11 Road Trip Car Essentials We Actually Use With 6 Kids

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After more than 150,000 miles of traveling together, we have learned a few things about road trips with kids. Some lessons involved bison roadblocks, bad GPS directions, or a kid saying, “I need the potty” in the middle of rush hour traffic in downtown Los Angeles… ugh.

With eight people in one vehicle, preparation and organization make a huge difference. I gave up on expecting our van to stay spotless a long time ago, but I do want everyone reasonably comfortable, entertained, hydrated, and able to find what they need without unloading half the car.

These are the road trip car essentials that have actually earned a place in our vehicle after years of traveling with six kids.

And if I could only choose three?

Sunglasses, water bottles, and headphones.

Those are the three things I absolutely do not want to start a long driving day without.

If you need the complete list of everything we bring on a trip, check out our Family Road Trip Packing List. This list is specifically about the things we keep in the vehicle and within reach during long drives.

Quick answer: What should you keep in the car for a family road trip?

Our most-used family road trip car essentials are: a handheld vacuum; waterproof trash cans; comfortable travel pillows; extra-long charging cables; multiport chargers; headphones; sunglasses; portable booster seats (when needed); leak-resistant water bottles; screen-free entertainment; and a motion-sickness cleanup kit.

We don’t buy every car organization gadget we see. In fact, some of those have been complete failures for our family.

These are the things that have actually survived road trips with six kids.

Curious about our big van? Here’s a tour!

1. A handheld car vacuum

Even when we tell the kids they aren’t eating in the car, the car gets dirty. Crumbs, bits of chewed pencils (when you have sensory-seeking kids, more often than you’d think!), bits of broken seashells…

After a beach trip, I especially hate that gritty feeling under my shoes where somehow the entire beach has relocated itself to the floor of the van.

We use a ThisWorx Handheld Car Vacuum with a 16-foot cord that plugs into the vehicle’s 12V outlet.

For our giant van, that long cord is an absolute necessity. It reaches the seats and floor without me constantly unplugging it and moving it around, and the attachments help get into the weird crevices where tiny bits of food and trash hide.

It has cleaned up seat crumbs, little pieces of garbage, and more beach sand than I want to think about. I also like that it comes with its own storage bag, so all the vacuum pieces stay together.

Is vacuuming the van on vacation exciting? No, but it might just keep Mom and Dad from losing it over the mess.

2. Waterproof trash cans

With six kids, trash multiplies. Tissues, mint wrappers, scraps of paper, stickers, random packaging…and occasionally half of a Wendy’s Frosty.

We hang a HOTOR car trash can from the back of a headrest in each row so the kids don’t have to pass their trash all the way to the front. That alone makes a huge difference.

But the waterproof lining is the reason I really appreciate these. More than once, one of our trash cans has contained a half-finished Frosty or smoothie that would otherwise have ended up somewhere in the upholstery.

Because if you give a child somewhere to put trash, eventually that child will put liquid in it. Ask me how I know. 🙄

For a family road trip, I would absolutely choose a trash can that’s waterproof or leak-resistant, easy for kids to reach while buckled, and easy to empty.

3. Travel pillows that work for the person using them

Long road trips mean naps. At least, that’s what I keep hoping!

Our older kids tend to prefer either inflatable travel pillows or a Squishmallow they can squish into whatever position happens to be comfortable.

Our teenagers especially like having an eye mask and wireless noise-cancelling headphones when they want to sleep. Give a teenager the ability to block out sunlight, road noise, and their five siblings, and suddenly an eight-hour drive looks a lot more manageable.

For children who are still using a car seat or harnessed restraint, we follow the car-seat manufacturer’s instructions rather than adding accessories that could interfere with the seat (NHTSA).

Once our kids are old enough for a regular seat belt, a comfortable pillow can make a huge difference on a long driving day.

4. Extra-long charging cables and a multiport charger

We have at least one screen available per kid over the age of two (per AAP recommendations).

There. I said it.

We also bring audiobooks, Mad Libs, music, sketchbooks, and other activities. But eventually everyone has done the wholesome family entertainment, Mom and Dad need some quiet, and the Great Plains are just… plain.

Our Nissan NV has rear outlets, which helps tremendously when six kids are spread throughout several rows. Even so, we still carry standard chargers, a 10-foot charging cable, and a multiport charger.

A ten-foot cord solves an amazing number of back-seat problems. It also prevents kids from having to stretch a three-foot cable across an aisle where another sibling will inevitably snag it while climbing through the van.

