Road trips can either be really great, or a really big hassle. It’s all about the trip and how prepared you are before you hit the road. Personally, we love road trips but we’ve also nailed down exactly how to make the miles in the car work for our family.

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If you plan to hit the road this summer, here is a quick list of my personal recommendations to make the experience incredible.

1. Food Storage

Believe it or not, you will quickly get tired of eating out. Now, we still like to sit down for one meal a day, but we’re definitely not hitting a drive-thru every 4-5 hours. Actually, eating like that makes you bloated and tired, making the time in the car much worse.

• Pack a hard-sided tote for shelf-stable food.
• Get a Bread Buddy (trust me, you’ll need it).
• Find a way to keep food cold. A quality insulated cooler with ice packs works well, but something that you can plug into the car is even better.

Here’s the deal. This plugin cooler is the next best thing to a real refrigerator. It comes with DC and AC power adapters and draws just 45W of power on average (less than 1KwH per day). You could spend a small fortune in ice and constantly fight trying to keep your food dry with a cooler full of half-melted ice water during the entire trip. Or, you could try something different.

💡 Road Trip Idea: Explore Historic Route 66 in Missouri

2. Technology Accessories

Somehow, leaving home always means that someone forgets a charger. Or, worse, they initially bring it only to leave it behind at one of the stops.

• Extend Power Reach to the Backseat with an Extra Long USB-C Lightning Cords
• Keep Your Laptop Powered with a 12V Power Inverter
• Keep a Plan B Easily Accessible with a Portable Battery Bank
• Add more places to plug in with a car charger adapter
• Use this portable power station to bulk up your power options

3. Car-Friendly Organization

The next big frustration in the car is the lack of space. Keeping everything clean and organized is the best way to make the trip as enjoyable as possible. The worst part about being on the road is that you’re confined to a small space for an extended period of time.

• Universal Car Seat Hooks for Hanging Organizers and Media
• Free up more interior space with a rooftop cargo carrier.
• This car-sized waste receptacle that actually fits!
• Corral the stuff with a trunk organizer.

💡 Road Trip Idea: Explore Northwest Arkansas

4. Emergency Car Travel Road Trip Essentials

Trust me when I say, the time to realize that your two-year-old gets car sick is not 10 miles across the Tennessee state line. Same principles apply if your kid is prone to bumps, cuts, scrapes, allergic reactions, or other ‘less than ideal’ situations.

• Don’t leave home without some disposable nausea bags to catch the worst of it.
• I also keep a small, portable first aid kit in the car.

>> Shop all car sickness essentials 

With these road trip essentials, your time spent on the go will be so much more enjoyable! And with more time together, you can focus on making more memories while sharing great experiences.

Download the Roadtrippers App and start planning your adventure today!