road trip kit

The Best Gear for Your Road Trips

By Kit Dillon and Wirecutter Staff

A road trip is an adventure. It doesn’t matter how far you go. But all adventures require a little planning (and one or two backup plans, in case things go sideways).

We took our first testing road trip in an age far less complicated than these past few years, but the gear we tested and the advice we’ve gathered here should still help you navigate the roads safely and comfortably.

Our original trip, in 2016, included 60 hours of researching and testing gear to take on the open road. We packed all of our top contenders into a Honda Fit EX and headed out on a four-day jaunt to determine what’s nice to have, what’s great, and what’s absolutely essential for your next road trip.

In 2020 we added a few items to help you adhere to safe-travel guidelines, and those things will always come in handy during flu and cold season. We’ve also added several selections to take on challenging winter car trips.

After traveling for 1,500 miles, through four states and six national parks, we think we have a good grasp on what makes an excellent road trip. In addition to performing our own research and testing, we consulted with half a dozen engineers, mechanics, and other experts to bring you these picks. Our hope is that the recommendations in this guide will help you see more and explore farther down the road than you thought possible.

Below, you’ll find recommendations for cargo boxes , binoculars , coolers , emergency beacons , a first-aid kit , a folding blanket , an ice scraper , an instant camera , inverters for your electronics , a multi-tool , phone mounts , a portable jump starter , ratchets and tie-down straps , a road atlas , stain remover , a stowable daypack , sun shades , sunglasses , a tire-pressure gauge , a toolkit for cars , a travel game , a travel pillow , water jugs , windshield water repellent , wipes , and so much more. These items will help you have a successful road trip, regardless of region or weather.

However, even if you have the best gear in the world, it’s always best to address small problems before they become emergencies. That’s why we asked Christopher Smith , a veteran automotive journalist with a penchant for restoring fixer-uppers, to help us put together some advice on how to prepare your car for a trip . (And he lives in South Dakota, where things are spread out, so he’s always prepared.) We cover everything from checking your tires and dipsticks to knowing what you should do if your car starts smelling like rotten eggs for seemingly no reason.

This guide isn’t specifically geared toward families, though most of the picks would be useful to a family traveling by car. We do have guides to infant car seats , travel car seats , booster car seats , and water bottles for kids —all things that are of particular interest to families on the road.

The research

Stowing your gear, in the driver’s seat, health and cleaning supplies, staying comfortable, refreshments, entertainment, just in case, preparing for a road trip.

Being able to find what you need when you need it—whether it’s water, emergency lights, a change of clothes, or a granola bar—can make the difference between a short, easy stop that rejuvenates and a long, frustrating one that makes you question why you left home in the first place.

It all starts with packing. Don’t overthink it. We like to keep items grouped: emergency gear in the back right of the trunk, water in the back left, spare batteries in the glove compartment along with the power inverter, and so on. After a few days, double-checking that everything is where it should be before heading off becomes a comforting ritual, and it helps mitigate the worry that you left … something … in the motel last night.

And don’t overpack. As with a bag, a well-packed car is one that has less than you think you want to bring but everything that you truly need. You don’t have to bring everything—just the things that are essential. Remember, you want to enjoy the drive. Not having to worry about countless items that someone might lose or misplace is a big step toward that enjoyment.

Cargo boxes

Yakima SkyBox NX 18

The best cargo box.

This cargo box offers great aerodynamics, easy mounting and operation, and a lot of storage at a reasonable price.

Buying Options

A cargo box effectively allows you to double your trunk space by moving bulky items from your car’s interior or trunk to its roof. After gathering up as much intel as we could about rooftop cargo boxes from experts, retailers, manufacturers, customers, and outdoor-gear reviewers, we’ve concluded that of the 21 boxes we surveyed, the Yakima SkyBox NX 18 offers the best combination of features, build quality, and value pricing for most road trips.

The NX line replaces the Carbonite line of Yakima boxes, which included our previous cargo box pick, the SkyBox 16 Carbonite .

The cargo box’s low-drag aerodynamic design minimizes wind noise and reduces the impact on fuel economy. Its 18 cubic feet of space allows it to hold skis, duffle bags, backpacks, sleeping bags and other camping gear, or any random (though fairly lightweight) stuff, and it does so securely—both in solidly mounting to your roof rack and in resisting theft. If you don’t have a rack already, this REI car rack buying guide is a good place to start, but be sure to consult your car’s owner manual to see how much weight its roof can bear.

The SkyBox NX 18 is easy to use. Like most cargo boxes these days, it uses sliding brackets, rather than one or two fixed spots, for attachment to the crossbars, making perfect positioning a snap. To secure the brackets to the crossbars, you use a simple torque wrench (included) that will announce with an audible click—like a gas-tank cap—when you’ve tightened the four installation bolts down securely. The tool lives inside the cargo box, though out of the way of your gear, for safekeeping.

Once installed, the SkyBox NX 18 allows easy access from either side of the car, and its newly redesigned dimensions (a change from the previous model) make it less likely to interfere with a liftgate if you put it on a hatchback or station wagon.

If you need more space, Yakima’s older-generation 21-cubic-foot model (the company has not released an updated, NX 21 version so far) may still be available for purchase. Be aware, however, that this box weighs more and can encourage overloading past your car rack’s weight limit, which might be lower than you expect. It may also be too long in the back to clear some liftgates. As Ken Klaes, general manager of ReRack , a Portland, Oregon–based cargo-box retailer and rental company, explained to us: “A rack designed to carry 150 pounds doesn’t forget that the box is there; the weight of the box itself (often 50-ish pounds) needs to be subtracted from the weight rating to give you a real capacity for the box.”

Roof straps

Keeper Endless Loop Ratchet Tie-Down

The best ratcheting straps.

Easier to use than non-ratcheting straps, these straps ensure that your stuff stays put.

I spent many years working in rigging and rope access on offshore oil platforms, where I played with loads, angles, line pulls, and sheave-block friction percentages—in other words, I know a thing or two about strapping things down. You can find two common types of roof straps: ratchet straps, which have a mechanical lever and gear, and cam straps (sometimes called “lashing” or “loop” straps), which connect to themselves through a cam buckle . If I could choose only one type, I’d get ratchet straps because they’re easier to secure. More specifically, I’d get the Keeper Endless Loop Ratchet Tie-Down .

We spent several hours examining 22 strap options before landing on the Keeper version. Keeper is a reliable brand, and the ratchets are easy to tighten and loosen, thanks to their all-metal construction. ( Cheaper ratchets are hard to release and prone to sticking or breaking due to their reliance on plastic parts.) At 13 feet long, these 1-inch straps are long enough for all but the most strenuous loads on the largest of vehicles, and their nylon webbing’s 400-pound working load limit and 1,200-pound break strength put them right in line with similarly priced straps. You could get something that’s heavier-duty or longer, but you’d be paying more for strength or length you don’t need.

On our trip, driving in a car without a roof rack, we used the Keeper straps to great success. The straps held a full water jug to the roof of our Honda for a few dozen miles through the backroads of Arizona with no issues. Other Wirecutter staffers have owned Keeper straps for years and vouch for their overall strength and durability.

NRS 1″ HD Tie-Down Straps

The best cam straps.

Simpler and cheaper than ratchet straps, these straps have above-average strength ratings.

If you prefer the simplicity of a cam strap or don’t need the extra force that a ratchet strap provides, we like the NRS 1″ HD Tie-Down Straps , which come in a variety of lengths. They’re pricier than more popular options, but their webbing is rated to a 1,500-pound breaking strength (the cam itself has a 2,000-pound breaking strength) and a 500-pound working load, in contrast with the 600-pound breaking strength and 200-pound working load of this best-selling Keeper set . Equipment of this grade may seem like overkill, but Wirecutter’s Mark Smirniotis had several weaker cams fail on him when he was strapping loads to his Jeep. He noted in 2016 that of all the straps on Amazon with more than 25 customer reviews, the NRS straps were the only ones that had no reviews complaining of failed cams. NRS is primarily known as the premier kayaking- and rafting-accessory company, so the folks there probably know something about strapping awkwardly large loads onto cars.

Thule Quick Loop Strap 530

For smaller cars.

This strap offers a quick way to add load-stabilizing anchor points to a small car.

For owners of compact cars who want to move long or oversize loads, such as a kayak, we also like the Thule Quick Loop Strap . You secure these straps under the hood of your car (or the trunk, if you don’t have a hatchback) to create a set of forward anchor points to help stabilize the forward section of whatever it is you’re carrying. Judging from our testing, these straps are very quick to set up, and they can add a welcome level of versatility to tough packing situations.

• Always check the maximum load of your car’s anchor points, such as the roof rack. Ratchet straps can apply a lot of force beyond just the weight of your belongings, so knowing your maximum load will help you avoid over-tensioning the straps.
• If the straps vibrate against the roof while you drive, adding a few twists in them can sometimes stop them from slicing the air.
• Don’t put knots in your straps, especially if you’re applying tension. Knots can cut through nylon with surprisingly little force. A knot also significantly reduces the overall load that the strap can handle.
• Never use bungee cords to hold anything down. They’re fine for stabilizing items but not for securing heavy loads.

Driving can be fun, meditative, exhausting, and torturous. After five hours of driving through the desert, it can sometimes be all of those things at the same time.

A thousand little gadgets promise to make a long drive somehow easier. Most of them are useless and seemingly designed to distract you more than anything else. Try to avoid these items. The best gear is durable, unobtrusive, and easy to use—so you can keep your eyes (and your thoughts) on the road.

You will get bored—500 miles on cruise control with an automatic transmission can be a pretty dull time. Not always, of course, but sometimes it will be boring, and maybe that’s the point. In this frenetic age, that feeling is practically a luxury, and it’s essential to the trip. Revel in it.

It would be impossible for us to pick the best overall sunglasses, since your choice ultimately depends on your personal style. We have picks for cheap sunglasses in a separate guide. But driving sunglasses are different because they’re designed to help you perform a specific task: driving safely. In that regard, Maui Jim makes the best sunglasses around, though they are something of an investment.

The best sunglasses

These are the clearest driving sunglasses we’ve found, with no perceptible distortion.

We compared a Maui Jim pair with more than 20 types of sunglasses, driving or otherwise, and found this pair to be the best of the bunch. The Maui Jim sunglasses had the clearest lenses, with no perceptible distortion, on the lightest frames we tested (0.6 ounce, or about half the weight of a wooden pencil). I’ve never encountered sunglasses that I can wear for hours on end without somehow hurting my nose, ears, or both. But during my trip there were a few afternoons when I had completely forgotten I was even wearing the Maui Jim sunglasses—despite five-plus hours of driving with them on.

The clarity of the lenses was another surprise. The Maui Jim lenses are so clear that it’s borderline unsettling the first time you try on these sunglasses. Thanks to the lenses’ exceptional clarity and polarization, everything—including the scenery around you and the road ahead—looks sharper through them.

As far as specific model recommendations go, I suggest scanning the offerings on the Maui Jim website and reading the fit descriptions to find something that matches your aesthetic sensibilities. Unlike companies that go by lens size only, Maui Jim lists face shape as part of its fit guidelines. That means you’re more likely to find what’s most comfortable for you on your first try. Just keep in mind that bigger lenses tend to be better because they offer more coverage.

Maui Jim glasses come with a two-year warranty . After checking with the company, we confirmed that it fulfills warranties on its sunglasses no matter where you buy them. However, Maui Jim services only authentic lenses and frames that haven’t been modified in any way. You can tell whether the pair you have is genuine (and not a knockoff) by confirming that the Maui Jim logo is etched, not just painted onto the lens.

Smartphone mount

In an ideal world, people wouldn’t use a phone at all while driving, and if you have a copilot, you shouldn’t have to—you can delegate the phone-related tasks to them. But in reality, for many drivers, a phone is the source for navigation, information, messages, music, and (of course) phone calls. However, if you hold the phone in your hand as you drive—or look down at it in a cup holder or center-console bin—it can be a major distraction and safety risk. That’s why we recommend using a smartphone mount.

iOttie iTap Magnetic 2

The best dash- or windshield-mounted smartphone mount.

Whether it’s on a dashboard or windshield, this model is easy to set up, grips securely, and has a strong magnetic mount that supports most phones in any position.

iOttie iTap Magnetic 2 Air Vent Mount

The best vent-mounted smartphone mount.

This model is easy to set up and remove, and it has the same strong magnetic mount as the dash version. It securely held on to our cars’ vent slats.

iOttie iTap Magnetic 2 CD Slot Mount

The best cd-slot-mounted smartphone mount.

This mount attached quickly and firmly to our cars’ CD slots and has the same magnetic mount as the other iTap Magnetic 2 versions.

I enjoy the simplicity of my phone with no accessories, so I like that the iOttie iTap Magnetic 2 mounts offer an attractively easy way to mount and unmount my phone with one hand. In our tests , the magnets in all three versions— dash/windshield , vent , and CD slot —were strong, supporting most of our phones vertically and horizontally over even the roughest terrain. Only the large, 6.5-inch iPhone XS Max gave them some trouble when they held it horizontally; the mounts were solid with a 6-inch Google Pixel 2 XL.

To use the magnetic mount, you have to attach a small metal plate to the back of your phone or to the case. Doing so is safe for your phone, and we found this detail to be small, subtle, and attractive enough that we didn’t mind it. Often you can hide it entirely by attaching the plate to the inside of a phone’s case. But the plate could interfere with your ability to wirelessly charge your phone; if you want to be able to continue to use that function, consider the following options from our guide to wireless charging phone mounts .

iOttie Easy One Touch Wireless 2 Dash & Windshield Mount

Best mount for charging a smartphone on a dash or windshield.

This model delivered some of the quickest charging speeds and earned top results for stability. It lets you easily mount and unmount your phone, too.

iOttie Easy One Touch Wireless 2 Air Vent & CD Slot Mount

Best mount for charging a smartphone on a car’s air vent or cd slot.

This is the sturdiest vent-mounted model we tested, with fast charging speeds, a firm grip, and a quick way to attach and remove your phone.

The iOttie Easy One Touch Wireless 2—available as a dash and windshield mount or a vent and CD player mount —offers a convenient way to charge your phone in the car while also giving you easy access to audio controls, directions, messages, and more. In our tests , both models ranked among the quickest at charging our phones. Their spring-loaded tension arms made attaching or removing a phone of any size simple, and they held the phone steady while we drove. Both models offer a wide range of adjustability for positioning your phone where you can readily see it, regardless of the vehicle. iOttie also offers a magnetic mount (for vent use) that’s compatible with wireless charging.

Rain-repellent coatings

Rain and snow add stress to a road trip, and they decrease your visibility and your reaction time in an emergency. Along with wipers, rain-repellent windshield coatings can help keep your windshield clear. If you want the most effective rain repellent, pick up the classic Rain-X spray bottle and commit to applying it once a month. If you simply want to give your windshield a boost, Aquapel is almost as effective and can last six times longer between applications—but it is very expensive.

Rain-X Original Glass Water Repellent

Cheap but short-lived repellent.

This affordable hydrophobic spray offers effective protection, but it wears off after a couple of weeks.

Most auto-supply shops offer a huge variety of Rain-X products, including wiper blades, gels, and washer-fluid additives, but you should stick to the original Rain-X formula in the 16-ounce spray bottle because it has the most reliably positive reviews from buyers. Once applied, Rain-X forms a hydrophobic coating , which causes water to bead up and quickly slide off your windshield. Most people who have used Rain-X agree that maintaining its effectiveness requires reapplication about once a month. If your wiper blades start “chattering,” that probably means the coating is beginning to wear unevenly, and it’s time to reapply.

Aquapel Glass Treatment

Long-lasting but pricey repellent.

Aquapel bonds to your windshield for up to half a year, but it costs more than twice as much as Rain-X.

If you can’t commit to applying Rain-X once a month, consider Aquapel . Instead of coating your windshield, it bonds to the glass chemically , and it should last for three to six months before you need to pull out another one-time-use sponge and reapply. YouTube user jwardell posted a 30-day comparison video that shows how Rain-X is more effective initially, but after a month Aquapel still works even after the Rain-X has all but worn off.

For either repellent, proper application is the key to getting the maximum benefit. You need to start with an extremely clean windshield. Then clean it again just to be sure. Both of these repellents dry best in warm weather, out of direct sun. Even when perfectly applied, however, these substances have potential drawbacks. Some people who have used them complain that the repellents cause noticeable haziness at night. Others report that they had trouble getting windshield chips professionally filled after learning that the chemicals interfered with repair methods—though Aquapel’s site disputes such claims. Still, if you’re stuck in inclement weather on a road trip or a commute, either the original Rain-X spray or Aquapel can help increase visibility and decrease your stress levels.

Ice scraper and snow brush

Hopkins SubZero 80037

The best ice scraper and snow brush.

Efficient at clearing ice and sweeping snow, this scraper works on vehicles of all sizes.

The Hopkins SubZero 80037 tool combines a scraping blade and ice-crushing teeth to make quick work of thick or thin ice, and its plow-like bristle broom is the best we’ve tested —equally adept at shoveling snow off body panels and brushing it out from tight spots around mirrors and wipers. The Hopkins SubZero has a self-locking extension that’s easy to use when you want to fold the scraper away to make room in the trunk of your car. It’s of average size—39 inches folded up and 60 inches fully extended. But no other contender offers such a complete scraping-and-sweeping package with so few weaknesses.

Paper road atlas

Rand McNally Road Atlas

The best road atlas.

This atlas is large enough to use while you’re in motion, with a logical, straightforward layout.

With the advent of GPS units and smartphone navigation apps (both of which we recommend over the onboard navigation systems that might come with a car), the age of the paper road atlas would seem to be over. But don’t let anyone convince you of that. A road atlas is the heart of every road trip. It’s the inspiration.

Planning a road trip starts with imagining the places you could be next weekend, if you threw a few granola bars and some clothes into the backseat and left everything else behind. Of course, you could bring up Google Maps, look up the top 10 travel destinations near you, plan your exact route, and save a PDF to your digital device so you’d know exactly where to go and how to get there at each stage of your trip.

Or you could pull out a physical map and highlight a route. You might not know exactly what to expect when you get there, but you’ll definitely know that you can get there. And regardless of electronic-device failures, you will always have a map in hand.

For use in the car, we like the classic Rand McNally Road Atlas —just make sure to get an updated edition. Its oversize shape makes it simple to read and easy to spread out on the hood or in your lap, and the user-friendly design can’t be beat. This atlas’s arrangement of state and keyhole maps is the best for navigation.

As a test, we used the Rand McNally atlas to complete the first leg of our trip, from Ventura to Joshua Tree, California, with no phones and no GPS, on roads we had never driven before. The Rand McNally atlas was simple, functional, and easy to follow. Most important, it was fun to use.

We did read one complaint from somebody who began using that year’s map early: Some of the roads it listed as passable were still mid-construction at the time. If you’re buying a map in the middle of the year or later, you could play it safe and stick with the current year’s edition.

Garmin DriveSmart 55

The best car gps.

Best-in-class directions, driver alerts, points of interest, and free map updates—combined with the best screen we’ve seen on any GPS unit—set this model apart from the pack.

For most shorter trips, a smartphone can provide all the navigation assistance you need. But should your journey take you off the beaten path (and out of your coverage area), we suggest the Garmin DriveSmart 55 . Like the best GPS units, the DriveSmart 55 can also connect to a smartphone via Bluetooth, which lets you send destinations to the device, get incoming messages on screen, and receive extra trip and traffic info. The DriveSmart 55’s extensive points-of-interest database helps guide you to an area’s best sites and businesses through integrated Tripadvisor ratings, Foursquare listings, a database of sites from the History network, and US national park directories (something that other brands’ models don’t offer). Similar to a smartphone, the DriveSmart 55 allows multi-touch gestures, such as pinching or spreading for easier zooming on a map; this feature is a clear step up from the resistive displays of less-expensive units, which allow only single-finger gestures and require you to tap on the plus and minus buttons to zoom in or out.

The DriveSmart 55 also provides helpful traffic info in many metro areas. It responds to voice commands as effectively as the best GPS units, and like other top models it includes free lifetime map updates—in contrast with the pricey updates you need to buy for many cars’ built-in navigation systems.

Sea to Summit Wilderness Wipes

The best body wipes.

Not quite a shower but pretty darn close, these wipes are amazing after a sweaty day in the desert.

Road-trip and backpacking veterans know just how much better a shower can make an adventure after three days and a lot of smelly clothes. When taking a shower is not an option, or even if you just want to tidy up a bit after a long drive, body wipes can provide some much-needed relief.

We considered 22 brands and tested nine different body wipes, including some that were popular on Amazon and others that were recommended on the blogs of seasoned outdoorspeople.

Cheap, portable, and durable, the Sea to Summit Wilderness Wipes were the clear winners.

The wipes come in a resealable package, which helps keep them fresher for longer. You can find them in two sizes, XL (8 by 12 inches, in a pack of eight) and Compact (6 by 8 inches, in a pack of 12). On our trip, we preferred the XL wipes for their extra coverage and longer cleaning power. The fully compostable Wilderness Wipes were among the most lightly scented ones we tested, and their lack of alcohol left our skin feeling clean and moist.

Surface wipes

Clorox Disinfecting Wipes

The best disinfecting wipes.

Effective, EPA-approved, and (usually) easy to find, these pre-soaked wipes need only four minutes of contact time to neutralize the coronavirus—and they’ll kill other nasty bugs you might come across in your travels, too.

Most disinfecting wipes are the same. Although we recommend Clorox Disinfecting Wipes , we advise getting any pack of wipes you can find that contains a disinfectant on the EPA’s List N (most have a bleach or quaternary ammonium base). Clorox’s bleach-free wipes are usually sold in single canisters or in four-packs at a range of retailers. These wipes can eliminate the coronavirus and other pathogens on hard surfaces—countertops, door handles, and bathroom fixtures—in your home, vehicle, or motel room, but not on fabric or other soft materials.

Surface spray

Lysol Disinfectant Spray

The best disinfectant spray.

This aerosol works in 10 minutes and is fabric-safe, but it’s guaranteed to eliminate the coronavirus and other pathogens only on hard surfaces.

Instead of bleach, which can damage car interiors, Lysol Disinfectant Spray uses quaternary ammonium. It’s safe on hard surfaces and most fabrics, and it’s gentler on skin than bleach. It also produces fewer harsh fumes—which is good if you’re disinfecting the same space frequently. The spray eliminates the coronavirus, for instance, on hard surfaces in 10 minutes, but on soft surfaces it only sanitizes (kills most but not all pathogens).

One thing we’ve learned in the past few years is that face masks can be useful whenever you’re sick (with COVID-19, a cold, the flu, whatever) and don’t want to share your misery with fellow passengers, people at rest stops, or anyone else. Fortunately, compared with the situation in early 2020, medical-style N95 and KN95 masks (which many experts recommend as the best protection) are widely available these days. They’re easy to tuck into a bag, which we do now whenever we travel. You can find out where to buy these masks in our guide .

Stain remover

Shout Wipe & Go Instant Stain Remover Wipes

The best stain remover.

By keeping a pack of these in your glove box, you’ll remain tidy through multiple meals at drive-throughs.

In our testing, we’ve found that if you spend five hours a day in the car on a drive-through-fueled cannonball run, there’s no way you’ll get to your final destination without having some kind of condiments disaster. I met my own inevitable conclusion outside an In-N-Out Burger on the last leg of our trip.

When the unavoidable happens, you’ll need something more than a napkin and ice water to clean up the mess. We recommend Shout Wipe & Go Instant Stain Remover Wipes . We tested them against other instant spot removers and assorted DIY methods to see how they handled wine, coffee, lipstick, and mustard stains.

In our tests, the Shout wipes easily outperformed the popular Tide To Go pen , and the Shout option was the only stain remover that erased almost all traces of lipstick on the collar of a shirt. These wipes also did pretty well on the ketchup I spilled.

The single-use towelettes don’t occupy much space; you can throw a dozen into your glove compartment and barely notice they’re there. Plus, by using a single wipe per stain, you don’t risk depositing an old stain on another piece of clothing, as you might with reusable stain-remover sticks.

Hand lotion

Aveeno Daily Moisturizing Body Lotion

The best moisturizing lotion.

Once it’s rubbed in, this moisturizing lotion is lighter and drier-feeling than competitors. It’s better for people with normal to oily skin.

You might find yourself washing your hands a lot on the road, which can result in cracked and dry skin. Aveeno Daily Moisturizing Body Lotion is thick enough to stay neat in your hand and thin enough to spread quickly and smoothly onto your skin. Unlike its competitors , this moisturizing lotion dries nicely without leaving a greasy film in its wake. And its neutral scent won’t follow you out of the bathroom or into your car.

Can a long road trip be comfortable? I didn’t think so: Long hours of sitting in one position, nights spent camping or sleeping in cheap motel beds, and breaks for indigestible fast food are a terrible combination. But it doesn’t have to be that way.

With a little planning and a few small luxuries, you can keep the enthusiasm of your trip alive. Skip the fast food and instead pack your own snacks and water. Keep off the main highways and pull over when the scenery strikes you (not when you’ve gone a certain number of miles). And stop for as long as you need. The cliché is unavoidable: It’s the journey that’s important, not the destination (though that should be good too!).

Folding blanket

Nemo Victory Picnic Blanket

Comfortable and easy to carry.

Our favorite picnic blanket travels easily, feels comfortable to sit on, and holds up to wear and tear.

There’s only so much time you can spend in a car without needing to pull over to pause, stretch your legs, and take in the scenery. We stopped dozens of times on our trip, and we were glad every time we were able to take a side road, pull out a blanket, and find a place to sit down and share some food.

In 2023, Nemo enlarged the Victory Blanket, which previously fit just two people, to fit four people. At roughly 95 by 95 inches, according to our measurements, the Nemo Victory Picnic Blanket is now bigger than most blankets we looked at; it’s well suited for larger groups of people or for two people who want room for more board games and snacks. For those who need even more space, the Victory Blanket is also available in a truly mammoth extra-large version (120 by 120 inches). Both sizes come with two adjustable, clasping straps that keep the blanket rolled up tight, and those clasps can perform double duty as bottle openers.

Travel pillow

Therm-a-Rest Compressible Pillow Cinch

The best travel pillow.

The redesigned-for-2022 Therm-A-Rest pillow remains a firm and supportive choice that packs down to 50% of its expanded size. It now has a sewn-in cable that you can cinch down to make the pillow firmer.

price may vary by color or size

A good travel pillow is hard to find. It shouldn’t take up much space, and it should be able to expand when it needs to. And, ideally, it should allow you to shape it for use as a shoulder or neck pillow when necessary, such as when you’re on a plane or in the passenger seat of a car.

