I’m going on a 8 hour drive in a 2012 equinox for the first time, longest drive before was 2 hours back when I was a newer driver.

The car does not have any smart phone type features like the newer cars, it will connect the phone for calls but that is it, there is a charging port but I’m guessing its usb2 so it won’t be all that fast and may not keep up with the phone, I have a battery bank and plenty of cables though, I won’t be stopping for those Bluetooth FM cigarette plug things because I’ll just being doing this the one time and it doesn’t seem useful enough to me.

I am very confident behind the wheel but just curious if anyone has any tips I haven’t thought about before.

I don’t think I’ll get very tired driving but I am known to get a slump of energy a couple hours after lunch but I don’t think I’ll eat a very big lunch so I may not have much of a slump.

I am driving this car back, I came here in a truck with another driver, something interesting I noticed between trucks vs small cars is that the taller trucks leave you less exhausted and so you can drive longer with an easier time because there is a perceived slower speed of things moving in and out past your field of vision.

Thankyou on advance!

  • CocaineShrimp@lemm.eeEnglish
    8·
    1 day ago
    • Check all the fluids in your car, and change em / top em up if it’s been a while.
    • Pack an emergency car kit. I’m sure there are loads of recommendations online, but I usually have:
      • Flashlight
      • Battery bank + charging cable for phone
      • Spare tire and wrenches (if you’ve got a charged phone, you could instead call for a tow if needed)
      • Blanket (it can get surprisingly cold at night, even in the summer)
      • Spare oil / coolant (water works as well for coolant in a pinch)
    • For misc stuff I like to bring on trips:
      • A pack of water. If there’s long stretches with no towns, water is always nice
      • Sunglasses
      • If you’re going to play stuff off your phone, I’d recommend downloading music and a variety of podcasts to go. Don’t just download 10 episodes from the same channel; mix it up. And mix up the genre too. I usually will have a mix of world news, tech news, stories, and self improvement stuff
      • Snacks & other drinks
    • PiecePractical@midwest.social
      1·
      19 hours ago

      Seconding this. I’m a native of the upper Midwest so I’m a big fan of the seasonal emergency kits. I would add sunscreen or a long sleeved shirt to the list though. Can’t count the number of times I’ve been on a long drive that happened to keep the sun in the driver’s side for several hours and ended up with a pretty bad sunburn on my left arm.

    • OhVenus_Baby@lemmy.ml
      3·
      1 day ago

      This 100 percent on fluids and maintenance. Last thing you want is to be broke down. Especially with no cell service