Tips, Tricks, and Resources – Travel Prep Part 2

This will be a continuation of my last blog post in dealing with Travel Prep.  If you’d like to read part 1 you can find it here.

Now for this one I’m going to make the assumption that you are traveling from a mostly detached dwelling unit.  Something other than a condo or apartment.  I’m also going to assume that you will be driving on your travels, rather than flying, just because that’s the easiest way to get started.

I’m Driving…What Could Go Wrong?

So you’re taking some sort of driving excursion.  You’ll probably want to make sure that your vehicle is in good working order.  If you’re not a person who is typically anal retentive about your vehicle, now is the time to get caught up.  Now is the time to address the what ifs.  Any known issues with your vehicle you should probably plan on taking care of now.  For time, money, and safety sake, you should handle as much on the front end as you can.

Get the vehicle, whether it be a van, truck, trailer, or RV checked out.  If you just purchased a vehicle for this purpose, or have something that gets used very sparingly, you should go over it even more carefully.  Here are just a few of the items you should look in to:

• Tire tread and pressure, including the spare
• Fluid levels and quality, plan on changing the oil and filling washer fluid
• Battery age and power
• Spark plugs age and condition
• Belt condition and deterioration
• Make sure all lights, interior and exterior, are working.  (If you have a trailer or RV you might choose to replace the lights with LED bulbs, to save on battery or generator power)
• Check to make sure everything works on your generator and battery packs, as well as making sure there is no problematic degrading of the cables
• Check, and probably replace, the wiper blades

I’m sure there’s more, but this is a good list to get started with.  Now we need to think about what you should be carrying with you in the vehicle.  Here’s the list that I can come up with at this time:

• Battery pack to use to jump your vehicle, in case the battery dies while away.
• Consider bringing some extra gas in a gas can.  If you’re not used to traveling in the vehicle you’re using you might be unpleasantly surprised with how much gas it uses, and how often you’ll need to refill.  On the open road it is sometimes much further between gas stations than you’d like.
• Extra blankets, especially if you are heading South and figure you won’t need them since it’s warm down there.  You still need to make it down there before you can benefit from the warmth.  I wouldn’t want you to have an experience like we had on our second night away, that I documented on a previous post.
• A pretty extensive tool kit.  On the road you never quite know what you are going to need.  This is the one I picked up, and it will just stay with the camper all the time.
• A good quality LED flashlight (I recommend a LED headlamp also)
• As noted in a previous post, I’d recommend picking up a Verizon prepaid flip phone cell phone and sign up for their basic plan, since they seem to have the best coverage.  That is if you don’t already have a phone through them.
• I’d advise getting a AAA membership in case you might need their services while on the road or in a campground.  You may need to get their expanded service membership, depending on the vehicle type/configuration that you are going with.

Obviously, there’s a bunch of stuff you’re going to bring along like clothes, groceries, cooking and eating utensils, towels and bedding, paper towels and toilet paper (make sure to get the RV safe kind), etc.  The list above is more specific to making sure you’re safe and prepared while on the road.  I’m sure there’s additional stuff you may want to bring with, but this is a good start.

Now Get Excited…You’re almost out the door!!!

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