Gearing Up: What’s in YOUR Road Trip Kit?
June 23rd, 2009 | by pam | Filed under: Uncategorized |
We’re pretty obsessive car campers at my house; I’d say we have it down to a science. We’ve got the modest campground tent, the Coleman two burner “suitcase” stove”, the kitchen box…and a fairly minimal amount of other odds and ends — if we don’t need it, it’s not in the car. I really do take my cast iron frying pan, — hello, pancakes! — a small wooden cutting board, and a decent knife. I’m not well set up for coffee, which makes no sense because I’m addicted. And in spite of the fact that I can see the value in the folding chair, I’m okay with the campsite provided picnic bench. While I’ve done some hanging out with fellow travelers Kelly and Peter, I don’t know what’s in their kit, if they have to have a giant inflatable mattress or a complicated series of tarps or a generator to power the iPod dock. (Kidding. Really. I’m just making those things up — though I really DON’T know if they have to have that stuff.)
At any rate, I’m wondering… as we make our packing list and combine our gear and pull together our communal kit: What do YOU think is essential road trip gear? We’re working with Pacific Northwest outdoor giant REI to fill the holes in our gear gap — what do you think we must have? It would be awesome if you’d tell us that one “can’t head out without it” item.
Photo: Austrian road-trippers and their gear on my Seattle front lawn. My home was a temporary hostel for these four nice 20somethings who sent us into fits of hysteria with all of their… stuff.
I love car camping and do quite a bit along the coast here in CA. I have The Escape Pod, a ‘71 VW bus that I took the back seats out of and built a bed platform to sleep on.
I take the same cooking gear you do Pam - but besides taking two, yes two, cast iron skillets, I also take an All-Clad Master-Chef saucepan and a bunch of enamelware bowls and plates, as well as my tea kettle. I take a small cooler for all of the cold stuff but I don’t fill it before I go - I buy stuff along the way. It’s nice to stop and shop somewhere new and meet a local or two.
I also like to go out to breakfast in roadside diners when I’m traveling.
As for coffee, I take a Melita cone and some paper filters and a pound of Peet’s French Roast ground on No.5. A French Press would work too if you are making coffee for the group - and they do make those in plastic for traveling, just in case you need to pack it for a flight home.
I just bought a 2.5 gallon water container at REI. Those are handy to have in camp for drinking/cooking water - so as not to have to run around hauling water one pot at a time.
Other little things - flashlights, candles, a deck of cards, a hammer, and spare car parts - but that may be just a VW thing
Not a camper, but never leave home without: 1) corkscrew
2) ziploc bags 3) pashmina 4) books/magazines. Also a fan of the Melitta cone and Peet’s coffee!
[...] We have some simple plans for this site before and during the trip. First, we want to make the trip interactive through this site and our individual Twitter accounts (tied together with the hashtag #tbexrt). We want to hear from you about what to see and do along the way. You can do that by responding directly to tweets from any of us or by posting comments on this blog. We already have posts up covering such important topics as: What To Do In Iowa, Places To Get Beer and What’s In Your Road Trip Kit? [...]
Ok, this is a bit on the spendy side, but totally worth it for technologically inclined campers. I know, because my husband and I pack at least three computers almost every time we camp.
You need an iGo charger with tips for as many of the phones,laptops and other gadgets in the car and an inverter so you can plug it in and charge batteries while driving.
Or, if you just get the iGo and no inverter, it will at least charge multiple devices at once.
A French Press is a great, small, coffee solution too.