I have been dreaming of grabbing a van and trekking around the country with a few close friends for as long as I can remember. Obviously, it’s not as simple as that; when road-tripping, it’s vital that a plan is devised and you’re well organized for all outcomes on the road. Many of these tips are available on HuffPo UK for a smoothly run road trip. A key piece of advice is to always have a backup plan. A friend of mine was taking a road trip through a couple of the southern states in the US when her van broke down in Texas. She’s a bit of a ‘cross your fingers and wing it’ type, but even she wasn’t able to wing a tire blowout! Fortunately, services like the Ferguson Truck Center were able to help, but if I were her I’d definitely make a breakdown plan next time! Currently, I’d love to take a drive through the National Parks or up the west coast from California to Canada. If I ever do get my hands on a van or 4×4, I’ll have to make sure it has enough space for all my supplies. I’ll definitely have to invest in a 4×4 rear drawer storage system to keep all my items together and ensure everything is stocked away nicely.

While I’m definitely jealous of anyone who already owns the perfect roadtrip mobile (my sister, this couple), I recently learned that you don’t have to spring for a new vehicle or expensive rental. A great travel hack is to take advantage of relocation rentals.

Basically rental companies need to relocate cars, campervans, RVs, you name it, to meet demand or return vehicles after one way journeys. They have two options: pay a driver to return the vehicle to its origin or rent it out to road trippers for a small fee. The second option is a win-win – the rental companies save on the relocation fee and you get a cheap roadtrip. If you’re wishing to travel by other means, perhaps your own car or van, you might want to look into interstate car shipping so you’re able to make a cross country road trip that’s a little more personal to you.

Imoova.com is the largest relocation agent across Australia and New Zealand, and has expanded their services in the US and Canada. You can travel to various destinations for as low as $1 a day and they often offer incentive money to cover fuel costs.

I’d love to drive their San Francisco to Dallas route and stop to see a few sites and friends along the way. Imoova also offers routes on the east coast occasionally, so I’ll have to keep an eye on their site. It would be a great (and inexpensive) way to explore some of the cities I’ve never visited before.

If you want to give this a try for yourself, Thrifty Nomads has put together an extensive guide for finding relocation deals.

Where would your dream roadtrip take you?