Essentials to Pack on a US Road Trip?
 

Any tips on 'must-haves' to remember to pack? DH and I are going on a lengthy road trip through Western US. We'll be staying at motels and trying local restaurants but also tailgating, picknicking in rest areas and parks. We're great at packing well for air travel but this is our first long road trip in awhile and we would appreciate any helpful hints. We'll have room as will be driving a medium sized SUV (I know-will need lots of money for gas!!!) Advice would be appreciated.

Toilet paper, paper toilet seat covers, and lysol. Seriously. At some point, you're going to HAVE to stop for a bathroom break and you WON'T like it. Having those things will help you feel much cleaner.

I'd also throw in some rags (never know when you need to clean up a spill, wipe something off, etc.).

A smallish cooler that you can throw some waters or sodas in with a small bag of ice. When the ice melts, pick up a new small bag. Place it on the floor of the backseat where you can reach into it from the front as needed.

Some offbeat items for "it's getting boring" moments. Make a CD of off-the-wall songs, or songs you haven't listened to in years, to pop in as a surprise. In fact, have each of you make a CD and then you can compare them.

A ball, frisbee, etc. that you can use at rest stops to move around a bit and get some exercise.

A mix of sweet, salty and healthy snacks. Repack them into smaller portions so you don't end up eating the WHOLE bag of Cheetos in one day.

Some GREAT ideas! Thought of the TP but not the Lysol and the other ideas! And I am someone who would have ended up eating the WHOLE bag! Thanks.

We did the same trip last summer. Had a ball.

I packed one tote bag of picnic items--paper plates, cups, napkins, plastic silverware, tablecloth, hand sanitizer, good knife, can/bottle opener, trash bags and a good supply of Ziplocks of assorted sizes. When we stopped for a picnic lunch, I just pulled out the tote bag and set the table. And then put it all back after we ate. Very handy.

A good supply of audio books. I try to pick something that goes with the landscape. For a trip through Arizona and New Mexico we listened to Dead Man's Walk by Larry McMurtry. (sp?)

Of course the obvious:
Kitchen knife
cutting board
flares
first aid kit

In my car at home, just driving around town, I carry a small spritzer bottle filled with water. It helps keep me cool on hot days. Along with your other picnic supplies, pack straws, so you can drink juice and other bottled drinks easily as you drive.

Thanks everyone. Each of you has mentioned items we hadn't thought of.

We really enjoy driving and we're planning interesting, scenic routes and stops thanks to all the tips from Fodorites on the US Forum. But there IS one long deserted stretch (south from Twin Falls through Nevada on 93) where the audio books and 'off the wall' songs will come in handy!

What sized cooler seemed to work best for you, or you would recommend for 2 people?

The size of the cooler will depend on your vehicle. If you can easily reach the cooler sitting on the back seat, then you can go with a larger size. If you have to set the cooler on the floor then you'll be limited to the area dimensions. Preferably, you want it big enough to hold 3-4 drinks per person plus one small bag of ice. If you can't fit all the ice, put the rest in some empty milk cartons and use them for clean ups, emergency water needs, etc. Why waste what you're paying for.

If you need to store foods that you won't access during driving times, get a second cooler rather than one big cooler. You want those liquids within reach while you're driving so you don't have to make unnecessary stops.

P.S. I would eat the WHOLE bag also - that's why I repack them into smaller packaging. :-d

Hi J,

A compass for the car

A corkscrew

A Swiss Army knife

20 ft of 1/8" cord

A pair of scissors

Band aids

A nylon duffle bag or tote bag

An extra flashlight (I like the no-battery windup kind)

Q tips

Nail clippers

A small cooler chest

A can of Fix-A-Flat or similar product

Poison Ivy stuff

Anti-itch stuff for bug bites

Aspirin or other NSAID

An ace bandage

Spray bottle of glass cleaner and a roll of paper towels

A bottle or can of motor oil

A can of Freon for the AC

WARNING:
Out West many gas stations will have Diesel and Gasoline at the same pump.

Carefully check that you have the right fuel.

A tank of diesel can ruin your whole day.

Hint: If you do accidentally fill up with Diesel, you will have to be towed to a garage.

It is not necessary to remove the gas tank.

Have them disconnect the fuel line and run your fuel pump to get the Diesel out of the tank and into a proper container.

