I’ve always been a big fan of road trips. I know that they aren’t for everyone – a lot of people say that they can’t sit in the car for that long of a time and they get restless. I don’t usually feel that way. I can easily settle into a drive and sit comfortably for up to 12 hours at once. It’s no problem to stare off at the scenery and let my mind wander gently from topic to topic as the hours fly by. One of the biggest recommendations I can give to anyone who normally feels tortured by long road trips is to invest in a van. Having enough space is essential for comfort. Recently, we even rented a large cargo van for one of our trips. This thing was amazing! It drove like a dream and we had so much room for our belongings. The one downside of having so much space was trying to maintain the proper air quality within the cab. As we drove on our long trip, the outdoor air drastically changed from a warm and humid air quality to a dry and bitterly cold climate. The van wasn’t exactly equipped to combat the brutally cold and blustery air outside, it turns out. Even with the onboard heater blasting at full power, we noticed that the air temperature fluctuated wildly from hot to cold. The heater seemed like it could not maintain a high level of heat or air flow. It also felt like the cold air from outside was easily permeating the uninsulated metal walls, chilling the van from all sides. Thank god we know enough as expert travelers to keep extra blankets on board. I don’t think the van’s heater could survive our heating demands.