Ten Tips for a Green Road Trip
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Tips for a Green Road Trip
Below are ten useful tips to make your Route 66 Road Trip greener, and save money in the process!
1. Start Saving Before You Leave Home
Before setting out on your trip, there are some simple things that you can do at home to reduce your energy bills.
Turn off the water heater. You don't need to heat water that you will not be using. Set the switch to "pilot" or to "vacation" while you are away. If the heater is electric, turn it off using the circuit breaker.
Unplug devices at home; it will cut the "phantom" load they require from the grid as standby energy. The TV, game consoles, kitchen appliances (microwave, coffee maker, toaster, ovens), computer, scanner, printer, chargers, and digital clocks.
Don't leave your lights burning 24/7 to ward off burglars; use automatic lighting timers to turn them on or off at scheduled times. It will reduce the energy usage and lower your electricity bill.
2. Get Your Car Into Top Shape
Vehicle maintenance can help you drive more efficiently and save cash in the process. It is safer and cheaper.
Tuning
Tuning a car helps it use less gas. Keeping the tires properly inflated can improve gas mileage by up to 3% and reduce tire wear.
Air Filter
Changing the air filter as directed by the user manual provides adequate levels of oxygen for combustion. Dirty, clogged filters make the engine burn more fuel to provide the same power output. The U.S. Department of Energy says that replacing a damaged air filter could improve fuel efficiency by up to 14% (1).
Lubricant
Using an "energy conserving" oil is a good idea, as they are specially formulated to reduce the oil's viscosity and engine friction, which improves efficiency and boosts fuel economy by 1.5 to 2.7% (2).
3. Rent a Hybrid
Hybrids do better in the city than on the highway, but if you keep off main highways and the freeways, as you would do when driving the old alignments of Route 66, and crossing many towns and villages, you will be closer to city driving than highway driving. Countryside driving will allow you to enjoy the scenery, and you will maximize your mileage efficiency.
A hybrid vs. an SUV offers roughly 45 miles per gallon vs. 20 miles per gallon. Good savings in fuel and carbon generation.
4. Travel Light
The vehicle has to consume energy to transport its load. A lighter vehicle uses less gasoline. For every extra 45 kg (100 lbs) loaded into a vehicle, fuel efficiency falls by roughly 2% (3).
5. Drive Slower and Don't Idle
Speed affects fuel economy. Avoid aggressive driving. Driving at high speeds and sudden acceleration increases the amount of fuel consumed and CO2 generated.
By driving at 65 miles per hour instead of 75 miles per hour, you can reduce fuel consumption by up to 20%.
Slow acceleration and gradual stopping economize fuel. Use cruise control (4).
Don't Idle
Idling consumes gas. The car burns fuel and does not go anywhere. If you stop for more than one (1) minute, turn the engine off. A small car burns around 0.16 gallons per hour, a larger car 0.39 gallons per hour.
It will also keep the motor well lubricated (idling affects lubrication performance), carbon buildup (5).
6. Park in the Shade
The car will feel cooler in summer, and less fuel will evaporate.
The cabin of a car parked in the sun will get hot, rogughly 40°F to 60°F (20-30°F) higher than ambient temperature. Black, or dark-colored cars, will get hotter than white cars (+10°F - 5°C).
This will require more air conditioning time and power to cool down when you get back into the car.
about 5 °C higher than that inside a white car, which seriously th7. Plan Ahead
Use a GPS (Waze, Google Maps) to avoid traffic, find a straighter route, reduce idling time, and avoid driving unnecessary miles.
Follow UPS's driving policy of "No Left Turns". It is safer: tuning left causes 22.2% of crashes at intersections vs. 1.2% for right turns. Turning left means facing and turning into a flow of oncoming vehicles. It is more dangerous and slower.
Left turns are three times more likely to kill pedestrians than right turns.
It also saves fuel; UPS has software that prefers three right turns to one left turn. It saves fuel for them. It may not work for you, but the safety bonus is a plus (6).
8. Leave No Trace
Bring your mugs and reusable water bottles, as well as food containers and a spoon. It will limit the waste of single-use plastics.
Pack your snacks (nuts, bananas, fruit, granola, etc.) in reusable containers and avoid buying snacks and trashing the empty packaging.
Sort and recycle. Use the appropriate bins for trashing your garbage.
Water. Don't waste water with long showers, especially in the dry Southwestern regions along Route 66. If you stay at the same hotel for more than one day, try reusing towels.
Hike respectfully, if you trek, stay on the designated trail, and bring back everything you took on your hike. Don't disturb the wildlife.
9. Stay at a Green Hotel or Motel
Eco-lodging is a good option. Check out if they have green certifications like Green Key, LEED, Green Globe, or Green Seal, just to mention a few.
These hotels implement energy and water saving measures, they serve local foods in their restaurants, recycle, reuse, avoid using in-room bottled water, or one-use shampoos, lotions, soaps, or conditioners. They adjust the air conditioning to cool energy-saving settings, allow you to opt out of linen washing, and promote the reuse of towels.
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10. Support Local Businesses
Avoid chains, choose independent stores, eat at a local cafe or restaurant, buy at farmer's markets. Local producers have very short supply chains, and don't have to ship their produce long distances this saves energy in transportation and refrigeration. Packaging may also be more sustainable.
More Useful Information about Route 66
The head of "Chicken boy". Los Angeles, CA. Source
- A detailed description of Route 66 (maps and itinerary)
- How long is Route 66?
- Where is Route 66?
- Can you still drive the entire Route 66?
- Where does Route 66 start and end?
- Brick paved segments on Route 66
- 10 Reasons to go on a road trip
- Detailed description leg-by-leg with custom interactive maps of the alignments of US66, and a description of each leg from Chicago to Santa Monica.
- Our 1-Week Route 66 Road Trip Itinerary from Chicago to Santa Monica, stopping at the main sights along the highway.
Have the road trip of your life!
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Credits
Banner image: Hackberry General Store, Hackberry, Arizona by Perla Eichenblat
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