Travelling Prepared: 4 Things that Can Go Wrong on Your Family Road Trip
A family road trip is nothing like your average summer or winter holiday. Instead of the destination, it is the journey itself that is the real adventure; just ask the kids, they know best. However, there are many more things that can go wrong when you are travelling in a car or a caravan with your family.
Everything from a flat tire to getting lost in the middle of nowhere threatens to spoil the holiday and make you return home earlier than planned. Travelling prepared, therefore, is essential unless you wish these 4 things to ruin your next family road trip.
Don’t plan too much
Like in life, the key to a successful road trip is moderation. In terms of planning, this means that you should find the golden mean and stick to it until the end of the journey. Plan your trip meticulously but don’t make a tight schedule.
Namely, you never know what might go wrong on the road and cause a delay. The last thing you want is to lose money because you had to cancel a hotel reservation. When planning, include a time buffer zone that will allow you to incorporate possible delays or early arrivals.
It goes without saying that you should know where you are going but don’t plan every last detail and be a party pooper. The whole idea behind a family road trip is to go out on an adventure and experience new sensations, people, and tastes, which is something you will never accomplish if you plan every last detail.
Pack everything you need
Although you won’t have typical suitcases and bags because you’ll be sleeping in tents and hotel rooms, this doesn’t mean that packing stuff for a road trip is unimportant. After all, your children are coming with you and they alone need a ton of stuff.
Start from their in-car entertainment that will require a tablet for each child, unless you want them complaining (if you’re travelling with a dog it will bark incessantly) from the back seat and asking questions all the time. In this sense, packing is not only an offline activity, as you need to download music and insert in the car’s player because you might lose radio coverage along the way.
If there is enough room in the car, throw in a small fridge where you’ll store cold drinks, candy (perhaps ice-cream), and snacks if you get hungry along the way. Make frequent bathroom stops, mainly because of the children who cannot hold it for long. Use gas stations and supermarkets along the way for restroom purposes.
Have the car checked up
Speaking of baggage, don’t forget to pack all the essential tools you’ll use to repair the car if something goes wrong. However, a wiser strategy is to have the car fully checked up at the mechanic’s before you set off. You should avoid at all cost the scenario of being left stranded by the side of the road with your family inside the car.
Once you take the car to the mechanic’s (do this at least a week before the trip), the staff there should check the fluids, brakes, levels, tires and everything thing else they deem botchy. If there is a part they think won’t live to see the end of the road trip, have it replaced immediately.
Drying through a cold climate means that you will most certainly experience issues with the car battery so make sure it is fully operational. The same goes for pretty much every other part, from the tires to car lock. Yes, even the door lock can be a cause for concern and you might need automotive locksmith service on the road.
Finally, don’t forget to wash the car before you hit the road. Take special care when cleaning the inside of a car because if you set off with a dirty interior, things will only get worse once you start travelling long distances. Have a bag ready for all the trash you generate while driving and stop often to dump it in a bin along the road.
Factors beyond your control
Even if you’re the safest driver on the planet, there are so many factors in traffic that are well beyond your control. For once, you have no way of influencing other drivers so the only remedy against drunken drivers or those individuals who blind you with their headlights is alertness. You should sit behind the well-rested and behave as a professional driver. After all, the lives of your family members are in your hands.
Furthermore, being locked out of your car is least expected but it is a very common thing that many people unfortunately experience. Whether it is because the keys are in the ignition, you somehow fall asleep at the wheel, or you were locked out because of your kids. Whatever the reason may be, it is still a very frustrating time. You can easily solve this problem by having a classic slim jim tool. This tool can also unlock cars whose locks have been jammed because of dirt, old age, wear and tear, etc
Apart from the human factor, enter the car prepared for all sorts of mishaps that might occur. Be ready for fallen trees on country roads and wild animals crossing the road. You need to stay calm at all times because you are driving along routes you have never driven before and maps can only help you so much.
Getting lost is a real danger, especially if you’re diving abroad. There is no shame in pulling by the side of the road to get your bearings or stopping the car to ask the locals for directions. Furthermore, check the validity of your family’s travel documents, like passports, the driver’s license, and registration so as not to get in trouble with the law.
These 4 extensive reasons are the main snares that await you along the road. Of course, the list of things that can go wrong is endless but don’t adopt such a mindset. There are also thousands that can go well so it is more likely that the family road trip will be a cause for fun; not woe.