How to Prepare for Your Holiday Roadtrip

Driving across country during the holiday season can be a fantastic experience or it can becoming challenging and extremely frustrating if you do not prepare properly for your trip. Here is how to get ready for that cross country drive:

Difficulty: Easy

Instructions

1. Have routine maintenance done on your vehicle by having it serviced a couple days before your trip. This is a preventative measure that could save you alot of time and money. The average service cost is near $30 and takes about an hour, however there might be a wait.

2. Purchase a tire gauge. Check your tire pressure before leaving for your journey and throughout your trip. Weather conditions can change the pressure within your tires so know the PSI (pressure per square inch) need for your tires and keep the tires inflated properly. This improves gas mileage as well as the overall life of the tread of your tires.

3. Know your route. Print off a map if you are unsure of the directions. Mapquest is always a good source for directions and maps. Check the resource section below. It is best to map out where to get gas, food, etc. Some states (like Kansas, Nebraska, and Wyoming) have huge gaps between towns and maping out optional gas stations, bathrooms, and food sources could prevent many frustrating situations unless you are a former NASA Astronaut wearing diapers.

4. Know the road conditions of your route. Program the road conditions hotline number into your phone (you never know when you might need it). Consider your travel time and holiday traffic.

5. Buy snacks at a grocery store. This will save you plenty of money because convenient store and fast food places can quickly empty out your wallet or purse.

6. Bring CDs and/or Ipod (w/ car adapter) or you might be stuck listening to talk radio on an a.m. station if you are traveling through the open country of the midwestern states. Don't forget movies for the kids if you have a mobile DVD player or a DVD player already installed in your car.

Tips & Warnings

• Prepare an emergency kit with jumper cables, blankets, extra clothing, gloves, and a first aid kit. It is always better to be prepared for the worst.
• Have emergency cash just in case.
• Is your AAA card current?
• Does your car insurance cover towing? Review your policy for good measure.
• Holiday traffic can be brutal on your schedule, so keep your itenary loose on the travel days. Remember to plan ahead for delays such as traffic, poor driving conditions, etc. Don't rush!

Resources

• Mapquest
• Road & Traffic Conditions

[jillybeanusn]

on 12/3/2009 Great tips! 5* And in addition to AAA, a lot of places (like Geico and USAA) have really cheap roadside assistance (10 bucks every 6 months!) we just used ours from usaa yesterday, it took them 10 minutes to get there! I wrote a how to avoid holiday traffic. If you wanted to check it out, heres the link http://www.ehow.com/how_5709942_avoid-holiday-traffic.html