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Home » 8 Tips for a Fun & Safe Road Trip + ExxonMobil Earth Day Drive Away Sweepstakes!

8 Tips for a Fun & Safe Road Trip + ExxonMobil Earth Day Drive Away Sweepstakes!

8 Tips for a Fun & Safe Road Trip + ExxonMobil Earth Day Drive Away Sweepstakes!

This shop has been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc. and its advertiser. All opinions are mine alone. #EarthDayDriveAway #CollectiveBias

Here are 8 Tips for a Fun & Safe Road Trip + see how you can enter for a chance to win a brand new Chevy Equinox!

I love taking road trips with my family. Summer may not be here yet, but the kids’ school Spring break is coming up in a couple weeks, I thought this is the perfect time to talk about how to get ready for a road trip because that’s exactly what we’re doing. Yesss! Our family is embarking on another road trip and we’re so excited!

Taking road trips can be an unforgettable adventure, or it can also be a stressful experience if you don’t take the time to plan. Here, I’ve put together some tips and tools to get everything squared away before you hit the road.

Map your route and plan for stops

Save yourself a lot of time and stress by planning and mapping out how you’re getting to your destination. There are many helpful apps that you can use for this purpose, but the app we like best is RoadTrippers. It helps you plan a trip that’s tailored to your travel style and needs and gives you estimates for gas cost for your trip.

Also, be sure to keep a paper/copy of maps or brochures of your destination in your car in case your GPS or your car’s navigation system stops working. Also, a paper map is handy for when you have to stop and ask a local where you’re trying to get to.

Make hotel reservations ahead of time

Part of the fun while on a road trip is being spontaneous. However, it when it comes to deciding for a place to stay, be sure to make reservations ahead of time so that you and your family know exactly what to expect when it comes time to rest and relax after a long car trip.

For Safety: First Aid and Emergency Kits

We always have a full size first aid kit in the car while on a road trip + we make sure we have jumper cables, flashlights, batteries, duct tape, road flares and extra rags. I like this great resource on emergency kits for ideas on how to pack your own emergency kit that is ideal for yourself and your family.

Pack the cooler with plenty of water and some snacks

A long car ride can get tiresome and you can easily get dehydrated if you don’t drink plenty of fluids. I try to pre-freeze large bottles of water for our cooler before a road trip. That way, they stay cold all day long and will also help keep the cooler frosty.

Our road trips always include trying out new places to eat, so it makes for a great excuse to stop and get lunch and dinner meals that way. But for snacks, I like packing foods that are easy to eat and require minimal cleanup. Vegetables like carrots, broccoli, and celery and fruits like berries, grapes, pineapples and watermelon make the perfect portable snacks. I usually chop the veggies in small pieces and store them in small ziploc bags or small plastic containers.

Don’t forget the playlist and entertainment for the kids

Don’t underestimate the power of a good playlist. Some of our family’s happiest memories while on road trips include singing our favorite songs together loudly and then laughing together because someone missed a lyric or was singing out of tune. It’s a lot of fun! I loooove it! With streaming services available now that you can easily add to your phone, or even if you choose to have a satellite radio, there’s no reason your music should dry up while on your road trip. If you have kids, don’t forget books, games, DVD movies, coloring pages, puzzles and a few of their favorite small or portable toys.

Pack some blankets and pillows

Our boys love comfy blankets and pillows while on long car rides (just like mommy!) so I make sure we have plenty of those soft, snuggly things in our car before we hit the open road.

Get your car and tires completely checked before your trip

About a week before you leave for a long road trip, have your car checked for fluid levels, brakes and tires and anything else that may need attention before you take your car on a long trip. If you realize a few days before the trip that your car is not road worthy or another family member needs to borrow your vehicle urgently, don’t worry. You shouldn’t cancel your plans for such a small setback. For example, if you are planning on hiring a van for your trip, it is in your best interest to get the right insurance to cover this vehicle. Just like with any vehicle on the road, having insurance protects you from anything that may happen. It is better to be safe than sorry while you’re on the road. Nothing as simple as insurance should stop you from having the best road trip ever.

Since we’re using my car for this road trip, we took it to our local Walmart Auto Care Center to get it serviced. We love the quality of service they provide there and the prices are reasonable.

If you want to do your own oil changes, it’s great to that you can also purchase Mobil 1™ motor oil on-shelf at Walmart.

I purchased Mobil 1 ™ Annual Protection for my car, and since Earth Day (April 22) is coming up, I’d like to share with you what great things you can do for the environment if you use Mobil 1 ™ Annual Protection.

If every car in the U.S. used Mobil 1 ™ Annual Protection:

  • We would prevent or reduce enough CO2 emissions to fill the Empire State Building more than 5,000 times*
  • The CO2 emissions reduction would be equivalent to taking more than 500,000 cars off the road*
  • 21 billion pounds of CO2 emissions would be eliminated when switching to a lower viscosity grade and extending oil change intervals to one year*

You can use the Oil Selector tool on Walmart.com to determine what type of oil you will need for your type of car.

Even better, with my Mobil 1 oil purchase, I can also enter the Earth Day Drive Away Sweepstakes for a chance to win the eco-friendly Chevy® Equinox, now through April 30th, 2018.** You can also get a $10 Walmart Select Certificate valid towards your next Mobil 1 purchase when you buy 5 quarts of any Mobil 1™ motor oil or a Mobil 1™ oil change at Walmart.***

Keep it clean

Always have wet wipes, napkins, and baggies handy while on your trip for those messy hands and food or liquid spills in the car. I always bring extra trash bags as well for when we have to pack dirty, soiled clothes, shoes and other personal items home.

