THEROAD CO.

The Road Co. Journal

The Journal

Reporting and long-form guidance on vehicles, ownership and travel. Published continuously; collected here in reverse order.

Sections

Buying adviceOwnershipTravelMaintenanceGear testInterviewRoad culture
Buying advice8 min
What to do on handover day

What to do on handover day

Two hours at the dealership decides how the first year goes. A methodical handover finds the faults while someone else is still obliged to fix them.

Ellen Marsh · 12 August 2026

Ownership6 min
Storing a vehicle properly through winter

Storing a vehicle properly through winter

Four months standing still causes more damage than four months of touring. The remedies are cheap and almost entirely about moisture.

David Ferrier · 29 July 2026

Travel10 min
The west coast in October

The west coast in October

Three weeks touring after the season closes: fewer sites, shorter days, and the best light of the year.

Ellen Marsh · 3 July 2026

Maintenance7 min
Damp, and what it actually costs

Damp, and what it actually costs

The industry's most quoted defect is also its least understood. We asked three workshops what they charge, and why.

David Ferrier · 18 June 2026

Gear test9 min
Portable power stations: a winter group test

Portable power stations: a winter group test

Six units, measured at 5°C over eleven nights. Rated capacity and usable capacity diverged by as much as 22 per cent.

Priya Chandra · 2 June 2026

Interview11 min
"I stopped planning routes in 2019"

"I stopped planning routes in 2019"

Margaret Hale has lived in a converted van for eleven years. She is unsentimental about almost all of it.

Ellen Marsh · 14 May 2026

Road culture5 min
In defence of the lay-by

In defence of the lay-by

The least romantic square of tarmac in British travel is also, quietly, one of its institutions.

Priya Chandra · 30 April 2026