We found that the foam-filled Therm-A-Rest Compressible Pillow Cinch fit all of those criteria exceedingly well. During the day, it can fold in on itself (a loop-and-toggle closure holds it tight), which makes it easy to stow in a backpack or to toss into the backseat. When it’s in this tightly packed configuration, you can also use it as a shoulder and lumbar pillow. The Therm-A-Rest pillow is a bit larger than your typical travel pillow when it’s packed down—about the size of a tissue box—but saving space is less of a priority when you’re driving instead of flying.

At night, the pillow unrolls and expands into a decent bed pillow, though side-sleepers with larger frames may say it has too little padding. But this is a travel pillow, of course, so it will never feel like your home pillow, which is all part of the fun somehow. I sleep on my side and back, and I found it exceptionally comfortable compared with camping pillows I’d used in the past, although I did have to supplement it with a flannel shirt when I wanted to sleep on my side. In spring 2022, Therm-A-Rest released a slightly redesigned version of the pillow. The “regular” version is roughly the same size and weight as the old “medium” version, but the integrated pocket is now larger (9 inches deep instead of 6), which we found makes the pillow easier to roll up. The pillow also has a cord sewn in a loop into its back; you can tighten the cord and cinch it securely to make the pillow firmer. One other change: A thin layer of polyfill backs the brushed polyester fabric on its face and softens the lumpiness of the foam filling.

The Therm-A-Rest pillow is well reviewed on Amazon and on REI’s site. It’s available in a variety of colors and sizes, but we prefer the regular/medium for its mix of portability and support.

Silk sleeper wrap

Sea to Summit Premium Silk Travel Liner

The best sleeping bag liner.

This liner is a lightweight, moisture-wicking, easy-packing fix for scratchy motel sheets.

Not all motels are created equal. Some are fantastic, with their bright neon signs truthfully advertising a cheap, clean, and convenient place to stay. But out there you can stumble across other motels—desperate, last-chance places you wouldn’t wish on anyone, and cursed by all of the bleary-eyed travelers who’ve been forced to stay in them for a night.

Sea to Summit’s Premium Silk Travel Liner is the best accessory to bring along for these situations. Inclement weather, unexpected traffic, or poor planning (my personal downfall) may at some point prevent you from reaching your expected destination for the night and force you to stay somewhere you wish you didn’t have to. We can’t help you accept your fate, but we can make that night just a little easier to tolerate.

Nidra Deep Rest Eye Mask

The best sleep mask.

Lightweight and contoured, this mask fits comfortably and blocks light well for a wide variety of face shapes (though it’s best for those who sleep on their back). And the mask’s deep eyecups allow your eyes to flutter during sleep.

Not every bedroom on the road is as dark as some people would like. That’s why we recommend the Nidra Deep Rest Eye Mask . Its contoured eyecups rest over your eyes, giving them space to move, which makes this mask comfortable to sleep in—even when you’re sitting upright (as you might in the passenger side of a car). Although the mask is adjustable, with Velcro straps, restless sleepers may want to consider other options in our full guide to sleep masks . If the Nidra mask fits you well, its weightless feel can make you forget you’re wearing a mask at all as you continue to sleep in bright cars or poorly shuttered hotel rooms.

Puffy blanket

Rumpl Down Puffy

The best outdoor blanket.

This blanket offers the greatest warmth and durability for the lowest relative weight, price, and size. It also stuffs away very well when not in use.

The Rumpl Down Puffy blanket, which has a soft yet durable nylon shell that’s stuffed with water-repellent and sustainably sourced down, wards off the cold better for the price than the competition. It helps you to stay warm longer, inside or outside. (A puffy blanket has come in handy for us especially on winter road trips in an EV, when we don’t have the heat of a combustion engine warming the interior of the vehicle.) So far in our testing , the Rumpl blanket has survived four rounds in the washing machine without a snag, and it dries within an hour. And it’s been notably stain resistant after encountering dirt, dew, and even coffee.

Van camping mattress

Hest Sleep System

The best vehicle camping mattress.

Predominantly for van camping or long-term car camping, this blowup mattress takes up a hefty amount of space when stowed away but provides the most comfort of any camping mattress we’ve tested.

Although the size of the Hest Sleep System limits its use to either vans or pickup trucks, we’re including it on this list because of its impressive night-over-night comfort. If your road trips tend to include lots of outdoor activities such as biking, hiking, or climbing, a good night’s sleep is fundamental to having the energy you need to enjoy your days. The Hest mattress takes up about the space of a small cot mattress (78 by 25 inches). Half consists of a dense foam layer, and the other half is a high-pressure inflatable base that needs a pump system to inflate. The Hest mattress is not a small piece of kit when rolled up: It weighs 26 pounds and packs up into a 28-by-16-inch bedroll, including the air pump. If two of you are camping, you can connect two Sleep Systems together, though Hest also makes the Dually two-person foam mattress, which we haven’t had a chance to test yet.

Tinkle Belle Female Urination Device

The best pee funnel.

Sturdy and accommodating yet packable, the Tinkle Belle funnel is easy to use and clean when you’re on the road or hiking a trail.

It’s not always easy to find a secluded spot on the side of the road or a clean-enough public restroom. The Tinkle Belle funnel has a stable, rigid base and a flexible spout, so it won’t collapse under you during use, as Wirecutter senior staff writer Nancy Redd learned while researching the topic. One of the longest and widest of all the single-piece reusable funnels Nancy tested , the Tinkle Belle funnel makes less mess and is easy to use, as the more coverage a funnel has, the lower the risk of leakage or spills. While you’re on the road, a simple rinse works fine for cleaning the funnel. Although the Tinkle Belle funnel is larger than most, it folds up for more-compact storage. You can also buy it with a matching case .

Windshield protector and sunshade

A1 210T Fabric Sunshade

The best windshield shade.

This shade provides effective sun protection and fits a wide variety of windshields. It’s easy to store, too.

If you’re traveling through a sunny area, a sunshade for your windshield is a worthwhile investment. We like the A1 Windshield Sun Shade , which we found to offer the best combination of low cost, decent coverage, and ease of setup. Its pop-up design made it much simpler to install and stow than the accordion-style shades we tested.

Recommending just one sunshade for all cars is difficult because vehicles vary so much in size. But A1 offers several sizing options ranging from 59 by 19 inches to 69 by 36 inches (when the shade is fully expanded). You can compress each of these size options down to fit into a circular carrying case, which you can easily store on the door or underneath the seat. When you take the A1 sunshade out of the case, the compressed plastic arcs inside the sunshade spring open to create a rectangular shape, which you can adjust to fit your car’s windshield. Amazon reviewers mention that the build quality is solid and that the metallic finish does a good job against the sun, particularly in hot Southern states like Florida and Texas. Several reviewers also recommend , however, that you buy a size smaller than you think you need to avoid excessive overhang.

Although we prefer the A1 shade’s pop-up design, it’s not completely foolproof. Even with the choice in sizes, you still might have difficulty arranging the two plastic circles (which provide rigidity) within the A1 shade into a shape that hugs both edges of the front window and balances off the rearview mirror. Gaps, loose corners, or overhangs are almost unavoidable. In the end, what you gain in compactness and decent price, you lose in rigidity and reflective power. If you’re uncertain, measure before buying, or look into a custom shade like the WeatherTech shade described below, which is guaranteed to fit.

WeatherTech SunShade

A custom-fitted, maximum-protection shade.

This custom-fitted shade will ensure that no sun gets in, even in the sunniest climates.

If maximum temperature reduction is your goal, invest in a custom-fitted WeatherTech SunShade . Thicker than the A1 shade, WeatherTech’s shade completely blacks out the windshield when you install it. This shade is also notably bulky—about the size of a yoga mat when rolled up—and difficult to store discreetly. But if you frequent sunny climates, it’s well worth the cost, which at this writing starts at $55.

Passenger window UV protector and shade

Britax EZ-Cling Window Shades

The best passenger shade.

This shade sticks easily to car windows and provides great sun protection for passengers.

We researched 14 shade models and tested two finalists before determining that the Britax EZ-Cling Window Sun Shade is the best around. Available in a pack of two, it’s dead simple to install, and it’s effective. The Mylar on the back provides some protection against UV rays, and it acts like a large sheet of cling film that seems drawn to your windows once you pull the shades out of the box; the black mesh on the inner surface blocks a good amount of sunlight while still allowing you to see through the shade. We like the EZ-Cling shade better than film-only shades because the EZ-Cling design has a support ring of firmer material around its perimeter that makes it easier to install without prompting wrinkles and bubbles. I have way more fun than I rightly should when I’m putting these things onto car windows.

Unlike similar models with suction cups, the EZ-Cling shade doesn’t have any secondary or removable parts. Wirecutter’s Dan Frakes tried four other shades of various types and was dissatisfied with all of them, so he brought two EZ-Cling pairs for testing on a four-day road trip with his family. “They clung to the windows well,” Dan said. “They were a lot easier to install than both the suction-cup models and the flimsy film ones we’ve tried. We also removed them and reapplied them many times as our position relative to the sun changed, and it was easy to do so. Our only real complaint is that they’re small—they don’t cover an entire backseat window.” That kind of half-coverage can’t keep the sun off young children for too long, especially when the sun is low on the horizon.

Quick tip: Be sure to wipe your EZ-Cling shades with water when you first get them. A thin film protects the Mylar sheets during production, and it can leave a waxy residue on your car’s windows if you use the shades right out of the box without first wiping them down.

Portable extending shade

Shade extension

This extending shade attaches to a variety of vehicles, whether you have a roof rack or not, and whether you attach it to metal or a composite material such as a pickup-truck bed cover.

Although the MoonShade works best on SUVs and trucks, it’s lightweight and adaptable enough to work with smaller vehicles. When deployed, the MoonShade covers 9 by 7 feet, and its height adjusts from 78 inches to 96 inches. The shade mounts in three ways: directly to a roof rack, with very strong magnets, or with surprisingly robust suction cups for composite materials. We found that all three methods are secure enough for most situations, though as you might imagine, the suction cups are somewhat less stable than a direct mount on a rack. The MoonShade weighs 8 pounds and stows away into a carrying case that measures 28 by 6 inches, which is small enough to fit in the trunk of most cars. The MoonShade is great if you like to pull over in the middle of the day and set up a lunch, or if you tend to do activities outdoors in predominantly shadeless areas, as in the Southwest.

You could cross America with no plan at all and survive solely on fast food as your nourishment, without ever having to leave your car. But we don’t recommend that. Packing your own snacks and bringing your own water is not only healthier but also safer—you never know when you might be stranded somewhere along the way.

We got stranded on our second day of driving, somewhere east of Joshua Tree, California, when we pulled off the side of the road onto a soft, sandy shoulder (we were new in this part of the country). The car’s dash thermometer read 105 degrees Fahrenheit. As we waited, I was thankful that we had full water bottles, more water in the trunk, and plenty of food.

A highway patrol officer drove up, gave us a little lesson about sand, and pushed us out with no trouble. So things turned out fine. The beauty of a road trip is in the unexpected moments. You can be prepared for most of them by having a little food and water on hand.

RTIC Soft Pack Cooler 20 Can

Best soft cooler.

This simple lunch-box-style cooler is insulated with thick closed-cell foam and made from a durable coated nylon.

Capable of carrying everything from healthy snacks to emergency ice packs, a cooler is one of those items that can make long trips a lot more enjoyable. After several 500-mile days on the road, having a chilled container filled with cold drinks and body wipes is a gift. We recommend bringing along our favorite soft cooler , the RTIC Soft Pack Cooler 20 Can .

The lid of the RTIC cooler is capped by more than 2 inches of closed-cell insulation , and its walls are a touch thicker than those of the far more expensive Yeti Hopper Flip. When we tested them head-to-head, all that extra insulation seemed to give the RTIC cooler an insulating edge. The exterior of the RTIC cooler is made of a durable, thickly coated nylon—waterproof and tough—and the zippers are waterproof, as well. Still, don’t leave the cooler out in the sun, as the light and heat can degrade the material and slowly wear it out.

When the RTIC cooler is open, it stands erect like a grocery bag, providing easy access for loading and unloading.

Coleman 70-Quart Xtreme 5 Marine Hard Ice Chest Cooler

Our hard-cooler pick.

Better insulated and less expensive than the competition, this cooler keeps ice for a week. And its well-designed drain port makes it easier to clean.

If you need extra insulation for longer hauls and don’t mind sacrificing a little extra space, we recommend the Coleman 70-Quart Xtreme 5 Marine Hard Ice Chest Cooler . Our testing shows that a hard cooler will almost always outperform a soft cooler in insulating ability (five-plus days, versus a soft cooler’s two-day average) and durability. So the hard cooler is a great pick for RVs, trailers, or boats. But hard coolers are huge, so you might not have room for one if you’re carrying a bunch of other equipment.

Water bottles

CamelBak Eddy+ (25 ounces)

Great for the car.

A bottle with a straw is the easiest way to quaff water and keep your focus on the road since you don’t have to tilt your head back while drinking.

The 25-ounce CamelBak Eddy+ is the most reliable, most versatile water bottle for road trips that we found. This bottle has an integrated straw in the lid that features a plastic bite valve to keep it sealed (something that anyone who has owned a CamelBak hydration pack will be familiar with). Just bite down to open the straw, and release to seal it shut. That leak-free lid makes this bottle an ideal driving companion—it fits in a cup holder and is easy to sip from while you’re keeping your eyes on the road. The straw lid twists off to reveal a wide mouth that makes adding ice to your drink easy, which is handy if you like to keep your water cold. However, this is a plastic bottle, so adding ice could also make it sweaty; if you want to avoid that, the insulated version should prevent moisture from accumulating on the outside of the bottle.

Contigo Autoseal Transit Mug

The best mug for road trips.

Contigo’s Autoseal Transit is a wider mug that may fit better in cup holders than our top travel-mug pick. It doesn’t retain heat as well as our top pick, but some people may find its flat lid easier to drink from and to clean.

The Contigo Autoseal Transit Mug is a very different mug from the Zojirushi Stainless Steel Mug—our top pick for travel mugs —but it offers several features we like for road trips. The lid has fewer parts, is easier to clean, and prevents spills with its Autoseal button, which you have to hold down to keep the sipping port open. Plus, the flat lid won’t bump your nose or get in your line of sight while you’re drinking, as can happen with the Zojirushi model’s flip-top lid. Although this Contigo mug doesn’t keep drinks nearly as hot as the Zojirushi mug over a long period of time, some people might prefer that (we’ve heard complaints of the Zojirushi model keeping drinks too hot in the past). In addition, the Transit is a little wider than the Zojirushi mug, which is good if you want your mug to fit more snugly in a car cup holder or if you use a device such as an AeroPress, a pour-over dripper, or a tea steeper directly with your mug.

Edward Abbey wrote an entire book about being alone in the desert , long before portable screens, streaming music, and the best and worst of what instant entertainment can bring. He saw incredible things. But then again, Abbey wrote that book before he had kids.

Being in close proximity on a road trip can bond families and friends. Of course, a packed car could also become a pressure cooker. Some games, toys, and electronics can provide welcome relief.

Even more important, on our trip, every 100 miles the scenery around us changed drastically, and being able to charge our cameras allowed us to capture some wonderful personal moments.

Bestek 300W Power Inverter

The best inverter for simple devices.

More-sensitive gadgets may not function correctly while using this DC-to-AC converter, but a smoother converter costs $100-plus.

Lots of newer cars have USB ports capable of charging plenty of smaller gadgets. But to plug in bigger items, such as a computer, or certain items that have larger batteries, you need an inverter to transform your car’s round-plug, 12-volt direct current (12 V DC) outlet into a three-prong outlet with the same 120-volt alternating current (120 V AC) you have in your home. After sending our three favorites, culled from a list of 18 top-rated inverters, to physicist Jim Shapiro for testing, we recommend the Bestek 300W Power Inverter for simple devices such as water boilers. Not all inverters are equal, however, and you need to know what you’ll want to plug in before deciding which one to buy.

The Bestek unit—like every inverter that sells for less than $100—creates AC power, but in what’s called a “modified” sine wave. Shapiro examined this phenomenon using an oscilloscope. “Although the Bestek and similar units produce voltage at the same 60-hertz frequency as house voltage, the waveform has sharp corners, unlike the smooth, curvy sine-wave signal from your local power company,” Shapiro explained. “Those sharp corners give rise to higher frequency harmonics that are not friendly to electronic devices.”

However, because many electronics, including laptop computers, use power supplies to convert AC back into DC before delivering the power to your device, a higher-quality power supply can make the arrangement work—as owner reviews attest. Shapiro was able to charge an iPad without any problems via the AC outlets on the inexpensive Bestek inverter. Charging a Dell Chromebook, on the other hand, caused some problems: “The screen flickered, and I noted that when I asked the computer to display the charging time left, it oscillated between giving that time and ‘calculating,’ indicating that the software was having problems.”

While we were on the road, we realized that the Bestek inverter’s dual USB ports and dual outlets offered a nice benefit, particularly for people traveling in an older car that didn’t have USB ports built in everywhere. You shouldn’t have issues charging USB devices because they charge on DC voltage anyway. And though you can’t see the inverter’s safety features, such as over-voltage and low-voltage shutdown, they’re included as well.

For powering a TV (for tailgating) or any other demanding piece of electronics during a road trip, we used to recommend the Go Power GP-SW150-12 Pure Sine Wave Inverter. It now appears to be out of stock almost everywhere (or discontinued). As an alternative, we recommend looking into a portable power station , which is basically a large battery in a protective box, with AC outlets and other ports built in. They tend to be expensive, so for road-trip purposes we recommend our budget pick, the Jackery Explorer 300 . If you need to power only a laptop during your trip, we have several recommendations for portable laptop chargers . Note that portable power stations and laptop chargers both charge on wall outlets and can’t draw power from a car outlet.

Nekteck PD 45W Type-C Car Charger

The best car charger.

This model can charge phones, tablets, and computers from its USB-C port, plus it has a second port for charging USB-A devices. It adheres to USB-C fast-charging standards and includes a quality cable.

If your electronic gear doesn’t require AC—for instance, you’re charging smartphones or Bluetooth speakers more than laptops or portable TVs—you can save a few bucks and a lot of space by getting a car charger . Compared with the familiar USB-A port, the smaller USB-C port can charge most modern phones faster (if you’re using the right cable) and can even charge tablets and laptops. And the Nekteck PD 45W Type-C Car Charger provides the best of both worlds. When you’re using a USB-C–to–Lightning cable , the charger’s USB-C port can charge an iPhone about three times faster (at 18 watts) than the USB-A wall charger that comes in the box from Apple; your phone can charge from empty to roughly 50% in just half an hour. This Nekteck charger’s 45-watt output and included USB-C–to–C cable also support the maximum charge rate on Android phones (such as the Samsung Galaxy S10), the 2020 iPad Pro, and even many laptops. And you can use the 12-watt USB-A port at the same time to charge a second phone or other device with any USB cable you already have.

Bluetooth kit

Besign BK01 Bluetooth Car Kit

Best bluetooth adapter for cars with an aux-in jack.

The Besign BK01 kit offers great sound quality for music and good sound quality for phone calls. It also lets you pair two phones and access your voice assistant with the press of an easy-to-find button.

If your car lacks Bluetooth support—which you may want for wirelessly listening to music or connecting your phone calls over the car’s stereo system—and you aren’t willing to swap out the stereo for a new one that has such a feature, your best option is a Bluetooth kit. The best and easiest way to add Bluetooth to cars with a line-in jack is to get an aux kit. The Besign BK01 Bluetooth Car Kit provides good sound quality for music, clear-sounding voice audio for hands-free calls, and access to Siri or Google Assistant at the press of a button. It also allows you to connect two phones at once, so you and your passengers don’t have to duke it out for the aux cord.

iPad headrest mount

Depending on the length of your trip and the temperament of your passengers, you may need to find a way to keep folks occupied. Providing their favorite movies or TV shows on a tablet is an option. After testing six top tablet-mount contenders, we determined that Arkon’s Center Extension Car Headrest Tablet Mount is a great pick for viewing by multiple backseat passengers.

Arkon Center Extension Car Headrest Tablet Mount

For multiple viewers.

This model positions a tablet solidly between the front seats for easy viewing by all backseat passengers.

The Arkon mount anchors with a pair of adjustable clamps that tighten around the metal rods that support a front seat’s headrest; the tablet holster is located on the end of an extendable pole that you can move to a position between the front seats, where all three passengers in the backseat can view it.

We had recommended the LilGadgets CarBuddy Universal Headrest Tablet Mount for people who preferred a mount that’s best for just one backseat passenger. It appears to have been discontinued, but it’s a good find if you can get your hands on one.

Instant camera

Fujifilm Instax Mini 12

The best instant camera.

Fun and simple to use, this camera takes good-looking wallet-sized photos for 60¢ per print.

Fujifilm Instax Mini Film (Twin Pack)

Instax mini film.

Buying Instax Mini film in twin packs helps you get the best price.

With a smartphone, showing a photo to hundreds of followers is as easy as pressing the share button. But if you want to create something tangible, an instant-film camera can add a fun and welcome dose of analog charm to your digital world. Our pick is the Fujifilm Instax Mini 12 , which provides high-quality, retro-cool prints at a reasonable price.

Also, when your phone is serving as a radio, a map, a restaurant guide, and whatever else, you’ll appreciate having a dedicated tool that does one thing: take instant shots that look great.

After doing extensive research , we found the Instax Mini 12 to be the best instant-film camera. Its compact body feels durable, and thanks to its minimal controls, anyone can easily learn how to use it. The 3.4-by-2.1-inch prints cost only about 60¢ apiece , so documenting your trip won’t break the bank. Its photos aren’t perfectly sharp, but they are pleasingly colorful and creamy, with a classic look that we love.

Travel game

Chat Pack: Fun Questions to Spark Conversations

The best silence-breaker.

The questions are not always the most thought-provoking, but they sure can spark a conversation.

May be out of stock

You can find countless travel games for all ages, from magnetic chess boards to Adult Mad Libs , and we’re not about to review them all here. (You know what kinds of games you like to play.) So instead we’ll tell you about the game we chose, Chat Pack: Fun Questions to Spark Conversations .

I am, as a rule, generally wary of anything designed to prompt conversation. But by day three of our trip, with 1,100 miles behind us and 400 miles ahead, my then girlfriend (now wife) reached for Chat Pack and told me it was time.

It’s hit or miss with Chat Pack. Some of the questions are oddly inspiring, if clunkily written: “What is one item you own that has virtually no monetary value but has such sentimental value that you would not sell it for $1,000?” So, what item do I have that has no value but remains precious? My grandmother’s wire glove stretchers. And that became an hour-long conversation.

Some of the questions were abrupt duds: “If rain could fall in any scent, what scent would you want it to be?” “Like rain,” we both answered. Who doesn’t love the smell of fresh rain? The feeling of camaraderie in the car was strong; we agreed that it was a dumb question. We were a young couple on an open road in full accordance with each other, and that’s not a moment you take lightly.

So get a Chat Pack. Your mileage may vary. But this pack helped us pass the time, and it takes up barely any space.

Make time in your trip for the detours. If there’s one bit of non-gear-related advice we can give, it’s that the complicated route always proves to be more interesting. There will be times in the car when a sort of tunnel vision can set in, and the destination becomes all-consuming. At my worst, as I pressed down on the accelerator, I found myself mentally calculating the time saved for every increase in miles per hour—as if the scenery I was flying past wasn’t what I’d come to see in the first place.

The first time we pulled over without a plan was on some Bureau of Land Management stretch east of Zion National Park in Utah. We were alone, on an outcropping overlooking a shallow canyon. Someone had built an impromptu fire pit. But somehow it wasn’t until we finished lunch that we realized there was no point in going any farther.

You can find many ways to plan a trip. But once in a while, take a risk and make a left when all the maps and devices are telling you to go right. You won’t know where you’ll end up—and that’s the whole point.

Athlon Optics Midas ED

The best binoculars for nearly everyone.

Amazingly affordable with great optics, these binoculars offer performance comparable to that of many models costing thousands more.

Binoculars might not be a necessity. But when you’re standing on the edge of a trail in Zion National Park and looking for nesting peregrine falcons or lying at the edge of your campsite in Joshua Tree watching a pack of coyotes move under a full moon, will a good pair of binoculars come in handy? Yes. Yes it will.

The waterproof and lightweight Athlon Optics Midas ED binoculars boast a rugged shock-absorbing exterior. And this pair’s optical clarity and extra-wide field of view allow you to see more of the scene, more clearly and accurately. In fact, the professional ornithologist who tested binoculars for us said that things looked every bit as good through the Athlon binoculars as they looked through his $2,500 Leica Ultravid pair.

And the optics of the Midas ED pair aren’t the only strong suit: These are exceptionally durable binoculars that easily withstood the humid, dusty, and hostile environment of the Mexican rain forest and the harsh sun of the Californian desert. Also, their focus dial adjusts reliably and smoothly across a wide range of depths, making it easy for you to focus on what you’re trying to see, no matter where it is.

Stowable tote or daypack

It’s always a good idea to have a bag on hand for spontaneous off-the-road excursions. But anything that will take up space on a trip needs to be functional enough to hold cameras, snacks, jackets, maps, and souvenirs. And it needs to be durable enough to survive beach trips, sightseeing excursions, picnics, and museum tours.

Sea to Summit Ultra-Sil Travel Day Pack

A pack that won’t crowd your trunk.

Toss this lightweight, phone-sized packable bag into your trunk or under your seat, and you’ll never get caught without a spare bag again. If you need something to carry every day, though, you’ll probably prefer one of our more-structured picks.

After researching dozens of packable daypacks across a spectrum of portability, features, and prices, and then packing, unpacking, loading, wearing, and drenching the top-rated finalists during multiple rounds of testing, we’ve found that the Sea to Summit Ultra-Sil Travel Day Pack is the smallest and lightest packable backpack of the bunch. Packed up, it is very discreet, nearly the size of a keychain accessory. The bag itself is a no-frills sack made from a paper-thin siliconized Cordura nylon, so it’s very light and water resistant. The Ultra-Sil bag also has reinforced stitching at stress points, which allows it to carry more weight than you might expect. That said, since this pack is made of such thin, light material, carrying large or awkwardly shaped loads is somewhat uncomfortable, especially in comparison with our more structured picks.

If lightness, waterproofing, comfort, and organization are more important to you, check out the alternative picks in our review of packable daypacks for travel .

Blue Lizard Sensitive Mineral Sunscreen SPF 50+

An easy-to-spread physical sunscreen.

This physical sunscreen lotion absorbs easily and is free of added fragrance. Though this water-resistant formula can feel greasy, like most physical sunscreens, and leave behind a white cast (especially on darker skin), we’ve found its dependable coverage to be worth the trade-off.

