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.