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Road Trip Packing List

September 8, 2021

Road trips are one the best ways to see the world. It’s not about the destination, it’s the journey, as the saying goes, and road trips slow us down a bit. They help us savor the details. We get to pull over and marvel at the landscape stretched out ahead. We stumble upon curious roadside attractions that aren’t on a map. We can take breaks whenever we want. And we can talk to people, learn about their culture, and taste the local bites along the way. 

So much knowledge can be gained by taking a more patient approach to travel. Road trips make up 80% of the way we travel. We love them so much we even turned our Honda Element into a Car Camper!

And as amazing as road trips are, they can turn sour fast when we fail to plan and don’t have the basic essentials. With just a little advance preparation and our Road Trip Packing List, you’ll lessen your likelihood of stress when something unexpected happens. 

Car Essentials for Breakdowns or Emergencies

EMERGENCY CASH - Keep at least $200 in cash in your car in case you need to pay for a tow or anything else that can’t be transacted by credit card out in the middle of nowhere. It’s also good to have some spare change for smaller things like parking meters.

FIRST AID KIT - Even splinters can make the difference between having fun and feeling miserable. A basic First Aid Kit is essential for minor emergencies. We like this 100-piece kit that includes an instant cold pack.

LED ROAD FLARES - LED Road Flares are reusable, and they help other motorists see you should you break down at night or in low-visibility conditions. There are several different types of roadside flares to chose from, or you can go with a reflective triangle… or both!

BASIC CAR SAFETY KIT - An Emergency Car Kit contains several car essentials such as jumper cables and basic tools. This Lifeline Road Kit by AAA also has a pocket flashlight. Others contain flares, allowing you to check off several roadside essentials in one purchase.

TIRE INFLATOR WITH PRESSURE GUAGE - Driving on tires that have low tire pressure can at best cause uneven wear on your tires and at worst can result in a tire blowout and subsequent accident. Having a low-cost Air Compressor and Portable Air Pump can allow you to check and add air anywhere you are. They’re also handy for inflating things like pool floats.

FIX-A-FLAT - This miracle tire sealant has saved me more times than I can count. It’s basically a foam that seals punctures pretty much instantly without the need to change your tire. This is great if you don’t have a spare or don’t know how to put one on. For just $8, you can buy a lot of peace of mind with just one can of this stuff.

FLASHLIGHT - Having a good flashlight on hand (or two) is a serious no-brainer. We have a pack of these GearLight LED Flashlights, and they’re great. We also own GearLight LED Head Lamps for camping and hiking or if you just want to be hands-free.

MULTITOOL - Multitools are great to have, especially if you love to camp. If you haven’t been gifted one of these yet (they’re like the quintessential gift for someone who has everything), get yourself a basic compact version and keep it in your glove box.

MAPS - Because invariably you’ll drive out cell service and some point, and it helps to have a paper map so you don’t get lost.

BLANKETS - These Mylar Space Blankets take up very little room and will help keep you warm in case of cold temperatures.

GPS SATELLITE COMMUNICATOR - A debilitating breakdown is not a question of if but when, especially if you’re driving an older car. Do yourself a favor and keep yourself covered in out of remote, no-cell service territories by investing in a Satellite Communicator. Contrary to popular belief, you don’t have to constantly carry a data plan on these devices. You can simply pre-pay an amount and keep it for when you actually need it. If you love to hike and camp, the Garmin inReach Explorer+ allows you to plan routes in the wilderness with the added ability to share your location and send two-way texts. If you want to be able to place an actual phone call, consider investing in a Satellite Phone instead.

BACKUP CHARGER - There are several very affordable portable backup chargers that are good to have for keeping phones charged up. If you car camp at all (or plan to), the Yeti Goal Zero 400 is powerful enough to recharge phones and laptops for several days.

SEAT BELT CUTTER AND WINDOW BREAKER - A Seat Belt Cutter and Window Breaker is a cheap but critical tool should you get into a life-threatening emergency where you need to get out fast.

THICK CARDBOARD - You can wedge a piece of thick cardboard or carpet remnant under your tire should you get stuck in the snow, ice, or mud.

ICE SCRAPER - Keep a Snow Brush and Ice Scraper Tool handy for winter weather.