On most road trips you’ll be exposed to the sun, whether it’s your arm out the window or your legs and neck during a pit stop, so we recommend bringing our favorite sunscreens along for everyone to apply. (The one exception: your youngest passengers. Do not put sunscreen on an infant. The American Academy of Dermatology recommends keeping children who are younger than 6 months out of the sun entirely.) Although most sunscreens containing only physical UV blockers are notoriously harder to spread and more visible on skin than sunscreens with chemical UV filters, Blue Lizard’s Sensitive Mineral Sunscreen SPF 50+ formula spreads relatively quickly and easily, and it absorbs nicely. Formulated with both zinc oxide and titanium dioxide, this sunscreen provides broad-spectrum protection, from both UVA and UVB rays. Blue Lizard says this formulation, which contains no added fragrance, is sweat resistant and water resistant for 80 minutes (the highest such claim allowed by the FDA). It comes in bottles that uniquely change color, from white to blue, in the presence of harmful UV light.

Banana Boat Light As Air Sunscreen Lotion SPF 50+

A lightweight, oxybenzone-free chemical sunscreen.

Although it contains added fragrance, this easy-to-apply chemical sunscreen lotion doesn’t have an overpowering sunscreen-y scent. It rubs in nearly transparently and appears colorless on most skin tones.

Banana Boat Light As Air Sunscreen Lotion SPF 50+ is our favorite chemical sunscreen that doesn’t contain oxybenzone. Fairly runny and lightweight, it blends seamlessly into a variety of skin tones. Although it contains added fragrance, it’s not strongly scented. It’s water resistant for up to the maximum-allowable claim (per FDA guidelines) of 80 minutes, and it costs far less per ounce than our physical-sunscreen pick.

Having an emergency kit in your car is a great idea for day-to-day driving, but it’s pretty much a necessity for long-distance road trips. Although it’s tempting to buy a preassembled kit and be done with it, we haven’t found a great one yet. Even the most promising options suffer from having jumper cables that are too short, too thin, or both. Basically, if you want a good kit, you have to make it yourself, and we’re here to help.

We spent hours researching and testing each of these essentials to confirm that they’ll be useful in case of an emergency, whether it’s your own or someone else’s.

On a desolate stretch of two-lane highway in northern Arizona, we were driving behind a rental camper van just as it had a rear-tire blowout after hitting a rumble strip. The couple driving the van couldn’t find their jack, didn’t know where the spare tire was, and had come to a stop just past a low dip in the road. It wasn’t a good scene. But it couldn’t have happened at a better time (for them, at least), and it gave us a great opportunity to put our emergency gear to the test.

It’s also wise to get a membership to a roadside assistance program. We don’t have a single best recommendation for everyone, since your options and needs vary depending on what car you have, how you use it, and where you live, but here’s a good guide by Popular Mechanics on what to look for in choosing a plan. Basically, make sure your plan fits your needs. For example, if you live in a city, 3 miles of free towing may be enough. But if you’re going on a road trip across the desert, paying for more range is worthwhile.

First-aid kit

First Aid Only 298 Piece All-Purpose First Aid Kit (FAO-442)

All the basics.

This kit is chock-full of bandages and cleaning supplies that are suitable for minor incidents.

On the road, a first-aid kit is useful for keeping someone comfortable until people with real medical expertise can help. It’s much more important to have a basic kit with you—and to be sure that the bandages haven’t degraded and the disinfectants haven’t expired—than to have a 432-item, war-zone-worthy kit sitting at home.

We like the First Aid Only 298 Piece All-Purpose First Aid Kit . It lacks some of the higher-quality tools that we recommend for a wilderness first-aid kit , but it comes with plenty of bandages, alcohol prep pads, pain relievers, and equipment to treat up to four people’s minor cuts and scrapes on a weekend trip. (For an extensive list and comparison chart, see our full guide .)

Snow shovel

Voilé Telepro Mini Avalanche Shovel

The best car shovel.

This small shovel slices through icy snow and can be disassembled for car storage. It isn’t cheap, but it’s what we’d want to have in a roadside emergency.

After spending two years researching car shovels and testing five contenders, we found that the best one to keep in the trunk for an emergency is the Voilé Telepro Mini Avalanche Shovel .

The tool, popular with ski patrols and people clearing backcountry trails, has a solid metal scoop and a two-piece handle that clicks together to form a sturdy shovel. Our tester keeps the Voilé shovel in her truck every winter, and it has come in handy more times than she can count. Though the Voilé shovel is too short to be a primary shovel, it’s perfect for any kind of fast shoveling. When you aren’t using it, you can tuck its three pieces neatly under a car seat or in the back.

Accu-Gage RRA60X

The best tire gauge we’ve found.

This is the favored tire gauge of all the professionals we interviewed.

Checking your car’s tire pressure (including that of the spare tire) is like flossing: It’s something that everyone should do but many people don’t do. Proper inflation is vital . Too much, and you’ll feel every bump and have more difficulty stopping your car; too little, and your tires will wear faster. Worse, they’ll also overheat, which can separate the treads and blow the tires, something we saw happen right in front of us in the middle of nowhere in Arizona. Don’t let that happen to you.

When we asked three different San Francisco Bay Area tire shops which gauge they used, they all pointed to the Accu-Gage 60 PSI gauge with shock protector . After our testing, which included road-tripping with the tool ourselves, the Accu-Gage model has emerged as our favorite tire gauge for several years running. It’s accurate and durable, and unlike a digital gauge, it has no battery to wear out. The Accu-Gage model is available in several different configurations , but the performance is largely the same. We prefer a version with a hose attached and a straight chuck, because that design makes it easier to hold the gauge and check the tire pressure at the same time. The version we tested even comes with a removable rubber bumper in case you drop it.

Portable jump starter

A portable jump starter is essentially a lightweight battery attached to two jumper cables that you use to jump-start your car. It’s easier, safer, and less intimidating than old-fashioned jumper cables that you attach to another car—and it’s something that you can use if you’re alone, instead of waiting for roadside service/a kind stranger/a friend/a relative to show up and bail you out.

Weego Jump Starter 44s

Staff-favorite jump starter.

This jump starter has the right safety features and contains enough juice in a small package to start most cars and SUVs.

Wirecutter has recommended Weego gear since we first published our guide to portable jump starters in 2017. Guide writer Mark Smirniotis researched 40 lithium-ion jump starters and tested 12. Two Weego portable jump starters (both of which are now discontinued) became picks: the Weego 22s (the top pick; about $60) and the Weego 44 (the upgrade pick; about $150). Though we no longer maintain that full guide, many of us at Wirecutter still keep a Weego jump starter in our cars . But now, in many cases, it’s an updated version, namely the affordable Weego 44s , which hovers around the same price as the 22s model, its less powerful predecessor.

Measuring 5.62 by 3.44 by 1.04 inches (LWD), the Weego 44s jump starter is about the same size as a cell phone in length and width. It also weighs less than a pound (around 12 ounces, according to my kitchen scale) and has safety features that help prevent you from hurting your car or yourself: If you incorrectly attach the jump starter to your battery (which can potentially damage the battery or your car’s electrical system), the unit’s reverse-polarity protection feature activates, issuing a red light and an alarm alerting you not to proceed.

The Weego 44s is rated to work with a wide range of vehicles, including gas engines up to 7 liters and diesel engines up to 3.5 liters. It can jump-start pretty much any gas- or diesel-powered passenger-vehicle engine—anything from a Mini Cooper (2 liters or less) to a Dodge Ram (as much as 6.7 liters)—and it fits that power into a package that’s small enough for most glove boxes.

The Weego 44s comes partially charged out of the box and takes about 2.5 hours to charge from zero. A USB-A–to–Micro-USB charging cord is included, but it doesn’t come with a charging cube, so you need to plug the USB-A end into your own USB phone charger that works in regular household outlets or use an outlet with a USB-A port . According to the company, the unit can stay charged for more than a year in storage, though you should make sure to top it off every three to six months. With regular use, it’s rated to last for about three to five years or up to 1,000 recharge cycles. Plus, it can provide multiple jumps before it needs a recharge itself (five lights on the side of the unit indicate its remaining battery life).

The Weego 44s has checks and balances to ensure that you safely jump-start a car, but its lithium-ion polymer battery comes with certain caveats. Though the manufacturer indicates that the unit will operate in temps of -4 °F to 140 °F, leaving it in a car in extremely hot or cold conditions is not a great idea. “Most devices that contain a lithium-ion battery, whether it’s your smartphone or a portable jump starter, should not spend long periods of time in extreme temperatures since it can cause permanent damage to the battery,” says Wirecutter senior staff writer and battery expert Sarah Witman. “You should also keep in mind that car engines need more power to get started in freezing temperatures, so it’s especially important to keep your jump starter fully charged when driving in cold climates.”

Jumper cables

If you’re a die-hard jumper-cable partisan, make sure that the cables you get are long enough for most scenarios and thick enough to carry sufficient current to jump most vehicles.

Lifeline AAA Heavy Duty 16-foot 6 Gauge Booster Cables

The best cable option.

This cable is long and durable enough for any situation, with a current rating that can handle SUVs.

After scrutinizing the specs of dozens of jumper-cable options and having an electrical engineer analyze three top-rated models, we recommend Lifeline’s AAA Heavy Duty 16-foot 6 Gauge Booster Cables . As this image illustrates, these cables are long and thick enough for most situations, and their 400-amp current rating means they can handle most vehicles, even trucks and SUVs. They also come with a surprisingly sturdy and convenient mesh storage bag.

One thing that sets these Lifeline cables apart from other cables we found on Amazon is that the 6-gauge description is accurate. For example, Capri sells a 4-gauge, 20-foot cable that reviewers say is closer to 8-gauge. That’s no good, because thinner cables can fail to deliver sufficient current to start trucks, SUVs, and other larger vehicles.

If you’re unfamiliar with how to use jumper cables, familiarize yourself . But lest you forget, Lifeline includes a handy diagram in the bag. The important thing to keep in mind: Do not attach the black clamp to the black post of the dead battery. Instead, clamp it to an unpainted metal surface under the hood. Also, don’t touch the exposed parts of the clamps together while the cables are hooked up to a battery; they will spark.

Decked x BoxoUSA Tool Bag with Tool Roll

For the at-home mechanic.

This tool roll is designed for off-road emergencies. The handy roll and its mix-and-match tool configurations offer almost everything necessary to keep a vehicle on the road.

If you don’t own any tools for car maintenance, this kit is a great start. With 65 individual tools, the Decked x BoxoUSA Tool Bag with Tool Roll has nearly every tool that a home mechanic (especially those who own a truck) might need to keep their vehicle on the road. As the kit was designed originally for off-roading, bringing the whole thing and all its contents would be overkill for most people (the entire kit weighs 31 pounds). But selecting the necessities—the ratchet and wrench set, for instance—depending on the kind of journey you’re planning is easy and efficient due to the built-in compartmentalization. Included within the kit are combination wrenches, sockets, impact sockets, hex and torx keys, breaker bars, and a family of hammers, pliers, and screwdrivers. The heavy-duty Cordura nylon bag is built to last, too. If you’re at all interested in doing some of your own car maintenance, or if you want to be prepared in case of emergency, this toolkit offers a solid foundation.

Petzl Actik Core

A rechargeable headlamp.

This headlamp emits bright light with the highest beam quality. And it stays charged for days, whether you charge it via USB or use AAA batteries. It’s the perfect headlamp for backpacking trips.

We’ve been testing headlamps since 2012, including our latest round of research and testing in 2022. For a road trip, we like the Petzl Actik Core because it’s rechargeable, so you won’t ever get caught with a dead battery, as long as you have a USB car charger on hand. Its 450-lumen light ranks among the brightest of all our picks. (As of early 2023, the Actik Core was updated and now has a 600-lumen beam ; we’re currently testing the new version.)

Twice during our trip we pulled into our camping site late, and our headlamp was the first thing we reached for. Knowing that it was always charged meant that we didn’t have to hunt for batteries or use our car lights and disturb neighboring campers.

Right out of the box, the Actik Core was easy to use. It has just one button and three brightness options: low (6 lumens), medium (100 lumens), and high (450 lumens). If you hold down the button for several seconds, the color turns to red; double-pressing lets you access the strobe setting. Compared with some other rechargeable headlamps, which require complicated button-press configurations to reach the desired setting, we found this one to be simpler, though we lamented its lack of a flood beam. We also liked the double-button setup of the Black Diamond Spot 400 and the Vitchelo V800 a bit better than the Actik Core’s single button.

Flare alternative

StonePoint LED Emergency Beacon

The best emergency beacon.

Crushproof and waterproof, this set of three beacons comes with magnets for car mounting. And these are much safer than traditional flares.

To keep yourself safe while your car is parked on the side of the road, we suggest StonePoint LED Emergency Beacon flare alternatives.

We like the StonePoint set because, for the price of one high-intensity model like the PowerFlare device, you get three separate lights that are all crushproof to 20,000 pounds, waterproof, magnetic, and easy to set up and turn on. The magnets are important because they let you mount the beacons on your car, which adds height; having a flare anywhere above the surface of the road greatly increases your visibility. By putting one on the road (preferably elevated on something and located about 100 feet before your car), another on the trunk, and another on the hood, you create a very visible early warning for drivers.

Traditional magnesium flares will almost always be brighter and more visible. But their hazards—both to your health and to the environment around you—are substantial. (Read the health and environmental hazards section in this report [PDF] for a breakdown of the risks and the potentially harmful chemicals involved.) Combine that with the fact that you can mitigate any differences in visibility simply by elevating an electric flare, and you end up with a compelling argument against using traditional flares.

Of the three beacon models we tested, we couldn’t figure out how to open or turn on the Wagan model. And the Smittybilt U.F.O. safety light, though tough, wasn’t especially effective during the day and came only one to a package. Only the StonePoint beacons were easy to fill with batteries and place on the road exactly when we needed them. They also happened to be the brightest flare alternatives we had with us.

I should take a moment here and repeat what the responding officer told us when he arrived on the scene. Regardless of what safety beacons you have laid out behind you, “Stay off the road, and when in doubt stay in your car.”

Leatherman Skeletool CX

The best multi-tool.

This light, slim multi-tool is easy to carry and built to last.

No emergency kit is complete without a multi-tool. Most minor situations—such as a loose Phillips-head screw or a need to create a rag for checking your oil—are easily fixed as long as you have the right tool. Multi-tools are small enough to carry in a jeans pocket or to attach to a belt, so you can take a set of useful tools almost anywhere. Our choice is the Leatherman Skeletool CX , which comes with pliers, a bit driver, a pocket clip, and a carabiner/bottle opener, in addition to a high-quality, 2.6-inch 154CM carbon-fiber stainless steel blade. The Skeletool CX stood out from the other 22 multi-tools we tested because it focuses on the functionality, ergonomics, and solid construction of a few essential tools, instead of cramming dozens of different tools into a single bulky body that makes it difficult to use. That means it’s easy to carry but still has just about everything you could possibly need (short of a hammer and a socket set) to make an emergency repair in the field and on the road.

Duck Brand Max Strength Duct Tape

The best duct tape.

This tape is super strong and sticky, flexible enough to wrap around corners, and easy to tear in a clean, straight line.

If you can’t duct it, fuhgeddaboudit . We tested the heck out of 11 rolls of duct tape and chose Duck Max Strength tape above the competition for its perfect blend of attributes, namely high material strength, a strong adhesive, and superior overall flexibility for easy wrapping around odd shapes and curved surfaces. Is it an absolute necessity on the road? No. But the moment you need to fix a ripped tent wall or to keep unruly motel shades shut, you’ll be glad you packed some duct tape. It can even handle first-aid duties when the right materials for the job are unavailable. Duct tape is, as any MacGyver fan will tell you, a very useful tool.

Reliance 4-Gallon Aqua-Tainer

The best water jug.

This water jug holds enough water for two people for two days, and it has a spill-proof screw-on vent cap.

The general rule for water in an emergency is that one person needs one gallon of water for one day. But four to five gallons is a good amount to throw into your trunk—enough to get you through being stranded, even with a passenger. You should increase that estimate if you plan to go out in the middle of nowhere, or if your travels take you to a desert region or some other dry place. We found on our trip through the Southwest that we were refilling our water bottles a lot more than we were stopping for gas.

After researching 16 different types of water jugs, we recommend the Reliance 4-Gallon Aqua-Tainer for most situations. The Reliance jug has two standout features: a screw-on vent cap and a spigot cap that reverses in on itself when not in use. These features work together to prevent major spills. The screw-on vent cap doesn’t come undone, unlike the pull-top vents on some competitors, which tend to pop open and spill water as soon as you hit anything other than the smoothest roadways. Spigot caps can be a weakness for some jugs, too. In contrast, when not in use, the Reliance jug’s spigot unscrews and drops into the jug itself, sealing up the whole canister nice and tight. On our road trip, we used the 4-Gallon Aqua-Tainer, which can provide water for two people for two days; for more people, consider the 7-Gallon Aqua-Tainer .

The Reliance Aqua-Tainer jug is made from BPA-free molded plastic. It’s easy to pack around in the trunk of a car—certainly easier than large, bladder-type jugs (like the MSR Dromedary Bag ), which, though excellent for camp showers and good for a backpack, are too difficult to pack around in a trunk because of their non-rigid shape. The Aqua-Tainer’s hard sides also make it easier to use for dispensing water from, say, the roof of your car. But be sure to throw a shirt or towel under the Aqua-Tainer before setting it atop your car like this: We learned the hard way that the molded plastic edge can scratch your car’s paint job if you’re not careful.

Before investing in a jug, you should know that water kept in plastic bottles won’t harm you, even if left in a hot car . A 24-pack of Poland Spring is not environmentally kind, but it is safe for a brief trip. Avoid gallon jugs, since they’re typically made out of HDPE plastic, which punctures easily. (Such jugs also have caps that pop off easily.) We wouldn’t buy collapsible jugs, either, since they are prone to leaks and are unruly when pouring.

It takes only a few minutes to get your vehicle checked out for a proper road trip. When in doubt, or when preparing for an especially long trip, see a mechanic first. There are plenty of potential mechanical troubles that a professional can identify—and that you’d rather learn about in their shop than on the side of a highway. Use these tips to determine where to go for help, based on the age of your car and what you need done.

• Dealership service departments: newer vehicles covered by factory warranty, or when specialized service is required
• Independent mechanics: general maintenance items such as brakes, steering, suspension, exhaust, and fluid changes
• Quick oil/lube centers: oil changes only

Getting word-of-mouth advice from family and friends remains a very good way to find reputable mechanics. Sites such as RepairPal and Yelp are also helpful. And don’t forget to check local Facebook community groups.

The vehicle inspection: Six key areas

• Under the hood: Check the engine oil, transmission fluid, engine coolant, windshield wipers, washer fluid, and brake fluid.

• Tires: Check for proper inflation and good tread that doesn’t show uneven wear. For inflation, consult your owner’s manual to find your tires’ recommended PSI; don’t go by what’s printed on the side of your tire, which is the maximum PSI. For tread wear, stick a penny into the center (not the edge) of each tire’s treads, with Lincoln’s head facing down—if you can still see the top of Lincoln’s head, the tire is worn out. Also, if you have a spare tire, check it and make sure that a jack and a lug-nut wrench still accompany it. If you don’t have a spare, consider getting one from a dealer or a salvage yard. Or invest in an emergency roadside repair and inflation kit—like the Slime 50107 Smart Spair Emergency Tire Repair Kit —which includes sealant for small punctures as well as a small air compressor for reinflating tires. At the very least, bring along a portable sealer kit like Fix-A-Flat , but be aware that these options work only on very small punctures in the tread and could ultimately require you to replace your whole tire. So it’s really better to have a spare, if possible.

• Lights: Check all the bulbs, including the turn signals, headlights (high and low beam), brake lights, parking lamps, reverse lights, and license-plate lights.
• Smell test: You can sniff out potential problems in your car by paying attention to its odors.
• Sulfur/rotten-egg smell: You have trouble with your exhaust or emission system that could be dangerous. Get your car to a mechanic immediately.
• Sweet smell: This scent indicates an engine coolant leak; the smell could be strong when you’re using the heater, and accompanied by fogged-up glass. The coolant is toxic, and when it runs out, your engine will overheat.
• Burning carpet/paper smell: Your brakes are hot. Smelling this after you’ve used your brakes hard (such as after coming down a mountain) is not unusual. But if you smell this while you’re driving around normally, it means your brakes might be stuck, which is a serious problem.
• Musty/mildew smell: This odor is generally attributable to water getting stuck in the ductwork for your heating and air conditioning. It usually indicates that a drain plug is blocked, which you sometimes can fix just by running your fan on high for a few minutes.
• Burning rubber smell: Unless you’re doing burnouts, this smell can be caused by slipping engine belts or a tire rubbing. In these cases, the smell is usually accompanied by a noise, namely squealing (with belts) or grinding (with a tire rubbing).
• Noise test: Cars make lots of noises, and the following are some that should get your undivided attention.
• Clunking or rattling over bumps: This sound can indicate a variety of problems with the steering or suspension, but it often points to worn plastic or rubber bushings that allow contact between metal components. In extreme cases, these components can fail, causing major damage or even loss of control if the vehicle is moving.
• Clicking or groaning sounds when turning: Clicking is a sign of imminent axle shaft failure on front-wheel-drive or all-wheel-drive vehicles, so get to a mechanic immediately if you hear this sound. Groaning noises are less serious and occur because of a lack of lubrication in steering components or bushings.
• Loud humming that increases steadily with speed: This sound almost always points to a bad wheel bearing, especially if the noise gets louder or quieter when the car is turning.
• Grinding, squeaking, or squealing when stopping: Squeaking and squealing happen when the brake pads are worn and need replacing. Grinding means the pads are already gone, and you’re pushing metal against metal when you stop.
• Feel test: The following are a few situations that should warrant a visit to the shop.
• Soft or spongy brake pedal: Brakes should be firm; a soft pedal means something is wrong. Either you have a mechanical problem or the brake fluid is leaking.
• Shimmies or vibrations: These sensations usually indicate that a rim is bent or that a tire is out of balance, but they can also be signs of loose steering or suspension parts.

Pre-trip planning

Before heading out, check these commonly taken-for-granted aspects of road-tripping.

• Update your GPS system. Factory-installed GPS devices generally receive updates once a year and require CDs, SD cards, or USB thumb drives purchased from the manufacturer for installation through a dealership. Mobile third-party GPS units get updates throughout the year, and you can install the updates via most home PCs through a simple download from the GPS manufacturer’s website.
• Make sure that you have maps or a paper atlas. Sometimes technology fails. Having a current map for backup is always a good idea.
• Make sure you’re covered by a roadside assistance program. Auto-club programs are the most common source of roadside assistance plans, with companies such as AAA and Good Sam offering coverage to members regardless of what vehicle they drive or its age. Most new cars, however, come with complimentary roadside assistance that lasts a certain number of miles or a certain number of years, whichever happens first. So check your owner’s manual (and read the fine print, since these plans can be very limited). Many auto insurance companies also provide vehicle-specific roadside assistance, usually for a monthly fee. Some credit card companies offer a mix of complimentary and basic fee services, and even cell phone companies are now offering basic services to customers. Verizon’s roadside assistance plan costs $5 per month and covers any vehicle, as long as the phone is present. Most of these plans have limitations and plenty of fine print to study, so carefully review your coverage before hitting the road.

This article was edited by Ria Misra and Christine Ryan.

Meet your guides

Kit Dillon is a senior staff writer at Wirecutter. He was previously an app developer, oil derrick inspector, public-radio archivist, and sandwich shop owner. He has written for Popular Science, The Awl, and the New York Observer, among others. When called on, he can still make a mean sandwich.

Wirecutter Staff

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Further reading

Road-Trip Essentials

by Eve O'Neill

We spend a lot of time driving each year, and this is our list of essential road-trip gear to include in your packing list.

Traveling With Little Kids Can Be Tough. The Right Gear Can Help.

by Kerry Davis McGuinness

From compact car seats and cribs to portable blackout shades and white noise machines, the right tools for travel can lead to less fuss—and more fun.

The Gadgets We Bring on Every Trip

by Haley Perry

You don't have to be a digital nomad to travel like one. Here are a few gadgets and accessories to make travel as painless as possible.

The Best Gear for Travel

by Wirecutter Staff

We put in another year and tens of thousands more miles of travel to test the best travel gear—and we stand by last year’s choices alongside a few new picks.

Protect Your Trip »

41 road trip essentials: what you need on your next road trip.

Add these items to your road trip packing list to help you travel more comfortably.

Road Trip Essentials

Getty Images

A road trip is a great way to see the country. Consider stocking up on these accessories before you go.

If you're planning a road trip, you're going to have a lot of work to do before you pack the car and head out of town. You'll need to map out a general itinerary, plan your overnight stops and create a list of must-see sights along the way. And don't forget about all the stuff you need to pack to ensure your family is safe, comfortable and entertained.

While you don't necessarily need a lot of things to make a road trip a success, U.S. News searched far and wide to find the best gadgets and gear that will make your time in the car the highlight of your trip. These are all items you'll want to consider adding to your road trip packing list.

As you pack your bags and get ready for an epic road trip, here are a few last-minute road trip essentials you might want to add to your arsenal, organized by category.

Personal care and hygiene

Entertainment, comfort and convenience.

Keeping a reliable flashlight stored in your car is a good rule of thumb for all drivers heading out on a road trip. In roadside emergencies, the Anker Rechargeable Bolder LC90 LED Flashlight can illuminate a distance of nearly 1,000 feet with a battery life of up to six hours. Its durable design makes it ideal for use in inclement weather, and its five settings include an SOS signal and a strobe light. Meanwhile, the Black Diamond Spot 400 Headlamp – which features a 400-lumen beam and red LED night vision – is ideal for when you find yourself changing a tire in the middle of the night. Both products earn rave reviews from consumers for their powerful light.

Portable power bank

Goal Zero's Sherpa 100AC power bank is a portable power bank you can use to recharge tablets, phones, cameras and laptops on the go. It features two USB ports, plus four cables are included and it's lightweight at just 2 pounds. Recent customers loved the power bank's versatility, but recommend charging it every two to three days for the best results.

Jumper cables

Jumper cables from AUTOGEN can easily fit in your trunk and could save the day if your battery dies and you're unable to start your car while out on the road. Many travelers also say you can't go wrong with these heavy-duty cables from Energizer. These 25-foot-long cables are perfect for any car type and come with a travel bag for easy storage – they're a must for any road trip packing list.

