Road trip soon, have some questions

Have a family road trip coming up in a month, around 2000 miles, to Pagosa Springs CO. 

This will be longest trip I've done in 20 years. And I'm looking for lil insight/tips for the trip.

The car you're wondering about is a 2008 Nissan Quest. I know blahhh!

Main focus is what if situation. 
Plan on taking:

 blankets, case of water, plenty of snacks, couple flashlights, every extra fluid, small decent tool kit, tire plugs,  first aid kit. And we signed up for AAA. 
 

Questions I have,

What's a good road side air compressor? 
Fix a flat?¿? I've never used this but is it worth it?

Jump pack,

We'll be in some cold weather but I don't want to find someone that can give me a jump. Who makes a good jump pack?

I'll be giving car a full inspection. Tires are good, probably get alignment. Going to be lifting it up to pull tires and check suspension components and brakes soon. 

Wife thinks I'm being too paranoid but I want to make sure I can handle any situation. Any advice from the hive?

I used to carry flares, but as I consider it, that was before LEDs were perfected. There's probably a better and safer option to insure that you're visible.

There's jump packs that have a compressor, don't have a clue as to quality. 

Vair 88P, this thing is amazing.

The Fiat and Jeep both came with this compressor: https://www.moparpartsinc.com/p/Jeep__Renegade/Emergency-Tire-Inflator-Kit--includes-tire-compressor-and-tire-sealant-canister-assembled-in-single-unit/62431303/82214295.html?partner=googlebase_adwords&kwd=&origin=pla&partnerDevice=m&userLocation=9004885&gclid=EAIaIQobChMI8r-enYDV5wIVCY6zCh27xg7tEAQYASABEgK7GfD_BwE

I never used the fix a flat but the compressor works well.  They shouldn't be to hard to get from a junkyard.

I also overprepare. I was ready for almost every emergency possible.  I was laughed at because we needed none of it but we don't have the greatest of luck.

For  road side inflator, if you have cordless tools consider the compatible one. If you need to buy a jump pack some include an inflator with the benefit of recharging through the van's accessory port. 

You may be being a bit paranoid with all the things but two things that might be handy to have all the time might be a piece of lumber for under the jack on soft sketchy ground and something to block a wheel when working on somewhat undeveloped ground.

i might tend to agree with your wife.  

We just got back from 4800 miles of round-tripping Florida to Steamboat Springs.  The best thing you can have is Waze on your phone, and check in often with Colorado 511 on the interweb.

check all your lug nuts , loosen each up and torque them to spec , they were probably put on with an impact wrench and are too tight , not fun to get off on the side of the road , bring a breaker bar , correct HD socket and a pipe extension ,  plus use your cars jack and see if its good enough to use in loose gravel.

extra oil and filter ,  check the gas filter ,  fan belt , fire extinguisher

extra keys , extra phone charger , 

GPS maps on your phone if you do not have cell service in that area.......

Have Fun

Pack a tarp (coupon at Harbor Freight for less than $5) and heavy duty garbage bags.  Also self fusing silicone tape.

On the AAA, did you get more than the basic package? 

The basic package kinda sucks due to the fact it will only tow you to the closest shop.  The gold package will tow you 100 miles to the location of your choice. The platinum pack will tow 200 miles. 

Do you know where the spare tire and tools are in your Nissan Quest? 

The answer is, "it's not where you might think." 

I recommend practicing getting to it and while there, check the air pressure in the spare tire. 

Drove from Tallahassee to LA several years back, 4 months later I drove back home and went 1500 miles out of the way.  This was in a truck that was 20 years old at the time.

On the way back we took US 50, the Loneliest Road In America. As recently as the 80s AAA recommended that if you were traveling along it you take half a tank of gas, a day or two worth of water per passenger, food, blankets, enough stuff to prepare to not see another person for multiple days.

Based on the results of that trip, you're massively over prepared.  I needed a AAA tow once because my fuel pump crapped out on me.  The rest of the time the most I needed was a map and knowledge of where the best tourist traps were.

