My first PCS, I thought I had everything planned out perfectly. Until I stopped for the night and couldn’t find my cat’s litter box. Turns out the movers had snagged it at the last minute, and I had to run to the closest grocery store at 9pm before my cat peed on the hotel floor.

Packing for a PCS road trip is different from packing for a vacation. You’re not going somewhere and coming back — you’re moving. The car has to hold everything you need for the drive, everything you need for up to 30 days without your household goods, and everyone who lives in your house.

It’s a lot.

Getting the packing right before you leave means the drive is manageable. Getting it wrong means you’re digging through the trunk at a rest stop in Arkansas looking for the Tylenol. Or a litter box.

This list is organized by category so you can work through it systematically. The most important principle throughout: separate what needs to be accessible from what can be buried. Accessibility is the difference between a smooth stop and a 20-minute excavation.

How to Think About Packing a Car for a PCS Move

Before you start loading, organize your packing into three layers:

• Daily access layer: Things you need multiple times per day — snacks, kids’ entertainment, wipes, charging cables, pet supplies. These live within arm’s reach or in a bag on the floor of the back seat.
• Stop access layer: Things you need at each overnight stop — toiletries, a change of clothes, medications, kids’ comfort items. These go in a single bag that comes into the hotel every night without unpacking the whole car.
• Deep storage: Everything else. Pack it tightly, weight it low, and don’t plan to access it until you arrive.

If you’re using a cargo carrier or roof rack, deep storage items go there. Never put anything you’ll need during the drive on the roof if you can help it.

Before You Pack: Weigh Your Car

If you’ve done a PCS before, you’ve likely heard of a partial personally procured move (PPM), or its predecessor, the DITY (do it yourself) move.

Essentially, a PPM allows you to move all (or part) of your belongings yourself, and be reimbursed for it when you file your travel voucher. This includes anything in your car, such as your irreplaceable items and clothes. The key is you have to apply for it early in the PCS process, and you have to weigh your car both empty and full.

When you weigh your car, make sure the receipt includes:

• Your name
• Name and location of the scale
• Vehicle information
• Weight master’s signature
• Legible recording of the weight

Keep your receipt with your other important papers for filing with your voucher, and take a picture as a backup.

Car Organization for a Road Trip With Kids

• Seat back organizers: One behind each front seat for the kids behind it. Holds tablets, books, snacks, and wipes within reach without everything ending up on the floor.
• A small trash bag: Clip it to the seat or console and empty it at every gas stop. It’s the single best thing you can do for car cleanliness on a multi-day drive.
• A cooler that fits between the rear seats or in the cargo area: Accessible without stopping, cold for the whole drive if you use a quality cooler, and restock ice at gas stations. If your hotels have a mini fridge, you can also pack reusable ice packs.
• Plastic bags and paper towels: Helpful for extra trash, cleaning up spills, or for pets or kids who get car sick.
• A charging hub or multi-port car charger: Keep everyone’s device charged and avoid arguments about whose turn it is on the only cable.

The Go-Bag: Your Most Important Pack

The go-bag is your 30-day survival kit for the period between when your household goods leave and when they arrive. Delivery delays are common, so assume you’ll need everything in this bag for longer than you expect.

• All important documents in a waterproof folder: PCS orders (multiple copies), medical records, school records, pet records, financial documents
• Enough clothing for the travel period or gaps between laundromat visits
• Medications, including enough of your prescriptions to get you to your next base and have time to get a refill
• Electronics: laptops, tablets, chargers, power banks, and chargers (trust us, have an extra)
• Kids’ most important comfort items: a stuffed animal, a blanket, whatever makes the difference at bedtime in a hotel room
• Anything irreplaceable: jewelry, photos, items with sentimental value
• Basic toiletries for the full travel period
• A small first aid kit

The go-bag goes in the hotel with you every night, as it contains both necessities and things you can’t replace on the road should your car get broken into.

Road Trip Snacks for Kids (and Adults)

A cooler in the back seat changes the entire food situation on a long drive. You stop less, spend less of your per diem at fast food, and have better options when kids are hungry between planned stops.

What to stock:

• Cut fruit: grapes, apple slices, strawberries — things that don’t require utensils
• Cheese sticks and cubes
• Hummus and individual cracker packs
• Sandwiches for the first day (make them the night before)
• Hard-boiled eggs
• Yogurt pouches for younger kids
• Nuts and trail mix for adults
• Plenty of water — more than you think you need

Dry snacks for the car (in a bag, not the cooler): granola bars, crackers, pretzels, fruit snacks, beef jerky. Keep these in the daily access layer.

What to skip: anything sticky, anything that requires refrigeration, anything that crumbles into every seat crevice. You’re living in this car for multiple days, so keeping it somewhat clean is important for creature comfort.