Portable tire inflator

A portable tire inflator can be a lifesaver if you find your tires have a slow leak during your trip. The AstroAl Air Compressor Tire Inflator is compact, so it won't take up much space among the other gear in your trunk, and it includes an LED flashlight with independent switch control. It is programmed to stop automatically once it hits the preset tire pressure and it comes with a 36-month warranty. Other travelers prefer the ViAir 88P - 00088 Portable Compressor Kit , noting it works well with a wide variety of vehicles. In addition to a 12-foot air hose and 9-foot power cord, the kit comes with alligator clamps that power your air compressor by attaching to your car's battery.

Jump starter

Picture this: You're having the time of your life on your road trip when your car battery dies in the middle of nowhere. Luckily, a high-quality jump starter is all you need to avoid this disastrous scenario. In addition to being water-resistant and compact, the NOCO Boost Plus GB40 comes with a built-in flashlight and a USB port for charging devices like smartphones and tablets. The Hulkman Alpha 85 2000A Jump Starter also comes highly recommended by travelers thanks to its easy-to-use design and powerful battery life (a single charge can hold up to 60 jump starts).

Waking up in the morning to an icy windshield isn't a pretty sight. Prestone AS244 Windshield De-Icer instantly melts ice upon contact, so you don't have to worry about waiting for your car to defrost when you're in a rush. As an added bonus, the can comes with a built-in scraper tool for easy ice removal. Recent customers have called this product a lifesaver during harsh winters.

Bringing a trusty multi-tool on your road trip is a simple way to make sure you're prepared no matter what situation you run into. Leatherman products impress consumers time and time again thanks to the company's high-quality and lightweight multi-tool designs. Customer-favorites include the Leatherman Bond and the Leatherman Wave+ , which offers 18 powerful tools like pliers and wire cutters.

Car charger

Frequent car travelers recommend always staying connected with the TECKNET USB Car Charger . Featuring four fast-charging ports, this adaptor can be used to charge smartphones, tablets and more. If you're hitting the road with the whole family in tow, or you simply want to charge more than one device at a time, travelers say this powerful charging adaptor is a must-buy. Pair it with an extra-long charging cable that can easily reach everyone in the back seat.

Dashboard phone mount

Keep your eyes on the road by installing a dashboard phone mount before your journey starts. The iOttie Easy One Touch 5 comes with a telescopic arm, a magnetic cord organizer and a strong-hold suction cup. Plus, its easy one-touch lock-and-release mechanism (a feature that is much appreciated among recent customers) makes taking your phone on and off the holder a breeze. If you don't like the rigidity of traditional dashboard phone mounts, consider choosing a phone mount with a flexible arm instead.

Document holder

Whenever you're hitting the open road, you want to prepare for the worst. In the event that you get into a car accident or are pulled over by the police, having easy access to your car's registration, insurance information and owner's manual is crucial. Recent travelers say that this Samsill car registration holder is great for keeping all your important documents organized.

Roadside emergency kit

To give yourself peace of mind while you're on the road, travelers recommend this STDY car roadside emergency kit from Amazon. Equipped with a tire pressure gauge, a utility knife, safety gloves, cable ties, a tow rope, tire repair tools, a raincoat and more, this compact kit has everything you need when life throws you an unexpected curve ball.

Extra-large body wipes

Extra-large body wipes from Busy Co make it easy to wash up when you can't take a shower. Cloths are suitable for dry, oily and combination skin types, and address a variety of skincare needs, including clarifying, toning, soothing and nourishing. Recent customers appreciated the large size of the wipes and said using them made them feel refreshed while traveling.

Lysol wipes

Disinfecting Lysol wipes are a must-have on your travel packing list. These cleaning wipes kill 99.9% of viruses and bacteria, so you can feel protected while on the road.

Disposable toilet seat covers

Disposable toilet seat covers from Amazon will help you avoid germs and stay clean when you stop for restroom breaks at gas stations, port-a-potties and campgrounds.

First-aid kit

A comprehensive first-aid kit can't be overlooked when packing up the car for your next road trip. Recent customers say this 298-piece kit from Amazon will get you the most bang for your buck, with bandages, antibiotic ointment, gauze, Band-Aids, pain reliever and much more. Although this will arm you with the basics of what you may need in a medical emergency, it's always a good idea to personalize your kit according to your needs.

Nausea Relief

Long hours in the car might sound daunting to anyone prone to motion sickness. In those cases, having preventative nausea medicine like Dramamine can be a lifesaver. If you prefer a drug-free alternative, Sea-Bands are anti-nausea wristbands that use acupuncture as a natural remedy to reduce motion sickness. Travelers say these bands are highly effective at reducing nausea.

Hand sanitizer

From gas pumps to ATMs, you never know what germs you may encounter on a road trip. Protect yourself against viruses like the cold and flu by adding a travel-size hand sanitizer to your road trip packing list and keeping it in the car during your trip.

If you'll be spending long hours in the car, it's important to remember to wear sunscreen. Sun Bum's SPF 50 Sunscreen Spray is broad spectrum, moisturizing and water-resistant for up to 80 minutes. And if you'll be heading for the ocean on your trip, make sure you pack a reef-safe sunscreen like this one from Reef Repair to protect marine life and coral reefs from harmful chemicals. Although some customers reported a white cast upon application (due to the zinc oxide), many reviewers thought the trade-off was worth it to maintain healthy ocean environments.

Toiletry bag

This chic Sonia Kashuk Weekender Makeup Bag features two zipper compartments, a center organizer and carrying handles that make it perfect for transport. Customers particularly love that the bag is compact without sacrificing storage space. For durable, leak-proof travel bottles, check out this Getaway Travel Kit from Ban.do . It comes with four pearlescent bottles, two jars, a spatula, a funnel and a zippered pouch for storage. Plus, it includes a fun set of sticker labels so you can organize your toiletries in style.

[Read:  The Top Travel Toiletry Bags .]

Sitting in the car for hours can be painfully boring at times, but there are plenty of ways you can enjoy your time while road tripping. With the Amazon Kindle Paperwhite , you have access to thousands of books at your fingertips. The device boasts up to 10 weeks of battery life, adjustable warm light and a glare-free display, which recent reviewers said made marathon reading sessions a breeze. Meanwhile, kids can enjoy the Amazon Kindle Paperwhite Kids , which offers a special font for children with dyslexia and comes with a two-year warranty.

Carefully curated Spotify playlist

Whether you prefer jamming out to tunes or listening to thought-provoking podcasts, having a Spotify playlist ready to go before you get on the road is a must. Take some time before your trip to curate a playlist or two so you can keep your eyes on the road and your hands off your phone while road tripping.

Audible subscription

Long drives call for catching up on all those books you've been saying you were going to read this year. With an Audible subscription, you can make the most out of traffic jams by enjoying some words by your favorite authors.

Choose a reliable duffel bag like the Eagle Creek Migrate Duffel for your next road trip. This bag is water-resistant, strength-bearing and perfect for when you need your luggage to fit in a small space. It also comes with lockable zippers and can be worn as a backpack or carried as a tote, a top feature according to recent reviewers. And if you're planning on hiking during your trip, travelers say the Daylite Duffel 30 from Osprey can fit everything you need with room to spare. This bag can be worn comfortably all day long and comes with a mesh water bottle pocket and functional harness straps.

[Read: The Top Rolling Duffel Bags .]

This YETI Hopper Soft Sided Backpack Cooler makes it easy to bring drinks anywhere without worrying about leaks. The cooler, which comes with a dryhide shell and a magnetic closure, can hold up to 18 cans (or 26 pounds of ice), and comes highly recommended by travelers thanks to its durable design. It's ideal for road trippers who plan to get out and explore, and need to stay hydrated or keep food fresh.

Rooftop Cargo Carrier

Save some space inside your vehicle by opting for a car roof cargo carrier. With an anti-slip mat and reinforced adjustable straps, the waterproof FIVKLEMNZ 15 Cubic Car Roof Bag Cargo Carrier from Amazon is suitable for any car type. Recent customers say that they had no problem getting it to stay in place even on high-speed roads.

Car organizer

A car seatback organizer lets you arrange road trip essentials on the back of the driver's or passenger's side seat, where they're within reach of small hands. Many buyers said this seatback organizer from Amazon.com took some of the stress out of traveling with kids, thanks to its multipurpose storage compartments, including a place for a tablet and plenty of other spots to store key items for your trip. You can also maximize your space by stashing your essentials in a trunk organizer. This one from Drive Auto comes with multiple storage compartments, waterproof lining and tie-down straps to keep items in place while you're driving.

Car trash can

There's no doubt about it – road trips can generate a lot of trash. Keep your car clean on your next adventure with this Hotor car trash can from Amazon. Complete with an adjustable strap, mesh side panels for storage and a leak-proof interior lining, this useful accessory comes highly recommended by travelers who find themselves frequently on the road.

Reusable bags

Whether you're stopping for snacks at a gas station or running into the grocery store for those last-minute essentials, a reusable bag is an easy way to reduce your plastic consumption. Recent reviewers said these versatile and water-resistant reusable bags can even be used as laundry bags, garbage bags or beach bags in a pinch.

Electric car blankets

Electric car blankets allow you to stay warm on the road no matter the temperature outside. This Stalwart electric car blanket takes up very little space, is surprisingly lightweight and plugs into any vehicle with a 96-inch-long cord. While some travelers noted that this blanket alone won't be enough to keep you warm in extremely cold weather, many say it was a welcome addition nonetheless.

SleepPhones soft headband headphones let you enjoy the open road while listening to music, audiobooks, meditation, white noise or talk radio. These headphones are expertly padded, which reviewers say makes them more comfortable for long-term wear than earbuds. You can buy the classic version or a wireless version at SleepPhones.com.

Travel pillow

Pick up an ergonomic travel pillow from Cabeau if you need extra neck and shoulder support when you ride in the passenger seat. The pillow features supportive memory foam, a front clasp to ensure it stays put and a removable cover that you can wash. Recent customers also loved that the pillow comes with straps that can be attached to any headrest, making sure you don't fall forward while catching some shut-eye. For kids, this Cloudz plush animal neck pillow comes in a variety of colorful animal options, such as a unicorn, a ladybug, a dinosaur and more.

[Read:  The Top Travel Neck Pillows .]

A battery-operated mini fan from SkyGenius can help you stay cool and comfortable. This fan comes with a rechargeable and replaceable battery, and is ideal for the car and for camping. For even more cooling capacity, opt for a fan with dual heads like the XOOL Electric Car Fan from Amazon. Both mini fans earn glowing reviews from travelers thanks to their powerful airflow capabilities.

Shield your eyes from the sun by picking up a good pair of sunglasses before your trip. Choose sunglasses that protect against the sun's UVA and UVB rays, and are polarized to block glare. Travelers love that these Ray-Ban Aviator Classic sunglasses come in a variety of tints and can even be customized to fit your needs. For a more budget-friendly option, check out these SUNGAIT Ultra Lightweight Rectangular Polarized Sunglasses from Amazon, which recent customers say are very comfortable and perfect for road tripping.

Window shade

The sun beating down on your car all day can heat it up quickly. To keep your car cool, travelers recommend the EcoNour Car Windshield Sun Shade , which protects your vehicle from UV rays and helps maintain your car's interior temperature at a comfortable level. Pair it with these car window shades to protect your backseat drivers from UVA and UVB rays while you're on the road. The shades come in two different sizes and transparency levels, and previous buyers say they are very easy to install.

Travel towel

A travel towel is one of the most versatile accessories you can bring on a road trip. Whether you are cleaning up a spill or want to go for an impromptu beach day, having a spare towel on hand is always a good idea. This odor-resistant and quick-drying 4Monster travel towel from Amazon comes in several sizes and includes a compact EVA box, which recent reviewers say makes it perfect for travel.

Reusable water bottles

Skip the plastic bottles and opt for a high-quality reusable water bottle on your next trip. This 40-ounce bottle from Hydro Flask keeps drinks hot for 12 hours and cold for a full day. It also comes with a lid with a built-in straw, which consumers say makes it convenient for driving. For kids, a durable water bottle like this 12-ounce YETI rambler fits the bill – its stainless steel bottle is dishwasher safe and shatter-resistant, a feature that parents love.

Cubcoats are two-in-one stuffed animals that transform into hoodies. Your child's furry friend (think bunnies, sloths and puppies) doubles as a soft, zip-up sweatshirt, and you get to save some space in your suitcase.

Inflatable car booster seat

If you're flying to another destination to pick up a rental car for your road trip, consider bringing inflatable car booster seats along. This BubbleBum backless inflatable booster is suitable for kids 4 to 11, and comes with a seat belt positioning clip for optimal comfort and safety. Recent buyers said it was portable and extremely easy to use.

Kids travel journal

A kids travel journal makes it easy for your child to document their road trip and all the fun things they see and do. This one from Peter Pauper Press includes world maps, puzzles, fun facts and more, and many parents said it made their kids' time in the car fly by.

Activity books

A family road trip means long hours in the car, and bored children are every parent's worst nightmare. Activity books can keep your kids occupied for long periods of time while you catch up on some much-needed quiet time.

Backseat travel tray for kids

If your co-pilot is constantly turning around to pick up toys or pass out snacks, a backseat travel tray is in order. The LUSSO Gear Kids Travel Tray comes with a safety strap that can be secured to any car seat, and includes a dry erase board table, a cup holder, a storage compartment for toys and a no-drop tablet viewing stand. Reviewers loved the tray's whiteboard area and said it was a great way to keep kids entertained on long car rides.

Shop in bulk

Check out Boxed.com for specially curated bulk items that are perfect for road trips and other types of travel. From sunscreen, hand sanitizer and disinfectant wipes to Fruit Roll-Ups and snack-size packs of Pringles, Boxed.com is a convenient site to order bulk hygiene and snack items in one place.

Bring spare cash

Debit cards, credit cards and mobile phone payments may be the way of the world nowadays, but you may still run into a few places on your journey that are cash-only (for example, some national and state park entrance fees must be paid in cash). Be on the safe side by keeping some spare cash on hand in case of emergencies.

Save on gas

It's no secret that sky-high gas prices can put a damper on your vacation. Save some money on fuel by using apps like GasBuddy , which will show you the cheapest gas prices in your area. Go the extra mile by signing up for a gas rewards credit card to get the most bang for your buck.

You might also be interested in:

• The Top Travel Backpacks
• The Top Sleeping Bags
• The Top East Coast Road Trips
• The Best Travel Insurance Companies
• The Best Cheap Travel Insurance Companies

Tags: Travel , Vacations , cars , Road Trips , Travel Gear

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• # 1 South Island, New Zealand
• # 4 Bora Bora

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• Car Culture

Best Emergency Kits for Cars in 2022

Don't ruin the road trip: We review the best roadside emergency kits to help get going or to so you can wait comfortably until help arrives.

You never expect to be in a dire situation, but it's good to be prepared in case one occurs. Your  phone  is a great tool in case of an emergency, but don't rely on it -- after all, it can get wet, break or run out of battery. You could be setting yourself up for trouble if you don't have the right equipment to get yourself out of a bind. That's why roadside emergency kits are so important to have in any  car, SUV or truck .

A roadside emergency kit comes prepacked with tools and other things -- from jumper cables to traction strips to a first-aid kit to emergency blankets -- that will help you deal with all sorts of roadside problems. These kits range from $25 or $30 to upward of $150, and all have strengths and weaknesses for their respective prices.

Yes, you might get the absolute best car emergency kit if you built your own, with an eye on the specifics of when and where you travel, and we'll get back to that later. Yet building your own takes time, effort and possibly more cash. None of the prepackaged roadside emergency kits have everything you could possibly need, but all should have the most important, useful things. You can even mix and match less expensive kits to get something like the perfect one for you. 

To choose the best roadside emergency kits, we evaluated reports from testing labs and scanned user ratings at popular shopping sites. We also interviewed experts and applied personal experience. Before you click Confirm Order, look through our entire list of the best kits and think a bit about the kind of vehicle you drive and where you intend to drive it. Then read on for valuable tips on what makes a good road survival kit, how to minimize the chances of a roadside emergency situation in advance and what you need if you decide to assemble your own emergency road kit.

Lifeline AAA Excursion Road Kit 4388AAA

Best roadside car emergency kit overall.

The American Automobile Association, better known as AAA, rescues about 30 million stranded motorists a year. It knows something about roadside emergencies, and that makes this broad-coverage roadside car kit a fantastic place to start. It includes a good first-aid kit with a guide, good quality 8-gauge jumper cables, an aluminum LED flashlight (with batteries), cutting blades, bungee cords, zip ties, a roll of duct tape and a basic tool kit, a flare-replacing reflective triangle, work gloves and rain poncho. Yet one of the things that separates this auto emergency kit from most others is its compact, 12-volt-powered air compressor, which allows you to refill tires wherever you find yourself. There's even a fleece scarf, gloves and a winter hat to help keep you warm if you're waiting.

Given its generally broad coverage, two things stand out among those the Lifeline AAA Excursion car kit lacks. One is any sort of tire sealant or puncture repair, so you'd better have a spare tire that holds air, or add a bottle of tire sealant. The second is a Mylar emergency blanket. Sometimes called space blankets, these thin, foldable sheets measure 84 by 52 inches. They're windproof, waterproof and capable of reflecting 90% of your body heat. They can also be fashioned into emergency shelter. See them here .

Finally, if the thought of fixing flats and emergency shelter leaves you feeling a little unsettled, the AAA Excursion roadside emergency car kit offers one more valuable item: an Auto Club membership brochure with discount, so rescue will never be too far away.

Lianxin Roadside Assistance Emergency Kit

Best roadside car emergency kit for the money.

We like this roadside kit because it packs a lot in a compact soft case at a more modest price. The Lianxin Roadside Assistance Emergency Kit has all the emergency item essentials: 8-foot jumper cables, a tow strap with hooks, an emergency blanket, reflective wear, gloves, tape, a seatbelt cutter and window smashing safety hammer, a (very basic) first-aid kit with adhesive bandages and a flashlight -- in this case hand-cranked, so you don't have to worry about batteries. The tool kit has a metal hammer and solid snipping pliers, and there are a bunch of atypical safety kit extras here. Those include a range of 12-volt fuses, a plastic sweep/snow shovel and even a compass if your phone dies.

On the downside, the Lianxin emergency car kit lacks two hugely valuable items: an air compressor and tire-repairing potential. Yet for this price, you could buy a small 12-volt tire inflator and a bottle of Slime and still beat the cost of some more expensive car emergency kits. 

Haiphaik Emergency Roadside Toolkit

Best roadside car emergency kit for winter.

The Haiphaik Emergency Roadside Toolkit is a perennial top seller on Amazon, and it isn't difficult to see why. It has all the essentials, in decent quality, including 12-foot jumper cables and a 10,000-pound tow rope. The tool kit is above-grade, with a fully adjustable wrench, Allen wrenches and a tape measure. There are even a couple anti-COVID face masks. Yet what sets this emergency car kit apart is the under-tire traction strips and a real, compact, military-style spade shovel with saw-blade edge.

Oddly, for a winter kit, the Haiphaik Emergency Roadside Toolkit lacks something important: that emergency Mylar blanket. That can be handy if you're stuck on the South Dakota prairie in a driving snowstorm. You can add four of those here for about 15 bucks. 

Ready America Emergency Kit 70280

Best roadside car emergency kit if you're stranded or you plan to build your own.

This car emergency kit includes none of the things that might get you going again during a roadside emergency -- no jumper cables or flat tire repair, no tow rope, no utility tools, traction aids or flashlight. But in the worst case none of those tools will get you going anyway, and what actually is in the Ready America Emergency Kit could mean the difference between successfully waiting things out or... well, you get it.

Its contents? A decent first-aid kit, two emergency Mylar blankets, face masks and latex gloves, a loud whistle and two 12-hour glow sticks. Then there's enough food and water to sustain two hungry people for three days. The food is 4,800 calories of cholesterol-free nutrition bars. The water is packaged in multiple 125-milliliter pouches that fit nicely in the small, backpack-style carrying case. Both the food and water in this survival kit are packed in temperature-resistant plastic foil with a five-year shelf life.

As we said: The Ready America Emergency Kit is the best roadside emergency kit if you're stranded, and the perfect place to start if you plan to build your own roadside emergency kit. The typical car enthusiast likely has spare tools, jumper cables and even a tire inflator lying around the garage. The emergency blankets, first-aid kit and three days of nutrition with a long shelf life -- not so likely.

Top Gear Premium Roadside Assistance Kit

Best roadside car emergency kit from a tv car show.

This auto emergency kit has the essentials -- first aid kit items, decent jumper cables, reflective vest and triangle, a hand-cranked flashlight, Mylar blanket -- at a good price. It has some extras, too, including zip ties, a bungee cord, glow sticks and a whistle. There's no tow strap, nor tire repairing potential, but you can't go wrong with that Top Gear-branded carrying bag. Cosmic inspiration from Jeremy Clarkson and the Stig could have you going again in no time at all.

Swiss Safe 2-in-1 Emergency Roadside Car Assistance

Best roadside car emergency kit with a top-tier first-aid kit in a hard case.

The Swiss Safe 2-in-1 Emergency Roadside Car Assistance kit is about average when it comes to the broader range of potential roadside emergencies. It has essentials like jumper cables, some tools, a reflective vest, a rain poncho, a bungee, wool gloves and an emergency blanket. It offers no tire repair options or tow rope, and while it comes with glow sticks, it has no flashlight (though a lot of us will have one in the glovebox anyway).

This car emergency package balances mediocre roadside-emergency mitigation features with a first-aid kit suited for an emergency room physician, packed in a self-contained hard case. The first aid kit package includes trauma shears, tweezers, an instant ice pack, a vast array in size and types of bandages, gauze pads, medical tape, finger splints, a sling, tongue depressors, antiseptic cleaning pads and ointments, wound adhesive and a full first-aid guide. There's also a smaller, pull-out first aid kit pack you can bring on the trail to the scenic overlook.

It's the full-service first-aid kit that separates this roadside emergency kit from the pack. And there's enough room in the soft tool carrying case to throw in some extras, such as fuses, hose clamps and a bottle of Slime.

Secureguard Roadside Emergency Kit

Best roadside car emergency kit for electrical trouble (update: out of stock).

We could also call this the best emergency roadside kit for vintage British sports cars.

It starts with the essentials: jumper cables, tow-strap, basic first-aid kit, reflective necessities, a safety hammer, an emergency blanket, a multitool with blades and a flashlight. Then it adds something you don't see in many kits. That would be an electrical tester.

Given that the single biggest source of roadside emergencies is an electrical problem -- either a dead battery or an oft-related short -- the electrical tester could prove vital. This car emergency kit also includes a range of fuses and electrical connectors, with wire-stripping, needle-nose pliers. With a bit of knowledge and its electrical tester, this roadside kit could be the difference between waiting for hours somewhere west of Laramie and getting rolling again before the sun sets.

Slime Spair Flat Tire Repair Kit

Best roadside car emergency kit for a flat tire (update: out of stock).

This is not your typical roadside car emergency kit. It's intended for the very specific purpose of fixing a punctured tire or a flat spare tire and getting you headed toward civilization in short order. Slime says it will get you back on the road in 11 minutes or less. The sealant is safe for all tires, rims and pressure monitor systems, and there's enough for large truck tires. It's good for 125 miles of travel. The air compressor includes a 12-volt male lighter-socket plug and alligator clips for direct battery connection and it has a useful LED floodlight that casts a broad swath. The kit includes spare valve caps and cores and adapters for beach balls and other inflatables.

We restate: This auto emergency kit has a very specific job. For full coverage, it can be paired with another roadside emergency kit, such as our best for the money Lianxin Roadside Assistance Emergency Kit above . 

Comparison of the best roadside car emergency kits in 2022

You never know when trouble will strike on the road.

Roadside emergencies 101

The American Automobile Association knows a thing or two about roadside emergencies and how to address them. On the year 2020, AAA rescued 33 million stranded motorists. Over the last 15 years, as cars have become generally more reliable and mobile phones have been almost universally adapted, the number of stranded motorists has declined slightly on a per-capita basis. That means there are fewer roadside emergencies per 100,000 miles traveled, according to Cliff Ruud, managing director of automotive at AAA. Yet the overall volume of roadside rescues has continued to increase steadily. Roads across America are more heavily traveled each year.

Your phone alone will not save you. Mobile phones are as valuable as any tool in dealing with a roadside emergency, but they shouldn't be the only one. Aside from technical issues like signal strength and availability, phones can't jump start your car or fix a tire. They can't beam down trained help in minutes, and they can't keep you safe and comfortable if help is hours away. Mobile phones can create roadside emergencies as effectively as they can resolve them.

"Obviously cell phones and their apps are wonderful things," observes AAA's Ruud. "But from our viewpoint the downside is distracted driving. Some people have a hard time leaving their phone alone, and there are consequences. Always have your phone with you on the road, but use it properly. It's probably not a great idea to rely on it exclusively for your safety."

When cell phone coverage is spotty, you'll be glad to have an emergency car kit if you encounter any car issues.

AAA keeps data on the nature of its rescue calls, and that data provides a blueprint for what you need in your roadside emergency kit. Ruud says that the single largest source of rescue calls, by a long shot, is a dead battery. He notes that, while automotive batteries are generally stronger than ever before, and cars are equipped with more failsafe features to keep drivers from inadvertently draining them, the share of dead-battery rescues has actually increased over the last decade or so.

That might be because people need time to learn how the new-fangled, electrically powered systems on their cars work. Regardless, it definitely means that the first thing you want in your roadside emergency supply kit is a set of jumper cables, and virtually every general purpose kit has them.

Or maybe you want a compact portable jump-start battery. The two options -- conventional jumper cables, portable jump-start batteries -- have advantages and disadvantages, and if you're building your own roadside emergency kit or augmenting a prepackaged kit, you might want to consider a portable battery .

A good emergency car kit will usually include jumper cables, basic tools and gloves.

High-grade jumper cables are less expensive than a portable battery. They're always ready, and they should supply an endless stream of battery-to-battery jump starts. Yet the single, encompassing disadvantage of conventional jumper cables is that you always need a second functioning vehicle -- or at least a charged 12-volt battery -- to jump start your own car.

A decent compact, lithium jump starter is about the size of a paperback book. It weighs a couple of pounds, so it will easily fit in the same space as wound-up jumper cables like a spare tire compartment -- even with the battery clamps that come with virtually every portable jump starter. The typical portable is good for at least two or three jumps when it's fully charged, unless it's really, really cold. It just has to be fully charged. Most come with a 12-volt adapter for lighter sockets so they can charge as you're underway. And if it isn't obvious, the advantage over jumper cables is huge. You can jump start your car without a second vehicle or anyone else's help, wherever you find yourself at whatever time.

