Load my vehicle for road trip.

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dasmi

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I'm taking a quick road trip with a good friend of mine in the beginning
of June. We're drive from San Diego, CA, to the Grand Canyon. Leaving on
a Friday afternoon, probably around 4PM pst. Driving non-stop to our
destination. We'll spend most of Saturday at the canyon, and then
drive back non-stop, unless we're both too tired, in which case we'll get
a hotel room for a few hours.
So, help me design the vehicle load-out for this trip. We'll be driving
her late-model Ford Taurus sedan.

Here is what I have so far.

-Ruger Service Six, loaded with .38 Special +p hollow points of some
sort. This gun will ride in the glove box as soon as we hit the AZ
border. Obviously, in the caring nanny-state of California, we are not
allowed to be armed while driving.
-Some other gun, probably a 9mm Glock, or something along those lines, which I've yet to purchase, will ride on my hip, openly, throughout the trip. (Again, once we hit AZ.)
-A few road flares
-One gallon emergency water
-One gallon coolant
-A few MREs
-Basic first aid kit
-Cell phones and car chargers
-One blanket
-Flash light, extra batteries
-Matches, lighter
-motor oil
-transmission fluid
-basic toolkit
-My battery powered CB radio
-Advil

What am I missing to be well prepared for two days of driving, mostly at
night?
 
I'm not a survival expert, but I've taken a few road trips. Here are my thoughts...


A water bottle of some sort
I like the Nalgene water bottles. Just having some water to sip helps keep me hydrated and (at night) awake. And this is more accesible than the 1 gallon cooler and allows you to drink w/o dipping into your emergency water.

A good map
As big and detailed as possible, esp if you are outside your home state. I like the big yellow Rand McNally Road Atlas. Just buy it at Target and NOT a gas station. I made that mistake once. $13 vs. $5.

Depending on the weather, warm clothing
If your car breaks down and you need to fix it, it can get cold at night, even if it's warm during the day.

A bag for garbage
I'm a bit of a neat freak on car carbage, so I like a grocery bag (paper or plastic) to keep garbage from taking over the car. Also, this makes it easier to clean out the car at stops.

EXTRA extra batteries
I always carry a 10-pack or so of AAs, often AAAs and Ds too. I always seem to go through more batteries than I expect. If you have CD players, small Maglites, or anything else battery powered, you'll appreciate not having to buy batteries for twice the normal price at a gas station.

A small flashlight and a big one
You mentioned a flashlight. My travel load out is usually two; a 3D Maglite for working outside of the car (repairs, etc) and a 2AA Maglite for reading in the car, looking for stuff on the floor, etc. The smaller flashlight is much handier inside the car, but I like the power of a big one outside it.

Something to munch on
An essential for me when I'm driving tired is something to snack on. Lately I've discovered the little Keebler (I think) crackers with peanut butter in between that come in packs of eight. They are like 35 cents at gas stations, so I'm sure you could buy them cheaply in bulk at a department store. That's my poison. Anything that isn't to sweet or heavy or messy and is small enough to be eaten while driving is a good candidate. Pretzels, Pringles, Mike and Ikes, whatever.


My apologies if I'm being redundant. I threw out anything I like that you didn't have on your list. I'm sure you have some of this already. Hope I was able to be of some help. Enjoy your trip.


Edit:
P.S. Jumper cables, a tire gauge, and a jack (if your car doesn't have one).
 
Thanks for the input.
Extra extra batteries and large and small lights are a good idea. As far as sippin' water and snacks, those are a given.
Garbage bag and map...why didn't I think of that? Especially the map...
 
Don't forget your pre-trip filter, fluid, and pressure checks.
I'll add more as I think of it. BTW jerky is a great snack.

If you wear contacts, extras and a saline fluid for wetting preferablly easily accessible so you don't have to dig through your bags.
 
In addition to the above, I'd just have 1gal of 50/50 water/coolant pre-mixed so you can just open up and pour in without having to try and figure out how much space is in the radiator, how much of one you put in vs. the other, etc. Simplify.

I have a cheap Nitrolon Surefire in each car with a spare set of batteries plus a small LED headlamp like a Petzl Tikka or Tikkatana. One for power, the other for detail work/map reading/need hands free.

Tissues or paper towels stashed for quick access.

Don't forget your sunglasses

Do a once-over of the tire iron/jack kit to make sure it works & your spare is aired up. I'd also toss in a set of wrenches and a ratchet and sockets, pliers, duct and electrical tape, pair of work gloves, any other quick fix gear you can think of. No need for the whole Snap On box, but a few essentials.

Check and top off all fluids/air pressures.

Variety of food. If all you have is salty and you want sweet, well, :uhoh:

While driving, keep your "flight station" clean. Have your passenger get you stuff, read the map, etc. Especially on a long drive, having to fight with crap around you, read a map and navigate the road at high speeds while the passenger sleeps is not a good idea.
 
I'd carry a gallon or two more potable water. It may come in handy either for the radiator or for drinking. Of course, if you have it you won't need it, but it takes up little room.

A day pack, can come in handy for tourist stuff and it works as luggage too.

Another blanket, for the other person.

A hat, with brim.

