There are few things as purely American as the road trip. For many, something as simple as driving in the car for a long distance can evoke strong feelings of freedom and nostalgia. But despite how much you enjoy taking an epic road trip, there’s one part of it that you’re likely not as fond of – packing. It’s never as simple as just putting stuff into bags and throwing the bags in the car. There is a lot of planning and strategy involved, and it can be pretty tedious.
But we’re here to help! We actually just wrapped up a 3-week vacation that involved driving from Louisiana to Colorado and back (3 days of driving each way). Not only was it the furthest that Kimberly and I have ever driven at one time, but we also managed to do it with 3 kids all under the age of 5. Ambitious? Yes. Insane? Maybe. But you know what? We actually really enjoyed it! (OK maybe that’s a bit overzealous – we at least didn’t want to kill anyone). It’s no doubt, though, that one reason the trip went so well is all of the planning and preparation that we (read: Kimberly) put into the packing process.
So with the trip still fresh on our minds, we wanted to share our top 5 tips for road trip packing. While these are mainly targeted to families, they can really be applied to just about anyone, regardless of your situation.
Use Bins in the Trunk
This is especially useful if you have a big SUV, truck, or van. Suitcases and duffle bags are great for clothes and other “soft” items, but if you have stuff that you don’t want crushed and/or needs to stay more organized, it’s worth investing in some stackable bins. We especially suggest getting ones that are transparent (so you can better find your stuff) and have latching lids. Not only do these help you stay more organized, but they also give you a solid base so that you can stack stuff on top of them without worrying about breaking/crushing anything.
Get a Rooftop Carrier
Rooftop carriers can be a pretty big investment, especially if you get a hard-shell carrier from a reputable brand (we use a Thule Force XT in size XXL and love it). But if you have more to pack than your car can handle – like when you’re traveling with babies/toddlers and can’t go anywhere without a stroller, pack ‘n play, carrier backpack, and 500 other things – a rooftop carrier can be worth its weight in gold. They also come in handy if you’re packing for outdoor sports/activities, like skiing or camping. They come in many different sizes to fit both your car and your packing needs.
Since it is an investment, shop around and do your homework to figure out exactly what you need before pulling the trigger. But I will say from personal experience, we ended up buying a larger size than originally planned (due to the desired size being out of stock), and we’re glad we did, because we still pack that thing to the gills every time! So the moral of the story is, bigger is sometimes better! Because the more you can pack up top, the more space you’ll have inside the car; you can either enjoy that extra space to spread out, or pack even more crap 😂
Pack a Separate Bag for Your Hotel Stays
If you’re taking a multi-day road trip and plan to stay somewhere overnight before getting to your destination, you’re not going to want to lug all of your bags into the hotel just to have to cram them back into the car the next morning. Instead, pack 1 or 2 smaller bags with just the stuff that everyone needs for the overnight stay(s). Keep that bag in an easily accessible place (i.e. not buried under everything in the trunk) so that when you get to the hotel you can just grab the overnight bag(s), the cooler (to move stuff to the hotel fridge), and any purses, laptops, or valuables, and the rest can stay in the car.
This not only makes it easier to get settled when you’re done driving, but it makes the repacking process much quicker the next day! Even better, if you have older kids, have them each pack their overnight supplies in a backpack or small duffle bag – it’s a good way to let them get involved in the packing process!
Make Use of “Dead” Space in the Car
The inside of any vehicle is far from a simple box shape – there are nooks and crannies almost everywhere you look. When packing the car for your next road trip, try to take note of little spaces that don’t get used and can potentially hold stuff. Places like underneath seats, in center consoles, or that space between the top of the third row seat and the side window.
Some places are less obvious, though. For instance, if you’re using bins as suggested above, and your back row seats have a significant lean-back angle, there will be some space between the back of the seat and the back of the bin at the bottom. Not enough for a bag or anything big, but if you have some smaller loose items that need to just be crammed somewhere, that’s a great place to try (I used that space for loose water bottles). You’ll be quite surprised just how much space you can save in the passenger compartment by utilizing all of these “hidden” areas, and more passenger space = happier passengers!
Kimberly says this is confusing & I should draw it out for y’all. Maybe I’ll come back and update the post with some stellar CAD drawings one day (where my fellow nerds at?). But regardless of whether or not you can picture it in your head, the premise is relatively simple – find empty spaces, and cram them full of crap you’re trying to pack.
Know What Items Need to be Accessible
This one may seem obvious, at least in theory, but in practice it can sometimes be rather difficult. After all, nobody knows exactly what they need at any given moment until that time comes. But we can usually make good guesses about what we’ll need while driving down the road, and pack the car accordingly. For example, that overnight bag we mentioned above should definitely not be packed underneath a bunch of stuff – you’ll want to be able to grab it from the car without messing up your whole packing configuration – especially important if you happen to be unloading a bunch of kids late at night. Same goes with a pack ‘n play if you’re traveling with a baby (assuming your hotel or overnight lodging doesn’t have one available).
As for inside your passenger compartment, you need to be aware of what types of things you may need while you’re rolling down the road – nothing kills the rhythm of the drive like having to pull over just because you need to grab something from the trunk.
Most of the stuff you’ll want on hand is pretty standard – snacks, drinks, phones/tablets, charging cords (or portable chargers), sunglasses, toys and games for the kids – but there is plenty of other stuff that might not immediately come to mind. That might include medicines and first aid kits (what if a kid has an allergic reaction to something you ordered from the drive-thru?), towels and a portable vacuum (for the inevitable spills), a change of clothes (for both adults and kids – because you just never know), or extra formula and water for the baby. Basically, just think about all of the potential accidents/situations you can go through in a given day, and prepare for that!
One thing we recently started doing is keeping most of our camera equipment in the center console of the car (our Ford Expedition has a HUGE center console). You never know when you might need to make a quick stop because you see an awesome picture opportunity! Granted, we have a bit more photography equipment than the average traveler. But the point is that we had previously been under-utilizing our center console, which turns out to be the perfect place to keep stuff that we may need to grab at a moment’s notice. And let’s be honest, do you even know what’s in your center console? If you’re anything like me, it’s basically just a black hole where stuff goes to be forgotten forever (or at least until you sell your car and are forced to clean it out).
Of course everyone’s packing strategy is going to be different, based on family size, vehicle type, trip distance, destination, etc. But these tips should still be applicable and helpful in most cases.
If you want some more pointers on taking a road trip with babies and/or toddlers, check out this post.
If you have any of your own great packing advice that you want to share, or if you just want to talk about an epic road trip that you took, please comment and let us know – we’d love to hear about it!
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