Flush with a gallon or so of gasoline.

Reconnect and refill.

((I))
The voice of experience

Ira, thanks for the crucial Diesel/Gas alert on the gas pumps! We tend to quickly pump and go at times-would hate to see a grown man cry as they tow away his new "baby". DH finally got his dream car (Infiniti FX), part of the reason for the road trip.

Lady and others, on your trips in the West were there many insects? We'll be visiting Bryce, Zion, Grand canyons? Really don't have to contend with bugs where we live on west coast but Ira's packing list reminded me.

PS Have also been reflecting that DH's long awaited dream car for road trips should have been a Prius. We will have to be greener in other ways!

Oh, yeah, there are bugs, but since I live in Florida, they're a way of life with us:) and I didn't notice them any worse than usual on that trip. I do remember one trip to West Yellowstone the mosquites were big enough to carry us off and thick enough block the view! So I guess how bad they are could go either way, depending on the weather.

Maybe the best thing we took on our trip was our GPS. It's not just for finding your way in unfamiliar territory, though that's help enough. Ours lists gas stations, hotels, restaurants, major attractions, shopping, etc, all with telephone numbers.

It was especially valuable for us since we were traveling with a dog. If we didn't have reservations, we could plug in the town we planned to be in that evening and pull up a list of hotels/motels, call ahead and ask about pet policies, make reservations, then plug in the address and drive right to it. Never leave home without it, now.

Duct tape. Don't travel without it, because you'll find uses for it. I've ended up duct taping a friends pants back together as we had no sewing kit handy. Yes, you can fix pants with neon green duct tape :)

Tiny sewing kit.

Individually wrapped wet wipes - much handier than the tubs or stopping to wash you hands after that bag of cheetos.

Ziplocks - I like the gallon size. Throw in a handful held together with a rubber band. They hardly take up any space and can be used for a million different things.

Sunblock.

Bug spray.

As it's your own car, be sure to have contact numbers for your insurance agency for auto and homeowners. Remember to take the phone number of whoever will be watching your house. Don't rely only on the data in your cell phone, as it won't be available if it is lost or not charged. And don't forget the charger at home or in a motel room!

Carry xeroxes of your driver's license and registration and credit cards, in case of wallet theft or loss.

Get a list of banks allied with your own so as to minimize ATM fees.

A roll of paper towels fills many needs. (Not as many as duct tape!)

And relax, you can buy stuff along the way.

So many great suggestions everyone, thanks so much!

When driving north to the Grand Canyon from my friend's home in Phoenix, her husband made sure we took two gallon jugs of water along--just in case.

Driving through the west, you'll be in the wide open spaces for miles at a time. You will often not find restaurants of any kind when you are hungry so carry sandwich makings, yogurt, fruit in your cooler, a knife and a cutting board. We prefer a plug in cooler that uses the same outlet as a cell phone charger.
Whe we get to a motel at night, we take it in the room and add ice to it, and replug it in the car in the morning.

Jojo46, even in summer we learned the hard way to either have coats or blankets. A long story I won't bore you with except to say after being in Canada and a strike with the Vancouver Island ferry which we did manage to get on the last one and arrive north of Seattle around midnight we could not find a hotel/motel room. It was freezing cold and we only had jackets with us..not enough to keep us warm. Lesson learned.

We also like to take a table top gas grill on road trips - this way for our picnics, we have the option of making burgers or other hot foods. We do a lot of picnics on road trips since a lot of time, the most scenic places aren't near any type of restaurant or town and we like to be able to stop anywhere and have something besides sandwiches and salads.

We take 2 coolers - one that fits behind the front seat for drinks and snacks and one that goes in the back for picnic foods.

If western US includes Colorado or Wyoming and it is during tornado season, a map with the counties listed on it! All the tornado warnings on the radio tell you what county the tornados are in and what direction the tornado is going. So knowing what county you are in, is a great help.

Also a container of Ammonia (lemon is better smelling). There is nothing better to get smashed bugs and road grime/grease off the windshield with.

as far as the ice-chest question, i always go for a large cloth one. the cloth insulate as well as the plastic but are also more squishable and mailable for where ever you want to put it and also won't take up as much space if it's not full.

have a great time!

