Got the travel bug? Hopefully I can help! This shop has been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc. and its advertiser. All opinions are mine alone. #DotComDIY #CollectiveBias
Whether you're hitting the road for a few days, or a few weeks, I wanted to share some road trip tips with you. As you may know, we travel a TON (hence the name of my blog)! We hardly ever fly anywhere, we always drive, so we can bring our pup with us, and having our car makes life SO much easier!
And, by shopping for oil and supplies online, you can definitely save time and money! Have it shipped directly to your house, or opt for in-store pickup. Ordering online is great for busy days, so you can focus on planning, rather than going a million places to shop before your trip. You can avoid the crowds, too, and who doesn't like that?! Pennzoil products are on Rollback right now for a limited time at Walmart.com. You can even get curbside pickup, which I think is pretty great.
Road trips are hard on your car. Our Prius has over 150,000 miles, (meaning we have driven at least 150K miles together in our 11 years of knowing each other) and it's still running strong. That's because we take good care of it, and make sure to always keep quarts of oil with us at all times. We always grab the Pennzoil Platinum, Full Synthetic 5W30. Re do get regular oil changes, but more recently, our car burns through oil much quicker, so we make sure to literally never leave home without oil. Lesser quality oil does not even compare - believe me, we have had to use the no-name brand a time or two and every few miles wished we had remembered to keep something better in the car.
The reason we always choose Pennzoil Platinum Full Synthetic Motor Oil, is because it's rated the best cleanliness protection in the Pennzoil line-up. Quoting their website, "With PurePlus™ Technology, the Platinum® motor oil is proven to keep pistons up to 40% cleaner than the toughest industry standard. PurePlus™ Technology is a revolutionary process that converts natural gas into a 99.5% pure base oil".
Pennzoil is designed for complete protection and will allow you to drive an extra of 550 miles per year vs. a dirty engine. No other motor oil provides better protection from friction
Cabbie loves road trips!
It's very easy to check your oil level. If you have a higher mileage vehicle, this is a skill that you will definitely want to learn. A mechanic showed us how easy it was. It's best to have a warm engine for this, so the oil reading is more accurate. Make sure the car is OFF, open the hood, and secure your hood so it won't fall on you! Locate the dipstick (it should have a brightly colored circle handle on it). Refer to your manual to locate it if needed.
To find out whether your vehicle needs oil, follow these steps:
- Pull out the dip stick and wipe it off on a clean, lint-free rag or paper towel.
- Insert the stick back into the pipe.
- Pull the dipstick out again and look at the film of oil on the end of the stick.
- Put the dipstick back into the pipe.
If your oil is below the "add" line (see image above), then you need to add some oil, ONE quart at a time, checking the oil level after each quart. Luckily, with better quality oil, like Pennzoil Platinum, we rarely have to add more than a quart.
Since we have traveled by car SO much, I have streamlined the process quite a bit! Here are a few tips that I wanted to share, to make your road trip even better, and more streamlined.
- Always bring a couple of quarts of oil with you, if you have a higher mileage vehicle (90,000+ miles).
- Bring lots of water - we always bring a gallon or two of water, and a refillable water bottle that fits into the cup holder. This prevents us from drinking soft drinks or anything that is just plain bad for you.
- Try not to store anything in plastic shopping bags. This seems easy at first, but the second you reach for that shopping bag, everything falls out, and they rustle around in the wind if your windows are open.
- Bring wet wipes of some sort, they can be used to clean your hands after you have a snack, and can even be used on your face if you need a refresher from being in the car.
- Bring a designated Food Bag (as we call it). Rather than having snacks and drinks floating about in the car, a zippered duffel bag or similar, will keep everything in one place and will allow you to eat much healthier.
- Do not buy food at gas stations! There is hardly anything nutritious and overpriced at gas stations, so when packing/shopping for road trip snacks, think of the snacks and foods you crave while on the road. I try to pack a mix of salty, sweet, crunchy, soft, whatever you like, just add some variety. Gallons of water and cold drinks (of coffee) is of course something you may need to gran at a gas station, unless you bring a cooler with you to keep things cold.
- Bring an atlas. Your phone may not always have good cell signal, or your phone may die. Just in case you get lost or are unfamiliar with where you are headed (or supposed to be headed), it's a good backup. You can even mark off where you have been to keep the memories of your travels.
- Bring a notebook and pens to write to-do lists, hopes and dreams, whatever. This always keeps me occupied :) Magazines are also nice when you don't have cell signal.
- Bring a car charger for your phone, and plenty of music.
Below, are the items that I purchased from Walmart.com in order to make my road trip even better! It was so easy to prepare for a trip by shopping online.
The bridge to Tampa! So gorgeous!!
Are you heading anywhere fun this summer? Do you usually travel solo, with your significant other, with the whole family, or with friends? Do you ever bring your pet(s) on road trips? Comment below to share your story! And enjoy the fun of a new adventure!!!!
