Road Trip Planning Checklist: Communication Devices, Maps, and Routing

Planning a family road trip this summer?

Make sure you have the right essentials before you go! The road may not always have the same type of conveniences that we’re so used to having (and expecting) in our hometown, so be ready–especially if you’ve gotten quite accustomed to depending on technology.

In this post, we’re going to cover some of the essentials and knowledge that we have brought along with us on our road trips, specifically as it relates to:

• Communication Devices (including notifications)
• Maps
• Routing (in some cases, re-routing)

As previously mentioned, we cannot stress enough that the conveniences, reliability of technology, and provisions tend to vary between cities (and roads), so be prepared!

A Quick Note On Safety: Road trip planning is quite different when you’re only planning for a group of adults vs planning for a large family with small children–too much spontaneity can be dangerous when traveling with children. Have you ever gotten approached by strange people asking for money at the gas station, rest area, or even at a drive-thru? We have (at different times of the day, regardless if we’re inside or outside our vehicle)!

How about the weather? The weather is often unpredictable, most especially when you’re traveling through many different states in between multiple storm systems!  Yes, we’ve been there, too–one coming from the north, and another from the south, and we were headed northwest (only to land up in the middle of a lightning storm as we drove past many a mountain pass–we were going to re-route and make a quick stop at Yosemite National Park, only to learn that it started quickly burning down while we were yet en route!)

The Importance of Prayer: We have no doubt that we are at God’s mercy to keep us safe on the road–not only from accidents and car failures but also from strange people, the weather, falling asleep, and even animals on the road that have caused a 10-wheeler to jackknife just 2 vehicles ahead of us! It is always a good idea to start your road trip with prayer and weave in even more of them in between.

Evidently, your smart phone isn’t the be-all, end-all of your must-have arsenal. There are many areas (even fairly-decent-sized cities) that may not work well with your mobile carrier.

For-Real?  Moment: Get used to hearing “GPS signal lost” from your smart phone, or getting re-routed to questionable areas, or in some cases, being told that you’re headed north, when you’re actually headed south. Been there. Enough said.

When technology is not enough: What can we say–road trips are fun, and they can be addicting (but we just can’t afford to throw all caution out the window and say, “there’s an app for that“)!

We’re not hear to scare you, we’re just here to help you be prepared. While we’re not here to provide you with an exhaustive list, we hope that the information we’re about to share would be enough to get you on the right track / mindset for your upcoming family adventure!

So, let’s cut to the chase–feel free to take a peek into our family’s basic-ish checklist, below (please keep in mind that this list is tailored to our own family’s needs and situation, so be sure to customize according to your own judgment)…

Our Family’s Road Trip Planning Checklist: Communication Devices, Maps, and Routing

1. Communication Devices and Notifications

   • Cellphones
   • Smart Watch (We use the Samsung Galaxy Gear S since it can function without having a smart phone nearby–this is especially helpful when we end up getting separated from our smart phone that’s being used as a GPS in the car and one or more of us have to step out of the vehicle to use the restroom, for example)
   • Prepaid Cellphone on a different mobile network (some mobile carriers have better reception in certain areas, so we have found it beneficial to have this in our glove box, just in case)
   • Two-Way Radios with excellent range capabilities, superior battery life, an emergency alert feature (to inform others of any dangers that may come your way), weather channels, and NOAA alerts
   • Emergency Crank Weather Alert Radio
   • Google Voice (sometimes, we’re in areas where we don’t even get any text messages, voicemail, or phone calls, and the notifications don’t appear until many days later; with Google Voice, we’re able to at least retrieve our messages when we’re able to reconnect to secure Wi-Fi or re-establish 4G LTE connection…we can also “email to text” when our text messages aren’t going through)
   • Chargers (don’t forget to bring the chargers for these devices and make them easily accessible–we would bring regular chargers, “car cigarette lighter” chargers with USB ports, “car cigarette lighter” chargers with AC outlets like the ones from Duracell, and solar chargers like SolarMonkey)
   • Notifications
     • After you contact your bank to inform them of your travel plans (so your credit / debit cards don’t get locked up), consider setting up email / text notifications of your card activity (on that note, keep an eye out for credit card skimmers, especially at gas stations).
     • If you have a Home Security System, be sure that your notifications are appropriately set up.
     • Have a trusted friend or family member check-in on you and inform them of your road trip itinerary and estimated arrival times at each location.
     • If possible, have traffic and weather alerts sent directly to your phone, for good measure.