There you have it! You can have a perfect road trip if you take the time to do a bit of research and planning before you hit the open road. Have you taken a road trip before? If so, how was it? What can you add to this list of tips? Tell me in the comments!

*Estimates made based on aggregation of the United States’ average car and motor oil statistics.

**Limit two (2) entries per person: one (1) with receipt for purchase of 5 quarts of any Mobil 1™ motor oil or a Mobil 1™ oil change from Walmart, and one (1) with confirmation of oil recycling services from a Walmart Auto Care Center.

***Offer valid from 1/15/18 to 4/30/18.

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Jocelyn Brown

A former school teacher, Jocelyn Brown created Hip Mama’s Place in 2007. Her motto for this blog is: get inspired, create and share! Jocelyn loves sharing about food and recipes, crafts, DIY projects and her random travels with her family. She also loves all things social media, but her latest obsession is Instagram.

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27 Comments

  1. 09/04/2018 / 4:44 pm

    Informative and well explained. Great tips. I will definitely going to implement these tips. I have bookmarked it for future references. Thanks for sharing such an valuable and helpful article.

  2. 04/21/2018 / 2:18 pm

    This would be a great checklist for those thinking of hitting up a roadtrip. We tend to trek on the fly (which isn’t the best idea). I love the tip about checking the tires and making sure you have the supplies you might need. We’ve had tire issues on the road and lemme tell ya… it’s not fun! thanks for the tips!

  3. brianne
    04/13/2018 / 4:31 pm

    My husband always takes care of our oil changes and we are planning a road trip soon. I will definitely have him read this article!

  4. 04/13/2018 / 3:31 pm

    That sounds perfect, it’s important to have your car checked up before your trip. I also always plan ahead and have our stops and hotels ready so the drive’s going to be hassle free.

  5. 04/13/2018 / 5:46 am

    These are really great tips! Planning early and have everything prepared ahead of time is really important.

  6. 04/13/2018 / 4:25 am

    I haven’t taken a road trip in ages. I am due one to go see my nephew. Great tips

  7. 04/12/2018 / 7:38 pm

    I think blankets and pillows are key in staying comfy during long road trips. We do them all the time and they’re definitely something we always pack.

  8. 04/12/2018 / 7:24 pm

    With a family of five, I am all for anything that eases the burden of travel. Regular vehicle maintenance is so important, especially before a road trip.

  9. 04/12/2018 / 5:12 pm

    My dad drilled in us to ALWAYS check the oil, fluid and tires before we went on long trips. Good tips here!

  10. 04/12/2018 / 3:36 pm

    Awesome tips. Whenever we road trip, we pack all the essentials for a comfy trip, and then we pack a separate emergency bag that has things we’ll need if we get stranded.

  11. 04/06/2018 / 6:17 am

    Excellent tips for anyone. Both newbie and experienced people. You did justice to this in the right way too.

  12. 04/06/2018 / 4:10 am

    These tips are awesome and in the country we’re I live traveling is really scary and exhausting. Due to huge population, we have to waste 1 hour to reach place which should only take 10 minutes.

  13. 03/24/2018 / 9:47 am

    We are planing for a road trip next week so thank you for the reminders, especially about bringing entertainment for the kids. 😀

  14. Annemarie LeBlanc
    03/24/2018 / 6:52 am

    Awesome tips to make any road trip a success. We always make sure our car is in tip top shape when we plan on driving to a vacation destination. We do that first before we check hotel accommodations.

  15. 03/23/2018 / 6:58 am

    Snacks, snacks and more snacks are always key to a good road trip.
    The more I can keep our son happy in the backseat, the longer I can drive without stopping.

  16. 03/23/2018 / 6:03 am

    Great tips! I was actually considering making a laminated sheet of stuff like this for our travels!

  17. 03/23/2018 / 3:44 am

    These are awesome tips and great reminders! Planning ahead for your road trip is really important.

  18. 03/23/2018 / 1:06 am

    This is so great I had no idea that Walmart really did so much!

  19. Cassandra D
    03/23/2018 / 12:01 am

    I really like the tips given for a road trip.

  20. 03/22/2018 / 7:10 pm

    There’s nothing more enjoyable than a great road trip. It’s never fun if some planning isn’t done prior, and something happens, like having your car break down. Great tips!

  21. 03/22/2018 / 7:05 pm

    These tips were great because we are always in the car and even though we don’t plan on a trip right now we have to be prepared while we are in the car on shorter rides. I will keep this for when we do plan a trip.

  22. 03/22/2018 / 6:21 pm

    These are great tips. PLanning ahead is key. You have to make sure your car is ready for the road, and you DO NOT want to have to look for a motel on the fly.

  23. 03/22/2018 / 5:43 pm

    These are really some great tips for a great roadtrip. I love roadtrips, but sometimes I find myself uncomfortable, I definitely will try and incorporate these into my next trip!

  24. 03/22/2018 / 5:35 pm

    I wish there was a ExxonMobil Earth Day Drive Away Giveaway in my country. I could have joined. These are great tips. I’ll share this to my driver friends.

  25. 03/22/2018 / 2:57 pm

    Great useful information here. I need to remember to take comfy blankets and pillows on road trips.

    • 04/12/2018 / 8:25 pm

      Great tips and the most important one is to get the car checked out before the trip. I also liked the fruit and veggie snack ideas.

  26. 03/21/2018 / 11:41 pm

    OMG these tips will come in so handy. My hubbie wants to take the fam to go RV’ing to the Grand Canyon (WHYYYYYY!!!!) I totally don’t think it’s a good idea. (Not the camping type). These tips (especially the keeping it clean one) will help. Hope I make it back ha ha

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