If you’re new to the road trip scene than chances are you’re closer to being a beginner driver, simply because at some point in the life of a driver the idea to go on a road trip just proves too strong to shake off. Sometimes it’s a spontaneous undertaking which you’d likely embark on all alone, but solo road trips pretty much offer a window into so much more fun to be had with some like-minded people to enjoy the road with.
Either way, here are some tips for beginner road-trippers…
Honoring the guides in your ownership manual
Even if the urge to go on something like a spontaneous cross-country road trip appears to be too great to resist, you shouldn’t give in unless doing so falls in line with the guidelines set forth in the car’s ownership manual. For instance, there are very good reasons why a car manufacturer would tell you not to drive longer distances for the first few thousand miles on the clock. Also complete the necessary maintenance and checks required as per the guidelines, because this sets the scene for you to honor the spontaneous urges to go on a road trip in the future.
Contemporary cars are built tough, so if they’re well taken care of, a spontaneous road trip won’t pose any problems.
Make it a group effort
As suggested, road-trips are more fun when the activity of exploring the open road and all the stops along the way is shared among like-minded people or people who are dear to each other. So if you can’t get the whole family to go along with you, rope in your friends. You can take it in turns to drive and rotate the other road tripping responsibilities between the lot of you. However, be sure to notify your insurer of such plans, because as per some insurers’ policies, any additional drivers are required to be officially listed in order for the coverage to hold.
Check out this car insurance jargon buster to get a good idea of some dynamics that naturally exist around car insurance as applicable to a road trip featuring different drivers, as well as many of the other circumstances which could develop.
Plan your route and activities
These days planning a road trip can be as easy as jumping online and perhaps even electing to follow a pre-mapped-out path put together by some road trippers who went before you. Either way, it’s important to plan ahead. This includes everything from renting the vehicle from a site such as Rent.is to planning the activities you’re going to stop for along the way. Don’t forget to pack in an extra, old-style paper map in case the worst happens and your navigation system fails, along with the rather unlikely event that all your smartphones die too!
Leave room for spontaneity
Adequate room for spontaneity should be left though. In any case, chances are some of the planned stops and activities might change dynamically, in which case the requisite spontaneity will have taken care of itself. Either way, some of the best road trip stories are those which start with “We didn’t even plan to…”
