While road trips can be exciting, they aren’t always fun and games. For instance, you could drive through a low-populated area with no cell phone service at any time. Thus, leaving you stranded without directions or help in an emergency. Food and gas may be sparse and far apart. And if the drive is boring enough you could even find yourself falling asleep on the road.
As a military spouse, you can bet that I’ve had my fair share of road trips over the past couple years. I’ve driven through the harsh rainstorms of Florida, the icy hillsides of South Dakota, and the crazy traffic of California. I’ve had to sleep at rest stops, and endure the painstaking boredom of endless cow pastures.
Throughout these road trips, I’ve picked up on several things that have helped me to be fully prepared for the long haul. In this article, I’ll cover every single one of those things that I always do before a big road trip.
1. Car Maintenance
Since you may find yourself a long way from any help during your road trip, it is important to make sure your car is running in tip-top condition. The first thing I check is my car’s oil – has it been changed recently, and if not is it due for a change? If I haven’t done a lot of maintenance on my car recently, I might even take it in to a mechanic for a comprehensive checkup. Specifically, I pay attention to my car’s tires, brakes, and battery.
For that added caution, I also bring a portable jump starter. (Make sure it’s fully charged!) Doing so eliminates the need to wait for someone to stop and help when your car’s battery is running low aka less wasted time, and more time for exploring 
Roadside Assistance
In addition, it is a good idea to look into your car insurance coverage for any roadside assistance. Roadside assistance can include towing, a jump start, changing a flat tire, unlocking a car, and gasoline delivery, which is perfect for emergencies. If your car insurance doesn’t include roadside assistance, you may want to consider calling them up to add it for peace of mind on your next road trip. At the absolute minimum, I recommend watching some videos on how to use your jump starter, and how to change a flat tire.
The last tip I have for car maintenance is a personal preference of mine, but, I think, a huge lifesaver: Rain-X. If you’ve ever been out in a rainstorm, and been terrified to drive due to the reduced visibility.. Well let me tell you, Rain-x helps wonders.
I use the windshield wiper solution to create a hydrophobic layer on my windshield that makes the water bead up and roll off with ease. It works so well that I sometimes don’t even have to use my wipers at high speeds. The water literally just flies off. Of course, it’s not a be-all, end-all product, but the visibility is significantly improved even in heavy rainstorms. I definitely recommend using Rain-x on your next road trip.
Just look at those results in the video below. This person used the Rain-X Windshield Treatment (not the windshield wiper fluid, which is what I use). However, it works the exact same way.
As I mentioned before, you may unexpectedly lose cell phone service when driving through unfamiliar areas. Imagine coming back from a quick rest stop, and having Google Maps buffer for over five minutes as you wonder if you’ll ever find your way back onto the road. That’s why it’s important to always download the Google Maps for offline use before you head out on your road trip.
► Click here for directions on how to do it in the app.
Once downloaded, Google Maps will function normally – even with reduced cell phone service. So you’ll never have to worry about losing your precious route info again.
3. Download Entertainment
Falling asleep on the road may be the least of your worries, but after hours on end of driving, it is a real risk that could potentially be fatal. For this reason, I like to be prepared by downloading multiple forms of entertainment on my phone before any road trip.
Stand-Up Comedy
The thing that I’ve found to help the most is listening to stand-up comedy routines, believe it or not. Stand-up comedy is highly interactive and stimulating even on the most boring drives. You can’t fall asleep if you’re dying of laughter! I recommend downloading as many comedies as you can find on Netflix and YouTube Premium before a road trip. Then, have your partner play it on the Bluetooth whenever the drive gets tough. It’s the ultimate solution, in my opinion.
Music
In order for music to be entertaining though, you absolutely must listen to your favorite songs that you can’t resist singing along to. So don’t forget to create a playlist and download them all before you head out on the road. That way you’ll still have access to it even when you lose cell phone service. (If you haven’t noticed, downloading things for offline use is a recurring theme here.)
I’ve definitely forgotten to do so on a few occasions, and I was not happy about it 
Podcasts
Another fun thing to do to keep your mind stimulated during a road trip is to listen to podcasts. I like podcasts, because they can be very educational and eye-opening. For instance, in my favorite podcast “How I Built This,” you’re able to pick the brains of entrepreneurs of well-known companies to figure out how they made it so big with their businesses. There are podcasts for every interest though, including news, comedy, business, crime, sports, and culture.
4. Plan Your Rest Stops
If you’ll be on the road for a few days before reaching your destination, I highly recommend planning where you’ll be stopping to spend the night. While it sounds fun to be spontaneous and find a hotel whenever you feel like it, the reality is that not all cities are ideal rest stops. Crime rates are my biggest concern in small towns in the US, but limited options for hotels, food, and gas worry me as well.
Keep Cautious
These are the preventative measures I always take when parking in unfamiliar or touristy areas. However, I cannot stress this enough: Your best bet is to stay in areas with lower crime rates that are visibly surveilled by law enforcement.
- Try not to leave anything of value in the cabin of your car for any period of time. Instead, hide everything away in the trunk of your car or, at the very least, under a blanket or jacket, where it is less visible and less tempting for burglars to steal.
