Frugal Road Trips – Part 2

Posted on | June 24, 2009 | No Comments

Yesterday I rambled on about the kids and food. Today I’ll let you know what my husband does to the car. He swears it makes a difference, and based on how much less we stop for gas I’d have to agree.

My hubby is a fanatic about our cars, always has been (which is great because I couldn’t care less). Before going on a long road trip he makes sure the oil has been changed if needed or close to being needed. Then he adds fuel injector cleaner fluid. We found it to be the cheapest at Walmart.

The car must be cleaned and waxed as well. He says it makes it more aerodynamic. I too laughed at first, but it seems to work. He rain-ex’s the windshield too which makes a huge difference if it rains, so much easier to see.

We also keep the windows closed and use the air-conditioner, especially on the highway. I love to have the windows open so this one was really hard for me to get used to, but again it really works. We get way better gas mileage when the windows are closed and there is no wind resistance.

We also try to keep our stops to a minimum. Unless it is a dire emergency (with kids it will undoubtedly happen) we only stop for gas. The rule is everyone gets out and runs around. We have silly games that we play so the kids get some air and stretch their muscles. Another rule is that everyone must use the restroom, whether they need to or not. I can’t tell you how many times in the past when we would stop and no one had to go until we were back on the highway. When the kids were younger we had a potty that travelled in the car with us. I’m a germaphobe so this worked best for me. They are getting too big now and have to use the restrooms so I have other ways of keeping them as germ free as possible.

Another thing I always pack is medicine. Benadryl, pepto, tums, cough and or cold medicine, even band-aids. Anything that my kids or we might need. If one of the kids gets a stomach ache we have the pepto to give them instead of spending full price for it (and you know how much I hate to pay full price). You can’t predict everything that might happen, but a little planning might save a trip to the drugstore or two. I put it all in one large Ziploc and it doesn’t take much space at all.

These are just a few of the things you can do. As I think of more ideas I will add them. If you have any good tips, be sure to leave a comment and share it!

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