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Useful Road Trip Items and Gadgets

Updated on March 3, 2013

Having a road trip with friends is a great way to unwind and relax. It is an escape from the boring usual daily activities and to just have a good time traversing the road, see different places, and to enjoy the scenery. Others may view it as an old fashioned method of transportation, but this doesn’t mean that it cannot have some form of modern touch and convenience.

This article is all about useful road trip gadgets. However this post is quite different from the thousands that are already available on the internet regarding road trip techy devices. The content below aims to provide some tips and advice on what road trip items to bring for either the driver or the passenger.

For the road trip driver –

A lot of people may say that the designated driver for road trips is the unfortunate one. Actually, this is not entirely true as a lot of factors depend on the driver – the safety, speed, and even the choice of music.

Just because the driver is the one behind the wheel doesn’t mean that his / her entertainment options are limited. A good gadget buddy for road trip drivers are multi purpose FM transmitters. Multi purpose FM transmitters usually have the following functionalities:

  • FM transmitter
  • Advance car mount
  • Portable charger

For those who are not aware, FM transmitters are devices used to stream the audio of any compatible gadget through the car speaker system for the enjoyment of everybody inside the car. Car mounts are those car accessories commonly seen holding a mobile phone, GPS navigation system, small scale video player, etc… Portable charger is equally important as it powers up a wide array of compatible gadgets.

Aside from the obvious numerous benefits of a multi purpose FM transmitter, it can also be considered as a safety purpose road trip gadget. Simply put, incoming and outgoing calls of a mobile phone mounted on the multi purpose transmitter will be coursed through the car speaker system – no need to look for and reach the mobile phone. Make or answer a call conveniently while driving. Please also note that some states have laws prohibiting the use of mobile phones so having a multi purpose FM transmitter is really handy.

For the road trip passengers –

It is no surprise that many road trip passengers tend to get bored on some point of the trip. This usually occurs after the first few hours with nothing to see outside but the same buildings or vast empty fields. This is where portable gadgets will be extremely useful. Most trip gadgets will be composed of portable audio players, video players, tablets eBook readers, etc…

What ever type of road trip gadget it may be, a good accessory to be used in tandem with such is a reliable headphone. Headphones are great as it offers a sense of privacy between the owner and the mobile device. Another great thing about headphones is that they are not only useful inside the car during the road trip but it can also be seemingly used just about anywhere.

Headphones can either be wired or wireless. However, it would be advisable to go for the wireless one. The price difference is not that much and it can offer more freedom of mobility. It is also recommended to select one that is durable, produces a decent sound, and ergonomically designed so that it would not easily fall off.

Road trip tips for any gadget owners –

This section details other miscellaneous tips for road trip gadget owners:

  • Charge all portable gadgets before going to the road trip (and yes, even if a portable charger is on hand)
  • Aside from portable gadgets, also bring (or double check) some safety purpose items like firs aid kit, car toolbox kit, basic toiletries, etc….
  • Double check the car’s condition before the trip

Have a great time!

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