Essential Packing List for a Utah Van Road Trip
Contents
Clothing and Personal Items to Pack for a Van Road Trip
Preparing for Utah’s Weather Conditions
Pack Light for a Utah Campervan Road Trip
Keeping Your Van Rental Organized on the Road
Must-Have Items for Your Campervan Adventure in Utah
Food and Cooking Essentials
Safety and Emergency Gear for Vanlife
Summary
When traveling in a campervan, it helps to have the right equipment and preparedness to have a great experience. Here are some tips.
Clothing and Personal Items to Pack for a Van Road Trip
I think dental hygiene is important. One of my best friends is a dentist and he says, floss your head off. Of course, he’d be happy to fix your teeth and take your money because his airplane doesn’t put gas in itself but don’t forget to take care of yourself with your normal routine while traveling in a campervan. If you take medication, make sure you have enough of it for your trip. Call your family and friends, let them know your itinerary, and any special check in points.
Preparing for Utah’s Weather Conditions
It can be any season on any day of the week in Utah, Wyoming, Nevada, or Colorado. Hey, you might even venture further to Montana. Bottom line is it might be sunny and 72 at noon and 19 degrees when you go to bed on the same day.
Pack Light for a Utah Campervan Road Trip
What do you really need? That’s a hard question for a lot of people. Maybe a campervan trip is the time to figure it out. My first passion was alpinism where every gram counts because you have to carry it up the hill. I had friends who would cut tags off of their clothing to save a tiny bit of weight which could be traded for something useful like calories. We understand, this is a vacation, not selection, but generally, the less stuff you bring, easier to stay organized — KISS (keep it simple stupid). There’s a Frank Zappa koan; nothing is all I want. Make that you’re guiding principle when packing for a campervan road trip.
Keeping Your Van Rental Organized on the Road
This might be a spill off from your regular life. If you’re an organized personal at home, keeping organized on the road won’t be a problem. If you’re not, expect the same. Some strategies include using stuff sacks and Zip-Lock style bags. Piolets d’Or recipient Steve House once told me the key to being successful on an expedition is using baggies to stay organized. He was kind of joking but there’s some wisdom in his advice.
On a campervan trip, I keep all of my clean clothes in one stuff sack, all of my dirty clothes in another stuff sack. I have a pouch for my tooth brush, dental floss, and mouth wash. Dry food goes in a cabinet. Perishable food goes in the refrigerator or Yeti cooler. I keep a backpack with a water bottle, snacks, extra layer, camera, and cord to charge my phone ready to go so it’s easy to jump out of the campervan without thinking too much.
Must-Have Items for Your Campervan Adventure in Utah
No one wants wrinkles or melanoma so sunscreen. Lots of sunscreen. And a big, wide brimmed hat, long sleeves, and pants. The weather is clear and sunny something like 300+ days of the year so cover up. Bring a day-pack that has all of your essential items so it’s quick and easy to jump out of the campervan and take in sights.
Food and Cooking Essentials
All of the campervans come with a cooler or refrigerator, table, water jugs, lawn chairs, and camping stove. We offer cook-kits as an add-on for a small fee. Customers ask why we charge for it and it’s not to get rich by any stretch. We do run it through the machine after every rental which is kind of a hassle and figure if you pay a few bucks for it, you’re more likely to use it. Things that are free don’t have value. With what’s provided in the cook-kit, you can prepare pretty much any meal like you would at home. I’m a huge fan of burritos while on camping trips because they’re simple and tasty but that’s a personal preference.
Depending on where you’re visiting, there are critters so keeping a clean camp is important or you might have an extra guest join your vacation, whether a bear or mouse. Be sure to follow all regulations regarding food storage because the way the rangers see it, if a bear invades your camp and wreaks havoc, it’s your fault and you get a citation on top of being responsible for any damages.
Safety and Emergency Gear for Vanlife
I’m a huge fan of satellite messengers such as the Garmin inReach which has saved my butt several times. Reality is, you can’t count on having reception and these days, it’s easy to take for granted how reliant we are on our phones. Here’s a dirty secret: some of our insurance packages include roadside assistance, but if you can’t get a call out, doesn’t do much good. There are whole stretches in Yellowstone where this is zero coverage. Pretty much all of Nevada minus Las Vegas and Reno. So on the one hand, really consider being self-reliant. On the other hand, have a way to call for help.
I don’t want you to get me wrong. Our campervans are new and well maintained. I can think of one time over 14 years that a transmission went out and we drove out with a replacement vehicle within a few hours. But we’ve had plenty of customers hit deer., get stuck in sand, or hit rocks pulling out of campsites. A lot of expensive user error which if we’re discussing safety, can be mitigated: avoid driving at dawn or dusk, watch where you park, and when in doubt, get out of the campervan and look around or use a spotter.
