You may have the best intentions when you get in your car and start driving, but if you plan for only some of the possible situations that could arise on a road trip, you might find yourself in an emergency. When planning for emergencies, it’s better to be prepared than sorry! Here are some items that every traveller should keep in their vehicle at all times:
kitchen slides
You’ll need kitchen slides to make meals on the road. A kitchen slide will allow you to set up a kitchen anywhere within minutes.
The items for your portable kitchen should include the following:
- A small cooler to store ingredients and food that needs to be kept cold (such as milk and meat).
- A portable stove (or two) with fuel.
- Pots, pans, spoons and other cooking utensils like spatulas and tongs. If there are only two of you in the car—one driver and one passenger—you can use just one pot for cooking and eating out of it and a single spoon for stirring soup or pasta sauce while driving down the highway at 70 miles per hour!
Below is an example of how much space these items take up when packed together:
Biodegradable soaps and garbage bags
Biodegradable soaps and garbage bags will help you keep the environment clean. This is important because littering can harm animals, especially marine life. If you throw away your trash improperly, there may be a chance that animals could mistake it for food and eat it. By remembering to use biodegradable soaps and garbage bags, you can avoid this problem entirely by disposing of your trash properly.
- Biodegradable soaps are better for the environment because they don’t harm wildlife if they enter their habitat or water supply.
- Garbage bags are essential on any road trip because they allow you to keep your car clean during long drives through different locations with different people visiting along the way.
A tent
Generally, you should choose a large enough tent for your group size. If you’re travelling with other people, make sure they also have their own tents. The most important thing to remember is:
- Size up the space in your car before buying a tent!
If there’s not much room left after all your bags, don’t buy a vast tent and try to squeeze it into the trunk. This can be dangerous on bumpy roads—and who wants to risk everything just because they thought it would be fun?
Bedding for your tent (sleeping bags, air mattresses, pillows and blankets)
- Sleeping bags
- Air mattresses
- Pillows
- Blankets
First-aid kit (Band-Aids, Neosporin, any medications you or a family member might need)
You should always have a first-aid kit in your car. Make sure it’s well stocked with Band-Aids, moleskin, gauze and tape, Neosporin or other antibiotic ointments and medications you or your family members may need (such as Tylenol).
If you’re driving long distances with children or older adults, purchase a small ice chest for the backseat where they can keep their drinks cold.
Sunscreen and bug spray
Be sure to pack a couple of bottles of sunscreen and bug spray. Don’t let the fact that you’re driving through a desert fool you: it’s still important to protect yourself from the sun. Also, while we’ve already mentioned how much fun it can be to see how far away from the highway you can stand when there aren’t any bugs around, no one wants to end up with bites all over their arms and face just because they were curious.
As far as quantity goes: start small with one bottle each of sunscreen and bug spray before deciding whether or not it’s worth bringing more than that; otherwise, make sure that those two items don’t take up too much space inside your car!
You need to bring an emergency kit and kitchen basics on a road trip.
If you have a car and you’re going to be driving somewhere, you need to bring some supplies. You cannot just leave your home without food or water. If something happens where your car breaks down or someone gets hurt, these basic supplies can help save the day, and kitchen slides will allow you to cook anywhere.
Road trips are a great way to get away from it all. The only thing you need to do right now is pack up your supplies and hit the road! To know more about what we recommend, check out our article on essentials for outdoor adventures.