Adventure Road Trips: Tips for Packing Your Car Smartly

Going on a long road trip requires a lot of planning when it comes to all the gear, equipment, and luggage necessary to get you from point A to point B and everywhere in between. Here are some important tips for getting the most space for all of your gear and luggage when you have a small space but a lot to carry.

Since every car, regardless of size, has a roof, this is a great place to find extra storage space. Ensuring you have the basic foundation for all other rooftop storage means investing in the Subaru Crosstrek crossbars. Without the crossbar all other accessory pieces which you will need for rooftop storage will not work.

Once you have the crossbars you can attach a rooftop carrier, roof baskets, kayak carriers, bike racks, or ski/paddleboard carriers. Whether you are taking a mountain adventure, a river trip, or a long desert drive, utilizing the rooftop storage on your car will free up so much room for all of your other luggage and gear.

While the rooftop of a car can provide extra storage, so can a car-friendly trailer. There are a variety of car-friendly trailers that will be light enough for a standard car to tow as long as it has a hitch.

The trailers can double as extra storage for carrying larger equipment or gear and many of them can fit a rooftop tent on it so you can camp anywhere your vehicle can go. Some trailers have inside storage space and the tops can accommodate large gear such as bicycles, kayaks or other toys you want on your adventure.

Whether you have children riding with you in the backseat or not, a backseat organizer can be a lifesaver for carrying and storing items you need quick and easy access to during long days and nights in the car.

With room to stow wallets, snacks, tissues, medications, paper and pens, trash bags, reading material or any other item you might need along the way, an organizer keeps items off the ground and attached to the back of the front seats.

One way to save a lot of room with your interior luggage is to utilize packing cubes to hold all of your clothing for the trip. Packing cubes keep your clothing neatly folded or rolled and keep them all in one place, particularly when you are using bags with less structure such as a duffel bag or weekender bag.

Packing cubes come in a variety of sizes and if you roll your clothes you will be surprised how easy it is to maximize space and keep clothes wrinkle-free. Another nice feature of packing cubes is once you reach a destination like a hotel room or rental, you can simply unzip the cube and neatly place all similar clothing pieces into a dresser or closet.

Without needing a vacuum or any type of pump, you can find travel compression bags which simply are loaded up with clothing or other linens and then rolled up and all excess air is squeezed out which allows you to pack items into much smaller spaces than with traditional luggage.

These are perfect for those times you might need to bring sheets, blankets, towels or other heavier linens that tend to take up a lot of precious cargo space.

While a road trip can be a stressful experience when it comes to trying to pack a lot of luggage and gear into a small space, there are many functional storage options to help you maximize your space for the trip.

Make sure you try one or all of these options so that you can feel like you have what you need and what you want to enjoy without all the stress of knowing how to get it all fit into your car.