- Park in well-lit, highly trafficked areas.
- In addition, I recommend always double checking that your car is locked before walking away.
- If you’re transporting anything on the outside of your car via the roof rack or tow hitch, be aware that these items are more likely to be subject to theft, since they don’t require breaking and entering. Take extra measures to protect these items with locks that cannot be cut with bolt cutters.
How to Pick Overnight Rest Stops
To find good stopping points, I’ll usually look for cities along the route to my destination. Follow these steps below, and follow along with the video for more help:
P.S. You can tell I’ve been to St. Louis before by the way I mispronounced it 😅
- Enter your starting point and destination on Google Maps.
- Zoom into the point on the route where you expect to be stopping for the night. Cities whose names show up first in large letters as you zoom in are typically the biggest cities. If you have to zoom into the map even more for the name to be visible, then the city is not as populous. Therefore, there may be less options for hotels, food, and gas. Scroll around the area to see what is available, and if it is somewhere you’d want to spend the night.
- If you want to spend more than just the night at a rest stop, and you want to explore the local area as a tourist, I highly recommend downloading the Roadtrippers app to find cool things to experience on your route.
- When you select a city for your rest stop, add the stop to your route on Google Maps. (Make sure they are in the correct order.)
- Click “Done” to see the travel times between rest stops, and adjust as necessary. As a guideline, I typically like to drive a max of 8 hours in a day.
5. Pack Snacks and Drinks
As we’ve established, you may find options for food to be limited along certain points of your road trip. In addition, if you’re anything like me, you might not even want to make too many unnecessary stops for the sake of arriving at your destination faster. These are both reasons why it is an excellent idea to pack snacks and drinks in preparation for the road.
There is not much that needs to be explained here. I think we all know that food is sustenance for more adventures and exploration. 
Although, I do have a few tips to keep in mind when shopping for snacks and drinks to bring.
- Buy snacks that are easy to eat with one hand, that are nutritious and energizing, and that will keep you feeling full for longer. For example, I like to bring…
- Fruits such as apples, grapes, strawberries with stems removed, peeled oranges
- Prepackaged snack like Triscuits, granola bars, trail mix, chickpea snacks, plantain chips
- Keep in mind that coffee is a diuretic – you’ll need to pee straight away after drinking it. Instead, bring water. Water bottles are good for the car ride, while 1 gallon bottles are easier to transport in and out of hotels.
- Sometimes I’ll pack microwavable food or snacks that need minimal preparation for when I get the munchies at the hotel.
- Tasty Bites Madras Lentils + Uncle Ben’s Brown Rice, Cup of Noodles, popcorn, instant Oatmeal
6. Stock Your Car
There is nothing like being self-sufficient and fully prepared right down to the tiniest details on a road trip. I, personally, keep my car stocked with some of these essential items at all times, because you just never know when you’ll need it. Things like…
- Hand Sanitizer & Lotion – I keep both in the driver and passenger doors for easy access.
- Car Phone Charger & Phone Holder – You’ll regret it if you forget either one of these.
- Windshield Sun Shade – It can’t eliminate the heat, but it will definitely reduce it for you.
- Neck Pillow & Eye Cover – Don’t sacrifice comfort just because you’re on the road.
- Lanterns & Blanket – This is for if you plan on sleeping in a parking lot
- Snow Brush, Windshield Cover & Emergency Shovel – If you’re traveling through snowy areas, do NOT skip these.
- Emergency Snow Kit – Also necessary for traveling through snowy areas, for just in case you get stuck.
This is something you create yourself. It’s better to be safe than sorry.
7. Check the Weather
As your departure gets closer, you can look up the anticipated weather conditions during your road trip via Morecast’s Route Weather feature or on the Drive Weather app.
8. Download Apps
- iExit – See everything that is coming up at the next exit in live time as the app tracks your location.
- Roadtrippers – Plan the most epic road trip ever by finding the coolest places to see and do.
- Department of Travel – Download the DOT app for any states you’ll be driving through. It can provide information about road conditions for things like closures due to construction or winter weather, for example.
- Freeroam and RV Parky – Find places to boondock anywhere in the United States.
9. Get a Good Night's Sleep + Breakfast
The last thing that you can do to make sure you are 100% prepared for your road trip is probably super obvious, but still worth mentioning: Get a good night’s sleep, and do NOT skip breakfast. That means don’t go to bed at 2 a.m. if you plan to leave at 7 a.m. Get a full 8 hours of sleep, so you’re bright-eyed for the road, and eat a filling breakfast that will fuel you for a long day.
You are your biggest asset, so It’s important that you take care of yourself as well! Set yourself up for success by starting with your tank on full.
In Conclusion
- Car maintenance – comprehensive checkup, portable jump starter, roadside assistance, Rain-X
- Download the Google Maps for offline use
- Download entertainment – stand-up comedy, music, podcasts
- Plan your rest stops
- Pack snacks and drinks
- Stock your car – hand sanitizer, lotion, car phone charger, car phone holder, neck pillow, eye cover
- Check the weather
- Download apps – iExit, Roadtrippers, Dept. of Travel, Freeroam, RV Parky
- Get a good night’s sleep + breakfast
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1 Comment
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