents' car because another motel guest found their library book, old-man sunglasses, and box of classical music CDs in the bushes. I guess those things don't have much value on the street. The bag that those thing were in was missing though - we figure it was used to transport the goods that were stolen from the other cars that the thief/thieves actually wanted - LOL.

My grandparents did have to get the broken lock on their car repaired, which set them back a day or so, but overall it wasn't a big deal, and they got a great story out of it.

For myself, I definitely like to have a cooler with drinks and some food with me in the car. Although I know I can stop at any gas station and buy things, I generally like to have better snacks than can be found at most convinience stores, esspecially if I am on a long trip. So I stock up on stuff at delis and grocery stores. I also like to have picnics enroute, so having lunch fixins in the car is great. Sometimes I even take a tabletop propane BBQ and grill out for lunch.

One more suggestion -- join a motoring club like AAA or similar one. It is well worth the money in case you break down. They also have great maps, travel guides etc.

Debi

We take long Road Trips each year. This past summer we were on the road for almost three months and about 11K miles. We are planning another R/T for the desert southwest for this spring.. We have found it is best to follow the older US-highways as much as possible. Less traffic and you can see some of the country and still make good time... No reservations, to restrictive.... Most all the small towns have motels that are clean and handy. We use AAA maps and Tour Books, we use their camp books also, cannot beat Wal*Marts Rand McNally Road Atlas for $5.97...W/M is a good place to get supplies and an oil change if needed..... Pack at least two coolers, one for long term storage and one for that days use. Saves on buying ice, that can get expensive after a few weeks. Don't pack a lot of clothing, there are places to wash in almost each town.... In small town America things left in your car are for the most part safe.... We stopped in a small town in OK a year ago and there were two SLR Cameras on the front seat of the car next to ours with windows down, they were still there the next morning when we departed.... Look around, for the most part you can tell how safe the area is, just don't tempt anyone..... Your cell phone will not work everywhere, or cell service could get expensive depending on your plan. Get a pre paid phone card form Sam's Club or another like place to use so it will not cost a $1+ a minute to discuss the weather and your trip with the people back home.

Our one can't-live-without-it item: an electronic cooler that plugs into the cigerette lighter jack. It allows you to carry some healthier snacks (cheese, fruit salad, yogurt, milk) and keeps all your drinks cool. It nevers needs ice, so only time it has to be cleaned is in case of spills. We have an adapter that plugs into any outlet, and it is on rollers, so voila: we have a refrigerator in any room we stay in. Best of all, we got ours for only $40 (I think AC/DC adaptor was an extra $20). Sorry, I can't remember the manufacturer off the top of my head. Best road trip purchase we ever made!

Happy trails! :)

Almost always want some kind of camera along and portable dvd player or laptop and the binoculars wouldn't hurt. That time of year I wouldn't leave them in the car because of the temperture changes and humidity.

Well, we will be encountering this decision on our road trip. Since our Prius is a hatchback, we will take our valubles in every evening to the motel room. We may leave some items in the car, but we will be aware of our surroundings. My husband had his car broken into twice on trips before I met him. My mantra is, trust your instincts and use common sense. We will not be leaving my huband's guitar or our cameras in the car overnight.

Wow! What a pleasant surprise reading so many ideas and your personal experiences. I am grateful to each of you. Now I need to make a list and start preparing for our first long road trip. Thank you again for all faboulous tips.

Something I didn't see mentioned that I always need to have with me are papertowels and wet naps(pre-moistened wipes for personal use) they are good for freshening your self without having to stop. Sounds stupid, but it works.

Another great idea, mrsd2fan. paper towels are so obvious that I would probably forget. Thank you

All my life we have laughed at my mother because she never left the house for a trip longer than 2 hours or so without what she called a 'wet washrag' (bath cloth/face cloth). Originally, she never knew when she would have to wash a child's face. Now, at the age of 82, she has adapted to a wet papertowel in a zipper sandwich bag! :-)

We always take our pillows , it makes a difference when sleeping on your own pillow. We also take a small fan , CDs with the music that we like , a small cooler and a paring knife , mayo , mustard and maybe pickles. We then make sandwiches on the road. Peanut buter and grape jelly is always good to have on hand. I park where I can see my car but never in front of my room let the bad guys guess which room I'm in. I also never empty the trunk. My small coffee pot and a thermos is a must as are moist towelettes. We are generally off the road by 3 PM. Police or firemen usually know the best places to have a drink and a meal. The Elks or American Legions are always a good choice.

Bobrad- I usually do bring our pillows, and will so on this trip. Thanks for the reminder. :-)

Don't stop your newspapers. Get a neighbor (or hire a child in the neighborhood) to pick it up for you each day. We have had rashes of burglaries in this area and police finally determined that the common denominator for them all was stopping the paper.

I use my cell phone and flyers attained from rest stops (if I dont ask the rest stop hostess to actually make the reservation for me) to reserve rooms as we go. Also, AAA books and the like, if I am not particularly fond of what is available in the 'rest shop' flyer.

I have an electrical adapter. You plug in a regular 2-prong cord into one end and the other end goes into the cigarette lighter adapter. This means I only have to take the regular outlet chargers for the cell phone, ipod, laptop, etc. instead of having to take the car chargers too! It's small enough to fit in the glove box when not being used and was only about $30 at Best Buy.

I also always take along a small down throw (Costco $25). It's good to curl up under during the drive and laying it on top of a hotel bed gives you a lot of added warmth and it rolls up to almost nothing.

I am going on a two month tour of the country in August and September of 2007. This is my plan:

Sign up with AAA.
Have my mechanic check car thoroughly.
Buy a GPS system.
Have XM satellite radio installed.
Have doctor write two months of prescriptions.
Leave itinerary and phone numbers with two friends.
But a full size spare tire.

Items I will bring:

Camera, laptop, cellphone, binoculars, books, maps, cd's, cooler for water and other beverages, one major credit card and one gas card, car emergency kit with jumper cables, a weeks worth of clothes (planning for all weather conditions), backpack, and hiking boots.

In my previous travels I have generally brought only expensive items (camera, laptop) into the hotel room and leave the rest in the car. I guess it depends on your comfort level.
I agree with the others that you should stay off the interstates as much as possible and drive some of the secondary roads to really SEE the country. Check the atlas or map to finds scenic routes (the natchez trace parkway, the blue ridge parkway, san juan skyway, coastal route 1 in california). These roads can be destinations in themselves.
Have a safe and healthy trip.