No one wants to get to Hour Seven and discover that the tablet battery is dead and the only charging cable is three rows away. Especially if the bison have stopped traffic. Ask me how I know. 😒

5. Headphones—chosen differently for different kids

Headphones are one of my top three road trip essentials.

Every child having access to a screen only works if every child also has headphones. Otherwise, we get multiple movies, games, and videos playing out loud at the same time – no thank you!

For our teens and adults, wireless over-ear noise-cancelling headphones work best. Our teens use pairs with up to 60 hours of battery life, which is fantastic for long trips. They’re also comfortable enough to sleep in.

For our younger kids, wired headphones are still easier because expecting them to remember to charge wireless ones before a trip is a recipe for disaster.

There is a tradeoff, though. We have sensory-seeking neurodivergent kids who chew on cords, so most wired headphones in our family eventually die from either broken cords or chewed cords. We’ve purchased a lot of headphones.

Am I the only mom who seems to buy these almost as often as toothbrushes? Sigh.

I also carry Loop earplugs for myself. They reduce the overall sound level without requiring me to put on headphones, which is helpful when six kids are all existing loudly in the same vehicle.

Sometimes everyone is behaving perfectly well. There are just… a lot of us.

6. Sunglasses—especially if you’re light sensitive

Sunglasses are another one of my top three road trip essentials. I am prone to migraines that cause light sensitivity, so hours of glare through the windshield can make a long driving day miserable.

I use wide polarized sunglasses that cover most of my field of vision. The polarized lenses significantly reduce glare, and they’re comfortable enough for me to wear for hours at a time.

Mine also came with a soft cleaning pouch, which protects them from the jumble in my purse.

I keep extra sunglasses around, too. One in the house, one in the glove box of each vehicle, and one in my purse. I don’t usually buy expensive ones because kids.

Having backups means that when someone loses a pair, sits on a pair, or leaves a pair somewhere, we aren’t spending the next four hours squinting into the sun.

7. A portable booster seat when we need one

We discovered BubbleBum inflatable booster seats when we were flying with several children who still needed boosters. Since then, we have taken ours on at least three airplane trips and dozens of road trips.

The biggest advantage for us is portability. The BubbleBum is extremely lightweight and deflates almost flat, so it takes up very little luggage space. That makes it especially handy for rental vehicles.

We also used them frequently in our minivans when we had four children in car seats or booster seats at the same time. Trying to fit three children across the back seat with traditional bulky boosters can get complicated fast.

The BubbleBum’s smaller footprint made three-across seating possible for us in situations where conventional boosters simply took up too much room. Our kids also told us they were comfortable.

Of course, convenience comes after safety. Children need the appropriate restraint for their size and developmental needs, and the vehicle seat belt needs to fit correctly. Always follow the instructions for your child’s restraint and vehicle.

For our family, a portable booster has been one of those small pieces of gear that made both flying and road trips significantly easier.

8. Water bottles kids can actually use without help

Water bottles round out my top three road trip essentials. Hydrated kids are happier kids, and hydrated parents are also happier parents.

We have tried a ridiculous number of water bottles over the years so here’s a few have become favorites.

Contigo Aubrey water bottles

Our kids could use the Aubrey-style bottles independently from about age two. When you have six children, anything they can open, close, drink from, and put back themselves WITHOUT a major spill is a win.

ThermoFlask Kids 16-ounce bottles (or 32-ounce for the adults)

We also use ThermoFlask Kids insulated stainless-steel bottles with straw lids. They’re easy to clean, don’t leak everywhere, and fit our cupholders (16 oz. size). Some of ours have survived more than two years of being dropped, hauled through road trips, and generally treated like children’s belongings.

When we bought our Nissan NV, we had the dealership install extra cupholders – best road trip investment EVER! Eight people require a lot of cupholders.

The best road trip water bottle isn’t necessarily the trendiest one. It is the one that fits your cupholder, doesn’t leak all over the car, survives being dropped, and can be used by the child holding it without Mom’s help.

9. Mad Libs for whole-family entertainment

This one surprised me.

I originally bought a Road Trip Mad Libs book as a prize to pull out whenever everyone was bored and needed something new. It might have been the best $4 I spent on that trip.

Usually one of our middle schoolers writes down everyone’s answers while the rest of us call out nouns, verbs, adjectives, and whatever other ridiculous words come to mind. Everybody plays: little kids, middle schoolers, teenagers and adults.

