Road Trip tips!

For the interior get a can of scotch guard and spray the seats. Minimum of a heavy coat of wax on the front of the bumper and hood will help a lot.

You can pick up a bra for the car for around $100 that would protect the front end very well. Down side is they are a pain to put on sometimes.

 

We pilots of little bugsmashers have been known to anoint prop and wing leading edges with Pledge before summertime flights. then after the flight, if you wet down those surfaces with water and leave it alone for the time it takes to drink a can of beer, the corpses mostly wipe right off.

Another tip along those llines, the preferred medium for cleaning an aircraft windscreen, which is soft plastic, is plenty of water from a squirt bottle and the palm of your hand. Pledge and a rag is also used, but real fussy guys say the pledge picks up and carries grit and the rag grinds it in.

 

Don't forget to check the air in your donut spare tire, 60 psi. Get some good washer fluid with bug remover. I usually set one trip meter for the whole trip, the other for day to day or tank to tank.

 

Coolerfull of drinks on the passenger floor, bag of sandwichs in there as well. Unless the swill peddled by Fast Food joints appeals to you. 3M Paint Protection Film on the front bumper for Bug Impacts. I'm thinking one of the new plug in coolers is better than ice, which needs daily draining and re-Icing. The addition of a lumbar pillow made of memory foam to help change the feel of the seat after a few hours. Handi-Wipes for cleaning anything, and a roll of paper towels for windshield cleaning, spill absorption, and miscellaneous stuff, box of tissues, Umbrella (folding type) kept near the drivers seat, flashlight ( I use a florescent model with the ability to stand on its own, think Night, Flat Tire, raining ) Don't forget the cell phone, and plenty of your favorite music MP-3, CD's etc. A pad to write messages on, and a roll of toilet paper in case mother nature starts to break down the exit door at an inopportune moment of your travels through the Boonies. A blanket is always worth having on board, cause you never know, as is rain gear. Sunglasses and a cap, for driving into the sun when its low in the sky. That nice Toyota First Aid kit should be aboard as well. And that should prepare you for every eventuality.

Enjoy the Ride !

 

Fill the tray under the floor of the trunk with clothes and other stuff that you won't need till you reach your destination.

 

Great tips so far!

I don't have satellite radio, so when I plan a long trip, I research what FM stations are available along my route, looking mainly for those specializing in Classical and Modern Jazz, and have that list at hand as the miles unfold. I also carry copies of my favorite CDs, never the originals, if desired FM is unavailable.

If you belong to AAA, their "trip tics" nicely complement GPS information.

I try to find at least one great restaurant during the trip, and plan to overnight in the vicinity to take advantage of it.

And don't forget to check out the locations of Toyota dealers along your route, just in case a problem should develop.

Have a safe and wonderful trip!

 

Be wary of State Troopers on I75 especially through Georgia.

 

I cancelled AAA membership years ago, they left my sister and niece stranded on the Long Island Expressway in 100 degree heat one Sunday in August when she was taking her daughter to college, and the Subaru Forester's Engine blew. They took 7 1/2 HOURS to get her a tow truck. Don't Depend on AAA, they mostly operate a travel agency these days.

 

Mythbusters did a great piece on this. It depends on how fast you are travelling. At highway speeds, A/C is better due to reduced drag.
On small streets, between 30-35 Mph it's about equal.

Another tip is treating the windows with Aquapel I SWEAR by this stuff. A great mind-saver when driving 8 hours in the rain on the highway - no wipers necessary.

Treat the windshield, side windows and side mirrors. Will cost you less than 50$ and should last about a year.

If you live in an area that has freezing rain in the winter, it's MUCH easier to scrape off. Summertime, bugs wash right off w/o scrubbing.

Some Cesna pilots I know use the stuff.

Another mind-saver is having a Thule roof rack. Put non-essentials (for road trip) up there, leaving room for four adults to be comfortable and easy access to the cooler, pillows, blankets.

 

Prius AC is very economical, especially if you drive in the ECO mode. I just leave mine on. I suspect the extra aerodynamic drag from having windows down at highway speed would cost more in terms of gas mileage than using AC.

 

If the kids are old enough, don't use GPS. Teach them to read real maps instead, and have them guide you. (You will have looked at the next few hours travel in advance so you have a sense if they are really missing the boat.)

One disadvantage to the Prius is low clearance. So if you take the kids to national parks or similar places along the way, be careful of going on the roughest back roads. When they say "for high clearence only" or "4wd only", believe them.

 

Surface Protection Film.

While I haven't used this myself, I'm going to buy some and use it when I go to my sister's in Champaign or to MSP this summer.