Making the Most of Your Next Long Weekend!

There’s never time to waste when it comes to long weekends. Your weekdays are full of driving kids to school, extracurricular activities, and appointments, so when a long weekend comes along, it feels like the perfect time to cram in all the road trip destinations piling up on your bucket list! We want to help get you through your long weekend bucket list with these road trip planning tips!

What Does My Bank Account Look Like?

Budgeting is an important part of planning a road trip. Yes, we know; this is not a fun part of planning a road trip, but it’s important. We recommend putting aside some extra money each month leading up to your road trip, so then you know exactly how much money you can spend. Whatever amount is set aside, will give you an idea of how much you have to spend on hotels, gas, food, activities, and pre-trip vehicle maintenance.

What Do You Want to See?

Make the most of your road trip by planning out your route. The planner in your life will have more fun doing this than actually taking the trip! Use Google to determine how long it will take you to get to each destination, and that will help you decide where you’ll want to spend the night, stop for gas, and stop for meals. You can also plan your stops around attractions that you’ll be passing by. If you use Google Maps to plot your trip, you can search nearby attractions along the route and find unknown travel treasures. Blogs are also a perfect resource to find insider destination information. Hotel desk clerks can also give a helpful wealth of information on local must-see attractions. That way you can fill up your Instagram with all kinds of cool photos.

What’s the Forecast?

It’s always a good idea to check your weather app to determine the forecast for each location you’re visiting. Your whole trip could go topsy-turvy if you don’t plan ahead based on the weather conditions. The forecast will tell you what to pack, what activities you’ll be able to do, and what the road conditions are like. You should also plan to adjust your driving schedule based on the weather. Getting stuck in a hailstorm or torrential downpour on the highway can be dangerous, so checking the forecast is critically important.

Do I Have an Emergency Kit?

Accidents happen and you never want to be unprepared for the unexpected. An emergency car kit can be a lifesaver. Your summer emergency car kit should contain items like the following:

• Water
• Non-perishable foods (protein bars, trail mix, nuts)
• Phone charger
• Sunscreen
• Windup flashlight
• Booster cable
• Reflective hazard triangle
• Tire pressure gauge
• Tire sealant
• Jack
• Tire iron

How’s My Car Doing?

Before a long road trip, it’s a good idea to visit your local Tirecraft to get a 12-point inspection. This will help ensure that all the components of your vehicle are working properly and that you’ll make it to your destination.

Here are some of the things that we will check during a 12-point inspection:

• Fluid levels
• Tires and wheels
• Wiper blades
• Lights
• Belts and hoses
• Shocks and struts
• Brakes
• Battery
• Timing belt
• Cabin filter

Once you know that your vehicle is good to go, you can be on your way for an adventure of a lifetime or at least one that looks amazing on social media. You don’t need to show the parts of the trip when the kids have a temper tantrum.

Bon voyage!

 

Back