Planning a 7-week road trip is an adventure of a lifetime, but it comes with challenges. The key to making the most of your journey is being fully prepared with the right gear. From camping essentials to road trip conveniences, having the right tools at your disposal ensures your trip is smooth, safe, and unforgettable.

In this guide, I’ll walk you through a comprehensive list of must-have items for your epic road trip. Whether you’re navigating national parks, exploring scenic roads, or camping under the stars, this list has got you covered.

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Organization

Organizing your car is going to be one of the greatest challenges when packing. My biggest piece of advice is to separate everything into bins. We did one bin for camping, one for cooking, one for dry foods, and one for bedding. We used various sizes of these bins from Menards and they worked great.

Camping Gear

• Tent

There were 2 of us on this trip, so we certainly could have brought a smaller tent, but I really like this one. It’s really easy to set up and take down and worked perfectly for all 7 weeks of camping.

Coleman Tent

• Bed

My boyfriend and I went on this trip together, so for a bed we used this full sized foldable mattress. It was so comfortable to sleep on, but it took up a ton of room. We found space in it in the Ford Fusion, but we had to pack really efficiently. If you’re worried about size, check out the other option.

Tri Folding Mattress with Storage Bag (52 x 73 Inch)

Your other option is a sleeping pad, which would take up significantly less room. This one from REI is small but I still found it to be really comfortable, and this is what I use today.
Sleeping Pad

• Sleeping bag

You’re gonna be encountering a lot of different weather on this trip, so it’s important to be prepared with a good sleeping bag. To be completely honest, I used the one my family has had for about 12 years and it was great. I know it was Coleman brand, but I can’t find the exact one because I’m sure they don’t make it anymore. Mine was rated to 32 degrees, which I recommend for any sleeping back you take on this trip. I will recommend the most similar one I can find.
Coleman Sleeping Bag

• Blanket

I also recommend bringing a lighter blanket. Most of the time I needed the sleeping bag, but in hot locations like Joshua Tree it was too hot for a sleeping bag, so I used the blanket I brought. This is also good to have if you want to nap in the car. I also used it when it was really cold for another layer inside my sleeping bag. Something simple will work, and I got something similar to this.
Blanket

• Fan

This was really nice to have in the hotter places like Joshua Tree. It became a life saver in the early evening before the sun went down and temperatures started to cool. Ours also had a light in it, so we would hang it in our tent and use both functions.
Travel Fan

• Bear Spray

Although we (thankfully) never needed this, it’s always good to be prepared. A lot of the parks on this list recommend having bear spray, and it’s better to be safe than sorry. We did come across a bear on the trail that was pretty close, and although it didn’t bother us, it was good to know we had the bear spray on hand. We also kept this in the tent in places that had a lot of bears. Make sure you know how to use this and make sure you keep it locked when you don’t need it!
Bear Spray

• Battery Bank for phone charging

We always made sure to charge our phones in the car every chance we got, but it’s still a good idea to have a battery bank. We used this every night to make sure our phones were good to go in the morning. This one was able to charge for a long time without needing to be recharged and was really handy.
Battery Bank

• Ear Plugs and Eye Mask

I personally hate ear plugs when I sleep and prefer to sleep without a mask, but my boyfriend swears by both (looks like if an animal breaks into our tent I will be waking up first!). I absolutely can not sleep in ear plugs, but if you can it’s a good idea to bring some. I also brought an eye mask just in case and I was glad to do so as some of the campsites get rowdy, especially on the weekends. When camping at Camp 4 in Yosemite, there were constantly lanterns and flashlights on so I was glad to have an eye mask. There were definitely some weekends I wish I could sleep in earplugs too because people were loud late into the night. Since my boyfriend uses these two things night, I will give you his recommendations!
Eye Mask
Ear Plugs

• Headlamps

A good headlamp is really helpful in case you’re getting up really early for a hike, or if you need to get up in the middle of the night for the bathroom. Finding one that had a red light on it turned out to be incredibly helpful because it’s much less noticeable. There were a couple days we got up before the sun rose, and I always felt bad taking down camp with a huge white light going into other people’s tents. The red light is much better for early mornings and not disturbing other people camping in the area.
Headlamp

• Flashlights

A headlight is what you’ll mainly be using, but I still recommend bringing a flashlight just in case you need it.
Flashlight

• Water Jug

This is such a valuable item that is easy to overlook. Not everywhere has potable water, so having 5 gallons with you is really important so you can make it a few days without having to go into town, especially if you’re planning on mostly camping like I did.
Water Jug

