I likes me some road trips. Shocker, I know. And of course, dogs make everything better in my opinion, so road tripping with Charlie is pretty awesome indeed! Since 2017, I’ve taken four major road trips, totaling over 22,000 miles (36,800 km). Three of those were with Charlie. I think by now I’ve got a good handle on the tools needed for a great road trip, so I thought I’d share some of those. I’ll say up front that none of these are affiliate links; I’m not making any money off of these, they’re just things I found incredibly useful.

Websites and Apps

Trip Planning

Furkot is always my first stop when planning a road trip. I just use the mapping and timing functions, but there’s a lot of other functions for finding points of interest, lodging, food, etc. The interface is a bit fiddly, but once you get the hang of it it’s not too bad. I especially like that, once you nail down your final route, you can tell where you will be at what time. That’s useful for planning stops, meals, etc. (Despite the name, there is no connection to furry fandom that I am aware of!)

Tripit is extremely for gathering all of your travel documentation in one place, like hotel reservations, event tickets, etc. I tend to dump everything in there and then forget it during the trip, but it’s nice to know that if you need that info it’s available at your fingertips.

AirBnb isn’t for everyone, and it takes a lot of time to read through the listings and find the perfect rental. I’ve found that it’s great for finding dog-friendly lodging in the places that I like to be. I’ve stayed at 12 different AirBnbs over the years and have had pretty good luck overall.

Google Keep is a simple and free notetaking app that I use for things like grocery lists and to-do lists, was well as jotting down info for reference that I don’t want to lose. I like it because I can enter info on the web and it’s available on any device. The checklist function (and being able to cross things off once checked) is very helpful, and it’s why I use it to create my packing lists.

Once we’re on the road

iExit is pretty handy. With location services, it detects what highway your are on and what direction you are traveling. It then lists upcoming exits, along with food, gas, and lodging (you can configure what categories it shows). I believe it’s tied in with Yelp so it has links to reviews as well. This has been really handy when I’ve been in the middle of nowhere and looking for a bite to eat or how far it is to the next rest area. (Available on iOS and Android)

Gasbuddy is invaluable for finding the closest gas stations and the prices at each one. The info is maybe 80-90% accurate since it is user-generated, but it’s better than nothing. It can be used either on the web or their app. I prefer the web because it sucks somewhat less personal data!

Handy items to pack

OK, now we’re on the road. Sometimes I will drive several days back to back with an overnight stop between. At this point I have a routine: I drop my bag on the bed, set up my CPAP, put out my toiletries, and set up my chargers.

For a toiletry bag, I’ve been very happy with my LL Bean toiletry organizer that I bought in 2017. I’ve taken it on dozens of trips, not just road trips but also to Alaska and Europe. It holds just what I need and a bit more, and it’s been quite rugged.

I cannot recommend having a multi-outlet charger highly enough. I’m using this one these days that has two 100W USB-C outlets, one 20W USC-B, and one 18W USB-A. This is perfect for charging my iPhone, iPad, Airpods, and Apple Watch all at the same time. It’s damn handy to have one thing to plug in that covers everything.

The BERGENES phone stand from Ikea is a crazy simple thing that I came across at an AirBnb I stayed at in Albuquerque. It’s great because I never rely on hotel clocks, but I can set my iPhone in there (even in its case!) and see the time (and notifications, if I want). Not bad for something that’s only $3!

I bought this headlamp to have at home for walking the dogs in the dark, but realized it’s a great thing to carry while traveling too. It’s handy to have just in case something goes wrong with the car in the dark or wherever I’m staying loses power. I carry it and a set of rechargable batteries and charger so it’s always ready when I need it.

The last two items are things that I just keep in the car unless needed.

A plastic milk crate is very handy to help corral small items in one place as you’re driving. I keep mine in the footwell of the passenger seat when on a trip, and I usually keep some snacks there, a roll of paper towel and carpet cleaner (just in case), my commuter coffee cup, and a few other items.

I started carrying 25-foot extension cord and outlet strip after one too many nights at a hotel where the closest outlet was across the room. Even if I just want to plug in my CPAP and charger, is it too much to ask to have an outlet by the bed? Apparently so!

Finally, not an item but an idea: I realized that the best approach on road trips is to have a big suitcase for all of your clothes but also a smaller bag for one or two nights, so you don’t have to carry everything everywhere you go. Dirty clothes go back into the suitcase (I usually segregate from clean clothes with plastic bags), and when I get somewhere that there are laundry facilities I just pull out the whole suitcase and I’m good to go.

Traveling with Charlie

Road tripping with a dog brings some special considerations . These items are great not just for road trips but for everyday use as well.

Let’s start with the basics: A great dog leash. This double-handle 4-foot leash is outstanding because it not only provides greater control when I need it (perfect for city situations, or going to the vet) but also the D-ring at the top handle is perfect for hanging some useful accessories.

One of those accessories is a poop bag dispenser. I like this one, but there’s plenty of options. I also recommend these bags. Buying in bulk isn’t too expensive, and these have worked well over the last 8 years.

The other fantastic accessory is something that is simple and cheap, but so great to have: A poop bag holder. The rubber connector to the leash eventually gives out after about a year but at $2 each, who cares? These things are a godsend on dog walks, particularly with two dogs.

Let’s focus more on the travel aspects now.

First and foremost, GET A HARNESS. A dog musher I respect a lot had a very sobering thought: What do you call an unsecured dog in a car accident? A projectile. That’s bad for your dog and it’s bad for you. I’ve seen a couple of harness that  pass safety tests, but the one that I like is the Kurgo True-Fit harness. It has a heavy-duty carabiner that attaches to the seat belts and keeps the dog in one place and secure.

Speaking of carabiners, I recommend picking up a couple of lighter-weight ones and carrying them with your leash. If you need to secure your dog while you’re out, you can either use the carabiner to clip the leash to a railing or something, or if nothing of an appropriate diameter is available you can loop the leash around a post and secure it to itself with the carabiner.

Water is always super-important when on a trip. There are lots of fancy watering systems that you can buy, but I keep it simple. I have a foldable fabric water bowl that is no longer available, but any collapsible bowl will do. For carrying water, I just go to the grocery store and buy a 1-gallon jug of drinking water. I buy bottles that come with a handle so you can roll up the water bowl and tuck it through the handle (or clip a carabiner to the handle) for easy carrying. Refill the bottles from the tap as often as you like! The only downside is that eventually the water bottle handles break, but they’re good for at least 4-6 months in my experience.

Now you know how to travel like Charlie and me. I hope this is helpful, and that you get to go and enjoy your own travels as well!