When it comes to road trips and long car rides, it’s important to invest in the right accessories to make the experience as safe and comfortable as possible. Otherwise, you could spend hours behind the wheel with uncomfortable aches and pains or be forced to miss out on any of the fun because you were too worried about your safety. Here are the best car accessories for long trips, so you can enjoy every minute of your holiday getaway.
Custom-Fit Floor Liners
Floor liners will keep spills from ruining your carpet, but they’re only effective if they fit tightly and don’t move around. Custom-fit mats are especially good for cars with subwoofers, cupholders, or other storage compartments because you can cut out slots for them. Also look for a non-slip surface so that shoes don’t slide around on them—this is crucial in winter when your car is likely to be full of snow or wet leaves that can freeze to linoleum over time. Floor liners will keep spills from ruining your carpet, but they’re only effective if they fit tightly and don’t move around.
Heavy-Duty Straps
Consider picking up a couple of heavy-duty straps for securing your heaviest luggage. Cheap and super simple, these quick fixes will give you peace of mind as you hit those back roads on your way to grandma’s house. No matter how good a driver you are, accidents happen and it’s always best to plan ahead when possible. These straps are ideal for strapping down boxes with sharp corners or awkward shapes. Once they’re attached, just toss them in the trunk and never think about them again. You don’t want to be thinking about what could have been while on vacation!
Inspection Flashlight
It’s easy to lose sight of what’s in front of you when driving at night. After all, it’s pretty dark out there. But now, with an inspection flashlight (you can get a pretty good one for less than $10). You can illuminate your way without affecting your vision or disorienting other drivers. The next time you take a long trip or find yourself stuck on a particularly-dreary stretch of highway. Know that there are things you can do to ensure that you arrive safely and quickly. By bringing along an inspection flashlight and running it over every inch of your car before leaving. You make sure that everything is in proper working order and that nothing be it a lightbulb or a tire has gone bad.
Portable Compressor/Tire Inflator
If you’re going on a road trip, packing a portable tire inflator can be a life-saver. A tire inflator is small enough to fit in your trunk or glove compartment. And it can inflate flat tires (tires that are completely deflated) and low-pressure tires. If you have larger spare tires in your car (not just compact donut spare tires), you should also invest in an air compressor to go with your tire inflator. An air compressor will inflate large spares in minutes, cutting down on wait time when something goes wrong. No matter what type of car accessories you need for long trips, portable tire inflators will work great on any car or truck!
Dog Seat Cover With Hammock
Keep your dog safe, secure and happy by giving him or her a hammock seat cover. These seat covers are made with mesh panels to prevent them from slipping off and keep air circulating through. They’re also lightweight and portable, so you can fold them up and toss them in your trunk if you don’t have room inside. While they’re designed to fit any vehicle with headrests, they’re not designed for SUVs because of their size. Once you get where you’re going, take it out of your car to wash it whenever needed.