Safety in the car on long trips

tanyaandallie

Senior Community Member
We have just booked a trip to Destin, FL. I'm super excited but not all that thrilled about the drive. I forsee us taking a ton of stuff so am wondering what the best way is to keep the car safe from heavy projectiles. What does everyone else do when they travel? I drive an Odyssey and while the back cargo area is big, I don't think all of our bags, etc. will fit. We will likely have to fold down the 3rd row. But, if we fold down the 3rd row, everything we have packed becomes a projectile.

Any advice. I'm sure we can ties some things down with bungies, but I'm curious what others do on road trips. I looked in the back of a friends van (they were on a road trip) a few weeks ago.:eek: I really want it to be safe, or as safe as we can make it.

I'm sure we could buy the thing to go on top of the car, but honestly, that is not going to happen. We road trip so infrequently. This is actually our first long road trip.
 
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wendytthomas

Admin - CPST Instructor
Staff member
Hmm, we generally pack light, and so only a few times have I had something big back there. I put the heavy stuff right behind the backseat, so that way it can't fly. I cover what fits, though it's just a thin cover. I use the net when I can.

What can you buy down there instead of take? And what do you think you're taking? Half the time, even though we're road trip veterans, I don't use what we bring.

Wendy
 

tanyaandallie

Senior Community Member
Wendy, I know you are totally right. DH keeps asking me what I plan on taking. We are going to the beach. Surely we don't need a lot. I just keep thinking about road tripping when I was growing up. We were packed to the gills!!! I need to take your advice and pack light and buy groceries when I get there.
 

SusanMae

Senior Community Member
Take enough snacks and diapers to get you there. You can buy your "main groceries" and diapers down there.

Will there be a washer available to you there? That could cut down on what clothes you need to take. Doing wash on vacay sucks, but coming home to a big pile of wash sucks as well.

Make a list of what you think each person will need...and then see what you can pare down from there.

Susan
 

christineka

New member
We recently took a trip. I tried to pack the heavy sorts of things (like folding chairs) on the bottom, slightly under the bench seat.
 

Jan06twinmom

New member
Are you staying in a condo or beach house? If you have a washer and dryer available, it will make it easier to pack light. You can buy individual Tide packets at Target for $1, but it's probably more economical to just bring or buy a small container of detergent.

We rented a Kia minivan in June and I was surprised how much luggage fit in the back behind the third row. Maybe if you pack light, you won't need as much stuff as you expect.

My mom's trick/strategy when she is staying at a condo (my parents have a timeshare so it's a regular thing!) is she has a plastic container with the essentials that she doesn't want to buy. She puts things like oatmeal, sugar, coffee, salt, pepper and a couple of other basic spices, extra ziplock bags in that container.

I was wondering if you have some foot room in front of one of the carseats where you could keep a cooler. I thought I remember someone suggesting using a cooler as a footrest, but it could serve double duty on vacation to carry some snacks or some precooked and frozen meals.
 

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