The whole purpose of a road trip is to peel yourself away from the fast-paced hustle and bustle of life. Instead of being surrounded by your material possessions, you enjoy time on the road exploring remote locations and taking in the natural surroundings. For this reason, you really shouldn’t be packing loads of stuff on your road trip. There are only a few things you need, and anything else is just overkill.
Let’s say you’ve got everything packed and ready to go – how do you know if you’ve packed a bit too much?
You’ve rented a massive vehicle
You should be able to handle a road trip with a small car. Yes, hiring a little campervan can be a good idea as it gives you room to sleep and eat. But, even if you have a tiny car, you should be able to pack everything you need with no issues at all. You’ll either stay in hostels/motels, or camp in a tent.
So, it’s a massive sign that you’ve packed too much if you need to rent a huge vehicle. If you’re going on a road trip in a big van, then you have got way too much stuff. Remember, this is a road trip, you’re not interstate moving and traveling to a new house! You don’t need a huge vehicle – if you’re struggling to fit everything in a normal-sized car, you’re packing way too much.
Your car feels super slow
Everything is packed and ready to go, but you notice something when you turn on your car. It feels much slower and more sluggish than usual. Clearly, you’ve got far too many items stashed away for your trip! Don’t pack so much stuff to the point that it literally makes your car travel at a snail’s pace – you’re never going to be able to see all the cool road trip sights at this rate.
You can’t carry everything in one go
Ideally, you should pack just enough stuff to carry it all in one go. This sounds impossible, you think. However, it is more than possible. You need one of those bags people buy when they go on gap years. It will be more than big enough to hold all of the key things you need during your trip – like clothes, chargers, a First Aid kit, washing tablets, etc. Then, you need another bag for your tent and camping gear – if you are going to camp, that is.
All of this can be carried in one trip to or from your car. If you have to make multiple trips to take loads of stuff out, you have clearly got way more than you need.
Remember, pack light to get the most enjoyable experience! You can always wash your clothes while on the road by visiting local laundrettes or going back to basics and cleaning them in a stream. There’s no need for loads of extra things because you have everything you need out in front of you; an open road, beautiful nature, and so many things to do.