Road Trip Essentials Checklist – A Road Trip Guide For Your Next Adventure

However, there's a small caveat. While road trips can be incredibly enjoyable, their success hinges on a few key factors: the quality of the roads, the chosen route, the company you keep, adequate preparations beforehand, and adherence to certain etiquettes. Furthermore, you can make your next road trip a lot more pleasant by ensuring you carry the items listed in our road trip essentials checklist below:

Road Trip Essentials Checklist

Before you embark on your next road trip, make sure you invest in the following items and carry them in your car so you can remain comfortable and safe throughout your journey.

• Driver's License and Vehicle Documents: Keep your driver's license, vehicle registration, and insurance papers handy.
• Road Maps or GPS: Carry a detailed road map or use a GPS navigation system to help you navigate your route effectively.
• Spare Tyre and Tools: Have a spare tyre in good condition, along with the necessary tools such as a jack and lug wrench, to handle any unforeseen flat tyre situations.
• Emergency Kit: Pack a roadside emergency kit that includes a flashlight, first aid supplies, warning triangles, jumper cables, a fire extinguisher, and a basic toolkit.
• Water and Snacks: Stay hydrated and energized by carrying an ample supply of water and non-perishable snacks.
• Cash and Cards: Carry some cash for emergencies, toll booths, and areas with limited card acceptance. Also, have your debit/credit cards readily available.
• Mobile Phone and Charger: Keep your mobile phone charged and carry a car charger or power bank for uninterrupted communication and emergency situations.
• Personal Medications: If you take any prescription medications, ensure you have an adequate supply for the duration of your trip.
• Clothing and Comfort Items: Pack appropriate clothing for the weather conditions and any planned activities. Also, consider bringing travel pillows, blankets, an umbrella or two, and other comfort items for long drives.
• Toiletries and Personal Care Items: Include essentials like tissue paper, hand sanitizer, wet wipes, sunscreen, and any other personal care items you may need during the journey.
• Entertainment: Carry books, magazines, or portable entertainment devices to keep yourself entertained during breaks or traffic jams.
• Extra Fuel and Fluids: If you're traveling to remote areas with limited fuel stations, consider carrying extra fuel in a safe container. Additionally, keep an eye on your vehicle's oil, coolant, and windshield washer fluid levels.
• Reusable Bags: Have a few reusable bags for storing garbage, dirty clothes, or any items you acquire along the way.
• Important Contact Information: Keep a list of emergency contacts, including roadside assistance, hotels, and local authorities.

To make any journey memorable, one has to undertake a decent amount of ‘pre-road trip preparation’. Yes, there’s a fair amount of prep that needs to be done before you start rolling! In the interest of making road trips easier for you while minimizing the chances of nasty experiences, we have compiled a few checks that you must do:

1. Vehicle Preparation & Documents      

During a road trip, a vehicle breakdown is one of the worst experiences one can have. It will not only end up wasting your time and energy but also could rule out the possibility of completing your dream road trip.

Hence, it is vital to ensure that your vehicle is fully fit and topped up with vital fluids. So, do get it serviced at least a couple of weeks before your road trip. When we say a couple of weeks, we mean exactly that! Since all spares that need replacement might not be in stock, it’s better not to take chances.

Get all parts including hoses thoroughly checked and replace any part that shows significant wear and tear. Do get the battery checked and make sure that all the lights and turn signals are working.

Additionally, check if all the vehicle documents, such as PUC and Insurance are valid. It is advisable to keep your important documents such as RC, Drivers License, PUC, and Insurance in a single folder if you intend or carry them physically, or in the DigiLocker or Parivahan app.

Post servicing, since there’s time at hand, you can drive the vehicle for say around 100 odd kilometres to ensure that it feels perfect and ready for an adventure!

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2. Tyre Preparation 

You must have heard this before - tyres are the only point of contact between your vehicle and the road. But not many of us realise that tyres are subject to an immense amount of stress during a road trip. Typically, they will be covering a lot more distance and carrying the weight of a lot more occupants and their luggage.

Hence, to make the road trip easier on your tyres and prevent any nasty surprises such as a blowout, get your tyres, aligned, balanced, rotated, and inflated to the recommended air pressure. Also, get the spare wheel checked and inflated so that in the event of a puncture, it can be put to good use.

Also Read: Hyundai Exter (Small SUV) - Expected Petrol Engine Specs

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3. Route Planning

The difference between a memorable and a sad road trip is the road taken! What makes a road trip so appealing is the prospect of enjoying some great driving roads, devoid of traffic, and plenty of scenic views! You wouldn’t want to be experiencing another rush hour commute! That’s why it's important to research the different route options and choose one which suits your requirements perfectly.

Some of us may want to take the road less travelled, some may prefer driving only on National Highways/Expressways, while others may want a route that offers more quick and convenient detours to popular monuments/places of interest. There is no single route option that will suit everyone! Unless you are driving solo, the needs of your road trip companions need to be taken into account as well.

What you must not forget to research are:

• Fuel stops along the route
• Places where you can stop for food/snacks
• Overnight accommodation
• Densely populated areas where one can expect traffic snarls
• Desolate areas where finding help will be difficult in case of vehicle breakdown
• Tyre shops/vehicle service centres along the route

4. Expect The Unexpected 

Before going on a road trip, take a deep breath and accept that nothing will be under your control. What you can do instead is prepare yourself for diverse scenarios which will end up saving you from a lot of unnecessary troubles. For example, there could be scenarios where say a restaurant or fuel station or hotel is unable to accept card payments. So, it is always advisable to withdraw and keep a decent amount of cash which would come in handy in such unforeseen circumstances. Taking a detour in an unfamiliar location to hunt for a working ATM isn’t anyone’s idea of fun!

