What’s a Road Trip Carry-On and Why Do I Need One?

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When it comes to road trips, we aren’t the neatest travelers. Oftentimes, we travel with more bags than we can carry in one trip to the car (Because, why wouldn’t you? That’s the best perk of driving!) and we fill the backseat of my Corolla to the brim with bags, boxes, coolers, you name it. As we start to drive, the contents of the backseat begins to shift. No, I’m not one to weave between cars in traffic, but we do find ourselves reaching into the backseat often to find snacks, chargers, water bottles, or whatever else we need to stay content while we travel. Things don’t get packed back up as nicely when we’re driving down the interstate, most of the time we’re lucky if it gets into a bag at all.

Sound familiar?

If not, I truly envy you. I would love to learn your secrets for packing things up in the exact same way as when you packed it the first time. Maybe I can master the art of interstate-packing some day, but in the meantime, I’ve created a fool-proof packing plan that has saved us the chaos in the backseat.

The road trip carry-on.

Packing for a road trip with my Target luggage set. — Packing our bags for our most recent adventure. Utilizing each variety of luggage size in our set helps to keep things organized.

A road trip carry-on is exactly what it sounds like. It is a carry-on bag for your car. Just like in a plane, your checked baggage goes underneath, and your carry-on comes with you. In the case of a road trip, your checked bags are the ones that go in your trunk, and the carry-on gets to ride in the back seat. Simple enough, but this is the part that takes a little planning.

The idea is that you will never need to go into your trunk for anything all day. The only things that should be in there are your clothes, maybe extra shoes, toiletries, a tent, anything you aren’t going to be using at any point during the day.

Your carry-on bag should be organized, easy to open, small enough to schlep from the back seat to the front and then back again, and it should have everything you need for a day of driving.

What kinds of things should you pack in your road trip carry-on? It’s completely dependent on the things you use, but if you’re packing one for the first time, here are my best suggestions for you:

1. All your Chargers!

Don’t just stop at phone chargers. Think beyond that. Does your tablet use a different charger? What about your camera? What about a fit bit? Anything that you could need a charge for, go ahead and stick them in the bag. They don’t take up a lot of room, and you’ll thank yourself later.

2. Road Trip Snacks, Waters, Lunch

When we take a Road Trip, we typically pack our cooler with sandwiches for lunch, water bottles, and any cold snacks like fruit or cheeses. Separately, we will have a bag of our favorite snack, Veggie Straws, or my go-to road trip craving, Swedish Fish. Usually it is a good idea to have a few high-protein granola bars on hand, too, in case you end up a little further from your dinner destination than anticipated. We pack all of this up into a reusable grocery bag for easy transporting.

Back seat of car during a road trip. Organized road trip, keeping only the essentials accessible. — The backseat of our car during a road trip. Everything is organized and easy to access, only the essentials are accessible during the drive.

3. Camera

If you use more than just your phone to document your travels, be sure to have that camera accessible at all times. If you can, keep it in the back seat in order to maximize your leg room, but be sure it is quickly accessed when needed. (Just not while driving, of course.) Check to be sure your charger is at the ready for your camera.

4. A Sweatshirt

If you’re traveling in the fall through the spring, in the desert, or to any place with temperatures colder than what you’re used to, it is always a good idea to have something a little warmer ready to throw on. The desert can be especially misleading because even though temperatures could be touching 100 during the day, it could drop into the 50s at night. You’ll want to be prepared for that shift if it occurs without having to dig through your suitcase.

The same goes for rain jackets if you’re traveling to an area that is prone to rain. Keep it ready, just in case.

5. Audio books, Podcasts, or Music

When driving for ten hours at a time, you’re going to need some entertainment. If you don’t keep these on your phone, you’re going to want to make sure your alternative device is also at the ready. Be sure you have your audio book, podcast, or music already downloaded before leaving. Don’t count on being able to stream it on the open road. Now is also a great time to check and make sure you have the charger you need for this device.

6. Copies of your Reservations

Maybe I’m the only dinosaur here who still prints out my reservations and road trip plans instead of keeping them in my cluttered email inbox or in planning apps, but I just feel so much better about having everything in front of me, not contingent on having a signal. I love to have information about the places we are heading and a hotel confirmation (if we know where we’re staying) printed out and ready to answer any questions that might pop up during the drive.

Implementing the road trip carry-on system has made our drives much smoother. We no longer pull off to the side of the road to fetch a phone charger out of the trunk. We never tear apart our entire suitcase trying to find the one hoodie we packed at the bottom of the bag. Keeping the things you need accessible and separated from the things you don’t need will make your next road trip go a lot smoother.