Portable jump-start batteries offer further advantages. Nearly all have a built-in light. Many somewhat larger ones have built-in tire inflators with a tire pressure gauge , and they're still compact enough to easily carry in a vehicle. They also provide a small, dense container of electrical energy to charge mobile phones and other electronic devices if you're stranded with a dead engine.

To battle tire trouble, the Slime Spair Flat Tire Repair Kit is tops.

However you choose to protect yourself, a bad or drained battery is the most likely cause of roadside trouble. The second most likely cause, again by a considerable margin over number three, according to AAA data, is tire trouble. It's often a repairable thread puncture, and sometimes a completely shredded tire, with possible damage to the rim. The first line of defense if you want to get going again, of course, is a functional spare, jack and lug wrench. Lug nuts installed with an air wrench can be difficult to remove manually, so it's never a bad idea to include some sort of breaker bar or mechanical leveraging device in your roadside emergency kit. After that, if you forgot to check the spare, or if you've installed it and want backup, the options get trickier.

Many roadside emergency kits come with a tire-tread puncture repair kit or sometimes a bottle of tire sealant like Slime, which either pours or blows into the tire through the air valve. Both can work for emergency repairs, but you'll be left with another problem. You have to re-inflate the tire. A relative few kits include a portable, 12-volt powered tire inflator, but if they do they cost substantially more. Sometimes the price increase matches or exceeds the cost of a separate portable tire inflator .

If you think a separate tire inflator is the better choice, check our best list here . Again, we note: Many portable jump start batteries have built-in inflators, without filling inordinately more space, and with those you can fill two jobs with one device.

Some portable jump-start batteries also double as tire inflators.

The third most common source of calls for roadside assistance is a catch-all category that might be labeled "needed a tow." It includes things like accidents, damage to parked vehicles, cars sliding off the road into ditches, engine problems, even lost keys or lockouts. Many of these towed vehicles were actually still drivable, and this category highlights the value of some of the other items found in the typical roadside emergency kit.

The tow strap, typically rated at 10,000 pounds, might easily get you out of snow-filled culvert or a stretch of mud, should a good Samaritan happen by. It might also get you off the right-of-way to a safe place if something in the drive system fails. Traction strips or ropes and a shovel might find you enough momentum to roll out of the deep snow. The cutting blades and duct tape can temporarily repair a coolant hose. The bungees and zip ties might secure a bent hood or a door that won't latch, and the whistle allows you to attract attention if for any reason you're obscured from view of the roadway. The safety hammer included in many kits can cut jammed seatbelts, and it makes it much easier to shatter automotive safety glass. Yet it has no value if the driver or a passenger can't reach it from his or her seat. If you plan to keep your emergency road kit in the trunk, pull the safety hammer and put it in the console or glove box.

The value of other items is probably obvious, but just in case, the headlamps or flashlights will be a blessing when you're under the hood in the dark. Many kits now come with small, hand-operated lights that generate their own electricity. That means you never have to worry about dead batteries, though the hand-cranked lights tend to generate less actual light than a conventional, battery-fed flashlight.

A reflective vest and glow sticks will help keep you and your disabled car visible on the side of the road.

The reflective safety vest, light sticks and road flare substitutes help keep you and your disabled vehicle visible to passing motorists. The emergency blankets could be just what you need if your wait turns into hours, and the work gloves... well, you get it.

Don't underestimate the value of a first-aid kit. If you slice a finger removing the tire jack, it's preferable not to bleed all over everything. Many of those packaged in roadside emergency kits are as basic as they get: a handful of bandages and a couple antiseptic wipes. Many add antiseptic ointment and adhesive tape. If you prefer a more elaborate first-aid kit, select your roadside emergency kit carefully. Or buy a more elaborate first-aid kit or build your own.

There are plenty of useful items that appear hit or miss in the typical car emergency kit -- it might have some, not others -- and many of them can easily fit in the bag the typical kit comes in. We're thinking fuses appropriate to your vehicle, wire nuts, electrical tape and electrical tabs, a couple of hose clamps, a can/bottle opener and a compass for those worst-case scenarios. A small fire extinguisher is a fine idea somewhere in your vehicle. Out-of-gas calls account for just 4% of AAA's rescue runs, and gas cans can be a bit bulky, but it never hurts to carry one -- even if it serves to port cooling water in a car emergency. The same applies to a portable syphon hose and pump.

Don't underestimate the importance of having a first aid kit as part of your emergency car gear.

Some of what you want in your car emergency kit depends on what you're driving, and where your route will take you. The space in an SUV or pickup bed allows you to be more lavish. The value of a shovel knows no season, but if it's winter in the north some sort of traction aid gets more critical. Emergency Mylar blankets reflect heat in both directions, meaning they can be as useful for staying cool as for staying warm. It also matters whether you're crossing town or crossing the country. Emergency rations have saved more than a handful of stranded motorists. Basic nutrition kits like our best if you're stranded are relatively inexpensive and compact, with a long, stable shelf life. AAA's Ruud notes that he probably wouldn't drive anywhere in Arizona in the summer -- commuting or cross state -- without a minimum of potable water aboard.

Don't forget about the case, whether you're buying or building your own roadside emergency kit. Small matters more if you're driving a VW GTI full of luggage. Soft is better than hard, because soft allows tighter packing when it comes to both the bag's contents and its location in your vehicle, but soft can be a bigger challenge organizing efficiently. If something is crush-sensitive, account for it. And don't forget to keep the safety hammer within reach of the front seats, wherever you stash the case.

Finally, don't be taken by the kit supplier's boast -- 114! 196! 326! -- about the number of pieces in its kit. Almost universally, these piece counts include every zip tie and every swab, bandage and safety pin in the first-aid kit, so a good first-aid kit will multiply the pieces in the roadside emergency kit, whether a first-aid kit is your most important priority or not. There's no substitute for sorting through the contents to see what you're actually getting.

Before you buy, make sure to closely examine the contents of any emergency car kit.

Let's face it. Some of us will be enthused by the idea of buying or building an excellent roadside emergency kit -- and the rugged self-reliance associated with it. Others prefer not to be forced into playing MacGyver or feel comfortable with a mobile phone as the first line of defense. Whichever you are, a roadside assistance service like AAA is never a bad idea, assuming you can afford it.

Know your roadside assistance options. Most bought-new cars come with roadside assistance for at least a portion of the warranty period, even without a telematics service such as OnStar. Some third-party companies, like credit card or cellular service providers, offer variations of roadside assistance, and many auto insurance policies include it. If your policy doesn't have it, you can probably add roadside assistance. Always read the fine print and know that with some of these services you pay up front and get reimbursed later.

The easiest path might be a traditional roadside rescue plan from AAA or the Good Sam Club, and it usually doesn't matter who actually insures your car. Annual plans can start at around $100. One undervalued component of a roadside assistance plan is that it can help get you to the front of the line. It's probably easier reaching out to AAA than it is locating and then connecting with a towing shop that might be 50 or more miles away.

All of our best roadside emergency kits do at least one job very well, and most cover many potentialities. Yet every road trip should start by giving your machine a simple once-over. AAA's Ruud calls it "making a safe BET."

The Lifeline AAA Excursion Road Kit includes jumper cables, basic tools, a tire inflator, flashlight and reflective triangle.

BET stands for battery, engine and tires, or the things you want to check before you roll. Modern auto batteries tend to fail more abruptly than they did 10 or 20 years ago, or at least with less warning. If yours is more than a couple years old, or if you have any doubts, get it tested. Clean any corrosion from the battery posts and make sure the connectors are snug.

Check your oil, coolant and other engine fluid levels. Look for obvious drips underneath the car or under the hood. Air filters can be a source of all sorts of check-engine warnings, so look at your air filter and replace it as necessary. If there's a check-engine light in the dash, find out what it's telling you. Many auto parts chains will do it free, or you can use one of our best OBD2 scanners . It never hurts to have that OBD2 scanner along when you're on the road.

Visually inspect your tires for bulges, cracks or divots on the sidewalls and tread. Look for small dents around the edge of the rims. Check tread depth with a gauge or a penny. If you can see all of Lincoln's head when you insert the penny head first in a tread channel, you're probably asking for trouble on the road. Make sure you have a jack, lug wrench and spare, and make sure all five tires are properly inflated.

Find out exactly what an illuminated check-engine light is telling you with an OBD2 scanner.

For added measure, clean your windows, top up your washer fluid and check your wiper blades (or just replace them if it's been more than a year). Just a little bit of preparation substantially increases the odds that you'll never pull the roadside emergency kit from the trunk.

Finally, and most importantly, there's one more thing to bring when you hit the road. Patience.

"Patience might be the most valuable tool of all," says AAA's Ruud. "There's a lot of people on the road, and you don't want impatience or distraction or a bit of road rage to be the reason you have a roadside emergency to begin with."

Written by J.P. Vettraino for CNET Cars .

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41 Things You Need for Your Next Road Trip

Hit the highway in comfort and style with these travel heroes.

Related To:

Before you hit the open road, make sure you have all the essentials you'll need for a stress-free trip. From comfortable good-to-haves (like pillows and blankets) to safety just-in-cases (like first aid and emergency kits), you'll be glad you traveled prepared. Whether you're hitting the road for a day or two weeks, make sure these easy-to-pack items are in tow.

ESSENTIAL GADGETS

Adjustable Car Cup Holder Expander

Long road trips require large water bottles, but many standard car cup holders aren't large enough to fit larger reusable water bottles from popular brands like YETI, Hydroflask, Stanley and more. This adjustable handy gadget from the brand Swigzy allows you to expand the size of your cup holder and works in almost any cup holder and can fit a variety of styles of bottles and mugs, including those with handles.

Phone Mount

Texting and driving is never an option. And in some states, just holding your phone to talk while driving is against the law. If you want to stream a Spotify playlist or run Google Maps, invest in a phone mount to ensure those hands remain at "10 and two."

Car Power Strip

Going on a long road trip with multiple passengers? You need this 200W power inverter that plugs into the cigarette lighter and has four USB ports and two standard plugs. Plus, it features full-protection with short-circuit, low-voltage, over-charge, over-voltage, over-load and over-temperature protection.

Tablet Headrest Mount

There won’t be a peep from the backseat with this tablet headrest mount. It adjusts to fit any size tablet and is compatible with nearly all headrests. The kids (or adults) in the back won’t be asking “are we there yet?” because they’ll be too absorbed in their movie or game.

Mobile Wi-Fi Hotspot

This mobile hotspot features super-fast Wi-Fi internet speeds and long-lasting battery life, providing the ultimate internet experience from anywhere right when you need it most.

Flexible Phone Tripod

Roadside photo-ops will be a breeze with this handy mini tripod . This flexible tripod grips to any surface — from a tree to a fence — and has a reliable rubber grip that secures a smartphone.

Portable Phone Charger

You’ll probably bring several gadgets on your road trip, including smartphones, tablets and e-readers. So gather them up, then power them up. There’s nothing worse than getting an hour into an all-day trip and having the iPad in the backseat run out of juice. We suggest bringing one or more portable chargers for the car, and make sure they work with the devices you plan to charge. Despite what’s written on the packaging, not every charger will power up all the devices they claim they can charge.

Emergency Car Kit

Before you plan your road trip itinerary, you should pack your emergency roadside kit. It’s not the fun part of road trip planning, but it’s the most important. A good car kit should include, at the very least, jumper cables, a spare tire, signal flares and a flashlight. Emergency items such as spare socks, a blanket and granola bars are good, too.

Fire Starter

Building a fire just got a lot easier with this handy fire starter that produces sparks in any weather or altitude. It has an ergonomic thumb guard for comfort and an attached emergency whistle, in case you need to call for help.

First Aid Kit

Road trip or not, keeping a first aid kit in the car is always a good idea. This 100-piece kit includes essential wound care supplies, like cleansing wipes, gauze pads, assorted bandages, rolled gauze, antibiotic cream, itch-stopping cream, acetaminophen caplets, an instant cold pack and much more.

You can’t always depend on Google Maps, especially when driving in rural areas. Even popular National Parks and National Forests can have spotty cell service. As a backup, you can download maps to use offline from Google Maps, and tucking an actual map in the backseat pocket isn’t a bad idea either.

Travel Pillow

Never struggle to find a comfortable sleeping position in the car again with the Trtl Travel Pillow. This neck pillow combines hypoallergenic fleece with hidden internal neck support to hold your head and neck in the best position for sleeping, preventing stiff necks and sore shoulders.

Travel Throw

Meet the hardest-working travel throw in the business: Unpacked, it’s a 52-by-75-inch insulated comforter that's lightweight, washable and super cozy.

Travel Hammock

After hours of driving, take a break in this lightweight travel hammock. It’s quick to hang after a long day on the road and packs down into a small pouch for easy storage.

Microfiber Towel

Whether you're washing off at your campsite or at a rest stop, this soft, microfiber towel will dry quickly and can be used over and over during your trip.

Air Freshener

With all due respect to those mysterious rear-view mirror trees, when you plan on spending serious time on the highway, you need a substantial and sustainable air scrubber. The porous activated charcoal in this baby will purify the stale air in your car instead of hitting it with chemicals, and it'll combat the effects of left-behind takeout for up to a year.

Car Window Shades

Block out 97 percent of harmful UV rays on long road trips with window shades that easily attach to your car's windows, keeping backseat riders cool and comfortable the whole trip.

HEALTH + HYGIENE

Car Diffuser

Fill this diffuser with water, add essential oils and plug it in to make your car smell amazing. Featuring automatic shut-off, t he diffuser emits a cool mist that adds moisture to the air, which helps with dry skin, lips, sinuses and coughs.

Nausea-Relief Wristbands

Nip motion sickness in the bud with these acupressure wristbands that provide effective relief from all forms of travel sickness without causing drowsiness or other side effects. There are even Sea-Bands for kids that come in cool patterns and colors.

Foaming Hand Sanitizer

Keep everyone's hands clean with this alcohol-free foaming sanitizer that's safe and gentle enough for babies. We love Babyganics for the whole family because the formula kills 99.9 percent of common bacteria; it's made without parabens, sulfates, phthalates, artificial fragrances and dyes; and it's dermatologist-tested and non-allergenic.

Essential Oil Towelettes

This assortment of towelettes is a league of essential oil superheroes: Defeat gas-station bathroom germs, freshen up after the A/C kicks out in the middle of nowhere, combat carsickness and wind down at the end of a long day with their aid.

Tissue Holder

Spare yourself the stress and strain of blindly reaching into the backseat, and snag this seriously convenient tissue holder. The chic black case clips right onto your passenger-side visor, so you can reach it without taking your hands off the wheel.

Insect Repellent

Whether you're spending a little time outside or a lot of time outside, it's always smart to keep insect repellent nearby. This 100-percent DEET formula offers more than 10 hours of protection against insect-transmitted diseases, including Zika and West Nile viruses.

Sleeping away from the comforts of home can come with some restless nights. Melatonin helps you fall asleep faster, stay asleep longer and wake up feeling refreshed. And since Natrol is a drug-free sleep aid, you won't wake up feeling groggy.

ORGANIZATION

Car Seat Headrest Hook

Free up seat space and foot room with these handy hooks that attach to the back of headrests. They'll keep purses, lunchboxes, backpacks and more out of the way but still easily accessible.

Car Ceiling Cargo Net Pocket

Out of space? This sleek cargo net adds more packable space to your car's ceiling. Use it to store pillows, blankets, food and more.

Car Trash Bin

Keep your car clean and organized with this hanging trash bin with a 1.85-gallon capacity and leak-proof interior bag.

Packable Daypack

You may not need it, but you'll be happy it's there if you do. This ultra-light packable daypack has a 25-liter capacity, multiple pockets and adjustable, breathable straps for comfortable all-day use. Plus, it can be stuffed into its own zippered pocket for space-saving storage and compact portability.

Laundry Bag

Truth be told, every trip calls for a laundry bag — hunting for clean undies is nobody’s idea of a good time. That said, a pre-sorted discard pile is especially important when you find a laundromat in the middle of nowhere and want to take care of business ASAP. Tuck one of these into your glove compartment and thank us later.

These Genius Items Will Keep Your Car Clean + Organized on Family Road Trips

A clean car? With kids ? Yes, it's possible.

FOOD + DRINK

Saucemoto Dip Clip

Never spill your sauce again! Sometimes, a drive-thru food stop is the highlight of a road trip after hours of driving. Keep your favorite sauce easily accessible and avoid spills with this handy sauce cady. It clips to the car air vent and creates the perfect spot to nest your dipping sauce.

YETI Cooler Bag

A cooler is a road trip must. Instead of a giant cooler out-of-reach in the trunk, keep your drinks in a small cooler bag. YETI’s Hopper Flip 8 is large enough for eight soda cans but small enough to throw around your arm for a pull-off picnic or impromptu hike.

Car Seat Organizer

For a more kid-friendly (and budget) option, this car seat cooler organizer would be the perfect backseat companion. It features an insulated cooler compartment, flat tray table top, two drink holders and side pockets for extra storage. It also features a handy seatbelt strap that holds it in place. The brand recommends using cold packs instead of ice for keeping items cold.

Reusable Water Bottle

Stay hydrated on the road with BPA-free Bobble Bottles that filter out impurities on the go, so you can fill up at the campground or rest stop water fountain worry-free. And with so many color options, no one will get their bottle mixed up in the car.

Portable Coffee Press

This portable brewer will brew a delicious cup of coffee, espresso or cold brew right over your mug. The total immersion brewing system means there's less grit than with a French press, and it's super-fast, too.

With double-wall vacuum insulation, the YETI Rambler 20-Ounce Travel Mug keeps hot drinks hot and cold drinks cold. Plus the leak-resistant lid means bumps in the road are no problem for this traveler.

Collapsible Storage Containers

Useful for storing everything from travel-size toiletries to trail mix, these reusable containers work for jet setters or families always on the go. Not only are they eco-friendly and BPA-free, but these collapsible beauties also help save money on snacks. Fill them up before road-tripping to prevent overspending on pre-packaged goodies at convenience stores.

Kitchen Utensil Set

When fast food isn't your speed, this one-and-done kit — which includes a serving fork, a utility knife, scissors, a cutting board, a spatula, a wine opener, tongs, a ladle, a rice paddle, a carabiner and folding stainless-steel utensils — is ready to turn your roadside-farm-stand haul into the greatest picnic of all time.

BioLite CampStove 2

The eco-friendly BioLite Campstove 2 is pure genius. It doesn’t need fuel, and the heat created from burning just a handful of kindling converts into usable electricity that can be used to recharge your gadgets. Cook dinner, charge your phone and feel good about your carbon footprint — what more could you ask for?

15 Must-Have Items for a Family Road Trip With Kids

Keep kids of all ages happy and entertained while on the road with these gadgets, games and more.

ENTERTAINMENT

Portable Bluetooth Speaker

Go on and celebrate reaching your destination with an impromptu dance party. This lightweight Bluetooth speaker fills your space with home-stereo-system-quality sound and claims less real estate in your luggage than a rolled-up pair of jeans.

Scrabble To-Go Board Game

Add some friendly competition in the car or at your destination with this compact Scrabble set. The snap-in letter board ensures tiles stay put while moving, and the zippered case makes it easy to fold up and keep everything in place mid-game.

Kindle Paperwhite

Cut down your packing weight by bringing a Kindle instead of a stack of books for lounging by the fire. The latest generation of Paperwhite Kindles are now hot tub-ready, too; they're waterproof, so they'll survive an accidental dunk.

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The Ultimate Road Trip Gear Guide

Everything you'll need for the perfect road trip - and more.

Autoblog may receive a share from purchases made via links on this page. Pricing and availability are subject to change.

Road trips are a staple of the summer months, and despite the current gas prices around the world, we hope that families can continue to find ways to hit the open road and explore. For a short trip, you'll probably pack pretty light, but for those of us who enjoy those long, sometimes multi-day drives, this list should help you immensely. You'll want to make sure you're prepared for every scenario, and this list of some of our favorite road trip gear should help you do just that. This will be a general road trip guide, but if your needs are more specific, we can likely give you some ideas there as well:

• If you're looking for a camping gear guide , we have a great list for you to check out right here, written by our resident outdoorsman, Senior Producer Chris McGraw
• Traveling with a pet ? Check out Senior Editor James Riswick's 7 tips for a road trip with your dog  
• Just need to keep the kids occupied with something other than screens? Here's a list of 5 solid road trip travel games
• Speaking of kids, if you're just looking for travel advice, not gear , then you might enjoy our post showcasing tips for taking a road trip with the kids

Not that we've got that out of the way, let's get into it. We've separated our picks into 5 categories: Safety, Comfort, Organization, Entertainment, and Food/Drink. Be sure to scroll to the section that will help you the most and let us know in the comments below if you have any essential road trip gear that we've missed.

Road trips are about fun and adventure, but it's essential to be prepared for anything on your journey. The phrase "better safe than sorry" is never more applicable than when you're hours or days away from your home, so make sure you're traveling with everything you might need in case of emergency.

Waterproof Car First-Aid Kit Emergency Kit (273 Piece) - $24.99

Naturally, if you're going to be traveling any distance at all, you should have a first aid kit with you. This one is a great bang-for-your-buck option at 273 pieces for just under 25 bucks. It includes a ton of bandages, alcohol pads, an ice pack, a tourniquet, an emergency blanket, a flashlight, and much, much more.

OriStout Emergency Blankets for Survival (4 Pack) - $12.98

If your first aid kit doesn't include emergency blankets, you'll want to make sure you pick some up separately. It's much easier to freeze in a broken down car than many people think, so you'll want to have a strong mode of defense against the cold in case you end up stranded for a night waiting on a pick up. 

Cobra RAD 480i Laser Radar Detector - $149.95

A radar detector is a great gadget to bring along with you on long drives. Of course, we never condone driving over the speed limit, but we do recognize that when we're cruising down the highway excited about our destination, sometimes mistakes happen. It's much less stressful to get your reminder to slow down from a radar detector than it is from a police officer with a ticket in hand.

FORTEM Tire Inflator Portable Air Compressor - $29.99

It's always a good idea to keep your tires topped off even when just driving around town, but when planning a longer road trip, making sure your tires are properly inflated is essential. It will get you better gas mileage and decrease the risk of any mishaps. This won't help you if you totally blow a tire, (if you do that, you'll need a spare on hand, a lug wrench and a jack ) but it's a great way to keep your tires fully inflated if they start losing pressure on your trip. 

Pro-tip: You should already be checking your tire pressure at least once a month, but if you're going on a long trip make sure to check it just before you leave for your destination and again before you leave on your way back. A lot can happen over a few hundred miles.

NOCO Boost Plus GB40 Car Jump Starter - $99.95 (20% off)

A dead car battery can ruin your whole trip in a snap. Luckily, portable car jump starters are so affordable and compact these days that there's very little excuse not to keep one in your trunk in case of emergencies. This NOCO Boost Plus is a solid option that often goes on sale and it even comes with its own jumper cables.

AIMTOM 42000mAh 155Wh Power Station - $137

In addition to having a backup power source for your car battery, in 2022, you'll probably want some backup power for any other devices as well. That's where a good portable power station comes into play. This one has a 110V AC outlet, 3 12V DC ports and 3 USB ports. It includes its own built-in cooling fan and comes with a cigarette lighter adapter, a wall outlet charging power adapter and a car charging adapter. 

Gasoline - Click here to find the best prices

Unless you've been living under a rock, you'll know that gas prices are higher than ever. For a road trip, that's even more annoying than usual. If you're looking to save a few bucks by hunting for the cheapest gas near you, check out Autoblog's Cheap Gas Prices tool right here . 

What good is a road trip if you're miserable for the whole ride? Staying comfy is an important part of any travel, but it's maybe more important than ever when you're stuck in a car for several hours on end. If you're driving, some of these may not be applicable to you, but happy passengers = a happy journey.

BCOZZY Neck Pillow for Travel - $36.97

If you're in for a long ride and you think you might need a nap, consider picking up a neck pillow for the trip. These BCOZZY neck pillows are great because they provide support not only to the sides and back of your head, but also underneath your chin. They even come in 4 different sizes and a whopping 14 different color options.

ComfiLife Gel Enhanced Seat Cushion - $37.35 (38% off)

A seat cushion like this is a great idea for anyone to consider on a long ride, but if you have back pain it can become essential. This one is made of gel memory foam and it's meant to relieve pressure on the tailbone and provide some sciatica and lower back pain relief.

Bedsure Fleece Blankets Twin Size Grey - $19.99

While a wool blanket will probably do better when camping, this plush one is certainly more comfortable. Throw this blanket, a couple pillows and some snacks in the third row and whichever kid is sitting back there will be happy. We can say that from experience. 

Pro-tip: At this price, get one for each of the kids. It’s worth it so you don’t have to hear them argue over who gets the blanket.

SWIHELP Dog Car Seat - $17.99

These dog car seats are a great way to make your smaller pups feel a little more secure in the car. You can even throw a small blanket in the bottom for a bit more cushion.

URPOWER Dog Seat Cover - $30.56 (32% off)

If your dog is a bit too large to fit in a car seat, you might consider something like this dog hammock. It not only keeps your seats clean from fur and scratches, but it also prevents your dog from roaming around the car causing distractions. This one is made of durable material that's waterproof, wearproof and nonslip.

Organization

If you're traveling with a large group, you can start to run out of space pretty quickly. Often, you won't necessarily need more space, just better ways to organize all of the stuff. If you do end up needing more space, though, we've got options for that, too.

IRIS Weathertight Storage Box, 6 Pack - $129.99 ($21.67 per box)

These 30.6 qt weathertight storage boxes from Iris are a good size (19.7 x 15.75 x 7.75 inches), stack easily when full or empty to conserve space, and don't break the bank, though you do have to purchase a six-pack of them. They also come in different sizes to perfectly fit whatever your car’s cargo dimensions demand.

Pro-tip: These SidioCrate Plastic Storage Crates with Dividers are a bit more expensive than the ones recommended above, but we dig the customizability. 

Drive Auto Car Trunk Organizer - $25.99 (13% off)

A trunk organizer is probably the easiest solution to keeping your odds and ends organized on long (or short) drives. This one is durable, includes a waterproof lining and is totally collapsible for easy storage when you're not using it.

Thule Canyon XT Cargo Basket - $318.95 (20% off)

Not everyone has the luxury of driving a vehicle that can hold all the gear you need for a weeklong camping trip and still fit four people comfortably. That's where a cargo basket like this one from Thule comes in handy. Sure, the added wind noise isn't great, but the fact that you don't need to store your luggage on your lap for a 4-hour drive is definitely preferable.

Pro-tip: Instead of buying the $55 bungee cargo net that Thule sells, find a generic one on Amazon . It saves you money without losing any of the function.

