Current Events > Anyone ever done a cross-country road trip? What do I need to bring?

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thinking of driving to cali from nyc with my gf around the end of this month for fun

what should I take with me besides the obvious (clothes, oral hygiene, shaving crap, water, phone charger/car adapter for it)?

my friend said toilet paper, and also pillows and blankets in case we need to sleep in the car, which I agreed with

but what else is there?
like do I really need to carry around a tank of gas when there's gas stations everywhere and I plan on making a lot of stops?

what are your tips n tricks CE?

also should I do this with a rental so I don't put 6k+ miles on my car? if so, do I tell them I plan on doing this so they give me something that won't break down? money is not an issue as far as rental goes
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You need toilet paper to sleep in the car?
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Don't drive through southern New Mexico between 2-5am. There's a lot of strangeeee lights in the sky...

*vanishes in the bushes*

AGHH!!!! Hornets nest! GET EM OFF!!!!
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I should have probably put a period there but whatever
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What do I need to bring?

One helluva playlist.
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jaffa cakes

I still don't get why you need your own toilet paper though.
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what if you gotta poop somewhere and theres nowhere to poop besides the road fam

also the playlist is a good idea. i'll make her make one cause i'm gonna do all the driving anyway
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There better be pictures.
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adding in:

sunglasses
umbrella
flashlight
hand sanitizer
chapstick
wet wipes
cups/spoons/forks
paper towels
tissues
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Tire iron in case you need self defense
Other tire changing equipment and spare tire
Jumper cables
Spare oil and oil filter
Gas in a gas can, enough to travel another 50 miles
A map
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the car stuff is what i'm dreading, but probably best I bring it all even if there's roadside assistance so I dont have to wait a million years for them to come get me in nebraska. bleh

do I really need gas tho? it's literally all over and I'm fine filling it up when i'm at half when the next town won't be for another 100 miles
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yeah take gas just in case
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I've gone from Michigan to western Washington and from Vancouver to Ottawa. The Midwest was pretty boring, but the people were the best. Very friendly. We stayed in hotels when we stopped...

Make sure your car has good tires and get it serviced. Maybe pay for AAA, just in case.
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I've driven from Rhode Island to California a few times now. Should bring snacks, they're always good on the road.
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I don't think bringing a can of gas in your car is that great of an idea. Exposure to toxic fumes venting out the can + its a fire hazard if you get in an accident.

SimpleMan posted...

I've driven from Rhode Island to California a few times now. Should bring snacks, they're always good on the road.

of course there will be snax :)
since that route isn't too different from the one I want to take, do you have any additional sage advice? I've never driven this far or even close to it
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Last October I drove Virginia->Seattle->Idaho->Colorado->Arizona->Virginia

I had AAA arrange the route for me and that worked fine, though there were a couple spots I was sent in a roundabout way for construction that wasn't there.

Always filled up gas every half tank. I drive a hybrid so that made this part easy. One time I started out in the morning without filling up and almost ran out, maybe set a notice on your phone.

Watch for deer. Some parts of the highway I would see tons of bloodstains on the road. If you're extra cautious you can avoid driving after sundown.

Depending on the route, dress for all types of weather. My route was cold right up until I got to Arizona and I became literally sick from the temperature change and heat.

Pictures yo. I was alone on my trip so I was mostly taking pics with one hand on the wheel. A passenger means you can take much more and better pics.

Don't use rest stops after dark unless they're the huge, well lit kind. (the ones by the Pennsylvania turnpike are basically shopping malls)

I love podcasts so I downloaded a whole bunch before I left.

Use gas stations squeegees to clean the bugs and stuff off your car.
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ooh thanks for the advice

I was thinking northern route through pennsylvania/ohio/etc all the way through colorado/utah/nevada into cali

then the southern route through arizona/new mexico/texas/etc as I make the way back to new york
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Try out regional fast food that you normally don't get to try.
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ThyCorndog posted...

SimpleMan posted...

I've driven from Rhode Island to California a few times now. Should bring snacks, they're always good on the road.

of course there will be snax :)
since that route isn't too different from the one I want to take, do you have any additional sage advice? I've never driven this far or even close to it

When I first came out here I took, 95 to 81 to 40. Best advice I've got is to remember to take brakes and look around. I was driving for 12-14 hours a day, and stopping to sleep. Would have been more interesting to stop and see the sights.
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Oh maybe think about an EZ Pass, tolls can get pretty expensive.

I tried to make it a habit of stopping every couple hours of so. Lot of fun rest stops and lookout points to just walk around in. I didn't go out of my way to visit anything and looking back I should have, but I ended up enjoying the small hikes and seeing how high up I could get while still being able to see my car in the distance. I took selfies of me pointing at my car in the distance.

Also saw a lot of graffiti at rest stops lol. Snapped some pics of the unique ones and even some phone numbers I still haven't called.

Expedia app. Good resource for finding cheaper hotels that still have good track records.
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I definitely plan on taking lots of breaks since I'll be doing all the driving. her license is for show only apparently, and I can imagine how tiring it'll be to drive for half a day even if I've never done it

the idea will be short breaks unfortunately because we're going to be limited to 10 or 11 days or so due to work

and ye I have an ezpass. it's essential here in nyc tbh

the good news is neither of us needs more than 5 or 6 hours of sleep
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If there's one state I thought deserved the most stops, it was Utah. Beautiful stuff out there especially if you're into hiking.

Before my trip, I had never driven more than three hours away from home. I just decided to go for it, and I took 3 weeks off to do it. Doing it all in 10 days might be a challenge but if you don't sleep in I'm sure it's doable. By the time you get to Cali you'll have a good idea of your ideal schedule and the way back should be easier.
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Are you just going from point A to point B? Or are you taking your time? I did this trip twice; once taking my time seeing sights and once literally moving from NY to CA.

Get AAA. It's $50 for a year.
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we just need to spend a day in Cali because her brother lives there, visiting him is sort of rolled into this. other than that, seeing sights and whatnot is only limited by however long it actually takes to get there and back. I'm hoping for like a 4 day drive each way with a couple of hours each day spent doing stuff besides sleeping and eating. Is that doable at all?
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Music, food, gas money, emergency supplies for whatever climate you are going to be in (blankets, candles, signal flare, sand/kitty litter, med kit, etc), any chargers you may need (many highway restaurants have charging stations or outlets available for customer use), a map if your phone is unreliable, lots of water, a change of clothes, etc.

I've done Toronto to Newfoundland to Vancouver once. Went to Newfoundland for 2 weeks, then drove all the way to the west coast and stayed in Vancouver for a few days before driving 1000km to Edmonton where I was moving. Was around 11,000-12,000km total.

I've also done long motorcycle trips in Thailand. Once from Myanmar border to Cambodia. And another time from Chiang Mai to Krabi (about 1700km I think).

All I ever made sure to have was money, a fully charged phone with a power bank and that's about it. Besides clothes and stuff obviously.
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yeah most of this stuff is for her comfort rather than mine. I'd go the barbarian route myself and not bother shaving or taking stuff like pillows

thanks guys, I definitely feel like I have a better idea of how to prepare for this now
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