Beyond the License Plate Game: The Key Guide for Roadtrips
- Nov 6, 2025
- 4 min read
Updated: Jan 25
Join a Ridealong with Axplore Co.
Heading from A to B, Axplore Co. Navigates Through the Expansive United States
The car is packed, snacks are acquired, and the music playlist is set. Today is only a sweet eight hours.
Buckle in for seven days.
These cross-country road trips are atypical. Unfortunately, all with a time limit, translating to extra-long days. With a full car, moving life from West to East and back, car visibility, weather, and dog-friendly breaks direct the routes.
The road trip timeframe drives the schedule, which means it is essential to understand your reason for taking a road trip. Is your goal to visit as many National Parks as possible? Visit as many historical locations? Drive by to say hello to your friends and family! Clearly laying out your goal will make the planning process easier, especially when you have limited time.
After setting your goal, consider other factors, such as who, what, where, when, and price. All of Axplore Co.’s cross-country road trips were time-based, which meant direct routes were king.
Check out what worked for us and why!
Off-Hour Leave Time | Do not leave at standard times, including any weekday hours 8-10 am. As early risers, we adopted a new standard that reduced traffic waiting time and prevented potential accident events. This idea could work for a night owl, where you shift your car hours toward the evening (ending toward 11 pm). Benefits included having an open road and significantly less traffic in cities—huge for manual drivers!
Movement-Purposed Stops | Traveling with a dog balanced the lack of movement. Even if you don't have a pet, getting out at stops and actually walking outside helps alleviate muscle pains and tiredness, refreshing both the mind and body. Similar to working at a desk for long hours, getting up boosts circulation and productivity. We found that our limit was around four hours, which meant that, ahead of time, 4-hour pit stops were built into our schedule. Additionally, if you get antsy, consider building a workout into your plan before or after a long day of driving. It will support sleep quality, which is so crucial on back-to-back long days.
Get Comfortable with Your Route | It will happen, the unthinkable. A road is closed, adding 3+ hours to the already 10-hour day. Or a city does not have any accommodations, I mean ANY (post checking hotels, Airbnb, everything!). Or even seeing five jackknifed trucks in one travel day and wanting to pull over, but too afraid that the car will slide off the road. Or having to stop early because the car and everyone inside are overheating. Yes, all these things happened, plus more. Road trips offer a complex mix of the expected and the unexpected. Educating yourself on the route will help you make the best decisions if things change. Driving is one of the best ways to see the United States, but it can be dangerous depending on the weather, road, and driver conditions. Be smart; take the time to actually look at the map, rather than just following the GPS voice.
Utilize AI and Reviews for Pitstops | Information is now more accessible than ever, thanks to trip planners, companies like Roadtrippers, endless TikTok videos, and personal recommendations. We are living in a digital age; embrace and enhance your trip by asking detailed search queries. Refine your questions, add price points, requirements for ratings, or accessibility factors, and points of personal interest; the list goes on. Who knew that in Amarillo, Texas, you could catch sight of the Slug Bug Ranch off Interstate 40 - yes, it is free. Create an itinerary where each day there is something you are excited to discover or see.
Must-Have Apps: GasBuddy & Waze | Two applications we keep returning to are GasBuddy and Waze. We have found that both applications are reliable with both gas prices and timely traffic updates - more so than Google and Apple Maps. Cents add up when you are filling up your tank every day. GasBuddy is a free application that compares prices from town to town. Waze, a mapping application, has a different interface that might take some time to get used to, but all the live updates (by other drivers) are convenient. Beyond police tagging within the app, the object in the road has been paramount. Roadtripping, you might come across tumbleweeds, tires, roadkill, and items that have just fallen off vehicles. Bonus: AllTrails is best suited for hiking or finding active routes.
Find Creative Connections | If you can, reach out to that person you haven’t seen in forever if you are passing by their town. No one is prouder to show a newbie around their town! Bonus relationship building and tour with a local - win-win! During our road trips, friends and family joined us for various days; some stayed for the whole trip, while others joined for just a few days. With just the road and no distractions, conversations can finally reveal their true depth. Bonus: Homestays offer cost-saving options and provide an insight into other ways of life.
By-Hour Dayplan | Section out the longer days, just as you would a workday. A longer day once reached 14 hours, which is not even legal for truck drivers. For any day over 10 hours long, we found that the car ride goes by faster when sectioned. For example, as early risers, the first 4-6 hours were quiet-focus hours, which consisted of podcasts, audiobooks, and news. After lunch, it turned more social and musical. Phone calls to loved ones, belting out song lyrics, lively car debates, and question games, etc.
Bonus: Picture Geotagging | Take pictures along the way! This is a great way to visualize your route and reflect after you have completed it. In Apple Photos, click on the “Maps” and you can see all your photo pitstops.
Heading cross-country is no small feat. Do proper vehicle and planning preparations. Make sure to review the anticipated weather conditions, yes, even in summer.
Axplore Co. hopes some of these trip recommendations will aid you in your first or next road trip!
Need Inspiration or Have Questions for Your Own Route? Reach Out Here!
