A long car ride can be enjoyable and exciting, especially if your final destination is a place that will give you a lot of positive emotions. But do not neglect the elementary rules of preparation, the observance of which will provide you with the comfort and safety of your trip.
1. Build a perfect path
First of all, it is important to build a well-thought-out path. There are many services on the Internet that show the approximate distance in miles, travel time, traffic jams, and ways to avoid them and calculate the amount of fuel.
Be sure to download offline maps, since communication is not available on all highways, and the Internet is in road roaming. Find out what are the parking lots, hotels, traffic, gas stations along the route.
For example, parking in San Francisco is expensive, there are few of them, we had to use jack parking, that is, give the keys to the hotel employee, who himself found a place to leave the car. In such cities, it is better to leave your car in a parking lot on the outskirts and go by public transport to the center.
It is better not to cross the route for more than 621 miles. The most comfortable travel distance is 310 - 372 miles per day or less. Calculate the travel time and sightseeing with a small margin, do not try to fit everything you want in one day. Otherwise, you will have to drink energy and share the track with truckers.
If you plan to cross the border, find out everything about customs points: which has the best throughput, at what time it is more convenient to cross the border, what they can find fault with, and how to reduce interaction with customs officers to a minimum.
2. Make a list of things
Be sure to make a list of the things you need to avoid overloading and forgetting something significant.
- Car documents and passports will be needed when crossing borders.
- Put money and bank cards in different bags so as not to lose all finances at once.
- Mobile phones, a tablet for a child, a camera, and chargers for them will help passengers to distract themselves on the road and capture the trip as a souvenir.
- A navigator with built-in maps of America will help you find your way even in places without a cellular connection, and a video recorder will help you prove your case to the police and the insurance company in case of an accident.
- The printed route plan will come in handy if your phone runs out of power or breaks.
- In the first-aid kit, you can put dressings, medicines for colds and poisoning.
- A motorist's kit must contain a jack and a wrench to replace a punctured wheel.
- Clothes for the season, in the summer you need to bring an umbrella and a raincoat.
- A blanket and a small pillow so that the driver can take a nap if he gets tired on the road.
- Baby accessories: toys, clothes, and a baby seat.
- A spare car key will come in handy if the main one is lost.
3. Check your car’s health before a trip
Annual car inspection is a good way to avoid sudden car breakdown. But it’s also a great idea to buy an auto scanner and scan the car for faults yourself. This will already save you money and avoid unforeseen situations during your trip.
The auto scanner tests all systems and shows what errors the onboard computer generates. The device signals if the fuel pressure in the line, the temperature in the intake manifold, or many other parameters differ from the standard ones. The device can remove errors in all electronic units of the car and restore their normal operation. It can also be used to adjust the operation of injectors and sensors.
4. Take care of comfort
It is best to sleep in a comfortable bed in hotels and not plan your trip at night. Take plenty of water with you. Don't forget about trash bags, wet wipes, and hand sanitizer.
5. Avoid traffic violations
On-road trips, a camera detector will do the trick, so as not to run into a fine. It is convenient to use applications that show the locations of cameras on the road. In some countries, cameras are literally on every corner, and the Dutch send a fine even for speeding by 3 mi / h.
6. Entertain children in the car
Children in the car quickly get tired and begin to distract the driver from the road, so they must be entertained on the way.
When traveling with children, don’t forget to take new toys with you, download cartoons and toys to the tablet. It's a good idea to put music, audiobooks, and fairy tales on a USB flash drive to listen to on the road.
Don't listen to people who say that traveling by car is uncomfortable and difficult. Embark on your first trip with your very best expectations, and it will surely surpass them.