Tips & Tricks from a Road-Tripper
Sleeping in the back of your vehicle on a road trip to save money? Why not?!
Have you ever thought about just sleeping in your car at a rest stop or campground during a long trip? It would save money, right?!
Well, yes, it does save money. Hotel costs can get expensive..
However, here are some of the top things that you definitely want to plan ahead for before deciding on this money-saving tactic:
1. Where you're going to stop ahead of time.
I can't stress enough how important it is to know where you're going to stop along your traveling route ahead of time. Seriously, you're going to want it to be a safe place, preferably with security and/or cameras/people watching your car for you. A lot of people just stop at hotels and let the front desk attendant know that they're in the parking lot. However, this might still not be very secure.
I'd recommend stopping at an overnight truck stop that you can trust. I know some folks would advise against stopping at these places, but some of them can be more secure than you think. Make sure to take a look at reviews for the specific stops that you're looking to park at overnight.
The last trip that I took, we stopped at a Love's Truck Stop just off of the highway, and it worked out quite well. We double checked that it was okay to stay overnight (just that one night), and then the attendant advised us of the best/most secure place to park where our vehicle could be monitored and watched over. The truck stop had security cameras and people working at a fast food restaurant open 24 hours who could watch out for our car to make sure no one messed with it/us through the entire night.
This worked out so well that we planned to stop at another Love's on the way back from our trip to Minnesota.
If you're planning to stop at a campground, this works as well! I'd recommend a state park campground or one that you know ahead of time that has some type of security. Make sure to also know when you will be arriving to the campground, as some locations have set hours where you can check-in. Outside of those set hours, there may not be anyone available to check you into the park, which could cause issues late at night when you're half asleep. That doesn't sound like a good time at all.
2. How you're going to sleep in the vehicle.
This one, it's important to plan ahead for sure, and it does vary depending on what type of vehicle you have and are using to travel.
For me, I have a Jeep Compass, which isn't the biggest SUV. I'd say it is a rather compact, smaller SUV actually. So, we had to get a little creative. I knew that I wanted to be as comfortable as possible to get at least a half-decent nights sleep. We were on our way to my sorority sister's wedding, I had to make sure we didn't show up completely exhausted from our 24 hour road trip from Florida. Because of this, I looked up on Amazon what I could use as padding for the back of my smaller Jeep. I found this affordable yet comfortable, inflatable car air mattress (paid link) that is shaped for the rear end of an SUV.
Of course, we had to lay the seats down in the back and push our front seats all the way forward, but it worked out better than expected! We used our bags as cushion for the head rest of the mattress. We put a blanket down over the mattress to keep us warmer, and had another blanket to cover up with. We also had about 3 pillows as well because it's always nice to travel with your own pillows that you're used to from home.
Who can tell me they actually sleep better on a hotel pillow...?
Those things are so squishy..
3. Privacy when sleeping
I thought of this one when I was looking for the inflatable mattress for the back of the Jeep. You can be all comfortable on the air mattress, but what if you wake up and someone is standing there staring at you... Also, sunlight waking you up bright and early when you got to sleep late because you drove later into the night than expected to get to the place you had planned to stop..
While looking at the air mattress, Amazon recommended some privacy curtains to hang up in the back of the car to block sunlight and for privacy in general. I thought, "Hey, why not?"
These curtains also worked out better than expected. They were a bit tricky to install, but that's because I'd never done it before. Once we got the hang of how they notch into the seams of the car, it worked great! They can be placed exactly where you want them, and they provide great blocks for the sun and just general privacy. It made me feel a lot more comfortable knowing that people just driving by in the parking lot couldn't see me sleeping there in the back of my Jeep.
4. Temperature control
This one is harder to plan for, but not impossible. Since the trip was from Florida to Minnesota in the middle of April, I knew that the further north we drove, the colder it was going to get. So, to plan for this temperature shift, we brought an extra blanket as well as utilized the vehicle's heat to keep the Jeep warmer. Before getting in the Jeep for the rest of the night, we let it run at full heat for about 10 minutes, which kept it decently toasty in the cabin of the Jeep most of the night.
However, this may not work for everyone. It's extremely variable depending on the time of year, where you are in the country, and what type of weather your camping in. We lucked out and had decent night temperatures around 60 degrees Fahrenheit, which meant that we could keep the windows down slightly to let in some fresh air (not enough that someone could reach in at all though, safety first).