BEAR SPRAY - In the event that you have to leave your car and hike to get help, it’s good to have a can of bear spray with you in case you surprise bears or mountain lions in the backcountry. We like the ones that come with a belt clip holster.

MASKS AND HAND SANITIZER - Because 4.55 million people have died from COVID-19.

WATER - In addition to your own personal water bottle, these collapsable water storage cubes are handy to just throw in your car trunk and forget about them… until you run out of water. These Hydration Tablets are also a good option for electrolyte replacement.

FOOD - Protein bars, travel bags of cereal, dehydrated meals (perfect if you own a camp stove, fuel, and pot for boiling water), jerky, and high-carb snacks like crackers or pretzels are all great options for things to just put in a storage cube and keep in your car.

Road Trip Essentials for Comfort

TRAVEL PILLOWS - Personal travel pillows are great for passengers, if you need to pull over and take a quick snooze, or if you just want your own pillow for your tent or vacation rental. We have two of these Coop Home Goods Travel Pillows. They’re super comfy and squish down into a portable stuff sack.

TOILET PAPER OR PAPER TOWELS - Great for roadside peeing, pooping (maybe not roadside), cleaning yourself, eating, etc.

PORTABLE CUTLERY - With portable cutlery sets, there’s no more worrying about whether or not you have a plastic fork to go with that takeout you just bought. If you camp often, reusable napkins are a great low-cost investment too.

CAR SEAT CUSHION - Drive off into the sunset on a Memory Foam Seat Cushion that can be used in both your car and office chair.

CAR AROMATHERAPY - Who says aromatherapy can’t come with you on your road trip? Now Car Aromatherapy Diffusers can mist blissful and calming smells into your car to help mask the scent of road trip funk or Cheetos farts. This one even fits in your cup holder.

MUSIC - BYO Spotify playlist! And if your car doesn’t have Bluetooth, you can purchase a Bluetooth Car Kit.

SMARTPHONE MOUNT - For hands-free navigation, pick up a low-cost Smartphone Car Mount which anchors your phone right to the dash.

CAR CLEANING KIT - At some point, someone is going to spill. It’s just the way it is. Be prepared with a Car Cleaning Kit or make your own with some antibacterial wipes, window cleaner, and a cleaning cloth.

COOLER - Any cooler and freezer packs will work. But if you’re going on a long journey, YETI Coolers keep your food cold for days. 

Road Trip Essentials for Organization and Tips

Have you ever noticed on road trips that you can never find what you are looking for? We become so preoccupied with getting out the door that we often disregard organization altogether. Then when everything (and people) are loaded into the car, we realize how haphazard our plan was, to begin with.

Use these road trip organization tips to help keep things together while on the road.

1. Keep all of your necessary documents together, storing them in the glove compartment in a Glove Box Organizer or travel file folder that you can grab at a moment’s notice. This is also where you could store your emergency cash.

2. Designate a trash can. This can be a cardboard box or a portable Car Trash Can that fits your aesthetic. That way, when you stop it’s much easier to grab it and dispose of your waste versus everyone having to dig their sticky candy and other crumbs out of the side door compartment. Gross!

3. Use Travel Storage Cubes or reusable bags for organizing your roadside emergency items, personal items, and food. 

4. If you travel often, it can be good to pre-pack a Travel Dop Kit with travel-sized soaps, shampoos, toothbrushes, and toothpaste. Leave this in your trunk, and you’ll never have to buy an over-priced gas station toothbrush again!

5. Consider a Trunk Organizer for the larger items so they won’t roll around and potentially get damaged.

our favorite travel tech

Nomad Goods makes smart, rugged tech for travel and everyday life. Check out our favorites below! Photos courtesy of Nomad Goods.

Trail Ridge Road, Rocky Mountain National Park in September

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Image Credits:

Honda Element Car Camper at The Needles at Canyonlands National Park - Elaine Skylar Neal/Travels and Curiosities; Broken Down Vintage Car - ©daniilvolkov - stock.adobe.com; Autumn Aerial - Kornél Máhl/Unsplash; Winding Road - Johannes Hofmann/Unsplash; Honda Element Car Camper - Elaine Skylar Neal/Travels and Curiosities; Nomad Goods product images courtesy of Nomad Goods; for Pinterest Pin image credits, click on the respective Pin