Top 5 Most Used Items on Our 7 Week Road Trip
This post contains affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.
Thank you for supporting my family.
7 weeks on the road with two kids under the age of 5 is not for the faint of heart. We are fortunate that our kids are great travelers and have been taking long road trips since birth. There are so many tips, tricks and hacks that I have after taking on this adventure, but first I wanted to share some of the items that really helped us stay organized and entertained along the way. I have a section of my Amazon store dedicated to road trip must haves, but these are the top five that made our 7 week road trip so much easier.
This bungee clothesline has been a lifesaver more than once. In fact, we travel with two. When we are camping, we often link two together to string them between trees. When staying in cabins or RVs, we can string these between the support beams on the front porch or on the arms of the RV awning. They will also work inside hotel bathrooms or closets to allow you to dry out bathing suits so you are not packing wet suits in your luggage on moving day.
This iPad mount was a lifesaver this summer. We have found that our kids (and us) do best when we don’t have more than 6 hours of travel time per day. However, sometimes our planned route and/or traffic make that impossible, and we need to plan accordingly. Do not come at me about screen time. When we have long travel days, screen time is unlimited and encouraged. Our kids log an extraordinary amount of outdoor time, so when we need to get from Point A to Point B with minimal meltdowns, the iPad gets mounted up and we are on our way.
Tote bins will be your best friend on a long road trip. I have been using these for years for camping, but it was not until this year that I realized how great they are for road trips. When we drove from Northern Michigan to Key West, we had several one night stops. Before leaving Michigan, I packed a tote for each night’s stop. Instead of dragging suitcases and duffle bags in and out of a hotel for a quick one night (usually less than 12 hour) stay, we grabbed one bin, our toiletry tote and we were inside with minimal effort. The fact that they are see-through and can be stacked and unstacked easily, makes these a great way to organize the back of our minivan.
Our van gets messy very quickly, especially with the amount of time we spend in it. We find these to be a great way to organize each child’s toys, games and technology. At each stop I do a quick garbage sweep, and toss their belongings back into their seatback organizers. This allows us to start fresh every few hours. I will usually keep bins in the trunk area with new toys, books and games so they can be swapped out periodically.
This rooftop carrier does not fit into my typical theme of budget travel, but this is a splurge you will want to save up for. We drive a Toyota Sienna minivan and previously used one of the travel bags that can be mounted to the roof rack. My husband is extremely tall and still hated the thing. Despite his height, loading and unloading from the bag was a pain, and if it rained, forget it. Despite his best efforts, things ended up damp or dripped on when trying to load and unload. Our Yakima was a game changer. The top pops up easily and offers some protection if it’s actively raining. Items slide easily in and out and on the off chance my husband in not with me, I can easily retrieve items from up top.
I hope you find these items as helpful as we have. As always, check out our social media for more info about our travels, more travel tips and ideas for your next adventure!
Check out more road trip essentials from The Dinkum Tribe: https://dinkumtribe.com/road-trip-essentials-for-a-new-vehicle/