Road Trip Checklist: Everything You Need to Plan for a Memorable Family Car Trip

Traveling by car has its own advantages over any other means of transport, especially if you are traveling with family. The kind of flexibility and privacy it affords, no other means of transport comes even close! With roads and infrastructure improving in most of the countries around the world, more and more families are taking to the road for their journeys. This fact is accentuated by dramatic improvements in automobile technology and the use of automation in cars. The pleasure of cruising in your car with family or friends, especially when you are in full control of your situation is unsurmountable. All you would need is a good road trip checklist to prepare you well for the journey.

In order to ensure that your entire road trip turns out to be a memorable experience, there are a few things that need to be carefully planned before you hit the road. Often times, road trips are planned impromptu, giving you very less time to properly plan the journey. Even with road trips planned well in advance, there are chances that some important aspects of the planning may be missed out in excitement which is all but human.

I am an avid traveler and prefer to travel by car wherever I am traveling within the country and have created a road trip checklist that I have used for many years with updates after every trip to its current, near-perfect version. I am glad to share it with you all and am sure if you follow this road trip checklist, it is very likely you will return with the same broad smile on your face you had when you left!! In order to cover all aspects of planning to travel by car, I have divided the checklist into three sections, namely, Getting The Car Ready, Documentation & Compliances, and Passenger Comfort. Let’s go over each of them one by one.

1. Getting The Car Ready

This is the first priority in the entire road trip checklist because the car is going to be your home for the next few days in transit, besides doing its main job of transporting you and family safely and comfortably. Here are the checkpoints;

1.1 Get your car serviced

Pay attention to wheel alignment & balancing. Check engine oil, oil filter, transmission oil, coolant level. Evaluate the car’s wipers, both front and rear for any squeaks or tracks. Check all the electricals and lights. Ask the service center to evaluate brakes and various drives belts for their road worthiness. Checking door seals will help maintain proper cabin temperature and keep the water out. Proper functioning of central locking is important to ensure safety of your car and the valuables in it, especially when you park it overnight in hotel parking. Finally get the air-conditioning checked thoroughly, see if it needs refrigerant top up and ask for a through clean before you take your car out.

1.2 Infotainment System

Since you will be spending a lot of time in the car and after the initial excitement, many members, especially the children will start getting restless and bored. Ensure the infotainment system of the car is functioning properly to take care of the boredom.

1.3 Check the tyres

The car tyres are going to the bear the brunt of the entire journey and the road conditions. Plus the tyres will keep you safe so if it is a long journey and the tyres are in not so good condition, consider replacing them.

1.4 Update the car’s navigation app

We faced problems during our recent car journey because we did not remember to install the latest version of the in dash navigation app and as a result, we had to rely on google on maps on phone screens which is a little distracting sometimes.

1.5 Dash Cam

A good dash cam will capture all your beautiful drives and be your savior in case of an untoward incident. Dash cam footage enhances the strength of your case with law enforcement and insurance.

1.6 Other Equipment

Make sure the car has its own lifting jack, spare wheel (good condition), and tool kit. It is always better to invest in a portable air compressor that runs on the car\’s 12 V socket. This will come in handy when you suddenly have a deflated tyre. Remember to keep a hazard reflector and some old newspapers or a mat, should you need to change a tyre on the highway. 

Pro Tip – If you are taking on a long journey through highways and country roads, its better to replace nitrogen with normal air in your tyres. That way, you might be able to top up air pressure even at places that do not have nitrogen, plus you can use the portable air compressor to top up air pressure yourself. Searching for nitrogen becomes tricky, especially on interior roads.

2. Documentation & Compliances

If you are traveling long distances, it is likely you will cross many district or provincial borders. In order to have a smooth passage at these borders and even otherwise, ensure that the following documentation is in place.

2.1 Vehicle Documents

Registration certificate, valid pollution control certificate, vehicle insurance (comprehensive), roadside assistance (RSA) package, road tax receipt are the basic vehicle documents that you will require to produce whenever demanded by the law enforcement for travel within the country.

2.2 Driving License

Valid driving license for all the people who will be driving. In case only one person is going to drive, ensure that there is at least one more person who can drive, with a valid driving license, in case of any emergency.

2.3 Identity Documents

Please ensure to carry identity documents for all the people traveling in the car. Additionally don’t forget to carry everyone’s passport and visa in case of international travel by road.

2.4 Vaccination Status

During the times of Coronavirus Pandemic, many governments are insisting on vaccination completion certificates to allow entry into their jurisdictions. Check the travel related guidelines to the places you plan to visit and carry relevant pandemic related documents.

2.5 Highway Toll Tags

With most of the highway tolls now automated, it is important to ensure your car has a valid RFID tag with enough funds so that you can have a smooth passage at tollgates.

3. Passenger Comfort

The whole purpose of undertaking a long trip by road in your car is to enjoy the journey. It is important to not ignore the planning for passenger comfort, in the absence of which, the road trip can quickly become a nightmare. Here are the pointers;

3.1 Packing

Pack your stuff that you are not going to need during the time on road in separate bags and stash them at the bottom in the boot of the car. Only keep stuff that you are going to need on the road or night halts in separate bags and they can be with you in the passenger cabin for easy access.

3.2 Car Humidifier

The air-conditioning system will keep you comfortable and dust free during the entire trip. However, one downside is that it makes the cabin air very dry that can become bothersome. Use of a car humidifier can help maintain stable humidity levels in the cabin, keeping everyone feeling fresh and healthy.

3.4 Car Invertor

Instead of fussing about different cables and car chargers and then the competition to get juice for your device on the limited outlets, its better to keep a car inverter that can use the normal wall chargers to keep all your devices juiced up and for everyone at the same time.

3.5 Medicine Kit

Believe me, this is one packing item, you should never leave home without, especially when embarking on a car journey with family.

3.6 Window Shades

When driving on long straight stretches of highway, chances are the sun will beat down on the occupants facing the sun. Carry magnetic window blinds that stick to the car doors from inside and make the cabin very comfortable, without compromising on visibility.

3.7 Payment Options

 While on the road with family, there are situations when you need multiple options to make payments. Keep enough cash with you, keep your e-wallets funded and a couple of credit cards. Ensure to keep payment avenues spread across multiple passengers in the car to mitigate the risk of having to depend on only one person cashiering the entire trip. This is to avoid being left high and dry without money in the event of a wallet or a mobile phone getting lost.

3.8 Miscellaneous

There is a lot of miscellaneous stuff that often gets forgotten during the hectic activity of packing for a road trip. The exact list of these miscellaneous items will depend upon the passengers and the type of journey to be undertaken but following items generally come handy on a long road trip by car. A flashlight, floaters or slippers in the cabin, tissues and wet wipes, pillows and cushions, candies and other tidbits, some games for entertainment.

Well that\’s it! This checklist should be started at least a week before you plan to start your journey and is relevant for longer road trips by car, lets say upwards of 500 miles or so. For trips shorter than 500 miles, you can shorten the checklist depending upon the passengers you will be traveling with and the kind of roads and regions you will be driving through.

All the best for the road trip that you have so long wanted to make. Drive safe and stay blessed!! 

“People don’t take trips, trips take people.” – John Steinbeck