Before immigration kicked in and cars improved about overheating and batteries, and with better tires, lots of travel was somewhat challenging.
Interstate 10 was sparse in the 60s with those small-town gas stations closing at night, there were water barrels on inclines to refill all the overheated radiators on passenger cars.
Females traveling cross country without a man was very rare, with all the breakdowns, flats, long stretches, gas cans, water pouches for drinking water hanging from the hood ornament to cool, brakes overheating, vapor lock, having to spend a night in a gas station parking lot waiting for it to open in the morning so that you could fill up to continue, pay phones and towns few and far between, no air conditioning and the open car windows air frying you,
no air conditioning and the open car windows air frying you...
Good list. But don’t forget running the heat full hot with the windows down to help cool the engine. That was always fun.