The kids think the finished stories are hilarious. This homeschool mom also appreciates the sneaky parts-of-speech review. WIN-WIN.

Unlike a lot of road trip activities, Mad Libs works across a wide age range and gets us all interacting without requiring another screen.

10. A plan for carsick kids

Several of our kids get carsick. So at this point we have a system.

The children who are most likely to feel sick get the front row of passenger seats whenever possible. They also generally can’t read books in the car without getting nauseated. For those kids, screens are permitted at all times on road trips.

Sometimes parenting is adapting the ideal plan to the actual kid you have.

As soon as someone says, “I feel gross,” we pay attention. We turn up the air conditioning. We offer a mint or small snack if that’s something that usually helps that child. If they’re sitting farther back in the van, we pull over and move them forward when possible.

For our children who are old enough to safely suck on a hard mint, mints have often been helpful. Our youngest figured this arrangement out pretty quickly. At four, he started announcing that he had a “headache” shortly after getting into the van. Apparently headaches require mints.

Funny how that works. 🙂

We also keep carsick bags at the front of the vehicle and pass one back immediately when someone starts feeling off. When a kid says, “I think I’m going to throw up,” you don’t want the bags buried underneath three suitcases!

11. A cleanup kit for the things you hope won’t happen

Carsick bags are only part of our cleanup supplies. We also keep:

• Tissues
• Baby wipes
• Cleaning wipes
• Paper towels
• Plastic grocery bags
• Hand sanitizer
• A towel
• Spare clothes when needed

Tissues get used constantly, especially when someone needs to blow their nose. Plastic bags are useful for wet clothes, trash, or anything else we suddenly need to contain. And paper towels are one of those things you rarely think about until you desperately need one.

Hopefully most of this kit comes home untouched. If not, you’ll be so glad you have it!

One popular road trip accessory we DON’T recommend

There is one road trip accessory we tried that I would not choose again: a shared mounted movie screen.

It sounds like a great idea. Everybody watches one movie together! Family entertainment with no individual devices required!

In reality, ours was easily damaged by kids climbing around the vehicle. Then everyone argued about what to watch. And because it was one shared screen, everyone also had to listen to the same movie, for hours.

I would only use a shared mounted screen if individual devices genuinely weren’t an option.

For our family, separate devices plus headphones create significantly less conflict. Sometimes the best road trip accessory is the one that allows siblings to ignore each other peacefully for a while.

Here’s the other items we keep in our Vehicle Emergency Kit.

What about seatback organizers?

We don’t use them. I understand why they appear on almost every family road trip essentials list – they look incredibly useful.

In our experience, though, they sag and break easily. In a large vehicle where kids are regularly climbing past siblings or reaching across seats, the organizers get grabbed and pulled every time someone tries to move through the row.

So while seatback organizers may work beautifully for another family, they have never lasted for ours. Instead, we take advantage of the Nissan NV’s built-in storage spaces and the extra room between seats.

One of the biggest advantages of moving to a 12-passenger van was simply having space. The van has rear outlets for charging, plenty of storage areas, and enough seats that we can leave some space between children instead of packing everyone shoulder-to-shoulder.

When six kids have been in the car for seven or eight hours, a little personal space is a very good thing.

What are the most important road trip essentials with kids?

If you asked me to choose only three things from this entire list, I would take:

Sunglasses. Water bottles. Headphones.

Sunglasses help me avoid hours of painful glare. Water bottles keep everyone hydrated without constant stops. Headphones allow eight people to share one vehicle without all eight people having to listen to the same thing.

Everything else makes the trip easier, but those three make it manageable.

What road trip accessories are actually worth buying?

The best road trip accessories are the ones that solve a problem your family actually has.

For us, that means keeping mess contained, making sure kids can reach what they need, providing enough charging options, giving everyone some control over their own entertainment, and being prepared when somebody gets carsick.

After thousands and thousands of miles with six kids, those simple solutions have mattered more than most fancy travel gadgets we’ve tried.

Our van isn’t spotless. Our road trips aren’t silent. And we’ve never made it through a major trip without somebody losing something.

But even with six kids and plenty of seven- or eight-hour driving days, we’ve had a lot more happy memories than complaints.

Read next: Planning a road trip with neurodivergent kids

© Copyright 2026 Jennifer D. Warren

This post contains affiliate links for Amazon, Stay22 and other programs. I earn a small commission from qualifying purchases made from the links on this site, at no extra cost to you. Thanks for supporting our family business!