YAKIMA SkyBox - $502.95 - $542.95

The problem with a roof top basket? If it rains everything better be in a waterproof bag, otherwise it’s getting wet. Plus, it’s tough to lock these if you stop for a while and leave your belongings unattended. That’s where this roof top storage from Yakima comes in handy. 

Pro-tip: Roof boxes are expensive. Check out Craigslist, Facebook Marketplace or your local REI Garage Sale. Most of the time you can find barely used ones for a fraction of the price.

Entertainment

If your passengers are on the younger side, you probably want to avoid hearing the age old question "are we there yet?" as best you can. Luckily, there are tons of ways to keep kids (and adults) occupied on long car rides nowadays. Check out some of our favorites below.

2021 Apple 10.2-inch iPad - $429 (10% off)

There's probably no greater portable entertainment device in 2022 than a tablet, especially for kids. If your kids are old enough to be able to handle screens, it's probably worth considering an older Apple iPad to load up with games and videos. You get all the benefits of an iPad, at a slightly lower price than a brand new one. 

Pro-tip: If you're traveling with younger kids, consider getting a kid-proof case with a screen protector like this one for the tablet. 

Fire HD 10 Kids tablet - $199.99

If you're not an Apple fan, this Fire HD 10 Kids tablet could also serve as entertainment for the little ones. Naturally, you'll be giving up some of the hardware and software upgrades present in an Apple device, but you'll be gaining a free 1 year subscription to Amazon Kids+, a built-in kid-proof case, and you'll be saving a few hundred bucks. 

Anker Soundcore Life Q20 Hybrid Active Noise Cancelling Headphones - $59.99

Back when most of us at Autoblog were young teenagers embarking on a family trips, one of the primary ways to keep busy on the drive was to listen to burned CDs on a Discman for hours or days on end during the journey. The biggest problem back then was that the Discman couldn’t play at a high enough volume level to drown out everyone else in the car. Today, that problem is easily solved with an inexpensive pair of noise-cancelling headphones like these. 

Pro-tip: Keep a USB cable for these handy so you can charge it up in the car in case they run out of battery.

Backseat Bingo 4-Pack - $9.99

iPads and headphones are great, but if you prefer to stick to the classics, a great form of on-the-road-entertainment has always been and will always be "backseat bingo." This awesome driving game is great for players of all ages, and at 10 bucks for 4 reusable cards, it definitely won't break the bank. 

Perhaps the best part about road-tripping is the snacks. After all, calories don't count on the road, right? The items below should help you satiate nearly any craving you might be having on a long drive or camping trip.  

MalloMe Portable Camping Stove - $9.99

A stove for a road trip that doesn’t involve camping? Yeah, why not? They’re relatively inexpensive and if the hotel you’re staying at doesn’t have coffee you can make some in the parking lot in a few minutes. This stove is an ultralight option that folds up into the size of a small multitool. Weighing in at only 3.2 ounces (yes, you read that correctly), the pocket rocket screws into the top of any isopro fuel canister and will boil a liter of water in under 4 minutes.

Pro-tip: Wondering how much fuel is left in your canister? Stick it in water. If the canister floats all the way at the top, you're low on fuel.

Insulated Mugs - $15.95 and up

If you're not used to using insulated mugs it can be all too easy to fill it up with some tea or coffee, forget about it, then burn your tongue drinking it over an hour later. If you want your cup of coffee, hot chocolate or tea to stay hot (or cold), insulated is the way to go. There are plenty of companies that make insulated mugs these days, but our go-to recommendations are Miir and Yeti.

Pro-tip: Insulated mugs work almost too well. Think about leaving the lid off so you can enjoy your coffee sooner. It still stays pretty hot but has less of a chance of burning your tongue.

Yeti (or RTIC) Can Koozie - $14.95 and up

It's all too easy to grab a can of soda, totally forget about it for two hours, and come back to a warm drink. With a can koozie, though, chances are you'll be coming back to your drink still cold. Sure they don't fit every size can or bottle (we're looking at you, kombucha bottles), but they keep your drink as cold as when you pulled it out of the fridge, at least for a few hours.

Pro-tip: If you prefer slim cans (think Red Bull), order one with a slim gasket.

Yeti Cooler - $200 and up

Yeti coolers are so good they were once one of the most stolen items in America . You can fly with them, camp with them and they keep food and drinks cold for what seems like an impossible amount of time. Pre-cool the cooler a day before using it by filling it with ice and then refilling it the next day. And while this cooler is pretty incredible at its job, remember, it's a cooler, not a freezer. Things like ice cream left too long will likely turn into a sticky, liquid mess. 

Pro-tip: Yetis are expensive and, as mentioned before, a target for thieves. If you're traveling with this in the bed of a truck, like we did on our Tacoma road trip from Seattle to Banff, Alberta , make sure to lock it to the truck with some bike cables.

Nalgene - $12.99

This is many of the Autoblog staff's go-to water bottle. It can even be handy to keep two with you, one filled with something like iced tea, and one with water. It's cheap and nearly indestructible.

Pro-tip: There are multiple different types of Nalgenes. The narrow mouth version is great while driving to prevent spillage. The 48 oz version is great for those of us who drink a ton of water. And if you're planning on hiking in the winter and don't want your water to freeze up, the wide-mouth OG is the one for you.

Cup Holder Extender - $26.99

Nalgenes, Yetis and can koozies all have a similar problem: they don’t fit very well in car cup holders. This extender is the solution. 

Pro-tip: While it fits a lot of vehicles, this isn’t a perfect solution for every make and model, so make sure it’ll fit your specific vehicle before ordering.

WACACO Minipresso NS, Portable Espresso Machine - $54.90 (8% off)

The portable stove above is great for general use, but if you espresso drinkers need something a little more specialized to get you through the trip, check out this miniature espresso machine. This little gadget works with the original NS capsules , so you should get a perfect espresso every time.

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The Ultimate Vehicle Survival Kit for Summer Road Trips

By Tim MacWelch

Posted on Jun 4, 2021 9:40 AM EDT

6 minute read

A vehicle survival kit will keep you out of trouble on back-road adventures. Tim MacWelch

We may earn revenue from the products available on this page and participate in affiliate programs. Learn More ›

Long weekend drives and adventurous road trips are a summer tradition for many Americans. As the weather improves and COVID-19 restrictions lift, we are going to feel the itch to roam and explore. This can take us to some pretty remote places where resources (and help) may be extremely limited. If an emergency arises in these out-of-the-way spots, you’ll have to rely on your survival gear and skills. Before you jump in the truck and head off the grid, make sure you have a summer vehicle survival kit ready to go, just in case.      

Basic Tool Kit and Phone Charger

You don’t have to be a mechanic to fix simple problems with your rig. But you will need a basic tool kit, which will fit easily below a seat or in the back of your vehicle. If you have a breakdown that’s too catastrophic to fix, you’ll need to call for help. That means you’ll need a fully charged phone. A phone charger seems like such basic piece of gear, but it’s easy to forget items like this when you’re rushing out the door. Keep a working one in your vehicle at all times.

Extra Water

Spare water is a vital resource for any trip off the main roads. In both dry climates and water-rich environments, carrying a stash of drinking water is smart. You may need it for hydration, to fill a leaking radiator, to flush dirt from a wound, or dozens of other uses. It’s also handy to carry water filtration equipment and disinfection supplies (like water filters and disinfection tablets), but you can’t make water appear where there is none. Bring at least one gallon per person and store the water in a way that it won’t cause a problem if it leaks. It’s hard to beat the 5-gallon military water containers.

You’ll want to carry several lights and spare batteries for them. I prefer to diversify the lighting options as well. A bright LED headlamp can give us free hands to work, and a very long battery life (though most don’t reach out with a distant beam). A brighter handheld flashlight (like a tactical light ) may be needed to throw a beam of light much farther, and it’s ideal for identifying those “bump in the night” sounds. Your flashlights can also be used to signal for help (along with the headlights of the vehicle). Blinking the lights in sets of three can be a great distress signal. Going further, you can use an “SOS” pattern with three short, three long, and three short flashes. This flashing technique is preferable to leaving the light on, running down the batteries and creating no contrast (a flashing light is more eye catching than a steady light).

Flares and Reflectors   

Road flares are a great item in your vehicle survival kit. Not only are they useful for signaling roadside distress, but they can also be used to start fires for warmth, signaling, boiling and cooking. Don’t just carry one flare. Bring several to give you multiple uses. These aren’t flashlights that you can turn on and off. Once the flare is struck, it will continue burning until it’s burned out or you destroy it somehow (which is not as easy as it sounds). For a more passive roadside application, reflective triangles and other reflectors are also good items for your kit. These can prevent disastrous crashes, especially when your vehicle is stuck in a precarious position on the shoulder of the road.

Jump Your Battery  

When your car battery needs a boost, an ordinary pair of jumper cables may seem worth their weight in gold. These won’t help when a battery has discharged too far.  However, if the battery is just under the threshold to turn the engine over, a simple jump can solve the problem. Follow the proper procedures when jumping a battery (since you’re dealing with electricity and dangerous battery acid. The cables can also provide you with a strange form of fire making, providing the battery has some juice and you have a wooden pencil and a pocket knife. Carve one side of the pencil down until you hit the graphite. Clamp the cables to the battery, as if jumping it. Then clamp the “hot” side of each set of jaws (the side the cable is attached to) to the pencil so the clamp teeth bite into the graphite. Place the clamps about 2 inches apart on the pencil, and get ready for the smoke and flames. 

 Extra Food    

A few well-chosen treats can do more than just satisfy a snack craving. A stash of food in your vehicle will help you and your passengers maintain morale and keep your energy up. For year-round emergency food stashes, I prefer high calorie food that is shelf stable and requires no cooking. In warmer weather, I’m also going to avoid foods that will melt. A Snickers bar may be a wonderful emergency food item in the winter, but it will be a molten mess after sitting in a hot vehicle in warmer seasons. Many types of canned goods will fit the requirements (I have a particular soft spot for deviled ham ). Survival ration bars are a fine alternative since they don’t need cooking and they don’t melt. If these aren’t to your taste (and many people just hate them), then choose your favorite food that meets our criteria: long shelf life, non-melting, no cooking required. 

Forget about dangerous tow chains and hooks. Those can break and cause all kinds of damage to vehicles, equipment and innocent bystanders. You’ll be safer using a strong nylon tow strap, with loops on the ends instead of hooks. This type of product may still break, but it’s much less dangerous to anyone in the vicinity. Be careful when pulling a vehicle out of a ditch or rut. You’ll need a person in each vehicle, ready to hit the brakes if things start to roll out of control.

First-Aid Kit     

Commercially available first-aid kits can be one of your better investments in “survival” equipment, but don’t feel like a kit is only good if it was assembled in a factory somewhere. You can also build a good kit (or even a phenomenal one) by choosing each piece of gear and each supply item. You’ll want all the typical “boo boo” stuff, like band-aids, gauze, and first aid creams. OTC meds are handy too, such as pain relievers, stomach medicine, antihistamines, itch creams, and the like. Don’t forget the trauma supplies either. EMT shears, larger bandages and dressings, tourniquets, and related supplies should also be added. And to go with your new kit, make sure you get some first aid training from a reputable source.  

Read Next: 11 Specialized Survival Kits You Can Build to Live Through Any Disaster

Shelter Items     

Your vehicle can act as a form of shelter, which is typically your top survival priority in a backcountry emergency. But blocking the wind and rain isn’t enough. You’ll need warmth when the temperatures drop due to changes in the weather or the normal nighttime lows. Blankets for each seat in the car may suffice for many occasions. These could be fleece or wool, depending on your storage space and budget (wool is bulkier and more expensive). Space blankets are another option. They are cheap and take up very little room, though they are hardly comfortable. Light weight summer sleeping bags might also make sense, as these can be used for camping trips and stored in the vehicle for emergency. Whichever form of “shelter” you choose, just make sure you carry enough items for each possible passenger (so no one has to fight over the blankets when you get stuck somewhere).   

Bring The Flat Tire Kit 

Where the rubber meets the road, we often run into trouble in the backcountry when we get a flat tire. A full sized spare, tire iron and jack can allow you to swap out one damaged tire. A tire plug kit and an air compressor can allow you to do even more. A large thorn or nail can be pulled out with pliers and plugged with the gummy strands and adhesive. Once set, the air compressor can inflate the tire and you’re back on the trail. This can save the day when you run over a sharp hazard in the road and get two flats on one side of the vehicle.  

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18 Essentials You Need in a Car Emergency Kit

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Check Your Air Pressure Milton S-921 Pencil Tire Gauge Read more

Jump-Start Your Car … With Another Car Husky 20 ft. 4-ga Jumper Cables Read more

Or Jump-Start Your Car With This Noco Boost Plus GB40 Jump Starter Read more

Clean Your Hands Fast Orange Textured Hand Wipes Read more

The tire announces the end of its existence with a dreaded pop. Or you glance steam escaping over the hood. Or you turn the ignition key far from home and nothing happens. A breakdown doesn't have to mean the end of the world. Whether it's a minor repair you can fix yourself on the side of the road, or you just need to call for help and hang tight until it arrives, keep these WIRED-tested items handy in your trunk and you'll be back on the road in no time. Everything here can be used by anyone, but it doesn't hurt to open the car's manual or look up a how-to on YouTube.

Be sure to check out our many other guides, including the Essential Home Tool Kit and the Best Emergency Gear to Keep at Home .

Updated May 2023: We’ve added new picks, such as the Anker USB-C phone charging cable, Fast Orange textured hand wipes, Element fire extinguisher, and updated pricing and availability throughout.

Check Your Air Pressure

Your car's tires will lose about 1 pound per square inch of air pressure each month. Driving on tires that are underfilled worsens your fuel economy, braking, handling, and tire life. But that'll also happen if you fill them too much. I keep one of these Milton pencil gauges in the glovebox or trunk of each car and motorcycle I have. It's lightweight, foolproof, and reliable. 

Check the air pressure of each tire with a gauge once a month , and use it when refilling your tires at a gas station's air pump. Your tire pressure will be listed in the owner's manual and on a sticker (most likely) in the driver's doorjamb, assuming you're using the tires recommended by the manufacturer. Check your tire pressure every time your car comes out of the shop too.

Jump-Start Your Car … With Another Car

If your car battery dies, you can jump-start it by connecting it to another car, which will at least get you to a store to buy a replacement (if you don't turn the engine off again). Large, four-gauge wires let power flow more easily, like using a thicker straw in a milkshake. These Husky cables are copper-clad aluminum wire, which isn't as good as solid copper, but solid copper jumper cables are hard to find these days. 

Look up the proper procedure on how to connect the cables (ideally before you get stuck on the road, since you might not have a cell signal wherever you break down).

Or Jump-Start Your Car With This

The downside with jumper cables is that you need another working car and its willing driver to be around when your car dies. If you plan on traveling to a remote area or don't want to rely on strangers, you can go with a battery-powered emergency jump-starter instead. It's bulkier and more expensive than cables, and you have to periodically make sure it's charged up, but this model is reasonably compact and weighs only 3 pounds. Note that it is rated to jump gasoline engines of up to 6-liter capacity and diesel engines up to 3-liter capacity.

Clean Your Hands

Working on a car can make your hands filthy. Whether it's changing a tire or replacing a battery, your hands will most likely end up smeared in grease and road grime, which is going to stain your clothes or car interior. I prefer Fast Orange wipes because the gritty, textured material works better than regular wipes for scrubbing off hard-to-remove grease. Keep handy a wad of paper towels or Scott Shop Towels for $3 , which are tougher, for wiping off the Fast Orange and residual grease.

Kathy Gilsinan

Repair a Flat

If your car doesn't have a spare tire—sadly more common now than ever—you can use an aerosol product such as Fix-a-Flat. You connect the can to the punctured tire's valve stem. The sealant is sprayed onto the inside of the tire to patch the hole and then reinflate the tire. Don't expect the tire to be as good as new. This is meant to get you to the nearest mechanic so you can have them repair or replace the tire—not to drive on it for long.

Fix-a-Flat is easy-as-pie to use. As long as you can screw a hose on and off a tire valve stem (you can), then you can use a can of Fix-a-Flat when the need arises.

Raise the Car

Bottle jacks are compact, and this one is more than strong enough to lift a heavy SUV or van for a tire change. If your car came with a jack, replace it with this one. Don't ever go underneath the car when it's supported only by a jack and not separate jack stands. You shouldn't be under there to change a tire anyway, and jacks do fail, even good ones. Jack the car up on the thick-looking parts of the frame underneath, not bodywork. There will be images in your owner's manual of the best jacking points. The Strongway jacks are easy to use, and it doesn't take many pumps of the handle to raise a car off the ground with it.

Replace Those Wheels

There are no separate parts to lose when you're using the classic X-shaped lug wrench. If your car has a spare tire, you'll need one of these to swap it with your flat. This one folds so it takes up less space in your trunk, and it has four sockets sized for the most common lug nuts: 17 mm, 19 mm, 21 mm, and 23 mm, which are roughly and respectively equal to 11/16 inches, 3/4 inches, 13/16 inches, and 7/8 inches.

Put Out a Fire

As someone who has put out a car fire, I can tell you it's good to have a fire extinguisher onboard when your car is roasting like a marshmallow. This is one of those things that you need to keep with you. First Alert is a solid brand of extinguisher that I've used, and this one is rated to put out fuel and electrical fires, as well. The Element E50 for $90 is a newer technology that, instead of spraying difficult-to-clean-up powder, snuffs out a fire by shooting a gas that disrupts the chain of combustion. It's expensive, but it's much lighter and more compact, and requires no clean up after use.

Refill Your Coolant

You should check your coolant (antifreeze) level often. If you drive while it's low, you could ruin the engine. Carry a spare gallon on long trips and during heat waves so you can top it off wherever you are. Any brand of coolant from a reputable retailer will work, but I've been using Prestone for decades. Green-dyed antifreeze can be added to any antifreeze you already have in your car's cooling system. Get the premixed coolant that says "50/50" on it, otherwise you're going to have to find a bucket and a gallon of distilled water on the side of the road if you mistakenly buy the concentrated bottle.

Top Off Your Engine Oil

Check your engine oil level occasionally. If it's low, you need to top it off immediately, before your engine destroys itself. Look in your car's owner's manual to see the recommended oil designation (10W-30, 10W-40, etc.), and buy a quart of that. But if you can't find your manual, 5W-30 is a good general oil that'll work for most engines and in most situations. Likewise, go for full synthetic rather than synthetic blends or conventional mineral oil. Keep a roll of paper towels so you can wipe off the dipstick before measuring. Remember to measure and add oil after the engine has warmed up completely and to turn off your engine when you're doing it. Adding too much can be as bad as too little. I've used the major brands—Pennzoil, Castrol, Royal Purple, Valvoline, and Mobil 1—extensively in many different cars, and they're all solid choices.

Scrape or Brush Your Windows

If you live where it snows (or plan to travel somewhere it does), make sure you have a sturdy ice scraper to clean the windows, or else you won't be driving anywhere. Measuring 51 inches, the SubZero has enough reach for me to reach the tops of a tall Jeep and a few SUVs. Plus, it's nice having a brush to clear off the surfaces of your car without scratching the paint. If you want to save room in your trunk, you can go with the SubZero scraper-only tool for $11 . Keep a bottle of de-icer to help melt stubborn ice, too.

Warn Other Drivers

I used to laugh at the idea of keeping reflective triangles in my car. It sounds like a suggestion made by lawyers and not real people. Then one day I was driving an old Mustang and its electrical system crapped out. I was in the left-turn lane at an intersection busier than JFK airport, and my emergency flashers didn't work. I couldn't push the 3,400-pound car by myself up the slight hill, and I didn't have a chance of getting it across three busy lanes onto the shoulder. People behind me honked, cursed me out, and threw things because, without flashers on, they couldn't figure out my car had broken down. Reflective warning triangles placed on the road behind me would've clued them in to just drive around.

Keep Your Phone Charged

Your car battery is more than capable of charging a dead phone (if the car battery itself isn't dead). Don't get stuck on the side of the road with a dead phone and no way to charge it. We like these Anker cables because they're much more affordable than, say, Apple cables, and have never let us down. If you're going on a long road trip or through remote areas, consider bringing a portable battery bank , just in case your phone needs a charge and your car battery winds up dead.

A Light in the Dark

You're not always going to break down where there's light. Fenix flashlights are my current favorite LEDs. They're bright, and they're tough enough to survive bumping around your trunk—and the inevitable drop onto the pavement. Powered by two AA batteries, it has four brightness settings, providing roughly 3.5 hours of run time at 350 lumens or 200 hours at 5 lumens.

Emergency Food for Long Trips

If you're traveling on remote roads or through severe weather, it's important to pack enough potable water for all passengers. Keep a gallon per person per day of purified or spring water in the trunk. Avoid distilled; it doesn't taste very good. You don't need food to survive a day or two on the side of the road, but it'll keep your spirits up if you're waiting for passersby on a remote road. Good-to-Go and Mountain House are two of the tastier brands I've tried. You can eat straight out of the dehydrated food bags, but a long-handled spork will keep your knuckles cleaner than a regular utensil when eating out of those tall bags.

A Bag for All This Gear

All these items rolling around your trunk or floorboards loosely would get pretty annoying. Keep them all in one place and organized by packing them into this water-resistant duffel bag. Being a Carhartt product, it's made with a tougher fabric than many travel duffel bags, which is a good thing when you're packing it full of rough-edged tools. Small gear, such as the tire pencil gauge and folding lug wrench, can go in the zippered exterior pocket.

Or Buy a Premade Emergency Kit

Kits tend to make some compromises on the quality or quantity of gear, but Performance Tool's kit has all the basics. If you're certain you don't want to piece together your own roadside emergency tools, try this one. It packs jumper cables, a reflective traffic triangle, a flashlight, a tire gauge, a basic first-aid kit, and a few extra tools. 

On their own, none of the items are as good as the individual items I've listed throughout the guide, but they're much better than having nothing when your car decides to take a nap on the side of the road.

A Few Extra Things

Keep up with your car maintenance. Cars have a way of paying you back if you neglect them for long, so stick to the service intervals recommended in your car's owner's manual. Before long trips, take your car to the mechanic to see whether you need your tires rotated or replaced, fuel system tuned up or cleaned, or steering aligned. Something you can easily do yourself is check your tire pressure every month and before long trips. Most gas stations have an air pump for you to use.

Make sure to pack your roadside gear bag with a poncho , a warm blanket , and diapers (if you or a little one needs 'em).

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Car Emergency Kit Essentials: Preparedness on the Go

Be road-ready with our guide on essential items for your car emergency kit. Ensure you're never caught unprepared should you ever find yourself stuck on the side of the road.

It's the sort of scenario we've all seen in movies but never imagine finding ourselves in: Your car breaks down on a desolate road, far from civilization, with nightfall approaching or inclement weather brewing. Being prepared is about more than keeping your car in tip-top shape for those long weekend drives or optimizing fuel efficiency for the daily commute. It's also about being equipped for the unexpected.

We understand the importance of road safety, which is why we've curated a list of essential emergency car kit items that every driver should stow away, ensuring that even in the most unexpected circumstances you come across in your travels, you're always a step ahead.

Leatherman Wave Plus Multitool

First-Aid Kit

First aid only first-aid kit.

Battery Jump Starter

Noco boost plus gb40 jump starter.

ThruNite Archer 2A V3 Flashlight

Fire Extinguisher

First alert automar10 fire extinguisher.

Tire Inflator

Avid power tire inflator air compressor.

Arcturus Military Wool Blanket

Tire Repair Kit

Boulder tools tire repair kit.

JCHL Nylon Tow Strap

Patch-and-Seal Tape

Gorilla waterproof patch & seal tape, things to consider when preparing your vehicle emergency kit.

Vehicle-Specific Needs: Consider the specifics of your vehicle. For example, you might need to downsize your kit if you're driving a sedan, or you might need more specific tools if your vehicle has aftermarket parts installed. Ensure everything in your kit can be securely fastened in the appropriate areas for minimal risk of anything going awry in the event of an accident.

Local Climate: If you live in an area prone to severe cold, items like a blanket and hand warmers become crucial. Similarly, in hot regions, extra water and sun protection are key. As they say, pack for the temperature outside the vehicle, not inside. There's no guarantee your A/C or heater will work in an emergency, even if you have enough fuel in the tank.

Trip Duration: For longer trips, think about including more food, water, and other supplies. A general rule of thumb for water is one gallon per person per day. Food will vary based on your physical characteristics, but you'll typically want somewhere between 1800-2800 calories per day, per person.

Local Wildlife: Depending on where you're traveling, you might need protection against wildlife or insects. Consider bug sprays or repellents if you're in a location where the creepy crawlies might attack. Likewise, if you're someplace where more fearsome animals might be, consider keeping bear spray on hand.

Storage Space: Ensure your emergency kit is compact enough for your vehicle while still containing all the essentials.

Is your car ready for anything? Here are our picks for car emergency kit essentials.

No emergency kit is complete without a multitool, and the Leatherman Wave Plus is a robust option that has nearly everything you could need in an emergency situation. It consolidates a variety of vital tools into a single compact unit, ensuring you're prepared for a range of unexpected situations. Whether you need to cut a seatbelt, tighten a loose screw, or perform basic repairs, a multitool such as the Wave Plus provides versatility without occupying much space.

First-aid kits are a must for any vehicle, and this bestseller from First Aid Only has nearly everything you could need, from basic bandages and gauze to an instant cold pack and basic over-the-counter painkillers. While building your own kit with items specific to your medical and environmental needs is the preferred option, this one is a solid choice that should have you covered for all but the most extreme circumstances.

Gone are the days of needing heavy, lead-acid-based jump packs. Now, a compact option like the NOCO Boost Plus GB40 can do the job with minimal maintenance and hassle. This particular unit should jump all but the largest batteries in consumer vehicles. If you'd prefer to carry jumper cables, we recommend going with Cartman Jumper Cables , our pick for the Best Jumper Cables .

Yes, your smartphone probably has a flashlight on it, but when you're looking into the engine bay or struggling to see underneath your vehicle in an emergency, the last thing you want to do is drop and destroy your main means of communication. That's where a dedicated flashlight comes in. The ThruNite Archer 2A V3 is a consistent bestseller with a 500-lumen output using two AA batteries. The unit is IPX8 resistant, meaning it'll be tough enough to take on rain, dirt, and whatever else you can throw at it—perfect for an emergency kit. You can even purchase USB-C rechargeable batteries if you want to have the option to keep the unit charged on the go.

A fire extinguisher is crucial for quickly addressing small fires before they escalate into situations where even the most powerful fire extinguisher won't help. Fire extinguishers come in different classes. Class B and C extinguishers are the best for vehicles, as they address flammable liquids/oils and electrical equipment, respectively. This First Alert FE10GR fire extinguisher is both Class B and C, making it ideal for automotive purposes.

