On March 10th I flew one-way from Portland, Oregon to Charlotte, North Carolina to pick up my ’97 Honda Civic and drive it 3700 miles back across America. My girlfriend Jennie accompanied me for half of the trip back to Lincoln, Nebraska where she had to pit stop to hustle up on getting her graduate degree at UNL.
Now safely back in Portland and reflecting on the experience, I have realized there are some immutable facts one must know before taking on the open road.
Top Five Things You Need to Know Before Driving Across America.
01. Maintain at least a half-tank of gas at all times.
America is BIG, very big, and there are huge empty pockets of nothingness with signs that announce ‘No Services’ at what might misleading seem like a safe pull-off from the interstate to re-fuel.
If you do not maintain at least a half tank of gas in your car at all times, you are asking for pain.
02. Check the Weather and Road Closures Report Daily.
Depending on the time of year you are traveling, the weather can change dramatically within a few hundred miles. On the morning I left Lincoln, NE heading west on I-80 I hit a road closure just past the Wyoming border that forced me to take a 300 mile detour south into Colorado and into a blizzard that almost stranded me atop the Rocky Mountains. While I’m usually all about the unexpected adventure, in this case I had a plane to catch in 48 hours back in Portland and was still 1500 miles away from the airport!
03. Plan your destinations in advance.
I used to be of the school “we’ll figure it out when we get there” then I arrived in St. Louis and spent over two hours looking for a room that was less than $200 a night. Get a listing of hotels/motels/hostels that are in your price range and print out a map of their locations to bring with you. While it might seem tedious, the 20 minutes you spend now before you leave will save you hours of searching when you arrive in a city exhausted from having just driven hundreds of miles to get there.
04. Decide what you really want to see and what you can pass on.
It is impossible to get any real impression of a city by just staying the night there and getting coffee the next morning before you hit the road again. You’ll think you’ll have all this energy to explore, but trust me after you drive 5 hours to get there and have been on the road for a few days your ambition to explore wanes in favor of a drink and a hot shower. If you want to see a city and remember something about it, plan to stay at least one full day there by booking two nights of lodging before you leave town. We did exactly this in St. Louis and had a blast.
05. Pack a survival kit.
Again, this might seem overkill, but if you break down in a blizzard at 9,000 ft you’ll be happy to have a few extra blankets to keep you company until help arrives. Also don’t rely solely on AAA as I found that there were plenty of pockets along my drive where I didn’t have cell-phone service (thanks to Sprint) so I wouldn’t have been able to call them if needed.
The Essential Cross-Country Road Trip Survival Kit
- Spare tire, jack, and tire iron to take off lug nuts
- Road flares (available at most auto part stores for a dollar or so each)
- A flashlight in case you breakdown at night
- A real road atlas, not a $3.99 map of the US from 7-11
- Sunglasses!
- Snow chains that you’ve tested to fit your car.
- A credit card that earns you points for gasoline purchases
- $200 in emergency cash for the mechanic in Wyoming who doesn’t take Amex.
- A fifth of Jack Daniels (for the hotel room)
- And a digital camera to remember it all.
Bonus: Expense Recap of Entire Trip
- One-Way Plane Ticket from Portland, OR – Charlotte, NC : $149
- Cost to totally tune-up the car for the drive : $614
- Gasoline (14 fill-ups) : $340
- Hotel/Motel/Hostel Accommodations (total 4 nights) : $370
The rest of the time we stayed w/ family and friends - Restaurants and Supermarkets : $590
- Alcohol / Bars : $100
- Random Fun, Misc Crap, etc.. $270
Total length of trip : 3 Weeks / 3700 Miles
Total cost of the whole sha-bang : $2433
Happy Travels!
20 Responses to Top Five Things You Need to Know Before Driving Across The United States
Excellent…amazing website! Thanks so much. Quick question, if you did not to see family, sightsee and did not have any weather challenges, how long to do you think it would have taken you to get to Oregon from NC? Thxs. Nur
Give yourself at least a week. Sure you could do the trip in four days driving 12 hrs a day, but it is much worth your while to take your time and enjoy the journey.
Hi Stephen,
Just a short note to tell you that I thoroughly enjoyed your story! I have been pondering making a trip like this for a couple of months now, and reading about your adventure has put me one step closer to getting in my car and heading out. Thanks for sharing your experience and for all of the good advice.
All the best,
Joe Richter
Hi Stephen,
I too am thinking about driving across country. I have never seen the Rocky Mtns., Grand Canyon and many other beautiful places in the US. I’d like to go now before I go back to school for nursing. Are there any good books out there to help plan my route? Any good websites that you know of to help me plan?
Thank you.
Danapel
Thank you very much! I enjoy the honest feelings you bring to the telling of your trip.
