Theres nothing worst then planning a road trip just to get from point “A” to point “B”, and passing hidden attraction along the way, or burning yourself out with to much driving. Those that have been following my page for awhile, know that when I make a road trip, I see attractions along the way. Some may not even have known that these places existed, or didn’t know how to find a specific place.This post is about how I prepare for a long trip, some of the apps I use, and how I budget to get the most bang for my buck.
Fuel: yes, the nightmare of it all is having to invest in fuel. Before I make a long trip, I want to figure out how I can save the most on to put this money elsewhere. First things first, general maintenance to your vehicle needs to be done which is changing the oil, install a fuel filter if needed, air filter if needed, making sure tires are aired up, and all liquids are topped off.
I use the GasBuddy app on my phone which will locate me to the cheapest gas stations to fill up. Every will up I do, I will put in fuel treatment to help keep the moisture out, injectors cleaned, which in turn will give me better miles down the road. ( just recently started doing this with every fill up due to the Roswell incident).
Over Night Stays: Hotels are very pricey, campgrounds are very pricey! So how can you make your nightly stays not only enjoyable but free? If your hauling a rig check out http://www.harvesthost.com that will let you stay over night at farms, museums, wineries, and many more places for free. http://www.boondockerswelcome.com is another good one to check out. Traveling by tent or vehicle? Check out http://www.campendium.com to find free campgrounds or low cost campgrounds across the country. Campendium is the one I’ve been solely using for this trip since I’m going by tent. All of these camps I’ve been staying at have been with them and http://www.freecampsites.com.
Attractions: I have used multiple apps on finding attractions along the way, and have found that http://www.roadtrippers.com has been my favorite so far. You can take already made trips, or custom trips of where your going. You have many options on if your looking for food, photo areas, amusement, and many more. Roadtrippers will set you up with maps, and give you every attraction along the way to where you can pick and choose your stops to visit.
Driving: I know that at times we are on a set schedule to be at a specific area so taking it easy sometimes won’t work, but if you can, I would recommend doing the least amount of miles possible. Not only would you still be able to focus on your driving without drowsing off, but this will give you time to see everything that you want to see. Me personally, I try to stay at no more then 200 miles per day of driving. This gives me the flexibility to leave camp when I want, arrive to camp early enough to still have daylight, and to take trips to check out new things.
Hope this helps you out of little details that can be done to maximize your trip to the fullest.
RAT PACK DRIFTERS 