Of course, you can't get back to driving without inflating your tire again after repair. This Avid Power Tire Inflator is just the item you'll need to restore the psi and get you moving again. It came in as our top pick for Best Portable Tire Inflator with its ability to run on batteries or via your vehicle's 12V DC plug and its relative ease of use.

This one might be a bit more geographically dependent than other items on this list, but the reality is it can get cold anywhere and, even if not for warmth, a blanket can be used as protection against the sun or something to lay on while working underneath a vehicle.

This Arcturus Wool Blanket is a great option, as wool will keep you warm even when it's wet. If you want a more compact option, these Mylar blankets from Everlit (a veteran-owned business) should help keep you warm thanks to their ability to trap body heat very efficiently despite their compact size; they fold up to the size of a few credit cards stacked together.

You never know when you might run over a screw left behind by a construction crew or catch a nail that's flown off the back of a contractor's truck. Whatever the case is, you'll want to make sure you're prepared with a tire repair kit. While not all holes can be plugged or patched, it never hurts to have everything you need for those instances where a little elbow grease will get you back on the road again. This tire repair kit from Boulder Tools can do it all and even includes extra valve caps and stem-removal tools to speed up the process.

You never know when you or a stranger might need to hitch a ride out of a ditch or ravine. This 20-foot strap from JCHL is two inches thick and rated for 20,000 pounds. On each side is a forged hook for easy attachment and removal. Keep in mind all safety precautions when using a tow strap, as there is always the possibility they could cause serious harm if they fail.

Gorilla Waterproof Patch & Seal Tape

For instances where duct tape doesn't make sense, you might get some added benefit from a patch-and-seal style of tape, such as this offering from Gorilla . This tape is strong enough to patch up nearly any material, preventing liquids from leaking or entering where they shouldn't. The rolls are quite large, so we suggest cutting off a few squares or rectangles and keeping them in your vehicle if you need to patch up a leak in the sunroof, a crack in your washer-fluid tank, or even a rock-sized hole in your cartop carrier.

Cartman Warning Triangles

As for flares, you have three options: passive triangle flares, LED flares, or pyrotechnic flares. This DOT-approved triangle set from Cartman comes with three weighted emergency triangles that can be placed at various points behind and around your vehicle. They rely on the lights of oncoming traffic to reflect and notify drivers of an impending hazard, and they meet the U.S. Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard FMVSS 571.125.

If you'd prefer LED flares, this four-pack from Marcala includes four magnetic LED pucks that can be recharged via a standard USB-C cable. These can be laid out over the road behind or in front of your vehicle, as well as attached directly to the vehicle via an integrated magnet. The kit comes with a charging cable and carrying case for easy storage.

ArcRidge Reflective Safety Vest

Should you be stuck on the side of the road, you'll want to make sure oncoming traffic is able to see you and your vehicle from miles away. That's where a hi-vis vest and flares come into play. This ArcRidge vest comes in multiple colors and sizes and is rated for Class 2, which is the standard for construction workers operating in areas with traffic over 25 miles per hour.

Mechanix Wear Work Gloves

Aside from normal gloves, which you may want alongside extra clothes, you'll also want to have a pair of work gloves available should you need to do any work on the car itself. These aptly named Mechanix Wear Covert Tacticals are a great option that should pack down easily while providing more than enough protection for basic car repairs.

The Original Duck Brand Duct Tape

What more need we say? It's a legend for a reason. While it's not necessarily great in any one area, duct tape is as versatile as it gets and you can't go wrong with the 60-foot roll of the O riginal Duck Brand .

Why do I need an emergency vehicle kit?

An emergency kit can be a lifesaver in situations where help isn't immediately available. Whether it's a flat tire in a remote area or being stuck in severe weather, a kit can provide the essentials to keep you safe until help arrives.

How often should I update or check my kit?

Ideally, you should check your kit every six months. Replace expired items, put new batteries in all of the electronics, charge any rechargeable devices, ensure all equipment is in working order, and consider seasonal needs.

Where should I store my emergency kit in my vehicle?

Store your kit in a location that's easily accessible, such as the trunk or back seat. It should be in a sealed bag or container to prevent any damage from moisture or other contaminants.

Is one kit sufficient for all types of vehicles?

While the basics remain the same, there might be specific needs for different types of vehicles, such as trucks, motorcycles, or electric vehicles. It's essential to tailor your kit according to your vehicle type.

Why Trust Us

Hearst Autos combines the talent, resources, and expertise of three of the largest, most influential automotive publications in the world. The Gear Team has tested a wide variety of automotive products, parts, accessories, and gear, such as garage flooring , catalytic converter anti-theft devices , and foam cannons . We get our hands on each and every product we test. Most are purchased; some are supplied by manufacturers.

Hearst Autos doesn't need to game algorithms for traffic or promote lousy products to earn a buck. Instead, we're more concerned with our legacy, our reputation, and the trust our readers have in Autoweek , Car and Driver , and Road & Track to deliver honest opinions and expert evaluations. Visit our Tested & Trusted page to see the very best in automotive gear. Read more about our product testing and evaluation process here .

Gannon Burgett loves cameras, cars, and coffee: a perfect combination for his Hearst Autos work. His byline has appeared in USA Today , Gizmodo , TechCrunch , Digital Trends , the Detroit Free Press , and more.

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Pack the Perfect Road Trip Survival Kit

From maps and sunblock to playlists and classic car games, these 11 items are guaranteed to prevent the dreaded “are we there yet”.

by NEA Member Benefits

There’s perhaps no greater American pastime than the classic road trip. And its popularity only increased during the pandemic. Traveling by way of your own car (or renting a vehicle  with a travel discount for NEA members) is an easy way to see our beautiful country, discover regional specialty food—and do it all for the fraction of a price of a plane ticket! What’s not to love?

The key to a successful road trip is preparation. Of course, you’ll need the basics: your smartphone, a pillow, a blanket and a first-aid kit. 

But what about those items we often forget that would have made the drive so much more pleasant? We called in four travel experts to help us create the ultimate road trip survival kit. Here are their top 11 items for your packing list:

1. A GPS or smartphone map app. Turn to your cellphone for assistance on the road. With a street map view, satellite imagery and even a 360-degree interactive panoramic views, Google Maps can help you plan your route—whether you’re traveling by car, public transportation, air, bicycle or foot. Google Maps also provides estimated distance and travel times as well. Waze is another alternative and features a live traffic map, road alerts, turn-by-turn navigation information and recommended travel times. 

You can also pack an actual paper map. Mark it up with notes and see the full picture of your road trip adventure, recommends Michael Stern, co-author of “Roadfood.” 

Keep an eye on road conditions with SafeTravelUSA.com , which links to current conditions reported by all states. Most states have up-to-the-minute road conditions on their Department of Transportation websites. 

2. Light, non-messy snacks. “You don’t want to kill your appetite by overindulging in Doritos, but neither do you want to get so hungry that you eat in some junk-food place out of desperation,” Stern says. Carrot sticks, trail mix, granola bars and grapes make ideal road trip snacks.

3. Emergency car kit. Pack a flashlight, batteries, jumper cables, antifreeze, a tire inflator, an umbrella and a AAA roadside emergency card, if you have one, advises Julia Stamberger, president and CEO of GoPicnic Brands and The Planting Hope Company Inc. If you have no time to prepare all these things yourself, look for an affordable emergency car kit that includes all the safety basics. Be sure to check for retailers such as Pep Boys and Autozone on NEA Discount Marketplace  to see if you can even earn cash-back on your purchase.

4. Gear to keep you clean and safe. Stay comfortable and clean by packing trash bags, tissues and napkins, cleaning wipes, hand sanitizer, travel-size toiletries and a laundry bag, Stamberger advises.

You may also want to have a “coronavirus kit” tucked inside your car. Pack extra face masks, sanitizing wipes and hand sanitizer.  

5. Medications. In addition to pain relievers, be sure to pack allergy and prescription medications. “If any are exotic, it helps to also have a prescription in case you lose your stash and need more,” Stern says. “Likewise, if you wear glasses, bring a spare set.”

6. An itinerary. “Wandering is fun, but it’s also vital to have a plan to take maximum advantage of time and place,” Stern advises. Plan your stops so you’ll be near restaurants at lunchtime and dinnertime, and make sure you stay on track so you don’t arrive late to your destination if you can avoid it.

7. A playlist. “Having good tunes to get you psyched for your excursion and create memories is key to any road-trip adventure,” says Darley Newman, host, writer and producer of the Emmy-award-winning PBS series “Equitrekking.” “Diverse but organized selections keep you from killing the mood by going from up-tempo and invigorating to sad and contemplative too quickly.”

Follow or create a playlist or several playlists with your perfect road trip songs. Some music streaming apps, such as Spotify and Deezer, have free options but typically come with ads and limited functionality (can’t skip, shuffle mode, etc.) that disappear when you have a subscription. Apple Music and Amazon Prime, which includes Amazon Music, are two more popular streaming subscription services. (Monthly fees apply.)

8. Sun protection. Sunscreen, sunglasses and even a long-sleeve shirt will protect you from damaging sun streaming through the windows, Newman says.

9. Relevant books or podcasts. “I always bring something to read or audiobooks that relate to the places I’m traveling through,” says Jamie Jensen, author of "Road Trip USA." He recommends "Grapes of Wrath" for Route 66, Robert Frost poems in New England, and Sherwood Anderson’s "Winesburg Ohio" for the Midwest.

Use an app such as Audible, or download ebooks from your local library using the OverDrive app. All you need is a library card to borrow for free.

Podcasts are also a good way to pass the time during a long road trip. Spotify, Apple Podcasts and Stitcher apps make it easy to search, download and listen to podcasts on topics that interest you most.

10. Portable chargers. “There’s nothing more frustrating than losing the charge on your phone, computer or other electronic device on your travels,” Newman says. Bring portable backup power, car chargers or wireless charging mats, especially if you’re relying on your smartphone as your GPS or if you’re driving through remote places. “If you feel the need to constantly be connected to the internet, consider investing in tools like a personal MiFi hotspot,” Stamberger says.

11. Check weather reports before and during your trip. Use a weather app, such as Weather.gov, The Weather Channel or one from your local TV news stations to monitor weather conditions along your route. Not only will this help you decide what clothes and shoes to pack, but it will alert you to any weather changes you may encounter during your trip. 

Road trip games to keep everyone entertained

“Most car games don’t require any electronics, and they encourage some good old-fashioned discussion and laughter, strengthening your family’s bond through the memories shared,” Stamberger says.

To keep yourselves entertained on long drives, play one (or all!) of these fun games:

Play the classics. Stamberger recommends classic car games such as Twenty Questions, I Spy, Name That Tune and The Alphabet Game, or adult games such as Would You Rather or Never Have I Ever.

Play travel word games. “Since childhood, I’ve played what my mom called the ‘city, country, state’ game: one person starts by naming any city, state or country, like Wyoming. The next person has to take the last letter of that word and name a new city, state or country, like Georgia,” Newman says.

Count on fun. Counting games are also a good way to pass the time and keep you on your toes, Newman says: “Pick anything to count, but it must appear on your side of the car, like cows passed on their side in a rural area or yellow cars on the interstate.”

Debate great food. “We do ‘bests,’ debating where’s the best ice cream or fried chicken, or ‘last meal’ games—if you could have just one last great meal, what would it be?” Stern says.

Have fun at rest stops. “I like to bring along a ball or Frisbee to play catch at our rest stops, which helps stretch the legs and arms and maintain mobility after too many hours on the road,” Jensen says. When you finally reach your destination, you’ll be aching to stretch your muscles.  Use InterstateRestAreas.com  to find rest stops along your route, or download the iExit Interstate Exit Guide app to find out what’s at upcoming exits when you're on the highway.

“Even if you don’t normally exercise at home, take walks, swim in the hotel pool, do some pushups or find a yoga class. It compensates for all that sitting,” Stern says.

Take your next road trip in a rental and save

Nea travel: car rental.

Save up to 25% when you rent a car through the NEA Travel Car Rental program. Compare rates at companies such as Avis, Budget, Enterprise and Hertz and pick the best deal for your budget.

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100 MILES TRACKER

Run Eat Repeat

Road Trip Survival Kit for Adults

Hello! Summer is here! Are you planning a vacation? Growing up we did at least road trip every summer. I’ve been to San Francisco, Yosemite, San Diego and tons of places in between all around California.

Today I’m sharing a list of 20 Road Trip Must Haves to have in your road trip kit (so you won’t want to hide in the gas station bathroom after 3 hours of listening to the same song over and over because you forgot to update your playlist).

1. Screen shots of directions and hotel confirmations. Screen shot the ‘must have’ information in case you don’t have service at your location.

2. Neck Pillow – they’re not just for airplanes

3. Sunblock – yes, even inside the car.  I’ve been on long road trips and felt the sun beating through the windows burning me.

4. Games on your phone – if you like cash app games to win real money , Best Fiends is a free puzzle adventure game. You collect lil Fiends and defeat the slugs by matching color coded objects. And now the slugs are going to Boot Camp. I guess they want to be in tip top shape to fight the Fiends.

5.  Audiobooks or podcasts – A good book is a great way to pass the time!

6. Headphones – This is great if you’re listening to the audio version of War and Peace and your travel buddy is listening to Britney Spears.

7. First aid kit – you should have this in your car already!

8. Mouthwash and/or gum – especially if your road trip is to the annual garlic festival (that’s a real thing in California!).

9. Your best “Never Have I Ever” game ideas – after a few hours locked in a small space with someone you get real comfortable to spill your deepest, darkest secrets.

10. Gallon of water – Bring your reusable water bottle, but sometimes it’s hard to find a water fountain or angle it under a water fountain. Having extra water is a good idea.

Tip: Stay hydrated! But also consider skipping the romper so your entire wardrobe doesn’t have to be peeled off in order to use the restroom at a random seedy truck-stop.

11. Hitchhiker ground rules – before your trip decide what kind of hitchhikers you are open to giving a ride and if they are allowed to call shotgun.

12. Snacks – Stock up on snacks to save money on pricey gas station chips. Bring along some healthy options. Make sure to pack snacks with protein like beef or chicken jerky, protein bars , string cheese…

Tip: Portion out snacks in baggies so they’re easier to grab. This also keeps ya from mindlessly eating an entire bag of chips just to help the miles pass.

13. Patience – always pack extra patience when traveling. Something might go wrong – roll with it and don’t let it ruin your trip.

14. Napkins or toilet paper – You’ll need the napkins for snack time and hopefully you won’t need the TP. But bring it just in case.  You’ll thank me later.

15. Magazines or books – These are like podcasts but written down on paper. It’s wild.

16. Tums or Pepto Bismo – You know what’s worse than getting diarhea on a road trip?       Nothing.

17. Baggies – Baggies are great for snacks, deck of cards, rubberbands… they end up coming in handy.

18. A Towel – have a towel handy in case of major spills, to block the sun, as a blanket, to dry off after an impromptu dip in the ocean…

19. Baby wipes – Yeah, this is a list for adults but baby wipes can help with quick clean ups of your hands/face/random messes.

20. Duct tape, rope, a tarp and shovel – Just in case. Kidding! But put this on the list to freak out your travel partner.

And put it all in a container so it’s easy access and organized.

Question: Do you have any audiobook suggestions? Playlist suggestions?? Snack suggestions? 

Reader interactions.

2017-06-15 at 8:04 pm

What? Our road trips are always an end of summer event. Favorite snacks are – not in any order – raisins, beef jerky, and cinnamon pecan Kind bars.

2017-06-15 at 4:50 am

Do I have a long weekend? WooHoo!!!!! When I don’t show up Monday, I’m going to tell them a Monican told it was a long weekend. I hope it works…. Great traveling tips.

2017-06-15 at 6:46 am

Ha! Totally blame it on me. Sorry.

2017-06-14 at 8:49 pm

Never been on a road trip, sadly. Not really possible here in Hong Kong, it’s so small! I wish I could go on one though!

Charmaine Ng | Architecture & Lifestyle Blog http://charmainenyw.com

2017-06-14 at 5:31 pm

I think your post is a little late. Memorial Day was a few weeks ago. But, useful information none be less!

2017-06-15 at 4:18 am

Exactly! I was confused

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Disclaimer: Please speak with a medical professional before making any changes to your diet or exercise. I am not a doctor or registered dietitian. The views expressed are based on my own experiences, and should not be taken as medical, nutrition or training advice. Please note that affiliate links and sponsored posts may pop up from time to time. I truly appreciate your support. More »

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Home » Road Trips » The Ultimate Car Survival Kit And Tips For Road Trips

The Ultimate Car Survival Kit And Tips For Road Trips

Have you ever noticed how the worst mishaps seem to happen when you least expect them? That’s because the best time to prepare for the next road trip mishap is before you travel. Here is what to pack in your complete car survival kit, plus road trip tips to survive anything Mother Nature throws at you.

Table of Contents

Prepare for any Roadside Emergency

Before any ambitious road trip, like our US Route 6 Cross Country Trip or this Boston to Bar Harbor road trip from We3Travel.com, consider signing up for a class and do check out Porch’s tips for planning the perfect road trip .

You can learn First Aid or even how to drive off-road or in the most challenging winter conditions. Here are some of the best resources for taking your driving skills and emergency preparedness to the next level:

• The American Red Cross offers First Aid and Disaster Training classes online and at local chapters.
• FirstAidWeb – self-guided online CPR and First Aid courses.
• Online state-certified defensive driving courses reduce points and insurance costs.
• Compare state laws and sign up for  AA A Defensive Driving and Safety classes.
• AARP Smart Driver Course  (for drivers 50+) covers defensive driving and the latest auto technology.
• “Learn to Anticipate” at Defensive Driving Academy.
• Advanced Driving courses go beyond defensive driving, while familiarization courses instruct visitors to the USA (or Americans/Canadians visiting other countries.)
• Bridgestone Winter Driving School in Steamboat Springs, CO runs programs for everyday drivers and pros.
• Find out how to handle rough terrain at the Jeep Off-Road Driving Academy located at the Nemacolin Woodlands Resort in Western Pennsylvania or at the Land Rover Experience in Manchester VT .

Plan for the Unexpected Emergency

• Always let a friend or family member know where you are going when traveling beyond your usual routes.
• Roadside Assistance Services are available from a variety of clubs such as AAA or Allstate Motor Club, and even as a credit card benefit.
• Call up roadside assistance on Honk , a free app, no membership is required. Available nationwide, with 15 – 30 minute ETAs on average, and prices $49+.
• Hedge your bets with travel insurance from  Allianz  or  InsureMyTrip.com .
• And if you’re going to travel in a rental with family, consult this guide for renting a car with kid s.

Prepare Your Car for a Road Trip

Get a car check-up, perform your own  basic car tune-up , make sure to have a spare tire, and consider these RV upgrades :

• Ensure all fluids–including oil, anti-freeze, and windshield washer reservoir– are clean and full. Verify that the oil is the right one for anticipated conditions, and that windshield washer fluid contains deicer in winter.
• Test windshield wipers for smearing.
• Check tire pressure and tread, and ascertain that you have the right tires for anticipated conditions. Some wintry areas may require studded tires or chains. ( Note-be sure to switch out winter tires if headed to a warm climate. )
• If the battery is 3-5 years old, get it checked.
• If your brakes exhibit any of these 5 signs , get them tested.

Use Weather Apps to Monitor Road Conditions

Check weather reports on your preferred media before you hit the road, and along the way with these weather apps ( free for both iOS and Android, except where noted ):

• Weather Channel – Breaking news, hourly and 10-day forecasts, personal weather reports, videos, ski conditions, and much more.
• Weather Underground – Weather Advisory alerts, finger-friendly WunderMap, hyper-local reports, day/hour and 10-day forecasts, plus filter options for US Fronts, Hurricanes, Active Fires, etc.
• WeatherBug – GPS localized, Spark™ lightning detector (monitor specific locations with radar map, severe weather alerts and National Weather Service warnings with push notifications, weather and traffic cams, interactive maps, and extended 10-Day forecasts.
• NOAA Radar ( Free and Hi-Def versions ) – the latest information from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration including hurricanes and tropical storms, extended forecasts, and extreme weather notifications.

Navigate with Traffic Apps

• Sigalert.com – provides roadside traffic cameras, real-time road speeds, and round-the-clock traffic reports for 75 metropolitan areas.
• Waze – community-sourced,  it’s been described as “like Foursquare but for driving” with extremely accurate real-time driving directions, maps, and traffic reports.

Avoid Dangerous Road Hazards

The safest way to handle extreme weather on the road is to not experience it at all. Find the nearest lodging on your favorite hotel booking app  and get some shuteye before getting back on the road.

Car Survival Kit Packing List

Because you never know when you’re going to need a lifeline, never leave home without a fully charged cellphone–preferably a smartphone with all the apps listed above. If you’re heading out for more than a short distance, pack an extra battery pack. Options range from the cheap Astro Mini to the bulky, yet powerful, RavPower external battery.

Consider renting or buying a satellite phone if heading to regions with spotty cellphone coverage. We’re partial to the tiny but mighty Garmin inReach Mini .

Purchase a car survival kit with all the bells & whistles, or pack your own so that you can keep a kit in the trunk:

• Water (Enough for the #of passengers/length of trip)
• High-energy, non-perishable foods (nuts, tuna cans, granola bars) with an extended shelf life
• Air Compressor/Tire Inflator
• Battery Jumper Cable
• Emergency Warning Triangle
• Road Flares
• Flashlight and/or Headlamp with extra batteries
• Work Gloves
• Emergency Rain Poncho
• Bungee Cords
• Utility Knife
• Portable Radio (with spare batteries)
• Reflective Triangle
• Fire Extinguisher
• Flagging tape
• Toilet Paper
• Seatbelt Cutter/Window Escape Hammer

• Disposable non-latex gloves
• 1 breathing barrier (with one-way valve)
• Oral thermometer (non-mercury/nonglass)
• Hand-sanitizer
• 1 instant cold compress
• Emergency Mylar Blankets
• Bandaids, Larger Bandages, Cloth Tape, Antiseptic Wipes, Neosporin, Moleskin
• Aspirin and Advil (or preferred pain reliever)
• Hydrocortisone ointment packets
• Personal Medications ( Consider carrying a small stash of rescue medications for chronic diseases such as an Asthma Inhaler and Oral Steroids for those prone to asthma attacks .)
• Children’s version of medications, if traveling with kids.
• First aid instruction booklet

And last, but not least, FamilyHandyman.com has some brilliant ideas for making your own winter car survival kit .

How to Drive In Hazardous Conditions

New York State posts detailed instructions covering special driving conditions from how to drive in winter to how to avoid collisions with deer. Here are tips for handling some of the most difficult road hazards.

Get through heavy rain, fog, wildfires, smoke, and any other situation that lowers visibility.

• Drive with lights on low beam  (some states require headlights in rain, and daytime running lights don’t count.)
• Open your window to listen for traffic you can’t see.
• Switching on defrost (without heat and/or open window to speed up window defog .)
• Reduce distractions; turn off the radio and cell phone.
• Use the right edge of the road or road markers as a guide.
• Drive cautiously: slow down (high speeds and/or worn tires can result in hydroplaning,) signal turns well in advance, and brake early.
• Do not stop on the side of the road if it’s busy. Signal, pull off as far as possible, and turn on hazard lights.

 What to Do When Lightening Strikes

• An enclosed metal vehicle–with all doors closed and windows rolled up–is relatively safe, but NOT any open or soft top vehicle.
• Pull off the road as a lightning flash can cause temporary blindness.

Be Wary of Floods

• Avoid driving through water, as little as six inches can cause you to lose control while two feet will carry away most cars.
• Don’t drive through standing water if you see fallen power lines or electric wires nearby.
• If a power line or electric wire falls on your car, drive away from the wire. But don’t turn off the ignition, even if the engine stalls. Stay in your car and wait for emergency workers. Don’t let anyone other than emergency workers near your vehicle.

Survive Being Stuck in a Car in Snow

In addition to all-purpose roadside emergency kits, a few extra items may be useful in winter when you might encounter snow and ice:

• Ice scraper and snow brush
• Tire chains (where allowed or required)
• Rock salt, kitty litter, or sand (for extra traction)
• Wear warm clothing and boots (pack a change of clothing, including extra winter coat, mittens, and cap.)
• Colander to strain snow, a car kettle to warm it, and a large bowl to collect warmed water. Don’t drink cold water or snow!
• Chemical hand and body warmer packets

If stuck in snow:

• Conserve gas , but keep the car warm by turning on the engine every 15-20 minutes.
• Make sure the tailpipe is clear to avoid carbon monoxide poisoning .
• Stay warm by wrapping up in extra clothes and blankets and moving often .
• Hydrate with warmed water (your body can’t afford to lose heat on cold water or snow.)
• Extreme cold can reduce cellphone battery life, keep cell phones close to the body and limit use to stay connected.

Driving into the Desert

In addition to emergency car kits, increase your drinking water supplies if heading into the desert or in extreme heat conditions. Plan to have 2-3 liters of water per person, per day. 2-gallon water jugs with spigots are handy, as are refillable dromedaries. And keep one or more windshield sun shades in road kits as they can help keep parked cars cool. Regardless, NEVER leave pets or children unattended.

Keep in mind that cell reception in deserts is spotty at best. Gas stations are few and far between, so top off fuel tanks when you can, and pack more emergency supplies than you think you will need.

Don’t Try to Outrun a Tornado!

If you see signs of an approaching storm or you get a tornado alert, stop your vehicle. Don’t try to outrun a tornado and don’t park or hide under an overpass (winds are faster there.) Because motor vehicles are easily tossed by high winds, it’s best to abandon them. That’s your best course of action unless the roadway is the lowest ground you can get to. If that’s the case, buckle up, lower your head below the windows, and cover up with a blanket if available.

If you can safely get below road level, leave your vehicle and lie low, protecting your head as best as possible.

Brake for Earthquakes

If you feel an earthquake or you get an alert, stop the car as quickly and safely as possible. Park away from utility poles, overhead wires, and under or overpasses. Set the parking brake and stay in the car, monitoring the radio or cellphone for emergency broadcasts. If a power line falls on the car, remain in the vehicle until a trained person removes the wire.

Romantic Road Trips:

Are you ready for a road trip? We’ve got you covered with road trip travel guides, plus weekend getaway ideas all over the US.

