A Free Road Trip?

So what is this, actually? What do I do? Why is it interesting? How can you benefit?

Quickly put; I deliver cars. Or get other people to do it. This means a free road trip for the driver. Not a job. Not just driving. A free road trip. Someone need their car delivered where ever they are going to be in a short period of time. They can put in on a truck. Or they can save some serious money by getting someone to drive it.

Over the past few years I have taken more than a few road trips. I have seen many of the big cities and the small towns of North America. And lots of space in between. I basically started my own business. Well, two businesses. Tho' neither of them are really "businesses."



HitTheRoad.ca and CanadaDriveaway.com are pretty much two sides of the same coin. One is focused more towards the driver. The other more for the car owners. Both of them have developed some great road trip adventures.

Great stretches of Route 66, the plains of U.S. and Canada, the Rockie Mountains, East Coast and West Coast... I've driven through it all. And all on someone elses dime.

I got to get a bit of a reputation. Past shippers would tell their friends. I can't help everyone. I have started passing along cars to other people. Safe people. People who drive well. Interested in a free road trip? I just might be able to help out ....

The secret is this: If you want to travel the US, cars tends to go FROM Canada To the US in the Fall. Then back TO Canada in the Spring. So Start planning now. I have many many road trip suggestions.

Sending cars from Canada into the United States

The US Customs and Border Protection has been getting a little more strict about who gets in. This has made it a little more difficult, showing up saying stuff like "this car belongs to some guy...." It seems that showing up in someone elses car is something of a warning flag to Customs Officers.

I have spent the past three days trying to figure out what to do about this. On the phone with brokers and customs representatives alike. What a zoo. One person tells me one thing. Another ... another. However, with some persistence and many many questions, I have made some progress. As a result, HitTheRoad.ca is now equipped to PRE-SCREEN our drivers and cars BEFORE they arrive at the United States border. From now on, HitTheRoad.ca driver will head to the U.S. with paperwork in hand. No more need to explain to border guards. Hopefully. Just hand over a bar code and the rest is already on file.

Tomorrow, my very first driver will experience this in real life. I can't wait to hear back ....

Be a responsible road-tripper: conserve!

1. Use cruise control when you can. It’s a 4mpg s

2. If you don’t have to use air conditioning, don’t. If you don’t use it you will save a bundle.

3. Don’t idle and don’t make jack-rabbit starts. It will take a couple extra minutes, but you’ll save another couple mpg.

4. If you want to buy the most gasoline for the buck buy it during the coolest time of the day. That is when gasoline is the most dense. Gas is sold by volume, not density.

5. Don’t top off your tank. When you hear that first click of the fuel nozzle it’s time to stop.

6. Travel at the speed limit and use cruise control whenever you can. Cruise control is the best, but not practical in stop and go traffic. Stick with the speed limit and shift to the higher gear.

7. Look ahead. If there is a hill coming up, accelerate on the downside, engaging the engine, instead of accelerating on the upswing.

8. Keep a steady speed in the city. Most signal lights are set to the speed limit stated. If you stop and idle, put your automatic transmission in neutral. This will reduce the strain on the transmission and allow cooling.

9. Get regular tune-ups and make sure to change the air filter. If your air filter is dirty it decreases your gas flow. Watch your wheel alignment as well; going in a straight line, instead of wobbling will save gas.

10. Going forward takes less gas than going in reverse. When parking in shopping lots, etc., take this into account.

11. Change your tires in summer and winter and check them for maximum tire pressure every three months, as you get your oil changed perhaps. Spin and balance your tires and ask which tires are best fuel savers for your vehicle.

12. Anything you can turn off, do so. Radios, fans, all these new great technologies put a load on your engine which decreases your gas mileage.

13. Get the junk out of your trunk. The rule of thumb is for every extra 100 pounds you lose 1 mpg. Maybe it could be the next diet craze, "lose weight and save gas".

HitTheRoad.ca Blog #1 Toronto

I have been meaning to start a blog for some time now. So here I go.

I have a rather fun little hobby business on the go: I offer free road trips. Want to find out more? How to get behind the wheel?

Keep reading ....

I am not sure how I got here. I look back on my previous life path and wonder. Did I make an existential wrong turn? Like so many wrong turns along the way on various North American road trips. They are so easy to make. And sometimes, just sometimes, that 'wrong' turn leads you to a far more interesting road side adventure than the one that you had in mind. Or a boring interstate highway service road that dead ends. One or the other. I haven't decided which route I am following just yet.

But the 'business' side of this all-consuming hobby of mine looks promising. I have actually started generating new business. Potential customers call me. Wanna-be drivers email me. I have already connected those dots about five times in the past few months. And, of course, I have had my own road trip adventures, too. Which has been the first order of business. And will be the topic of many future posts. I mean I gotta keep it interesting.

Dave