CityMaps2Go allows you to download maps ahead of time to your phone/tablet and allows you to plan your trip, make notes, etc. for the entire trip.  Pretty handy, especially if you lose cell service.

There are other apps for emergency situations that you can use while without signal that can help.

Otherwise, I think you're good.

In reply to John Welsh :

I was very persuasive we got the best package. 
 

Biggest thing that worries me is we've only owned this van 2 weeks and I haven't learned it yet..

On top of all the basic stuff, if you don't know the car's history, do the serpentine belt & idler(s?) before you go.  Easy to do at home, miserable if it comes apart on the road somewhere.

I have one of the HF Lithium jump packs; only used a couple times, but it works and doesn't take up much room.

For yesterday's epic 600mi drive of a 20 year old/200k+ mile car I had never seen before, I basically just changed oil/air/fuel filters, threw a $30 HF tool kit in the back, and a couple 5Hr Energy in the console.

In reply to John Welsh :

Also double check it's the right spare.  I bought a 91 caprice years ago and checked, had a nice full size spare.  Then i had a blowout and after the car was in the air i learned that nice clean spare was the wrong bolt pattern 

Couple square feel of plywood if you can. Makes a jack much more stable on dirt or gravel. Water. 

Subscriber-unavailabile said:

Main focus is what if situation. 

Plan on taking:

 blankets, case of water, plenty of snacks, couple flashlights, every extra fluid, small decent tool kit, tire plugs,  first aid kit. And we signed up for AAA. 
Questions I have,
What's a good road side air compressor?
Fix a flat?¿? I've never used this but is it worth it?
Jump pack,
We'll be in some cold weather but I don't want to find someone that can give me a jump. Who makes a good jump pack?

I'll be giving car a full inspection. Tires are good, probably get alignment. Going to be lifting it up to pull tires and check suspension components and brakes soon. 

Wife thinks I'm being too paranoid but I want to make sure I can handle any situation. Any advice from the hive?

I take long road trips all the time in hoopty rustbuckets. You know what I take?  The title and a checkbook. If it explodes, trade it at the nearest used car lot for something that will complete the trip.  Just a couple years ago I went PA to SoCal and back (7000-ish miles) in a 96 chevy with 150k that I dragged out of the weeds and stabbed a battery in.  Shortly after I bought the 67 LeMans which hadn't run for years, I got it running and drove it to the beach about 500 miles on tires that were from the 90s.  Nobody died :)  My 62 Cadillac had over 500k on it when I took it to Vegas and leaked oil from every gasket.  I'm surprised I didn't get a ticket for the Spy Hunter levels of smoke screen I was leaving behind me.  It got a little rod knock on the way so I lost it on a side bet playing roulette. Used my subsequent winnings to get a Neon to get home then ditched the Neon.  The guy who won the Caddy is one of my best friends now.

I have a Battery Tender jump pack that seems to be able to jump start anything.  My only complaint is the tiny wall charger that takes forever to recharge it, but it holds a charge great.  You could tuck it in your trunk after a full charge and it will be there if you need it.  I used to keep a compressor in the truck and never used it.  If you pick up a nail or something and notice the pressure slowly getting low, just drive to the nearest gas station.  If it gets too low before you find one, swap out for the spare.  The other possibility is a blowout, in which case a compressor won't help.  I never ran the statistical math, but I would venture that the 2 lbs you add to the trunk carrying a compressor causes more tire failures over time than it will solve.

fix-a-flat is effective in a very narrow range of applications; anywhere from a tiny leak to a very small leak.  It will also ruin the tire and make a complete mess of the rim.  Think of fix-a-flat like the epi-pen of the car world.  Once you use it, you need to get to the "hospital" asap, and the tire will be mostly unrepairable in the future.  It will be like a full can of that insulating expansion foam exploded inside your rim... because that's what it basically is.  Not to mention, you'll likely make a wicked imbalance.  Use fix-a-flat if you're in an absolute emergency, running-from-zombies situation and don't want to die, but the consequences almost never outweigh the temporary benefits.  Then expect a tire shop to either refuse to repair it, or charge you very large amounts of money for the clean-up fee.