2. Maps

   • Google Maps on our smart phone (or you can use a regular GPS)
   • Rand McNally Road Atlas (so we have a “paper” version of each state’s maps / roads–you might want to bring a small, portable reading lamp with you so you can use this to navigate at night, especially when your GPS is doing strange things)
   • A reliable compass (remember our quip about the GPS telling us that we were headed north when we were actually headed south?)

3. Routing Tips

   • Establish your maximum driving duration per day (this is especially important when traveling with young children–think bathroom breaks, boredom / restlessness, etc.).
     • This will help you pre-plan your lodging accommodations, request for rollaway beds / cribs ahead of time, and choose between hotels that have free breakfast, free Wi-Fi, and in some cases, laundry facilities (all these are especially helpful when you have children, and it certainly helps with cost and convenience). This gives you the opportunity to research the provisions near the hotel, including grocery, gas stations, etc. Don’t forget to ask about the hotel’s Cancellation Policy!
   • Establish break periods in between driving so you can plan ahead (to the best of your ability) on where to stop for restroom breaks, diaper changing, breastfeeding, food, gas, dumping out your trash, etc.
     • Try to keep off the road trip predator’s path as much as possible–we often find a nearby Target, reputable restaurant, or highly recommended Point of Interest for a quick sightseeing “break”.
   • Establish a threshold for your gas gauge.
     • This prevents the need to re-fuel at shady-looking gas stations as well as keeps you from re-fueling during the late hours when you’re more susceptible to being approached by strange people (our threshold was 100 miles until empty as we sometimes experienced a 70-mile distance, at most, in between gas stations).
     • Be aware that some gas stations close early, especially during the holidays, so it doesn’t really matter if your smart phone tells you that there are many gas stations nearby…when they’re all closed.
     • We keep a 2.5 gallon gas can filled and safely stowed away in the back of our vehicle, just for back-up.
   • Familiarize yourself ahead of time regarding which route you will be taking (have a primary route and at the very least, a secondary route, in mind).
     • In doing so, we were able to find articles and blogs online regarding certain roads, their driving difficulty, potential dangers, and Points of Interest (oh, and if that Point of Interest happens to be a National Park, remember to re-fuel before entering the park–it’s not hard to get lost in these vast creations…in our case, it was Glacier National Park).
     • We also tune into other resources that would inform us of road construction, road closures, and accidents while we’re en route (remember, Google Maps may not always be working, depending on your location, connectivity, the weather, etc.).
     • Provided that your 4G LTE is working on your smart phone, keep a close eye on weather.gov updates–it gives you a nice snapshot of weather conditions throughout the entire US (you can also zoom in on specific locations and get the most current weather advisories) so you can plan ahead, especially when you need to re-route and implement your contingencies.
     • Knowing your routes ahead of time will also inform you if you should pick up any prepaid toll transponders, i.e. E-Z Pass (we purchased ours at a nearby AAA office) to save time and money.
     • Get a good grasp of the major roads you will be taking and which direction they will be taking you, i.e. north, east, south, west, so you maintain situational awareness when curve balls get thrown at you!

Allowing For Spontaneity In Your Road Trip Planning Process

While our Routing Tips may make it seem as if we have no flexibility in our Road Trip Planning Process, we actually fine-tune our plan and constantly re-evaluate what’s going on based on the situation. In most cases, we start out with a general idea and a general plan. For example, we start out with a solid plan from Point A to Point B (unless the situation changes and we have to resort to our contingencies), then if Point B is a hotel, we spend some time over at the hotel to solidify the next day’s plan (and route) from Point B to Point C. For us, road trip planning is an ongoing process.

Looking for other Road Trip Planning Tips?

Check out our previous posts on road trip storage and organization!

We still plan on sharing more information, so keep checking back for more! We’d love to hear your thoughts, questions, and road trip stories, so don’t be shy and drop us a line or two in the comments.

Have a wonderful summer and be safe on the road! Godspeed!

Disclosure: As of the time of writing this post, AltamonteFamily.com is by no means affiliated with any of the companies or organizations mentioned in this article. AltamonteFamily.com has not been compensated in any way nor has AltamonteFamily.com been influenced to write about these products. This post is a result of the personal observations and independent research of members of AltamonteFamily.com. All opinions solely belong to AltamonteFamily.com.