“No services for the next 120 miles.”
What?! David and I looked at each other. “It might have been nice if they had posted that sign BEFORE we left the last town over 20 miles ago,” I grumbled. David just laughed. He wasn’t worried. Why? Because he makes sure we are prepared for most contingencies.
(We are not affiliated with any of these products and receive no income from recommending them. We are just sharing the products that we like and use.)
Why Do You Need to Carry Certain Items?
What would you do if you were miles from the nearest town or service station and you were hungry or thirsty?
What would you do if you had a low-tire warning while you were driving on a back road?
What if you stopped at a roadside park for lunch, and when you got back to your car, it wouldn’t start because the battery died?
What would you do if you were stranded in your car overnight?
When traveling the backroads, these are all questions you need to think about before you set out on a trip.
While you can’t prepare for every single issue in travel, there are many that you can be ready for and carry in your car. Making a checklist can help ensure you have everything before leaving on your trip.
What Eight Items Do We Recommend Keeping in Your Car?
Here are the eight things we recommend to always carry in your car:
- Water. Never be without bottles of water in your car. It can be a long way to any resources and you can get very thirsty on very hot days. Another consideration is that your car could overheat and need some water to continue.
- Food. This is an easy one, just make sure it’s not all junk food. You won’t feel very good if all you brought is sugary food and you’re stuck for a while before you can get to real food. If you can carry a cooler, that’s great for some fruit and sandwich meat, along with your cold water.
- Cookstove. You might want something more substantial than sandwiches, or you might simply want to brew your own coffee. We carry a few cans of food, such as stew or chili. David likes to stop at a rest area and brew a cup of coffee rather than pay for one at a convenience store. He’ll also heat some cocoa for me on a cool day. To cook, however, you need a little camp stove. We carry a small bag with the camp stove and paper plates, bowls, etc. This habit was a trip-saver after we went to the Meriwether Lewis site on the Natchez Trace. There were no restaurants or convenience stores around and I was getting beyond hungry. We sat at a picnic table enjoying a hearty lunch before heading on down the Trace (where we discovered it was a long way to food that direction as well.)
4. Small air compressor. Traveling on the back roads, you can run into any number of issues that can affect your tires. We carry the Viair Heavy-Duty Air Compressor to fill the tire and get us to the next stop to have it checked out if needed.
5. Jump Starter. A battery might die for any number of reasons. Someone once helped us with this GOOLOO Jump Starter so we bought one to keep in the car. It’s very convenient and works great.
6. Blankets. A few times when it was getting late and we were getting tired, we considered pulling over and sleeping long enough to get some rest and so we could then continue on driving safely. We haven’t had to do that yet, but we keep small blankets in the car just in case.
7. First Aid or Trauma Kit – You may simply need a Band-aid for a small cut, or need a tourniquet for a major injury.
8. Bathroom Needs. Some of us don’t mind “going” off in the bushes, some of us do. I recently ordered a “Family Portable Toilet” from Amazon. It’s small and lightweight and takes up very little space in the car. I was a little nervous as some reviews said it leaked but most said that wasn’t an issue. So, the first thing I did was pour water in it to test it out and I can report that it did not leak. While we will bring it along, I hope to never use it…
BONUS TIP:
ALWAYS make sure to fill your car with gas when you can. We make it a habit to never let the car get below ½ tank. You may think the next town will have an open gas station, but anything can happen.
The Benefit of Traveling Prepared
While we don’t need all these items every trip, and haven’t had to use all of them, we travel with less worry knowing that we’ve tried to account for various contingencies, because it’s always better to have them and not need them, than need them and not have them.
We hope these tips will help make your next backroads trip relaxing and enjoyable, knowing that you’ve prepared yourself as well as you can for whatever happens along the way.
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