Thanks again, still more great ideas-a grill, blanket, water jug, sprays, bug solutions, copies of documentation, GPS, weather maps to consider. My husband loves the idea of bringing duct tape (especially in case of a split rad hose which did happen to us years ago)

My daughter just brought over an early Mother's Day present, a small cooler with car charger plug-which will be within reach AND we'll have a 2nd larger one in the back (possibly squishable, Shamrock). Happy Travlr thanks for hint of how to keep this plug-in cooler cool overnight in motel room.

A friend told me to freeze ahead small tetra packs of juice, and/or plastic water bottles. They act as freezer packs in your cooler but you can drink them as they thaw.

map
cell phone and charger
water
jack and spare tire
sun glasses
duct tape
camera
cork screw and bottle opener
plastic bag
lap robes
compass or similar
everything else you can buy

Mrs. Sunflower and I have taken many road trips and my big suggestion is always take the free booklets on things to do. We are antique store junkies so we pick them up when we stop we have found more fun little towns and places to visit then I can remember.

Also remember that a road trip is about the journey not the destination, so if you see something stop, you may never have that chance again and good or bad you will have some wonderful memories.

Best of luck and safe driving. Oh and a really good atlas, they are a life saver.

Whenever I go on long road trips in the US, I call Triple-A and ask them to send a Trip-tik. Do you have AAA? The consultants have been able to send road maps, information packets of different attractions/sites that I thought I would be interested in along the way as well as hotel info.

I haven't visited the National Parks (yet), so I don't know if this is just ignorance on my part- take the opening/closing hours of each park you were looking to visit; also the phone numbers if available, so you can call ahead in case of adverse weather conditions.

-note pad/pens (can keep in the glove compartment)
-spare car key (picture yourself stopping, pulling over to admire a lovely view, snapping photos, getting back to the car and the doors are locked!)
-binoculars
-cell phone car charger
-bag of loose change (are you traveling on any toll roads?)

Pick up those booklets that have coupons with motel discounts, too. They can save you money with motels on your route. To cut down on lower back pain, put a cheap roll of paper towels in your seat, behind your back. They will gently massage your back as you drive or ride along. Got that tip from a chiropractor friend.

Thanks so much everyone! We so appreciate all the very helpful advice! We would have been on the road already but for the very first time (after decades of travel) we had to postpone our vacation due to a family emergency.

Fortunately all is settling down now but we decided to postpone our trip until fall. Our western road trip plans extended as far south as Tucson (to visit friends in their new house) but because of the increasing heat in June and with growing crowds at the parks and canyons, we decided now to wait until after summer. We hope to post a trip report then!

Lots of people recommended gallon sized Ziplock bags. We used to take these on Girl Scout trips for those who got carsick :S
I skimmed thru the posts, so I may have missed it, but a small amount of laundry detergent never hurts.

Excellent idea! Thanks.

The delay is probably painful for now but I'll bet you're going to love this trip in the fall! Fewer crowds, cooler weather. We did it in August and I could tell the day most schools started, the difference in the crowds was really significant. And now you have so much more time to plan what to pack :)

Even with GPS, I like to have maps of where I'm going. Then the usual water, paper products, snacks and a cooler. Not over packing a car is key also. I like the motel coupon booklets also. Some of them have decent town maps.

Just as an aside, you do know that toilet seats contain fewer micro=organisms than your computer keyboard?

Lady, we're still looking forward to the big road trip that we had to postpone but we did manage a 5 day mini-road trip in the NW to Lake Chelan and Coeur D'Alene. Gave us a little test of essentials to pack. I think I should add a radar detector to the list. My husband's new FX seemed to soar so effortlessly, he got his first speeding ticket in 30 years on a long deserted stretch south of Grand Coulee Dam. That is, ALMOST deserted except for unmarked police car travelling in opposite direction which quickly pulled a U-turn. No contest and we learned one can pay a ticket online.

Bonus on this trip was viewing the surging spillways at Chief Joseph and Coulee Dams, needed to relieve high water levels. Coeur d'Alene had minor flooding, lake level was 4 feet higher than normal.

Jojo, we flew into Seattle and then drove to Coeur d'Alene about 25 years ago. Beautiful. High water level? Gee, what's that? We've been in drought so long our lakes have all dried up. Sounds like an awesome sight to me.

Glad you had the opportunity to road test. Sorry about the ticket. The last one we got on a trip was in Austria. You get to pay the officer on the spot there!!