When you think of taking a road trip, you don’t really think that it’s a green thing to do, but did you know that even if you travel across the country in a car you use less fuel than a plane? Stay sustainable on the road with these green road trip tips!
Green Road Trip Tips
Give your car a checkup before you go. Make sure your oil is changed and your filters are clean. Doing so will make sure that your car is running the most efficiently that it can and using less gas in the process. Also check to see if your car’s emissions are good. If you don’t live in a state that requires it, you can and should see if you are not letting off too much into the air and fix it. It can cost less than $100 to fix in some cases.
Do a check on your tires. Most people don’t realize how much a worn set of tires will suck their car’s fuel efficiency away from their vehicle. You will also want to see if your alignment is good because that can wear your tires down quickly, especially when going down the freeway.
Rent a green car. If you will be traveling in your car for a long distance, consider renting a hybrid to get you to your destination. You can rent fuel-efficient hybrid vehicles at major car rental places and they don’t cost much more than a compact car does to rent. The price often goes down when you rent for a longer period of time and sometimes you can find lightening deals.
Only pack what you will actually need. The more weight you have in your car, the lower your gas mileage will be. Try to only bring the minimal amount with you and plan on wearing things more than once on your trip. Unless you are doing something super active, your outfits should be fine.
Roll down your windows. AC sucks power which means that it sucks your gas mileage. It also produces pollution if your car is older. If you are flying down the highway, you should be able to stay cool enough without it.
Bring your own snacks. Not only will this save money, but you can control what you eat and you will cut out plastic packaging and wasteful fast food containers.
Use cruise control and try to stay out of cities. Using cruise control allows your car to control the furl efficacy and staying out of cities as much as possible lets you avoid stop and go traffic which is the worst kind of traffic when it comes to getting good gas mileage.
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Thanks for these tips! I like that idea of renting a green car because it will not cost too much, lowering the windows and feel some fresh air outside while enjoying the beautiful views, and yes avoiding city traffics for a good gas mileage