Introduction
We travel with our 5th wheel RV, essentially a turtle with our home on our backs. The benefits are immense. The total cost for the RV is less than hotel rooms across the country, not to mention, no matter where we go with it, our home is with us, or at least close to us. Because of the size of this rig – over 50ft with the truck and RV connected, we can’t exactly park this thing anywhere. This leaves us with day trips.
Nearly every day for 2 months on the road we have packed for day trips. For a family of 4 this means, clothes, food, water, first aid, emergency supplies, and storage / totage for these items. Further, since we are away from our home, and our home is away from our home and our vehicle is away from our home away from home, we have additional emergency considerations on top of that. So what is it that we keep in our packs on the day in and day out?
Our Daily Pack out.
Food – We have a large cooler bag that carries our snacks and good. The bag keeps things cold for days should the need arise. We pack enough for 2 meals, incase we are out past dinner.
- Sandwich bread – recommend dense nutrient rich bread
- Sandwich meats, or tuna canned not prepared
- Mustard – small and shelf stable, doesn’t need to be in the cooler
- Mayo, a small quantity in a reusable container or packets that are shelf stable
- 8 servings of fruit, canned or fresh depending on our location
- Crackers – an alternative to bread or an additional snack
- Grillable foods for dinner when we know we can tailgate
Our hiking packs. Whether it be urban or wilderness we always have these items.
- 2 liters of water per person – even in urban areas, you never know where you can find good water, a lesson learned in Vegas
- Mio Sport and Mio Energy – water flavor and stamina booster
- 2 to 3 snacks per person, usually salty crackers, trail mix, and a fruit.
- Enough nutrient related long term items, like peanut butter and nuts, canned fruit for one day as an emergency store at the bottom of the pack.
- Sunscreen and bug repellent and hand sanitizer
- electronics: Waterproof electronics cases, chargers and our cell phones. One out of service phone for 911 only if so needed. Also our boys carry cell phones ( 12$ a month for minimum service) that they keep on them.
- Flashlights for 4
- Small amount of Cash
- Emergency resources, enough to deal with immediate needs and small tools to craft other resources.: Gloves, bandanas, string, rope, firesource (matches and lighter), first aid, compass, whistles, ponchos, plastic bags, gum, mints, space blankets, multi tools, mirrors, chem lights, ziplock bags. In total enough for 4 people, then divided into two backpacks. It doesn’t take up that much space, and even in non emergency we have used some of these items. Better to have it than buy it 5 or 6 times.
Truck – our base camp. Having everything we own with us on the road requires that we keep some of it in the truck at all times. This makes for a good base camp. – that sounds more impressive than it actually is considering we sold or donated 99% of what we used to own.
- Extra Fuel – 5 gallons
- Portable Grill and Propane
- Tarps
- Tools for the truck, rving and camping
- Power conversion devices and additional charge
- Extra cloths
- Extra shoes
- Extra Snacks
- Extra water; typically 5 to 6 gallons
- Spot lights
- Massive Zip Ties
- Reusable bags
- Rope, Twine and String.
- Other Larger first aid and camping related items.
Depending on the task at hand and our estimated time away from the truck, we mix and match the contents at the truck. For the Hoover Dam we couldn’t take any of this stuff and for Arches we took all of this stuff plus extra water, clothes, shoes and snacks in the truck. We take some time to pack it and check it the night before and mornings will run smoothly. It may sound excessive, but it all fits neatly in the back packs and takes away any concern
Also after reviewing all this and writing about it I have added superglue / dermabond to the list, for minor repairs to equipment and people including minor abrasions, blisters and cuts. It will seal, and protect for short term issues.