• Prince Edward Road Trip For First Timers
• Nova Scotia Road Trip For Adventurous Romantics
• Drive Cross Country On US Route 6
• A Delightful Connecticut Coast Scenic Drive Itinerary

Sandra Foyt is a storyteller, road trip junkie, and award-winning travel photographer. A veteran of many cross-country road trips, she drove Route 66, the Lincoln Highway, the Fossil Freeway, the Extraterrestrial Highway, and even “The Loneliest Road in America.” Sandra is based in Upstate New York, with family homes in California and the Caribbean. Her work is influenced by tropical colors and warm relationships. And she believes that the best travel photography connects us across time, place, and culture.

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1 thought on “The Ultimate Car Survival Kit And Tips For Road Trips”

The article highlights the importance of having a car survival kit for safe and prepared driving, especially in remote locations or extreme weather. It provides a comprehensive list of essential items and emphasizes the importance of regular checkups to ensure all items are up-to-date. Thanks for sharing!

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The Ultimate Road Trip Packing List for a Smooth Ride

If you're hitting the open road for a long trip, you don't want to forget something important. This is your ultimate road trip packing list for everything you need - and some things you might have never thought of before. With these road trip necessities, you'll be prepared for every situation.

Make Road Trip Packing Easy

Know all the items you'll need for a great road trip, plus get our picks on extra items to make everything more comfortable and convenient, with this handy list. You can also use the printable version to check off what you've packed and add other items specific for your travel needs.

Basic, Vehicle, & Emergency Items

Before you pack the car with all the bags and items you'll want for the ride, make sure you've covered all the items you might need for traveling in a car and to be prepared for an emergency, whether it be a flat tire or a weather-related issue. (These are items that can also come in handy anytime, not just on long road trips.)

• Spare tire & changing kit
• Jumper cables
• IDs & car registration
• First aid kit
• Cash & spare change
• Flashlights and batteries
• Paper towels, wipes, & spare toilet paper
• Bag for trash

Ice scraper

Spare tire & changing kit.

You'll be spending a lot of time in your car for a lengthy road trip, so it's important to make sure you have everything you might need for an emergency. Equip your vehicle with a spare tire and a changing kit so you can replace a flat if you need to. Also, make sure you or someone else in the vehicle knows how to change a spare tire.

Jumper Cables

Speaking of emergencies, hopefully you won't need a jump on your exciting trip. But if you do, it's best to keep jumper cables in your trunk. It's much easier to find someone who can help jumpstart your car if you already have the cables on hand.

IDs & Car Registration

This might be an easy road trip item to remember, but it's worth a double check before you leave home. Make sure all of your IDs are on hand and your car's registration is within reach should you need it.

First Aid Kit

You have your car prepared for every unplanned situation. Make sure you also prepare your family for unexpected situations like minor injuries. A basic first aid kit helps you treat minor scrapes, burns, and other injuries that could happen in nearly every circumstance.

Cash & Spare Change

Debit cards are accepted virtually everywhere, but it's a good idea to have some spare change and cash on hand just in case. Tolls, rest stop vending machines, or gas stations might require cash in some areas and you'll be glad you came prepared.

Flashlights & Batteries

File this one under the emergency car item list. At least one flashlight, but preferably a few, comes in handy for late night stops, low-lit rest areas, or a tire change after sundown. Make sure you have a pack of batteries on hand as well.

Paper Towels, Wipes, & Toilet Paper

One thing you can count on for a long road trip is at least one mess in the car. Whether it's sticky fingers after a snack or a small spill, make sure you're prepared for small clean up jobs. Keep a roll of paper towels and a pack of baby wipes near the driver or passenger seat for those inevitable messes. Also keep a roll or two of toilet paper on hand for rest stop bathrooms that aren't fully stocked. A small bottle of all-purpose cleaner might also come in handy.

Food is important in case of an emergency, but water is essential. Keep a pack of water bottles in your trunk so you can stay hydrated in an unexpected situation. A stainless steel water bottle that's reusable is perfect for quenching your thirst during a long drive.

You know you won't forget your phone on a long road trip, especially if it's your source of tunes and directions. But you could easily forget your car charger. Make sure you have all of your device chargers accounted for before you hit the road.

Trash Can and/or Bags

Even a short drive might produce a bit of waste or trash. Keep a mini trash bin lined with a plastic bag in your car for keeping the space clutter-free. Have extra bags on hand so you can ditch the used bag at gas stations or rest stops and add a new bag to the bin.

Even if you never find a need for an ice scraper at home, you never know what sort of weather you could encounter during your travels. Pack a scraper for clearing your windshield on a frigid morning and look for one that also includes a brush for freeing your car of debris.

Extra Car Keys

Locking yourself out of the car is also an unplanned road trip obstacle that occurs more than you might think. If you have at least one other passenger with you, give them an extra car key to keep in their pocket. If you find yourself locked out at a pit stop, you'll have a spare key to get you back on track.

No one actually plans to run out of gas on the highway, but it happens. Keep a gas can in your car for an emergency trip to the gas station. For your road trip, you might have a bit of gas stored in the can, so you aren't going on a long hike if you run out of fuel. With a little gas on hand, you can top off your tank until you get to the next gas station.

No one wants it to rain on their road trip parade, but the weather is unpredictable. Keep an umbrella or two in your car for quick dashes inside a restaurant or other establishment should a downpour come your way.

You don't want to stop for every single meal, especially snack time, so keep some on hand. Having road trip snacks in the car is important for emergencies as well . If you find yourself stranded for any reason, you'll want something nutritious to keep your energy up.

Pack your favorite snacks for the drive but also keep a bag of emergency non-perishable food on hand for emergencies. Protein bars, granola, trail mix, and beef jerky will stay fresh for a while and give you a mini meal option if you need to improvise.

Items for Comfort & Convenience

Long road trips are loads of fun, but they can get uncomfortable after a few hours. Add some essential comfort items to your list and a few extras that make the trip feel more luxurious.

Small Cooler

• Blankets and hoodies
• Phone mount
• Eye masks and ear plugs

Sunglasses are famous for getting lost or breaking at the most inconvenient times. Pack an extra pair or two for yourself or any passengers who need to borrow some shades during the drive.

You may stop for most of your meals or just keep a reusable water bottle on hand for hydration, but a small cooler will still come in handy. Keep restaurant leftovers fresh and store a few chilled snacks and beverages for your trip in a small cooler that fits neatly into your back seat.

Blankets & Hoodies

Even if you're on your way to a warmer climate, some passengers might get chilly during the trip. Pack blankets and a hoodie for each person on the trip so everyone can stay warm with the air conditioning on blast or just feel comfortable during a car nap.

Passengers might want to tune out of your favorite podcast or just have some time alone with their thoughts on a long trip. A few pairs of headphones will keep passengers of all ages happy.

Phone Mount

If you're using your phone for a GPS or to play those road trip jams, do so safely. Use a hands-free mount to keep your phone on the dash so you can see your map, incoming calls, and other details without compromising the safety of your passengers.

Handheld Fans

Passengers might find your preferred temperature too warm or you could encounter an air conditioning issue along the way. With a few handheld fans , you'll keep everyone cool in any situation. A cooling fan is also helpful for calming motion sickness. This is another reason you'll want some extra batteries on hand.

Pillows & Car Pillows

Speaking of naps, you'll need a pillow if you want a good quality nap that doesn't strain your neck. Regular pillows are great, especially if you're packing them for your destination, anyway. Car or neck pillows are also helpful for keeping you cozy while you catch a snooze.

Eye Masks & Earplugs

Naps are inevitable for passengers on a long road trip and you make sure your fellow travelers are extra comfy when catching up on sleep. Eye masks to block out the light and earplugs to drown out the sounds of the road will help your passengers get some quality road trip rest.

It's not a road trip without some of your favorite travel tunes. Get everyone in on the playlist creating action and have a few options to choose from as you're making way down the road. You might also find podcasts or audiobooks to keep everyone entertained.

Health & Hygiene Items

For unexpected messes and freshening up between car naps, these items will help you feel clean and healthy throughout your trip.

• Medications
• Hygienic wipes
• Spare toiletry bag
• Laundry bag
• Plastic zip bags
• Toilet seat liners
• Mints and gum

Hand Sanitizer

Whether the rest stop bathroom is out of soap or you need to kill germs after a stop at the gas station, hand sanitizer is an actual life saver. Keep a bottle or two handy for stopping the spread of bacteria on your trip.

Bag With Medications

A zipper pouch - picture a small cosmetic bag - is perfect for packing all the medications you might need on your journey. Include all of your necessary prescriptions, of course, but don't forget to pack some of the over-the-counter medications you might find a use for. Pain killers, decongestants, antihistamines, and medications for nausea and indigestion are a few basics that could come handy.

Hygienic Wipes

A toiletry bag is helpful, but if you're trying to keep stops at a minimum, a pack of hygienic wipes will help you feel (and smell) like you were doing anything but sitting in a car for hours on end.

Some messes call for more than just a paper towel. Pack one towel for each passenger on your trip. This will come in handy for large messes, impromptu swims, torrential downpours, and catching crumbs during a road trip meal. Microfiber towels are useful for absorbing large amounts of liquids.

Fully Stocked Toiletry Bag

While you're thinking about ways to feel refreshed on your trip, pack a small toiletry bag. This would be a smaller, more compact version of the one in your suitcase. Keep it stocked with travel size essentials so you can freshen up at a rest stop or in a bathroom after a long drive.

Mesh Laundry Bag

Messes are bound to happen during your travels, and that includes spills and other messes on your clothes. A mesh laundry bag will help you keep soiled towels and clothing in one place until you can give them a wash at your destination.

Plastic Zipper Bags

Plastic zipper bags also help stash soiled clothing. The main reason you'll want to keep plastic bags on hand, though, is to keep leftover food items fresh or to seal away any garbage items that might produce an odor. Bags are also helpful for sharing snacks among passengers, so you don't have to pass around the same large bag of pretzels for everyone.

Mints & Gum

If your drive is long, especially overnight, you're going to want a quick and easy way to refresh your breath during stops. Gum and mints are a great way to feel fresh after a long drive or car ride snooze. Gum and mints also help you stay alert during a drive after sundown.

Toilet Seat Liners

If you really want to be prepared for any situation that might arise during your road trip, a few toilet seat liners will make you the travel prepping champion. You never know when you might end up at a rest stop or gas station that has a less-than-sanitary bathroom, but you just can't wait until the next stop. A few liners will help you feel secure wherever you take a restroom break.

Extra Road Trip Packing Items for Families

If you have kids in the back seat, your road trip might require more careful planning. This list will help you prepare for any sort of situation, including boredom. With the right items in tow, your kids will just be happy to be along for the ride.

• Back seat organizer
• Toddler potty/liners
• Window screens
• Backpack for each kid
• Games/word games
• Extra clothes
• White noise soundtrack
• Handheld vacuum
• Tablets and chargers
• Motion sickness bag

Back Seat Organizer

Kids are famous for untidying your perfectly tidy backseat during a long drive, but a backseat organizer will keep the clutter to a minimum. Plus, it's helpful for storing tons of your packing list items for easy reach. Snacks, wipes, games, and sunglasses all tuck away neatly in your organizer so kids can grab exactly what they need without disturbing the driver.

Toddler Potty & Liners

Kids are also famous for doubling the amount of stops you'll make on a road trip and asking for a bathroom break right in the middle of nowhere. Pack a portable potty - like the ones toddlers use for potty training - to make bathroom breaks quick and possible practically anywhere. Don't sweat over emptying the potty because you can bring disposable liners that actually absorb liquids and keep odors out until you can make a pit stop to toss them in the garbage.

Fast Food Trays

If you're making a list of must-have road trip items for kids, this one comes in second only to the portable potty (because that is truly a life save). A food tray that neatly sets in your child's lap or attaches to their booster seat helps them enjoy a meal on the go without getting most of it on your car's floor. You can also find middle console versions of food trays that will help you enjoy a meal while you drive.

Window Screens

Nap schedules are important no matter where you are and sticking to them is much easier when you can control the amount of light coming into the car. Window screens that block the sun will help dim the interior so your little one can grab a snooze.

A Backpack for Each Child

If you have kids of various ages or just need to stop potential arguments before they start, a backpack designated for each child comes in handy. Include a change of clothes, personalized snacks, favorite games, a blanket, and toiletries in the pack. This way, kids have access to their basic needs and an easy grab-and-go bag for pit stops.

Games without pieces or boards are the best games for long car rides . Plan for a few rounds of classic word and word association games. Choose a few games to fit each age group in the car so everyone enjoys the friendly competition.

Simple Games

Word games are great, but your kids might look for something more interactive to keep them entertained on the drive. A few car-friendly card games will help your kids play together and stay occupied as the hours roll by.

Extra Clothes

Accidents happen and with kids in the mix, those statistics double. Bring an extra change of clothes - one that isn't stuffed into the depths of a suitcase - for any little mishaps that might occur. For toddlers and babies, more than one extra outfit might be in order.

White Noise Soundtrack

You have the light covered for naps, but you might need to consider the sound as well. If your little one is accustomed to dozing to the sound of white noise or a sound machine, bring along a white noise soundtrack to make car naps as cozy as possible. You can use a CD or a playlist on your phone to drown out the sounds of big trucks and honking horns.

Handheld Vacuum

Snacks and meals in the car mean crumbs everywhere. A small handheld vacuum will save you from a cleaning overhaul after your trip. Keep one on hand for catching small messes as they happen or just freshening things up at pit stops.

Tablets & Chargers

When you run out of word games or you just want to listen to your own music for a change, you're going to want to break out the tablets. Screen time can be a lifesaver on long road trips. Make sure you have a tablet for each passenger and portable chargers to keep the entertainment going.

Motion Sickness Bags

Car sickness can strike at any time and you may not be in the perfect position to pull over when it does. Motion sickness bags will help contain the mess until you can safely pull over and address the issue.

Download Helpful Apps for Your Road Trip

You've packed everything and you're ready to go. Your family is practically bouncing off their seats in excitement. The final thing you need to do is download a couple of apps that make the trip easier and more fun.

Plan your entire trip for an organized journey with Roadtripper .

Use an app like Sleep Sounds to help little ones nap with noise or just help yourself stay calm and at ease in the middle of intense traffic jams.

Large coffee companies like Starbucks and Caribou Coffee have apps that help you track down a location for your caffeine emergencies while on the road.

Find the cheapest gas station along your route with GasBuddy.

Never miss an interesting attraction along the way with the Roadside America app.

Plan & Pack for a Stress-Free Road Trip

Whether you're traveling to a dream destination or just seeing where the road takes you, you can be be prepared for anything. The adventure of a road trip is much more exciting when you have a plan in place for any need you and your road trip pals might have.

The Essential Kid’s Road Trip Kit

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I am not sure if anything tests the limits of my patience more than a long road trip with my children. “Are we there yet?” “I need to go potty.” “The baby is touching me.” It just never seems to end. We go through all of this to create memories with our family. Sometimes road tripping is a preference, sometimes it is a budget saver, and sometimes it is just the best way to do a certain vacation. Either way, road-tripping with kids takes a little extra thought if we want to keep everyone happy and keep our sanity. The one thing I have found helps us make road trips fun and keeps me sane is having a kid’s road trip kit.

I have tried a lot of different items on our road trips (we average 2 long ones each year with several shorter ones thrown in) and I have found that there are some essential items you must have. You can add on to them, but this is a great base kit for any road trip with your child. I am so excited to share it with you today, and a few extra hacks/tips as well.

What To Put In Your Kid’s Road Trip Kit

Depending on the age of your child this may vary. You will still take the same basic items most likely, but you will just tailor them to the age of your child.

Kids Road Trip Activities & Snacks

• Books . Something for your child to read while you are driving, filling up on gas, or even when you get to the hotel. With the babies we took bath tub books so if they chewed on them it wasn’t a big deal (affiliate link). When the Goof was a toddler, we chose board books so we didn’t have to worry much about pages being ripped. Now he takes his learning to read and other books that have more depth and story to them.
• Coloring Books & Crayons . A variation of the books, this is great for kids who may get a little motion sickness if they try to read in the car but do okay with coloring. This is a great one for them to do while you put on some great music. We have a whole playlist called Kids Road Trip Music that we put on. We all sing along and the Goof colors.
• Toys . Books will only get you so far. Bring some toys that can be used in the car. Our last trip we brought toddler cars for our babies, hot wheels for the Goof. Chew toys were a great hit and the Goof brought some action figures. Make sure not to bring anything big or bulky and I never bring a favorite toy that is not replaceable. It would be awful to forget it or lose it somewhere and have to deal with that melt down when you get home.

• Snacks . Make sure to have snacks for your kid. You can use them as a reward or to ward off hunger until the next stop. I will talk more about packing the snacks below, but right now I want to talk about snack choices. Pick snacks that are easy to clean up. By this I mean can be vacuumed. Chocolate or hard candies can melt and either stick to things or stain it. We usually stick with crackers, cheeses, chips, etc.
• Something to measure time . The most annoying question you will hear on a road trip with kids is “Are we there yet?” when it is asked every 5 minutes. Take something to measure time so your child knows about how long is left. (I will share our no clock needed system in a moment.)
• Electronics & Headphones . You don’t need to give your kids free reign of these items, but taking electronics can be a life saver on day 3 of a week long road trip, or hour 14 of a 15 hour drive. We actually have limited the Goof’s use of electronics (iPad and PS Vita) to road trips or hospital stays, so it is a special treat for him to get to use them. We have headphones so that we do not have to hear his games or movies he has on, and we can still listen to music. We also have a parental control on his electronics so they time out so he can only play them for a certain amount of time.
• Rest Stop Energy Burners! If you have young kids, you know they have a lot of energy (I wish we could bottle that up and use it as adults.) I find it is really important to have something to help them burn off energy in our kid’s road trip kit. Put a frisbee, ball, or even bubbles in your kit so that you can use them at rest stops and have the kids run around and burn off some energy.
• Pillow and blanket . Have something to help make your child comfortable, and also to help them sleep. If we are driving early morning or over night, we usually keep the car pretty cool to help keep the driver alert (don’t worry we pull over if they aren’t). A blanket helps keep the kiddos warm. A pillow is great, especially for kiddos who may be out of car seats with head rests/supports.

That is the basic kid’s road trip kit. You can add on to it or adapt it to fit your child. Now that you know what goes in it, let’s figure out the next part…

How to Pack Your Kid’s Road Trip Activities and Snacks (Storage Tips)

Getting the items is only half the battle. Packing the items is a big challenge. Especially when you have children that are still in car seats that sit in the back row of a minivan or SUV, or when you are tight on space. I am going to share how we pack our items, and hopefully it will spark an idea for you on packing your kit. Here are a few ideas for you.

• Hanging back seat organizers. These are great for kids who can reach the back of the seat in front of them while staying properly buckled in their seats. They take up very little space so they are also great for families who have a tight fit in their car.
• Car office organizers/gear organizers . I got this one from Disney Social Media Moms On The Road several years ago and I absolutely adore it. It is supposed to be a “office organizer” but I use it as our kid’s road trip kit center. It fits everything The Goof, and even the babies may need. I really like this one on Amazon as well (affiliate link), and it is one we have used when we have traveled with nieces and nephews.

• Crayons. This one is one of my favorite “hacks” I share with people. I actually came up with this for our church bag, but carried it over to travel several years ago. You know those Tootsie Roll Banks? You can usually find them at the dollar store. Simply take the tootsie rolls out and use it to hold crayons!

One Other Cool Tip

I mentioned that it is important to have a way for your kids to measure time. This has really saved my sanity. But it took me a long time to figure out how to do this with kids who did not get the concept of time. I actually came up with this idea for a road trip with the Goof and our niece and nephew. Three kids, none of which could tell time back then (let alone understand the concept of a multi-hour drive) and constantly asked “are we there yet?” On the way home, I decided something had to change. I now do this for all of my trips. Are you ready to see what it is?

We ran a ribon across the back (using either the handles or wardrobe hooks) and we print out a car (or draw our own) and punch holes in it. We put the ribbon through the car picture and we put marks on it to represent each stop or each hour. Then we move the car across the ribbon. The kids can see how far we have come versus how far we have left. We let them take turns moving it. Ever since that trip, we have done it with most trips with the Goof and it really helps, and it gives him something to look forward to at each stop. On the way back, you can either drive the car in reverse, or move it back and start over.

Hopefully your next road trip will be a little easier now that you know the essentials for your kid’s road trip kit. Do you have anything you would add to the kit? Leave a comment below letting me (and others) know.

7 thoughts on “The Essential Kid’s Road Trip Kit”

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I LOVE your “Are we there yet?” solution! There’s a photo on my post of our similar “countdown”, but it was very specific to the trip we took. I love the versatility of that cute little car driving it’s way across the ribbon.

Our road trip kit is almost identical. We take it on every road trip. My kids are a little older so I made individual binders with wipe off sheet protectors. It’s so important to have enough for the kids to do.

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Car Roadside Emergency Kit, Vehicle Truck Safety Road Side Assistance Kits Auto Accessory, with Jumper Cables, First Aid Kit, Tow Rope, Reflective Triangle, Tire Pressure Gauge, etc

Essential Kit

Essential Kit + Air Compressor

Essential Kit + Repair Tool Set

Purchase options and add-ons

• 【Always Safe on the Road】 To help you deal with most possible accidents, we provide this compact and practical roadside emergency kit including Jumper Cables, Tow Rope, Safety Hammer, Reflective Warning Triangle, Reflective Safety Vest, Tire Pressure Gauge, Safety Gloves, Mechanical Flashlight, Tire Repair Tools, Screwdriver, Rain Coat, PVC Tape and Cables Ties.
• 【Multipurpose Roadside Assistance】 It's a great kit for most auto emergencies if your car, truck or RV breaks down on the road such as in winter weather, road trips, dead battery, minor breakdown and other driving accidents. It’s a matter of staying safe and always being prepared wherever you are.
• 【Easy-to-Carry】 This auto emergency kit comes in a small bag that fits anywhere in your trunk, backseat or spare tire compart. All the tools and accessories are listed on the bag, A detailed manual help you find what you need easily and quickly. It's lightweight, compact and yet still holds everything you need for life’s unexpected events.
• 【A Wonderful Gift】 As a useful and necessary kit, it's an amazing gift for first-time car owners and those drivers who are not fully prepared for their road trips. Imagine how much they will appreciate you if you get them something that truly comes in handy in an emergency situation.
• 【Safety Guarantee】 Every single accessory in this emergency kit is safe and of premium quality. Made of 8-gauge copper wire this jumper cables will get your car back on track quickly, everyone should have one of these in each of their vehicles. The entire auto package is covered by our unlimited satisfaction guarantee.

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Product Description

Why do you need a car emergency kit Car emergency kit, do you have it? Now the car has become our main way of transportation, brought great convenience to our lives. Inevitably, our trip always encounter a series of problems, such as anchoring, puncture, etc. If you just wait for someone to rescue, you can only delay the time and may bring a series of unsatisfactory follow-up problems Exactly, you need a superior emergency roadside assistance kit to provide a premium level of protection for you and your family

Product information

Technical details, additional information, warranty & support, what's in the box.

• First Aid Kit

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Looking for specific info, customer reviews.

Customer Reviews, including Product Star Ratings help customers to learn more about the product and decide whether it is the right product for them.

To calculate the overall star rating and percentage breakdown by star, we don’t use a simple average. Instead, our system considers things like how recent a review is and if the reviewer bought the item on Amazon. It also analyzed reviews to verify trustworthiness.

Customers say

Customers like the quality, value, compactness and portability of the auto accessory. They mention that it has the essentials and is a good investment. Some appreciate the portability and say it's a great gift for new teen drivers.

AI-generated from the text of customer reviews

Customers like the quality of the auto accessory. They mention it's a very complete set, has the essentials, and is a good kit for the road. Some say that the kit includes a few bandages.

"Gave my new teen drivers each one of these for their cars. Has all the necessities ." Read more

"...It's insurance for potential roadside problems . We have roadside assistance with our insurance, but they can take a while to reach the scene...." Read more

"This looks like a good emergency kit. I especially like the first aid kit and the air compressor...." Read more

"I ordered 3 of these emergency kits and they look nice . Jumper cables are small but will probably do the job." Read more

Customers appreciate the value of the auto accessory. They say it's a quality kit without the high cost, a good investment, and reasonable great items for new drivers.

"...It was very reasonably priced and something everyone with kids should definitely have in their vehicle..." Read more

"...It is a good balance between cost and value , and I would give it as a gift...." Read more

"...I will say I am very impressed because not only is it a great price I know that if my girlfriend broke down and no one was available she’d easily be..." Read more

"...Everything seems like very nice quality and it was a great purchase for the money for peace of mind." Read more

Customers are satisfied with the compactness of the auto accessory. They mention that it comes in a nice, compact bag that doesn't take up too much space. They also say that it holds everything in s nice little bag that can be easily put.

"...It comes in a nice, compact bag that doesn't take up too much space , considering everything inside it...." Read more

"Has all the necessary items to handle an emergency on the road. Is compactly packed . Hope I never have to use it, but if I have too, I’m ready." Read more

"Very organized and compact - I feel prepared for a 13 hour road trip now should anything go amiss!" Read more

"The kit was pretty nice, it held everything in a nice little bag that can be easily put underneath the car seat or even in the glove box if needed...." Read more

Customers like the gift. They say it's a great gift for a new teen driver, and practical for anyone with a car. Some mention that the gift is packed in a good pack.

"... Very practical gift for anyone that has a car!" Read more

" Great gift for a new teen driver . Gives us as parents a little piece of mind knowing if he needs anything in an emergency he has it...." Read more

" Great gift for teen " Read more

"...5 star quality, you get items you normally wouldn't have, all packed in a great pack . The cables work, as do everything else...." Read more

Customers find the auto accessory great to have in their car at all times. They also say it's a great asset for all vehicles, perfect to leave in the trunk, and perfect for highway driving. Customers also mention that the bag is sturdy and is perfect for travel safety.

" Great to have in your car at all times!" Read more

"... Perfect to leave in the trunk ." Read more

"This kit is great to keep in the car just in case...." Read more

" Great to keep n the car !" Read more

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Times of India TIMESOFINDIA.COM / TRAVEL TRENDS , WORLD / Created : Apr 26, 2024, 09:00 IST

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Exciting road trips require meticulous planning. Choose destination, plan route using GPS. Budget-friendly accommodations. Ensure vehicle maintenance, pack light, stay flexible. Bring emergency kit, pack versatile clothing, entert … Read more

Exciting road trips require meticulous planning. Choose destination, plan route using GPS. Budget-friendly accommodations. Ensure vehicle maintenance, pack light, stay flexible. Bring emergency kit, pack versatile clothing, entertainment options, embrace detours. Read less

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Exciting road trips require meticulous planning. Choose destination, plan route using GPS. Budget-friendly accommodations. Ensure vehicle maintenance, pack light, stay flexible. Bring emergency kit, p...