Cross-country Trip Tips
Plan
Talk to friends, talk to AAA consultants, and then chart your trip. I
will say driving ~500 miles a day is not a problem at all. We always
stayed in a no-name motel, about 10-20 miles away from a big city.
Pick up a place that has 2-3 motels in AAA tourbook. Chances are that
it will have more that are not listed there, and these are likely to
be cheaper ones. Try not to stay in an isolated motel middle of
nowhere. Remember "Psycho"?
Company
A friend to give you company is always nice! One piece of advice: you
are going to sit in a small space with that person for a week or so.
Think about it.
Car
- Tune-up Most important! Check tires, coolant, engine oil,
brake fluid, AC fluid (you need lots of air-conditioning!), wiper
blades, wiper fluid, air pressure in spare tire, check all the belts,
etc etc. Talk to your mechanic. He is the best person to answer your
questions.
- On-the-road Checks Check engine-oil level and coolant level
every couple of days. Check the air pressure in *all* the
tires, including the spare one. Remember to take the "cold" tire
pressure, i.e., before driving. Check the car's user's manual.
- Cleaning Keep the car interiors clean. You are going to
sit there for lllong days!. Also, clean the windshields daily. The
bug-splats can get annoying. The best time to clean is in the morning
before you start, when the windshield is not hot.
- Car-Emergency Kit Air pressure gauge, engine oil (Check
the grade, 10W-30 or 10W-40, read the car's user's manual), coolant,
radiator seal ("gunk"!), tire repair kit, paper towels, gas-can (with
gas in it!), flash-light with new batteries, screw-driver kit.
Food and water
Carry an insulated box. If you don't have
a plastic one, you can get a thermocol one. It gets really hot in the
car. Carry fruits (oranges are good), cereal bars, and plenty of
water. If you are a vegetarian, carry extra cereal bars and fruits.
At many places, the restaurants close at 7pm! So you might want
to dine early. Carry breathsaver mints or chewing gums.
Clothing
If you are travelling in summer, wear shorts! Did
I mention it gets hot in the car? Yes, you need sunglasses. You might
want to wear a baseball cap also. While driving in the direction of
the sun, it helps a lot.
Cell phone
I gathered some info on cell phones, thanks to
our local newsgroup, umbc.general, and a local Radio shack. The
summary was that the usual digital phone is not likely to work outside
a big city. Many digital phones automatically switch to analog once
they are outside the digital footprint. Even then, the coverage is not
all that great in the sparsely populated areas. If you have a
bag-phone, however, you might be able to place a call from a remote
place also. Bag-phones put 3 Watts on the antenna instead of 0.6 Watts
by the usual phones. Of course, they are big, bulky, ugly, etc. The
best option is obviously a Ham radio. Looking at our budget, we did
not carry a cell phone. But then, we did not venture too far from the
highways either!
Misc
You should carry a calling card. Carry cassettes/CDs.
You will not receive any station once you are middle of nowhere. Check
weather before you start.
Overview <-
Last updated: June 30, 1999
Sanjay Joshi