When you want to get away with your family for a little bit, there's no better way to do it than going on a family road trip. But when all you're doing is haphazardly piling everyone into a car for four hours, you might not have the best start to your family trip. To help you avoid road trip rage, here are a few important tips to consider.
Upgrade Your Ride
One of the most frustrating parts of a family road trip can be convincing everyone to get along while they sit in the car on the way to your destination. Let's face it. Even if you have an SUV, there's still limited space and your family is going to be squeezed together to some extent. And when that happens, arguments are bound to break out at some point. So instead of squeezing into your family car to get on the road, consider upgrading your ride to something a little bit roomier. If you're planning a road trip, renting something like an RV actually makes a lot of sense. Not only will everyone have a little bit more space, but you'll be able to stay pretty comfortably in your vehicle if you're spending a few nights somewhere or making a multi-day trip. Of course, it's also important to make sure you understand how to operate your RV safely if this is something you choose to do. For example, it's recommended to keep your speed below 60 MPH in an RV while you're on the road. In addition, you may need to stop to refill your water supply or empty your wastewater tank if you're spending multiple days on the road. Finally, make sure you have adequate power for all your appliances, especially if you are going to run an air conditioner and refrigerator or a freezer in which case you might want to consider investing in ac soft start to avoid buying additional (and very expensive) generators.
Pack Plenty of Snacks and Drinks
Snacks are an absolute must when you're planning a family road trip. How long will you be on the road before you reach your first or final destination? When you consider that everyone needs to eat every two to four hours or so, you may need more snacks than you originally thought. In addition, you should attempt to pack as many mess-free snacks as possible. Not sure what kinds of road trip snacks are best for your family? Here are a few options to consider:
- Dry cereal
- Yogurt tubes or chewy granola bars
- Raisins and other dried fruits
- Premade deli sandwiches
- Cut up veggies with single-serve dips
- Popcorn
- Cheese sticks
- Trail mix or single-serve mixed nuts
And if you can't get away from something that's sticky or has a powdery residue, at the very least you need to be prepared to clean up before the mess spreads. Wet wipes are an excellent tool for this.
Prepares Personalized Activity Bags
When you're at home, there are likely countless ways for your kids to keep themselves entertained. After all, the average home has almost 300,000 items in it. Unfortunately, not even an RV has that kind of space inside of it. So before you leave, make sure everyone has a small, personalized bag of items that will keep them occupied when the road trip boredom starts to set in. This is also a great way to get your kids involved in planning the family road trip! Share with each of them the amount of time that you're going to be on the road each day, as well as the number of days you'll be away. With that information, ask them to make a list of things they'd like to bring with them just in case they get bored. Once they've made their list, go through it together and decide what items are the most reasonable and will fit in the activity bag they've chosen. This not only gives your kids an opportunity to get involved, but it also helps save you some frustration later on while you might be driving. When you're planning a family road trip, it's easy to get overwhelmed by the thought of everyone in the car together. But with these road trip tips, you should be on your way to a road trip filled with smooth sailing in no time.