A roll or two of TP, just in case.

You didn't mention cutlery- some kind of camp knife. We keep an old K-Bar in the car for that role, in the sheath. There's usually an old GI 18" machete in there too. Not high speed but it works.

I prefer to carry a long gun as travelling artillery too, I don't like to be stuck with just a pistol. In our case it's a Remington 870 Express 12 ga., 20" RS IC barrel with the stock shortened to fit my wife. It's plain, absolutely box stock save for the shortened buttstock. It goes in a soft case and travels with a small canvas shoulder bag loaded with about 50 rounds of slugs and buckshot.

Stay safe,

lpl/nc
 
Looks like you've got most of the bases covered, along with the other good suggestions.

I would second the idea of extra water, especially travelling to AZ in June. You might also want to carry a couple of spare headlight bulbs, since it sounds like you'll be travelling at night for much of the trip. I usually carry a couple when I travel cross-country, and on my last trip I had to replace both (!) of my headlights over the course of the trip. Who'da thunk? Those spare bulbs came in handy, and I was able to replace them in a timely manner, at night. By the way, a headband-mounted light comes in real handy for such tasks.

You might also want to consider taking along some spare gas, a small cooler to keep your drinks cold, lots of sunscreen (AZ in June!)

You mentioned open carry in Arizona. I believe that carry of any kind (open or concealed) is currently prohibited in National Parks. Something to keep in mind if you're visiting Grand Canyon National Park, or any of the lands managed by the National Park Service.

Have a safe and enjoyable trip!
 
I've gone on much longer road trips in a 65 Volkswagen with nothing more than a diet Dr. Pepper and pack of cigarettes. You don't really need all that stuff, but if it make you feel good, take it. Enjoy the Grand Canyon; hike down to the bottom if you can. There used to be two trails, the Kaibab, and the Bright Angel (as I remember) :)
 
I made that trip a few times, and found on the long drives...eye drops and handi wipes of use, also fuel at Barstow, and then push threw to Kingman if possible, fuel in Arizona is a big big big difference in price, then California. I found one of the light weigh travel / "adventure" vest...great when traveling, you can keep just aboout eveything needed close at hand. Arizona is HOT in June, so an ice chest of cold things will make the heat a bit more bearable. Depending on how you ride on long trips....Gold Bond.... powder for the hot areas on the body...works great. You have a very long day planned... know that speeding and its risk... does not really get you any where much quicker.... Going non stop, the whole trip... can be done.... but your going to be a very tired travler...at the end of the day. You will love the Canyon !!!!
 
One gallon of water I would consider to be insufficient. If your radiator hose blows and you lose all of your fluid you can improvise a quick duct tape repair and keep the radiator cap off to keep the pressure out of the system. But you will need more than two gallons of fluid (one of anti-freeze, one of water) to get you to the nearest service station. Water's cheap and if you buy a lined, 5 gallon jerry can you can reuse the can, say for camping. Just remember to never put anything in a lined can but water. Use an unlined can for gasoline.

A quick survey of surplus stores should find a selection of metal cans, the good ones are enamel lined like old campware. Perfect investment for carrying drinking water and it will last you the rest of your life if you take care of it. And there's no sense carrying water you can't drink.

Enjoy your trip.
 
Thanks everyone.
For the record,
I've checked with the Authorities in AZ, namely a woman in the Concealed Weapons Division of the Maricopa county Sheriff's dept, and was informed that A) Carrying a loaded, uncased firearm in my glovebox is legal, and B) Open carry of a loaded firearm is also legal.
I've gotten a few PM's telling me otherwise, and wanted to clear things up.

Oh, and more water it is :)
 
Definitely check the spare and all tire changing implements. If possible, ditch the standard jack for a small floor jack. Coming back from TN last month, I had a flat and I was glad I knew where everything was and how to use it and that I had filled the spare before leaving. I never have flats but did that day. A week later, my wife had another one on the same car. Guess I met my quota for a while. A tire plug kit and maybe a can of Fix-a-Flat too just incase of a small puncture.

A radar detector might be another consideration to avoid speed traps.

My wife and I enjoy books on tape/CD. Helps keep us awake. You can check them out from the library.

A pillow.

Greg
 
My wife and I enjoy books on tape/CD. Helps keep us awake. You can check them out from the library.
Click to expand...

That would be great, but I've already been informed in no uncertain terms that we will be listening to Kenny Chesney, the entire trip. I have no choice. :rolleyes:
 
Open carry is indeed legal in AZ, but not in national parks. That was the trumped up charge brought against Chris Simcox.

I'd also advise a good bandana or dust mask in case you get stranded in the sand dunes that lie along some of the interstate routes between CA and AZ.
 
If your camera or flashlight requires special batteries, bring extra. I had to buy some for my camera in a gift shop at the GC last time I was there, and the canyon wasn't the only large thing in the park...

Sunscreen and insect repellant are also good to have.

If you have one, a GPS is nice to have while out hiking. It can help you remember how to get back to your car, tell you elevation gains, etc.

Are you going to the North or South rim?
 
Even though it is not winter anymore it IS snowing right now in N. AZ, you might want chains if you dont have M+S rated tires.
 
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