Road-trip gadgets and accessories
These goods aim to keep travellers connected and prepared for emergencies
Ah, the summer road trip: time spent in the car that isn’t a commute!
Whether you’re headed somewhere special, or the journey itself is the destination, you’re likely to be in your vehicle longer than normal, and you’ll probably be a fair way from home. Here’s a few handy items for your trip that might prove helpful, useful, or simply intriguing.
USB ports are still a relatively recent addition to vehicles, and if you’re charging more than one device or have passengers who are using tablets for gaming or watching videos, you’ll quickly discover that even the built-in power ports have limitations.
Belkin’s Road Rockstar 4-Port USB car charger (available at Best Buy, among other retailers) may just be an ideal solution. There’s two USB ports on the 12V plug itself (they share a 2.4-amp supply), while a second pair are on a six-foot cord and can be clipped to a seatback pocket.
Those two outlets are 2.4 amps each, enough to run and charge most tablets.
For larger devices such as laptops and netbooks, or to power small 120-volt items (such as camera-battery chargers), an inverter would be just the thing. Many feature USB ports as well. Since the 12-volt power sockets in many cars are limited to about 10-15 amps, it’s safest to choose one that’s around 120 watts or less to avoid blowing fuses.
If part of your travel experience is picking up the odd souvenir or “find,” or your travel plans might see you returning with some additional cargo, packing a soft-sided cargo bag gives you the option of expanding your storage using the roof, either via your vehicle’s existing roof rack, or with some models, universal mounting straps.
Unlike a rooftop carrier, soft bags can be folded up and kept in the vehicle when not in use, much to the benefit of fuel economy, clearance, and wind noise.
You really should have at least a basic first-aid kit in your vehicle at all times (gauze, tape, bandages, disinfectant, and scissors, to start), but it’s even more important when you’re outside of your familiar area.
Likewise, a few basic tools should be resident in your car. Needle-nose pliers, a wire cutter, a standard and a Phillips screwdriver, and some form of knife can all be found in multitools, such as Leatherman Wingman (available at stores such as Canadian Tire), which can be left in the trunk or glovebox.
Something nearly any driver can appreciate — and not just on road trips — are polarized sunglasses. They don’t have to be expensive to do a great job of reducing or even eliminating reflected glare on the inside of the windshield, in addition to protecting your eyes from UV rays.
Their sole drawback is they can obscure some heads-up displays and the odd in-car screen. Stores such as Sail and Bass Pro carry a good variety of styles and lens colours; they’re also available at many mainstream retailers. Try them once and you’ll never wear anything else.
Having a small cooler bag with some water or snacks is handy; having it down by your passenger’s feet or floating around, out of reach on the back seat or floor, not so much.
A seatback organizer such as the Neatfreak-branded
Neatauto cooler bag/organizer (available at Walmart.ca) keeps the cooler within reach of the front-seat passenger, yet out of the way. Neatauto also detaches to become a strapped cooler bag for transporting your nosh once you’ve arrived.
Cold food is one thing — how about hot food? Largely dependent on the design of your vehicle and your personal level of adventurousness, an outside-the-box cooking option may exist on the road.
How about harnessing the high temperatures under the hood of your car? The concept of cooking using your vehicle’s engine and exhaust is not new, and there is, in fact, a cookbook dedicated to oncar cuisine: Manifold Destiny (by Chris Maynard; find it at Indigo.ca or on Amazon.ca).
It’s not a gadget, but warming up your kids’ lunchtime hotdogs in your engine compartment adds involvement and anticipation to the journey that doesn’t involve the kids staring at pixels.
Are the engine-bay entrees a tad bit beneath your station? Perhaps a 12-volt espresso machine would be more to your tastes. You can perk up your rest stops with one of the several portable brewers that exist. The cleverly designed Handpresso Auto, priced at around $200 (on Amazon.ca, also carried by Mississauga’s Espresso Planet), checks the right boxes in terms of being 12-volt powered, fitting many cupholders, offering brew options, and being semi-automated in operation.
Who says car travel has to be uncivilized?