Checklist for a Road Trip

From LoveToKnow Travel

Creating a checklist for a road trip often includes many more details than a simple vacation does. Since a majority of your time will be on the road, you'll need to plan your trip accordingly.

A Checklist for a Road Trip is Different

Unlike planning a vacation, planning for a road trip introduces a number of unique needs that should be considered if you want the trip to go smoothly. These include:

Vehicle maintenance
Being prepared for emergencies
Having quality entertainment
Bringing navigational tools so that you can't get lost
Having appropriate food and drink for the ride.

Road Trip Preparation

Before you head out on the road, it's very important to make sure that any existing issues either you or your vehicle may have are taken care of.

Healthy Travel

A few weeks before your trip, first make sure that you and the rest of your family receive full medical checkups. The worst scenario when you're on a very long road trip is for one or more members of the family to discover an illness that could have been diagnosed and treated before the trip. Medical checkups take less than an hour at your doctor's office, and they will provide you with peace of mind when you are leaving for your trip.

Vehicle Maintenance

Another aspect of preparing for a road trip is to make sure that your vehicle is also fully prepared for the enormous task at hand. Going on a road trip means putting a great deal of mileage, each day, on a vehicle that may normally only be used for a short daily commute. Most minor mechanical problems that exist in a vehicle usually show up when more demand is placed on the car. When the engine is working for 10 to 15 hours every day, loose or faulty components will start to fail. Check the following items:

Have an oil change
Check brake fluid and transmission fluid
Check battery fluids and charge
Check tire pressure
Top off windshield washer fluid
Make sure coolant levels are good

It's also a good idea to have a mechanic that you can trust do a full inspection of the vehicle to make sure all major systems and components are in good condition. A couple of additional items to pack for your car include a spare kit with basic car components which are prone to failure, such as spark plugs, headlight bulbs, fuses, a fan belt, serpentine belt, and radiator hoses. Secondly, packing an emergency road kit with flares and a full first aid kit is essential.

What to Bring

Once the necessary preparations are made, the next step is to pack for the ride. Obviously, your clothes and overnight supplies will be packed into suitcases in the trunk, but in addition to the normal vacation supplies, traveling in a car requires that you carefully select and pack a number of additional items.

Entertainment

When you spend days on the road, whether it's in a car, van, or an RV, you and your family will need things to do to occupy your time. Since a majority of your vacation will be in the vehicle, you want to make the vehicle an enjoyable part of the vacation. Doing this isn't always easy. You will need to pack a couple of bags full of items that will make up your traveling entertainment. Some examples include:

A good selection of music CDs
A dual-display portable DVD player with a collection of movies
A supply of new (or library) books and magazines
Coloring books and supplies
Portable board games
A laptop that can connect to the internet through your cellphone

Navigation

There's nothing worse than traveling along a route that you know you are supposed to be following, and then realizing that, somehow, the route number has changed. As you attempt to turn around using side roads, you soon realize that you are hopelessly lost, with very little chance of easily finding your way back.

There are easy ways to avoid this scenario. Having a simple map of each area you are driving is one way, but using a GPS guidance system with built-in maps is even easier. A GPS system will automatically show you where you are on the map, with real-time updates of your location. Most GPS units also offer automatic route-planning and turn-by-turn directions, so that it's virtually impossible to get lost. It's a good idea to have both a GPS and paper maps of the area.

Food and Drink

Probably the most important part of any road trip is the food and drink. Everyone loves to cruise along while munching on a snack and sipping on a soda. The best option to make the trip most enjoyable is to pack an entire cooler with ice and lots of cold drinks and easy to eat food. In a separate bag, pack dry snacks such as chips, crackers, and bread. Also, packing enough food to create meals on the road will save you a fortune, because you won't be stopping at every meal to eat at a restaurant. Some ideas for your food supply include:

Large cooler filled with juice, soda and water
Add sandwich meat and cheese, fruit, and raw veggies to the cooler
A paper bag with crackers, chips, bread, pretzels, and anything else you can think of
Pack additional packages of juice, soda and water in the trunk to replenish the cooler
Bring along a supply of garbage bags for all of the trash

Final Words

The most important thing to keep in mind is that a road trip is a unique vacation where your vehicle becomes the vacation. The destination or the stops along the way are only a small part of the overall trip. Ultimately the vehicle itself should be relaxing and fun for everyone if the trip is to be a success for the whole family.