The government recently revised the toll rates, which are effective from April 1, 2023. Hence, recharge your vehicle’s FASTag and keep track of the deductions to ensure there’s sufficient balance and you don’t end up paying double the toll.

Do you know how to change your vehicle’s tyre? If not, then do learn and practise it. This is a skill that will come handy sometime and save you a lot of time, energy, and trouble. Also, buy a portable tyre inflator and keep it in the car. This will be of immense help if your vehicle suffers a tyre puncture in a desolate location. It will easily inflate a vehicle’s tyre within a couple of minutes enabling you to drive to the nearest tyre repair shop.

On the route that we took, the stretch from Halol to Shamlaji (in Gujarat) will require maximum driver alertness since it is a two-lane highway which passes through smaller towns where driving/riding etiquette isn’t among the best. Once you cross over into Rajasthan the roads widen up and it’s easy to maintain steady cruising speeds. The stretch from Jaipur to Dausa is again a two-lane highway, one with erratic traffic behaviour. The Dausa to Sohna expressway is a driving delight and it has the highest speed limit on this route at 120kmph!

5. Accessories, Essentials, & Entertainment

Investing in the correct set of automotive accessories will make your road trips a lot more easy and fun. Get a good quality dashboard mount and keep it placed in your line of vision so that you never have to take your eyes completely off the road.

Since your phone will be working overtime by taking pictures and showing the way, get a portable car charger so that multiple devices can be charged simultaneously. It will be useful for your co-passengers as well.

It could happen that some areas might not offer great network connectivity. Also, if it's a desolate area there won't be local people around who could ask for directions. To be safe download the offline maps which will ensure you are always on the correct route.

On a road trip, or otherwise in general, it’s impossible to predict when you might start feeling hungry. It could even happen that you get caught up in traffic congestion with no convenience stores around. So, keep a few packets of munchies, chocolates, and additional water bottles in the car as they will be a stress reliever in such scenarios. Also, don’t miss out on a First-Aid kit, bandages, sanitizers, and tissues.

Good music is a key ingredient for any good road trip. A good soundtrack will ensure that your road trip doesn’t become boring even when the road conditions or surface gets far from ideal! Also, good music will not only keep everyone in a good mood but also ensure that everyone’s energy levels are high. So, don’t forget to curate a good playlist of songs that will keep everyone feeling lively and entertained.

6. Safety & Overall Well-being 

Usually, on any road, there are plenty of hazards to look out for. During a road trip, since one will be usually covering a lot more kilometres than usual, it is vital to stay alert at all times. Unlike your regular commute or a short weekend drive, a Mumbai to Delhi road trip will have you drive on expressways, state & national highways, and city roads. Experience has shown us that roads can throw up some nasty surprises. Hence, there are additional precautions that one must follow:

• Ensure you get adequate sleep before driving or going on a road trip. This will keep you fully active while driving. Also, if the vehicle has multiple occupants then one passenger should always stay awake and keep the driver engaged in conversations to keep fatigued at bay. Don’t forget to keep yourself adequately hydrated during the drive.
• Maintain at least three car lengths from the vehicle in front so that you have sufficient time and space to react to sudden traffic changes. Slow down adequately before intersections. Remain alert as some vehicles could change lanes without warning. Also, look out for stray animals which could dart across the road suddenly.
• Do not change lanes suddenly. Always use indicators to inform other road users that you intend to change lanes and do so when there’s adequate space.
• Do not hog the fast lane while driving on expressways. Use the fast lane only for overtaking and cruising in the middle lane.
• Take frequent breaks so that you can stay fresh and reduce fatigue. It is ideal to take a short break every two hours of driving and wash your face with cold water. It will help keep drowsiness at bay. During such breaks, you can also do basic stretches and walk a short distance to improve blood circulation.

• Do not stop your vehicle on the side of the road unless it’s a wide road with an ample amount of room on the shoulder. Taking a halt on the side of a narrow road is dangerous as other vehicles might not be able to see you in advance, increasing the chances of an accident.

• Beware of Highway Hypnosis on road trips. Also known as white-line fever, it is a trance-like state that occurs when one drives continuously for a long time in a monotonous driving environment. A driver zones out and ends up covering a significant distance without any recollection of what happened in that duration. This is very dangerous and hence regular breaks are important to ensure high levels of alertness while driving.
• Look out for signs of fatigue. If you are yawing frequently or feeling tired, drowsy, bored, irritated, or having difficulty concentrating on the road, then you must pull over immediately to a safe location like a restaurant or dhaba or a fuel station. On long road trips, it is ideal to take power naps. A quick nap will rejuvenate you and keep you fresh for a longer duration.
• Always drive according to the speed limit and never exceed it no matter how good the road or visibility. Statistically, the majority of accidents happen due to overspeeding. On a road trip, avoid getting carried away by the call of the open road! Slow and steady is always the best policy!

On any road trip, the journey should always be way more exciting than the destination! So, prioritise to soak in the sights, enjoy the local delicacies, relish the fresh air, spend time with nature, and most importantly stay safe!

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