• Water Spigot

Okay this one isn’t necessary at all, but it was actually so useful. I was a little hesitant about this when my boyfriend purchased it, but it really was a life saver. It makes filling up your water bottle ten times easier, especially in the car when the water jug itself is packed away. This was also so helpful when you wanted to rinse off your hands, and there was a few times we put it on the table and put our heads underneath for a makeshift shower!
Spigot

• Reusable Water Bottle

I’m sure this one is obvious, but when you’re packing so many things it can be easy to forget stuff. Make sure you have a reusable water bottle for this trip!! I’m sure everyone already has one, but I’ll attach my favorite one just in case.
Water bottle

• Camping Chairs
• Hammock

Kitchen Gear

• Coleman Stove

A good stove is essential when you’re camping. There are tons out there, but I have always had luck with this basic Coleman stove. It’s not fancy by any means but it gets the job done!
Stove

• Propane

You need propane to use the stove so be sure to always have some on hand. This can be bought at any outdoors store or even Target.
Propane

• Pot

Any basic pot will do, just make sure it’s big enough to boil pasta in. I would also bring one that you don’t care too much about because the dishes you bring on a camping trip get a lot of wear and tear!

• Pan

Same thing with the pot, any will do. I would definitely recommend some type of non-stick though because cleaning your dishes won’t be the easiest while camping. A cast iron pan is another great option if you’re comfortable using that.

• Spatula

Any spatula works, just make sure you have one!

• Jet Boil

This one is not necessary, but it was nice to have one. We used this to heat up water when we didn’t have a lot of time for meals, or to use for tea or coffee.
Jet Boil

• AeroPress

This is another thing that isn’t necessary, but if you drink coffee it’s super handy. I don’t drink coffee, but my boyfriend does every day so he needed something easy to use every morning, and this was quick and efficient.
AeroPress

• Mess Kit

Any mess kit will work, but I would make sure that everything in it is easy to clean because doing dishes while camping can be challenging. To be completely honest I used the mess kit I’ve been using for the past 15 years when I first started camping, but I will recommend what I would get if I was buying today.
Mess Kit

• Cutting Board

This is an important one that’s easy to forget so make sure you pack at least one! You can use whatever, but we opted for these small and thin ones because they packed away easily and we weren’t cooking anything extravagant.
Cutting Board 

• Meat Thermometer

This one isn’t absolutely necessary but it can be nice to have if you wanna know if the food you’re cooking is done.
Meat Thermometer

• Sharp Knife

We really only needed one sharp knife for our entire 7 weeks, but make sure you grab one that can be used to cut stuff like meat or vegetables. Something cheap like these will work since they’re just for your camping meals.
Knives

• Cleaning Kit

It’s important to have a way to clean your dishes because very few campsites provide a sink for this. I recommend getting some collapsible bins, some environmentally friendly soap, and a sponge.
Washing Bins 
Soap

• Cooler

You can use whatever cooler you have on hand, but I would make sure it’s not too big. This Igloo one worked perfectly for what I needed (I used the 25 quart).
Cooler

Clothing

• Laundry is few and far between on these trips so make sure you pack roughly 10 days of undergarments
• Pack LAYERS
  • You will be going from extremely hot weather to very cold weather and everything in between, so make sure you bring everything from tank tops to a coat
  • Make sure you have layers you can sleep in as well
• Pack hat & gloves
• For shoes I packed:
  • Running shoes
  • Hiking shoes
  • Tevas
  • Sneakers
• Make sure you bring an array of socks- thin ankle socks to thick calf socks

Toiletries

• Toothbrush
• Toothpaste
• Hairbrush
• Hair ties
• Travel size body wash
• Travel side soap and conditioner
• Deoderant
• Micellar water or face wash
  • I found that using micellar water on a cotton pad was much easier than fully washing my face, but this is totally up to you
• Beach towel
• Bath towel
• Slippers for the shower
  • I used my Tevas for this so if you have something already that’s great, just make sure you pack shoes that can get wet
• Face lotion
  • Also used this for body lotion
• Body cleansing wipes
  • These became very important on our trip. Unfortunately showers are few and far between (I know, gross, but that’s part of camping for seven weeks!), so wiping down with these every night was a life saver
• Advil, Tums, etc.
  • Make sure you’re bringing the meds that you need the most! There’s lots going on with traveling so it’s important you’re prepared for headaches, stomach aches or whatever else
• Travel first aid kit
  • Also very important to have
• Bug spray
• Sunscreen