Road Trip Entertainment for Kids by Age

Road Trip Entertainment for Babies and Toddlers

• Favorite comfort items: pacifier, lovey, whatever they sleep with
• Board books within reach of the car seat
• A few new small toys revealed one at a time — novelty can buy more time than familiarity
• A tablet with downloaded shows and a kid-safe case
• Suction cup toys that attach to the tray or window
• Extra pacifiers or ones with a clip, in case one ends up on the floor

Road Trip Activities for Kids Ages 3 to 7

• Tablets with downloaded content: shows, games, audiobooks
• Headphones
• Mess-free coloring books and watercolor sets
• Sticker activity books
• Magnetic drawing boards
• Road trip bingo cards (printable, free online)
• State license plate games
• Small figurines or action figures in a zip-lock bag

Road Trip Activities for Kids Ages 8 to 12

• Tablets with downloaded movies, shows, and games
• Books and graphic novels
• Activity books: word searches, crosswords, drawing prompts
• Audiobooks the whole family can follow together
• A travel journal — great for processing the emotional side of the move
• Card games that work without a table: Uno, Spot It, Go Fish

Road Trip Survival for Teenagers

• Their own devices, fully charged, with their own playlist and shows downloaded
• Noise-canceling headphones if possible
• Books or podcasts they chose themselves
• Their own snack bag with things they like
• A say in where the family stops for food at least once per day

Teenagers on a PCS drive are often processing something significant — leaving friends, changing schools, a life that felt settled suddenly being upended. Give them the space to be in their feelings while staying connected to the family. Don’t force cheerfulness, and try to let them be part of the planning process if you can.

Road Trip Bag for Kids: What to Pack in Each Child’s Backpack

Give each kid their own small backpack that they’re responsible for. It keeps their stuff contained, gives them agency, and means you’re not digging through a shared bag looking for the charger. What goes in it:

• Their tablet or device with charger
• Their headphones
• One or two comfort items or small toys
• Their own snack stash
• A water bottle
• One activity book or journal

Keep it light enough that they can actually carry it. The point is containment and ownership, not everything they own.

Clothing and Toiletries for a Multi-Day PCS Drive

• One full change of clothes per person per travel day, plus two extras per kid
• A separate bag for dirty clothes so they don’t contaminate clean ones
• Layers! Car temperature varies more than you’d expect, especially with kids and pets. This is especially important for winter moves too.
• Comfortable shoes that are easy to take on and off.
• Toiletries in a single bag that comes into the hotel each night: toothbrushes, face wash, deodorant, hair ties, any prescriptions taken daily
• Hand sanitizer and wipes

What to Pack for a Road Trip With a Baby

• More diapers than you think you need — add 30% to your estimate
• Wipes: two full packs in the daily access layer
• Changing pad that stays in the car
• A full change of clothes per day plus extras
• Onesies that open at the bottom for easier diaper changes on the road
• Formula pre-measured into individual containers if formula feeding, or a nursing cover if breastfeeding
• Insulated bottle bag with ice packs for prepared bottles
• White noise app downloaded on a phone or a small portable white noise machine
• Baby carrier for stops where you want hands free
• Pack and play or similar sleeping arrangement (your hotels may have one too, but call ahead)

Pet Supplies for a Road Trip

• Food for the full trip plus a few extra days (don’t assume you’ll find their brand on the road)
• Portable water bowl and bottled water
• Leash, collar, and updated ID tags
• Waste bags
• For cats: a travel litter box and litter in the same brand they use at home
• For dogs: a leash and poop bags
• Familiar blanket or worn t-shirt for the carrier
• Any medications
• Physical copies of vaccination records and health certificate
• Paper towels and enzymatic cleaner — accidents happen, and you don’t want the car to reek.

Remember: hotel pet fees are reimbursable up to $550 CONUS under JTR paragraph 050107 for orders dated January 1, 2024 or later. Keep your receipts.

Car Safety and Emergency Supplies

• First aid kit (not buried — the glove box is a good spot)
• Jumper cables or a jump starter pack
• Flashlight and extra batteries
• Basic tool kit
• Reflective triangles or road flares
• Paper map or printed directions as a backup — phone GPS can fail at the worst moments
• A list of emergency contacts printed and in the glove box

Car Packing Hacks That Actually Work

• Pack the car the night before. Leaving day is chaotic enough. Do most of the loading the evening before so departure morning is just people and pets.
• Put the heaviest items lowest and forward. Weight distribution affects handling, especially on long drives or with a loaded roof rack.
• Use every cavity. Shoes, socks, and soft items can fill the spaces between boxes and bags.
• Label everything you might need during the drive with a colored tape strip so you can find it without unpacking.
• Vacuum storage bags for bulky items like pillows, comforters, and winter coats. The compression is significant.
• Bungee cords or cargo nets for the trunk area. Loose items sliding around are both annoying and a safety hazard. Not to mention makes it hard to find something if you need it.

Before You Leave: The Car Check

• Oil and fluid levels checked
• Tire pressure including the spare
• Wiper blades in working condition
• All lights working
• Phone mounts and charging cables in place before you load passengers
• GPS loaded with your route and first overnight stop
• Roadside assistance number saved in your phone (USAA, AAA, or your insurance provider)

Know Your Numbers Before You Go

Packing the car is something that has to happen, and unfortunately there’s no real way around doing it yourself.

You can save yourself time (and stress) in other ways though, including planning out your entire road trip way in advance. Our free PCS road trip planner calculates your authorized travel days, per diem by household size, and mileage reimbursement, and maps your route with overnight stops before you leave (including kid-friendly activities and hotels that accept pets).

That way, all you have to do is Tetris in your favorite snacks among all your family’s belongings and hit the road.

Frequently Asked Questions