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Cheap Tricks and tips when traveling


Mikesta

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6 years ago, My wife and I took a 3 month honeymoon in a 1983 Toyota Odyssey 21'. It was good times. I have read through many of the posts here and there are many questions regarding what motorhome to buy and costs associated.

Here are just a few tricks my wife and I picked up on.

Driving straight through long distance: Eat sunflower seeds, the salt wakes you up and keeps you active. I usually eat a bag every 12 hours after driving the first 5-6. Works wonders.

Need a shower but dont have water or one in you home?: Truck stops. Believe it or not, most truck stops 90%+ have clean showers. However keep a pair of sandles... you don't want anything to grow you your treads. Truck stops charge between $5-$7 for a shower, if your married thats $3 per person... not bad.

Don't have money to stay at a park?: Park costs can add up. Walmart has (or had) an unspoken permission to sleep in their parking lots. We have probably slept in 30-40 walmart parking lots and they are all over. They even sell maps of the country with all walmarts located in them.

Bathroom: Just stop at a gas station... shoot its just not worth dumping or getting a faint whiff of the smells. Emergency use only IMHO.

Those are just a few, I will add more when I think of them.

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  • 1 month later...

Here are a few of the things I have picked up while traveling:

Life is a journey, not a destination. I seldom travel more than 400 miles in a day, stop early for the best spots and enjoy the scenery.

I bought a 'passport america' membership and it more than paid for itself. Most of the passport america campgrounds are very reasonable, and membership gives you half price. Also, state and federal parks are reasonable. Some towns even have parks they will let you use, or the shriners sometimes have a low cost campground. You can find these in the trailer life directory.

Walmarts do let people stay in their lots, but if you don't know the town or the area, you could be leaving yourself open to robbery. I travel alone, so this is not a viable option for me.

Do stop at those tourist information centers. They have a plethora of information from local events to established recreational areas. All states give tourist information for free. As to maps, some states give them away and others charge a small fee. Many times these maps are more detailed than what you may have in your brand new atlas.

Do call ahead to reserve a camp site. Some of the more popular areas can fill up fast.

Ask the locals for their favorite cafe. I've been pointed to some little hole in the wall places that were great.

Ask your neighbors where they are headed or where they have been. Some of my best camping recommendations have come from folks who have passed thru the area to which I am headed.

A smile and a friendly 'hello' is usually all it takes to open up a conversation.

I purchased Emergency Road Service. It is well worth the money. I once had to be towed over 100 miles in Canada. The yearly membership more than paid for itself. I like Good Sam's club because they also found a place that would work on my motorhome. I am very happy with their service. Find one you like and enjoy peace of mind. If you have one tow bill, it will very likely pay for itself.

If you travel the Alcan, gas prices get really high when you get out in the big lonesome. For an idea of the prices, good sams club has a trip routing feature that gives local gas prices. I found these to be within a few cents when I traveled.

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