Make the Most of Your Trunk: Holiday Road Trip Car Packing Hacks

December 2, 2021

The holidays present the perfect opportunity to visit family and friends, but if you're driving, space can be limited. Between passengers, gifts, food, and luggage, packing your car can get complicated. Here are our top tips for packing your vehicle for a holiday road trip*.

Go Vertical

If your car is on the smaller side-or even if it's not-smaller items like phone chargers, water bottles, kids' toys, diapers, tablets, and any other flotsam and jetsam can quickly turn your backseat into absolute chaos. Not only do those small items take up space, but they can also cause undue stress as you search for that one toy that will make your toddler stop screaming.

Avoid the mayhem by thinking vertically. One of the best road trip car packing hacks is to hang a shoe organizer on the backs of your front seats to help organize the little things.

Leave Food Packaging Behind

While certain items are essential for any cold-weather road trek, you shouldn't be without snacks, no matter the weather conditions. But this road trip essential can quickly fill up limited car space. Between fruit juice packs and granola bar boxes, all that packaging can severely limit the amount of space available for things like luggage and gifts. Streamline the snacking experience by filling up a tackle box with all your favorite foods. Not only does it cut down on the space required to bring along nourishment, but it also keeps your foods organized and easily accessible while you're on the road.

Rethink the Luggage

If your holiday road trip is on the longer side, try a more creative holiday road trip tip: use a set of plastic drawers to pack your clothes and other essentials. Drawers save space by allowing you to maximize the use of vertical space in your trunk area, freeing up room for all those presents Santa brought this year. Drawers can also save you time. Each family member can use one drawer, so when you stop at hotels along the way, everyone can quickly grab pajamas, toiletries, and a change of clothes from the trunk without having to unpack and repack all those suitcases.

Optimize the Trunk Space

Getting inventive with your packing methods when packing your car for a road trip is one way to save space, but there are various ways to make the most of your car's largest storage space. A hideaway trunk net is a smart option to help keep smaller items-such as gifts-from rolling around and getting damaged. You might also consider repurposing grocery bag hooks to ensure the presents you've wrapped in bags stay upright and ready for their recipients.

If you're still short on space, one holiday packing tip that's often overlooked is to use that forgotten area underneath your trunk bed. Cargo and sub-floor organizers with sub-divided compartments can help keep all those holiday items you won't need during your journey safe and sound.

Make your holiday road trip bright and merry with these road trip car packing tips. Before you hit the road this holiday season, be sure to maximize your storage space with genuine accessories from Nissan Parts & Accessories. Shop cargo boxes, underfloor storage, and more today!