And yes, I will remember the part about keeping gas in the tank
JohnC
Right on! I love this, nothing like hearing from someone who’s experienced it personally. I drove across Canada in 1997, I’m leaving from Oregon for Florida in a couple of days, a little nervous about such a daunting drive, this definitely helped…
Well Thank you very much for your insight into your journey across the states. I am planning to drive from one side of the states to the other in August this year (2011) it’s my 40th Birthday. I am from the south of England and 6 years ago drove from Boston down to New York across the state, and then up to Niagra, then back across the mountains to Boston. I had all my family that time wife and 3 children. All I can say was the people of America were as warm and friendly as if they had been my own Family. Any how this time it will be just me and the old ball and chain, and was wondering would 2 weeks be ampul time to take in some sights and still manage the trip realistically? Alison (my wife) would like to start from Chicago and does not mind which states to take in (she wouldn’t she does not drive) but would like maybe old faithful in yellow stone and L.A. and ending in San Francisco (Alcatraz) we’ve been told to book it as there is always a long wait to see it! I have printed off all there is to know about the different States and what there is to do in them but I could spend a life time doing everything! But you who live there would you have some idea of the must sees ? We’ve done Vegas, the Hoover Dam and the champagne Breakfast at the bottom of the Grand Canyon. Thanks for anyones feedback e-mail me at anytime. (jasongregoryhorn@hotmail.co.uk)
What a great primer for cross-country driving! Thanks Stephen.
i am leaving thursday 4/28/11 to head out from richmond,va to washington state. we are not in a rush we have till june 18th to be there for a wedding..we are heading north up to Wis. then driving across…plans are to visit all the hot spots like mount rushmore, yellowstone, glacier national, titons and whatever else we see that we want to stop and look at.
plan on taking videos the whole way and having them on facebook under my name. check it out! hope i have some funny ones!
very excited about the trip after the wedding we are heading down to see the big redwoods, then lake tahoe, down to NM stopping in texas at a friends then home. hoping to take a full three months for this trip. and yes i do work just saved enough to pay all my bills for the next four months. hope to have a ball also!
enjoyed your notes.
Very cool… Funny that we moved from Cherokee, NC to Salem, OR a few years ago.. We are about to make the trek back this summer to see family (and the Fireflies!!)… Couldn’t imagine living anywhere else but Oregon, but sometimes I miss those Appalachains…
Thank’s for the advice, I’m driving from VA to WA in a few days.
“Don’t forget to take a jacket.”
My husband and I are driving from the Finger Lakes in upstate New York to Nevada to go to Burning Man this August. We’ll be driving a Dodge 2500 Cummins Turbo Diesel and hauling our 30′ Coachman camper. We are so nervous! But thanks to this article and others like it, we are getting more excited each day. Wish us luck!
Thank you for the tips! My friend and I just graduated high school and plan to drive from GA to NY and possibly somewhere in the west coast… We are leaving Sep 24th! Wish us luck .
thanks, my husband said a six pack and a pack of smokes but the jack daniels will do. Driving from eastern Washington state to North Carolina and back in October. Plan on making a big circle.thanks again for the website. Good luck to all fellow travelers.
THE WIFE AND I ARE HEALTHY SENIORS AND ARE DESIRING TO DRIVE FROM yORKTOWN, VA ON A NORTHEAST ROUTE THROUGH WEST VIRGINIA AND OHIO AND POSSIBLY THROUGH THE DACOTAS, THEN SOMEHOW DRIVE ON DOWN TO lAS VEGAS AND RETURN TO VA ON A SOUTHERLY ROUTE–WE PLAN TO BE ON THE ROAD APPROX. 30 DAYS AND ARE IN NO HURRY TO GET TO ANY PARTICULAR PLACE—WITH THAT IN MIND CAN YOU RECOMMEND SOME MUST SEE SIGHTS AND ROUTES–IN THE PAST WE HAVE ALWAYS TAKEN A GRAY LInE TOUR IN THE CITIES AND HAVE FOUND THAT IS STILL BEST FOR US AS THE DRIVER KNOWS THE ENDS AND OUTS OF THE CITY AND WE DON’T HAVE TO WORRY ABOUT PARKING, ETC. Thanking you in advance for any advice you may wish to offer. Lewis stratton
I will be leaving from cherry point nc, to 29 palms cali. the longest drive i have ever done myself is 6hrs. this will be new to me. i want to see the country and not wear myself out. but i want to stop home in colorado as soon as i can so i can enjoy my leave with family. that aloe is a 1900 mile drive. any tips for keeping sane when traveling by yourself for that long?
great advice. i liked having the half a tank of gas tip. never thought about that
Some great tips on here. I live in the UK, my partner and I are planning a RTW trip starting January next year. We would love to finish it off with a road trip across America. We dont really know where to begin with it all and appreciate any advice we get. We have alot of planning to do. One thing i would like to know is are there any comparison websites for american car hire companies? as this would save a lot of time from having to visit each website filling in the details each time.
@emma take a look at http://vroomvroomvroom.com