I don't even carry oil or trans fluid anymore unless I have a known leak.  Every gas station has bottles of the stuff, but it's cheap and easy to carry with you.  You'll already have water for the radiator if you need it.

What I do carry is a good (but small) bottle jack.  The stamped steel screw jacks that come with the spare are just not safe and they are crap.  Max effort, minimum safety, pain in the butt.  I might also suggest a cordless impact gun.  I have one from HF that is good.  It will easily do car lugs at 70-80 torques but it has a little trouble with heavier truck lugs that take more torque.  I also carry a small toolbox with the essentials.  When I say small, I mean pretty big.  Full ratchet/socket set, screwdrivers, test light, wrenches, etc.  I did a timing belt in the parking lot of WalMart once.  Not fun, but a few hours of getting greasy saved me $1500 (on a car worth $1000) at a shop and a couple days of downtime.

Also check with your insurance company.  They often have a roadside assistance package that is cheap.  I had AAA and used it for tows.  I never used the extensive travel benefits which is what is really the major part of the cost.  AAA can also be a bit cantankerous.  Lots of rules and fine print.

My insurance company (state farm) has a roadside assistance thing that is something like $6 every six months and tows up to 25 miles.  AAA gold does 100 miles I think.  It might be worth the $6 to get the insurance towing in addition to AAA?  Maybe at least worth a look.

My state farm app makes it super simple to get a tow.  Great customer service with real people at a single dedicated company that handles you from start to finish.  AAA is a different company completely in every region.  PA alone has about 5 different AAA divisions.  When you call the 800 number, you're not calling AAA, you're calling a third party supplier based on where you are, who then sends whatever tow company can get to you the cheapest and they wash their hands of it.  I'm not trying to be apocalyptic, but just be aware that AAA isn't like the commercials.  AAA is an assembler.  They just contract with 3rd, 4th, and 5th party suppliers.  It's almost like a pyramid scheme or multi-level-marketing.  They'll get you towed, but it could take hours and you'll probably get the cheapest tow truck in the world.

Also, be aware (you probably already know) that AAA takes a while for the tow benefits to kick in.  I think mine was 30 days but others have reported 90 days with their AAA franchise

In reply to Curtis73 :

If you're looking at your car insurance for roadside assistance, make sure they don't record a roadside call as an insurance claim. Apparently some of them do (Clark Howard had mentioned this a few times on his show) and that can do unpleasant things to shopping around at renewal time.

Check under hood fluids, tire pressures including spare,  gas up.   Load the family and go.

 That has been my credo for years.   I have done umpteen close to 2k mile trips and in all had one flat tire.

Cars are surprisingly  reliable.

Take regular potty breaks.

If you are using GPS always remember it's not always right. If the place/road seems sketchy- it is.

Last summer I drove 3500 miles in my 99 Miata. I had to pack light but I did carry some tools and plenty of water.

A dedicated GPS is something I will not travel without. The less I have to rely on my phone and cell signal, the more I can enjoy the trip. I can keep my phone in my pocket or in an accessible location, while the GPS stays right up on the dash where I can always see it.

I also have the Viair compressor. It's awesome. The gauge on compressors is not accurate so I always have an extra to measure after adding air. I don't carry the compressor for tire failures. I started carrying one after I was a few PSI low in one tire and drove all over town looking for a gas station with working air.

Miata ownership has trained me to look to Jeep and motorcycle owners for road trip advice. One of the best tips I found was using canvas pencil pouches for tools. I bought several pouches, put different types of tools into each one, and put them all into a small canvas bag. I have a very complete tool kit that takes up very little space, is very organized, and cost almost nothing to put together.

It's tempting to fill up all the space in a big car, but traveling light takes away a lot of stress.