Bike and Car Accessories That Make Your Road Trips Epic

Road trips are brilliant aren’t they. It’s you and the motorbike or car and the road. Arguably, they work best when you have a general destination in mind and you head broadly in that direction, taking your time to stop off and explore anything and anywhere that catches your eye. If you have the view that satnavs are for losers, (but you have one in case of an emergency) you’re on the right lines.

Whether you’re flying solo or traveling with significant others or family, a road trip often throws up surprise in a good way. You may find a museum or a quaint diner or bar in the middle of nowhere, you may encounter a breathtaking view that leaves you in awe, or you may find yourself at the coast soaking in the sun and having quality family time.

This is a great way to spend time but does require a little preparation. Here, we’ll take a deep dive into the world of road trips and the useful and essential accessories you should take with you before you start the engine.

Car Accessories for a Road Trip

Hitting the open road, windows down, music on, driving stress free is a golden experience. With this in mind, let’s take a deep dive into the essential items of a good road trip.

 Documents: Always take your license and insurance documents minimum and if you’re crossing a border your passport. Breakdown recovery details are essential as well.
 Spare tire: Ensure you have a spare tire and jack if your car supports it. Not all of them do. Also ensure you have jumper cables and a portable jump starter is a good idea as well, especially if you plan to go off the beaten track.
 Clothing: Wear comfortable clothes suitable for long car journeys and take layers to account for changes in the weather.
 Food and drink: Always ensure you have plenty of water and other drinks, and snack food is great for a road trip. A cooler bag for perishables and to keep things fresh is a good idea too. Reusable water bottles are recommended.
 Sunglasses: Not just for looking cool but to keep glare out of your eyes.
 Toiletries and wet wipes: A trip without them soon becomes no fun, so keep these things within easy reach.
 USB charger and power bank: You probably have several items that need a USB to charge, so the power bank can well become your new best friend.
 Map and GPS: Maps make for good back up should the GPS fail, or you get lost, and you can see points of interest too.
 Entertainment: Podcasts and playlists are the way to go. Unless you go old school and play CDs. If you’re a family think games such as trivia or I spy.
 Torch: Always carry a torch on a road trip, it always come in useful and has a variety of uses. It also saves using your phone torch preserving the battery life.
 Extension cord: Always handy when on a road trip, an extension cord will allow you to charge multiple devices at once. If you’re a family, you may want to bring more than one.
 First aid kit: Ensure it includes any meds your family needs, together with antihistamines, painkillers, and the basics such as band-aids.
 Blankets: Should temperatures drop the family can keep warm.
 Tools: Specific car tools are a good idea together with duct tape. Your car user manual is good in case of breakdown.

Motorcycle Accessories for a Road Trip

Motorbike road trips embody the spirit of biking. The journey is far more important than the destinations as you get to do what you love mile after mile. When planning the trip consider taking the following on your trip.

 Documents: Always take your license, road worthy documents such as MOT, insurance, and if you’re going across borders your passport. Should you get stopped by police you can produce these documents on the spot, saving a trip to the police to show them. Also, hotels and border crossings often need to see some kind of I.D.Additionally, ensure you have breakdown details with you should the worst happen.
 Motorbike waterproof covers: At home, you probably store your pride and joy in a garage or at least have it under a shelter of some kind. When you’re on a road trip, you need a way of protecting your bike from the elements. As such a good heavy-duty motorbike cover is the way forward. This will protect it from damp and keep the rain out should you be unlucky with the weather.
Get yourself a good motorcycle cover and you’ll prevent weather related harm coming to your pride and joy.
 Security: It is a good idea to have a solid motorbike security chain. This is a layer of security and you’ll probably find something solid to hook the chain around to help deter would be thieves. Other good deterrents include alarms, which hopefully will scare off anyone trying to tamper with your bike. You may want to search for motorcycle accessories and see what you can find.Finally, make sure you have a helmet lock so you don’t have to carry it around when you go exploring on foot.
 Rucksack: Motorcycle rucksacks are an essential part of any road trip kit. You may will have panniers or saddlebags, but a good rucksack is still required. Here, you can put in personal documents and other things you don’t want to leave on the bike if you need to park and stock up at a store. Better ones are light, durable, comfortable to wear, and waterproof.
 Maps and GPS: Although GPS is for losers you don’t want to go on a road trip without one. If you get lost, the GPS will swing into action and guide you back on the right road.Maps are good to consult before departure so you have an idea of where to go, and also to see if there are any points of interest along the route.
 USB charger and power bank: It’s not just your phone that will appreciate this, as there are plenty of items that run off a USB connection. You may want to take more than one power bank and make sure you charge them at every opportunity.
 Bluetooth headset: If you want entertainment or you’ve switched on your GPS, you’ll need a way to listen to it. Bluetooth is easy to set up and there are no wires to get in the way.
 Phone mount: No explanation needed!
 Clothing: Depending on where you are going, you may want to take an all weather approach. To that end, ensure you have motorcycle rain gear that fits over your leathers and a high-visibility vest. Sunglasses and neck warmer is good to have with you as well.
 Tools: Think compact specific bike tools and tire repair kit and inflator. Duct tape, bungee cords and zip ties will always come in handy.
 Spare key: Never be stranded again.
 Food and drink: Ensure you have water at the very least. If you’re going off into the sunset you’ll need to take food to keep your concentration levels nice and hit.
 First aid kit: Just in case. Ensure you have any medication you may be taking together with basic meds such as painkillers, antihistamines etc.

Depending on the nature of your trip, you maybe camping, for example, you’ll obviously need to take the necessary gear and other items such as sleeping bags and stoves may well be needed too. Whether car or bike road trips are epic. Make sure you prepare properly to make the whole experience more enjoyable.