Taking a road trip across the country is an exciting way to spend your holiday. Road trips, when not planned properly, can be quite stressful and expensive. That’s why it is so important to think about all of the different things you will have to pay for. If you budget beforehand, you can keep your costs – and stress level – low. The largest expense is going to be the vehicle you take.
Vehicle
For a road trip, the vehicle is obviously the most important consideration. You need to make sure that it is reliable, as well as comfortable. Depending on the vehicle and the number of people, you might not have anything that you can comfortably drive for hours and hours. That’s where an RV comes into play.
RVs, or recreational vehicles, tend to cover a wide variety of vehicles that also feature the amenities of a home; typically, they will have a small kitchen, some sleeping areas, and a bathroom. The level of convenience and sophistication of these features depends on the size of the vehicle, as well as the price.
Campervan hire in Australia tends to be one of the most popular ways to drive across the country. Campervans are smaller than the full-sized RVs, but they still feature many of the same features; they have kitchens with appliances, bathrooms, showers, and sleeping arrangements. The exact features differ depending on the make and model of the vehicle.
Cars trips add more enjoyment to your budgeted road trip, by following some simple car entertainment tips you can add more joy to your holiday trip. The biggest advantage the campervan has over regular cars is the amount of space they offer. With a campervan, you and your passengers can stretch your legs. You can relax while you’re on the road, but also, you do not have to buy a hotel room; you can sleep in your vehicle. That is going to save you a lot of money each night.
Their biggest advantage over larger recreational vehicles is their size as well, but in the exact opposite sense. They are smaller than full-sized RVs, meaning they do not require nearly as much petrol. You can drive for longer distances without fuelling up as often. This will cut your fuel costs significantly, especially if you’re driving for thousands of kilometres. That kilometres per gallon difference really starts to add up.
Upkeep
Maintaining your vehicle once you have bought or hired it is going to be something for which you need to budget. Most upkeep expenses are going to be unexpected expenses, so it’s best just to keep a line in the budget for problems you cannot foresee; this can include flat tires, ruptured hoses, and the like.
Petrol costs, however, will remain fairly predictable. Obviously, your kilometres per gallon will change depending on where you are driving, the terrain, your tires, and even the time of day, but you can come up with a pretty good estimate. You should map how far you will be driving down to the kilometre, then divide that number by the campervan’s stated kilometres per gallon. This will give you a rough estimate of how much money you will need for petrol. If you want to get even more exact, you can look up the price of gasoline in the different areas to which you’re traveling.