So, I'd definitely recommend that if you're camping in your vehicle, to just think about what the temperature is going to be like where you're camping as well as the weather during your trip. That way, it's easier to plan ahead and be prepared.
5. Proximity to restroom/facilities
I know this may seem as a small priority, but let me tell you what.. As a female, knowing where and how far away the restroom is... That's a priority. Please tell me I'm not the only one who wakes up and immediately needs the restroom..
If that's not you, you can disregard this one altogether..
However, if this is you in a nutshell every morning like freaking clockwork, please make sure to plan for this. I literally like to know where the nearest restroom is wherever I go. Walked into a hotel to check in; I've likely been driving for a while to get there in the home stretch. Please point out to me the nearest restroom before I even think about checking in. No joke..
So, it's absolutely the same if you're going to be camping in your vehicle.
I also learned to make sure you know how to get out of your vehicle (if you're sleeping in the back like I did). This might seem like, yeah, duh..
But seriously, it wasn't until we went to set up the air mattress at like 10PM at night that I realized the inside of the rear hatch didn't have a handle inside to open it from the inside.
This meant that in the morning, we had to climb out the small side doors in the back of the vehicle. This was interesting to say the least, especially when waking up and having to use the restroom right away. Can I just say, the squish to get my legs from the trunk up to where my head was while sleeping and out the side door (also finding my shoes in the process because I hate sleeping in them) was a whole acrobatic feat in itself. So, yeah, just be prepared/plan for that ahead of time.
6. Packing all bathroom necessities in one bag
This is also a smaller, yet important trick. Anything that you're packing for your trip, like hairbrush, toothbrush, toothpaste, shampoo/conditioner, makeup, mouthwash, feminine products, etc.
Make sure they are all in the same bag. This is so you can easily access them first thing when you go to the restroom to freshen up when waking as well as before going to sleep in the vehicle. I don't know about you, but I hate it when I miss brushing my teeth at night/in the morning. So, I'd do anything to avoid that, which means planning ahead to pack all of the bathroom essentials where I can access them the easiest. For me, a smaller duffle bag worked best. It literally fit everything we needed for our trip, including my perfume and full-size shampoo/conditioner bottles.
Tip inside of a tip:
Make sure to always put any lotions, shampoo, conditioner bottles that can be squeezed inside of zip lock bags separately and then into the duffle bag. If they open accidentally while traveling, it's a whole mess that you didn't expect and can easily get frustrated with. Better to plan for that ahead, than start of your day with shampoo covering the rest of your toiletries (been there, not fun).
7. Vehicle Maintenance
Before any trip, it's essential to make sure your vehicle can handle the distance and miles that it will be accruing. So, making sure to get an oil change done just before leaving on the planned trip is a good idea. Having your tires checked to see if they need to be rotated is also important. If you're going somewhere that you'll need more traction based on weather (snow for instance), it's important to have the tread on your tires checked as well. Of course, a good repair shop will check all of these things for you.
One thing I wish we had on this last road trip that we didn't was a spare tire. I only realized a few days before the trip that there wasn't a spare in the compartment in the trunk of the Jeep (we only bought it back in February, and I assumed there was a spare already).
When I reached out to the local repair shops and tire companies, they didn't have any spare tires in stock. They also weren't able to order the tire to arrive before our trip, so we were forced to travel without a spare. I definitely don't recommend doing that, as it can cause issue while on the road if something happens to one of your tires along a highway. It's never fun being stranded on the side of a highway or road and having to wait for a tow truck, not to mention the frustration and stress of having an unexpected expense while travelling. We absolutely lucked out not having tire issues on our road trip, which was about 2,700 miles round-trip.
So, overall health of your vehicle and having it prepared for the road/camping trip is equally as important as having everything else planned out ahead of time, in my opinion.
Future Jeep Camping
With all of this being said, I do plan to take my Jeep actually camping. It was overall quite comfortable, and I believe it would work well in a state park and for camping in general. It helps in the morning as well, if it ended up raining overnight, so you don't have to worry about drying out a tent the next day. I have had to do that plenty of times. I feel like mother nature thinks it's funny to make it rain/storm hard any time I plan a camping trip with friends. Literally, every single time..
I am curious who else would try camping in their vehicle, what kind of vehicle is it, and/or have you done this as well? Feel free to leave a comment with your camping and traveling stories! I love to hear others' experiences as well!
Much love,
P.S. Check out the links to these Amazon products that were mentioned in this post and used on this road trip from Florida to Minnesota and back!
Amazon Product Info (Paid Links):
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