Road trips are a test of endurance. They test a your ability to endure being in an enclosed space for a long period of time. They test your ability to endure crappy interstate gas station food. They test your ability to endure your friend’s farting prowess and shitty taste in music.

But one thing you shouldn’t have to endure is boredom. And how do you avoid boredom on a road trip? By taking an unorthodox approach to the hallowed ritual.  Because your road trip isn’t just a means to an end; a good road trip cries out for variance from the same old trudging from one place to another.

Variety is indeed the spice of your road trip.  So if you’re going to hit the red and blue highways this spring and/or summer (and do, pretty please) here’s 9 tips for doing things a little different-like:

1) Couch surfin’ USA

A good road trip requires at least nominal funding, and one of the biggest hurdles in stretching out a road trip is lodging. A rookie mistake is usually getting hotels, or even worse, getting a nice hotel. But there’s no reason to pay out the ass to crash. Because thank Jeebus, you’ve got the internet. The Couchsurfing website is just what it sounds like: a list of people willing to put up their couchspace for little to nothing, maybe just your willingness to do a few chores. Just don’t outstay your welcome.

And always make sure to have some mace or other protection with you, and the ability to leave immediately in case things get weird (okay, I’m paranoid, but I’ve been in some hairy situations on the road.) And if you’re a woman, really try to stay with only other women.

2) Tag Along With The Band

Though the golden age of touring might be passing us, there’s still plenty of opportunities to see the country by working as a roadie or on “merch” (selling t-shirts and the like) for a touring band. Even if you don’t hit an entire tour, a lot of times it’s possible to score lodging and a few meals along the way by offering your services to a band about to hit the road.

Some bands are just looking for people who can load and unload heavy crap and have the ability to do simple math and look bored while selling shirts to underage fans. Just look online for gigs. Craigslist sometimes has openings, or Roadie.net, for instance, is a useful online compendium of information for people who assist those about to rock.

If you’re adverse to anything resembling structure, you can just “follow” a band and sell shit in parking lots along the way to make extra scratch to finance your road trip (hint: you don’t even have to go to the show, or even like the band.) I used to sell bottles of beer to people in the parking lot of shows to make extra money on the road, and it worked out pretty well.  But keep in mind that regardless of genre the scene following bands get pretty depressing after a few days, so don’t stick around too long.

3) RV! (Buy one, you know you’ve always wanted to)

You know what are cheap on Craigslist? Recreational vehicles. Old folks have been unloading their RVs online at a torrid pace for the last few years, partly because of higher gas prices and mainly because they’re old and traveling tires them so. It’s not difficult at all to score one for under a grand in most US cities. Just (obviously) make sure it has been checked up and runs before you buy it. Then get all your friends to chip in, name it something cute, hit the road, and sell it when you’re done.

The other thing (besides the awesomeness of owning a portable shitty apartment) to factor in with an RV trip is that it serves two purposes that make for a great road trip. One, it holds a ton of people, people who can offset the cost of the gas guzzler. And two, there’s no need to pay for lodging when an RV allows you to rough it like your alcoholic uncle who’d been wandering the country in his for the last twenty years.

4) Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Road Trip

A common misconception is that people don’t pick up hitchhikers. What people don’t pick up is skeezy looking dudes hitchhking alone. Which is not what you are, at least for the first couple of months on the road. Hitchhiking is a great way to at least start a road trip (until you buy your awesome RV, of course.)

So how do you get picked up? It helps if you’re part of a couple. Really, it’s always safest if you hitchhike in a pair. Even if you’re a dude, hitchhiking alone can be troublesome. And don’t ask for rides at the side of the freeway! Your best bet is to get over your pride and ask friendly-looking people in the interstate gas station. When looking for potential drivers, stereotype. Out of state plates are good. Groups of young people are a better bet than older folks. People with Obama stickers on their Prii are a lock, and people in Hummers sporting praying Calvins are likely to brain you with a tire iron.

Just ask and offer to pay to ride in the back. If they say no, they say no. Which reminds me. If you’re the one driving…

5) Become a Taxi Service

I don’t mind picking up people on the road at all, given that they aren’t super scary looking. Neither should you. It can be a fun way to make some extra money. Just use your noggin: ask for money up front, don’t pick up lone weirdos, etc. If you’re less spur-of-the-moment and more of a planner, Craigslist is great for finding/advertising travel plans ahead of time.

I’ve had some really interesting times giving people rides to and from places on the road. Some good, some strange, but always memorable, and the money ain’t too bad either. The last time I taxied someone, I gave a stinky hippy couple a ride from St. Louis to Nashville for forty bucks (I was going anyways.)  I’ll always remember it- they were pretty fried but really nice- and most importantly it gave me a break from talking to the same dude I’d already been in the car with for three days.

6) Avoid the Big Cities, Embrace the Blue Highways

By this, I am again referring to the “roads less traveled” on the map: the “blue” highways as opposed to the interstates, or the “red” highways. There’s two reasons to try this. One, big cities are inherently going to be more expensive, in terms of lodging and parking and tolls. And two, the blue highways are where you’ll find the best camping (interstate rest areas can be nightmarish.) Oh, did we mention to bring a tent and sleeping bag? Do so.

7) Follow the Seasons

Why not finance your endless summer by following the work? There’s a lot of places in America that look to employ people for a short amount of time during a specific time of the year.  I had a friend in college who used to trek up to Alaska every summer to work in the salmon cannery (as opposed to working on “the boats”) when labor is needed most. The work sucks, but you can make tons of cash, enough to finance going back to the lower 48.

A few weeks of smelling like fish can pay for a lot of road tripping, not to mention there’s quite a lot to see between here and The Last Frontier.

8 ) Embrace Your Inner Vampire

There are a ton of advantages to taking a road trip vampire-style: traveling during the night and sleeping during the day. Yes, you won’t be able to see the landscape as well, but you get much back in return.

The most obvious reason to drive at night is that you’ll be traveling in exactly the opposite fashion as most everyone else, leaving the roads open and easy. You’ll also save some money by never really having to turn on the AC. This can be especially useful if you’re traveling through the Southwestern US. Beside the heat, that sun you avoid can be nice. I was driving through Death Valley during the middle of the day once, and I got a sunburn by just being in my car on the interstate. Not fair. You can also speed during the night with less chance of getting caught, at least in my experience.

9) Follow Dem Swap Meets, and Sell Some Clothes!

This might take more of an eye than you’ve got, but if you recognize decent duds a great way to make scratch on the road is to buy and sell clothes. That means buying clothes from swap meets and Salvation Armies and the like in small towns, and selling them to trade stores like Buffalo Exchange in college towns/ big cities.

Here’s how you do it: find the next nearest swap meet on Craigslist and hit it up. There will be a ton of absolute crap to wade through, but swap meets are very good for digging up vintage cowboy boots and the like, stuff that brings a pretty penny in a hipper city.

If you can’t find a nearby swap meet,  just look out for tiny, tiny towns, ones with only a couple of thrift stores. They don’t have room for storage and are likewise usually looking to offload stuff cheap. If you can, find stores that have “bag sales”- that is, where you can buy as many clothes as you can fit in a bag for five bucks. Then stuff the sucker. Avoid anything that is XXL or otherwise sized weird, stained or horribly tacky. Pick up anything that is vintage (if a t-shirt was made in America, it’s usually either vintage or American Apparel) or high-end name brand stuff. Then stop off in the next town full of hipsters and unload. Donate anything that three exchanges or so won’t buy.

While you won’t get rich doing this, you can easily turn gas and food money. And on the road, sometimes that’s all you need.