O.K. All
I am requesting your help. I will be leaving S.Calif at the end of Sept. and going to Il. Via U.S. interstate 70. (not as hot as going the southern route) There will be two of us my DW and myself. I want a bag to take for unforseen problems. This bag will be in the back seat of a rental car, and I have chosen a plain black and gray day pack which is 2,310 cu.in.

Sorry to say no guns. I think everything else is o.k.
I have a lot of things for it but I don't want to list them so I can get your ideas

other than my "survival tools" I will not be taking tools so we can leave those of the list.

GO

I take my backpack on all my trips. It carries things like a bag full of breakfast/granola bars, some of those single size packets of lemonaid and gatoraid mix, and some bottles of water for the food and water.
Another small bag inside with matches and lighters, etc.
A small first aid kit.
A few small tools, leatherman squirts and the wave bit adapter and bits,
buck 110 knife, compass, binoculers.
AA battery charger (maha c401fs) and a few packs of aa batteries for the camera and such.
change of clothes should I need to get dirty changing a tire.
Pill bottle of quarters, old wallet with some cash.

+1 on the headlamp. Petzl e+Lite is nice, compact, and light.

Also some T.P. and/or Kleenex, baby wipes, Advil, Immodium, Pepto, eating utensils or sporks, Leatherman or similar multi-tool, SAK, duct tape, zip ties, basic compass, flashlight, spare batteries, camera, first aid kit, emergency ponchos, trash bags, bottles of water, snacks, medium-sized cooler.

And oh yeah... most importantly... road maps!

Ha Ha.
FINALLY A MAP IS MENTIONED.

Okay everything said above is awesome and maybe these don't go into a backpack but....

Doritos Corn Chips, best road trip food ever.
Case of bottled water.
ear plugs and eye cover for sleeping.
Ipod.

Suggest carrying under the seat a sharp machete and 24" or larger bolt cutters.

Wildman800 (and others) wrote about a Personal Support Kit to ride in rental cars:

http://forums.equipped.org/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=158083&page=1

Also add sunscreen in case you and DW have to walk anywhere from a stranded vehicle.

While the back seat is good, make sure you get in the habit of taking it with you when you get out of the car; every time.

Important documents such as copies of driver's licenses, credit cards, rental agreement, IDs and so on.

$.02

spare key.

YES YES YES!

Ask the rental company for the spare key to the car. Since keys now have security chips, running to a big box store and making a duplicate will not work.

In 1999 it was $500.00 and more than 24 hours for Budget and Ford to get me a key to my rental. I dropped something on the key and broke the "handle" part off. Guess where the chip is....

I thought all did away with the chip in the key head. Ours "read" the key via hall effect sensors in the ignition switch so a simple copy does work. This system replaced the old resistor in the key system.

Good suggestions from everyone. I would add a few thing (some suspiciously like tools -sorry) based on my experience with rental cars.

An adapter for the 12V Power outlets so I can plug more stuff in - Generally I carry along a setup for plugging in three devices. Add a small inverter if you need 110VAC for something but I try to avoid that if traveling by myself.

Ipod + 12V adapter w/FM transmitter - gotta have good tunes,even in the middle of nowhere!

12V adapters for my other electronic "toys" - Cell phone, hand held video players/games (as appropriate).

Garmin Nuvi (and bring a Map!)

A small collection of auto fuses (smaller than Dougs PSK) makes a big difference. Odds are you won't need them but the impact when you do can be big. I always get the same car type so I know what fuses to carry.

+1 on the multi-tool (my choice would be Leatherman charge) and I would also add in a couple of small/midsize adjustable wrenches and a couple small / midsized vice grips. Priceless not just for the car but along the way/in the hotels/campgrounds.

7" angled forceps - great for grabbing the silly thing that just fell down into a hard to reach spot in the car or elsewhere.

Camera + accessories, always something photo worthy on a trip. (My camera is digital so "accessories) includes a laptop for looking at the pictures).

Various methods for securing things (zip ties, velcro, tape...).

A couple (Ok I drag along 4) small flashing red LEDs (meant for hikers/bikers) for signaling - most the rentals I get don't include flares/warning triangles.

I won't list the general set of tools I usually drag along other than to point out that there are several nice tool rollup kits that take up very little space and a few well thought out tool choices can help a lot, especially in a rental car on a longish trip.

- Eric (tool addict?)

Not as recently as 2005 I know for sure, because I own one.

The keys are VERY expensive, even when you have all of the codes and are at the dealership.

Not to mention a tad large.

Thanks everbody this is getting good, when I have my bag made up I will list the contents. Please don,t stop, I would like to get some more recommendations.

I have always found cash to be a nice thing to carry while traveling...it clarifies things.

I would add:

- (spare) sunglasses
- something that will protect your head against sun rays - baseball cap, bandanna, ...
- something for handwashing - antibacterial wipes or hand sanitizing liquid/gel
- (binoculars)
- cutlery (fork, spoon)
- small fire extinguisher
- photo of your car from different angles with readable license plate - if someone steals it (which I don´t wish you at all), you will be able to show police how it looks like instead of just describing it

Sorry if I repeated anything already mentioned.

Lots of good suggestions here but the most important ones IMO.
Duct Tape.
Pocket knife.
1st. aid Kit.
Blanket.
Snacks.
Flash light.
Water, lots of it.
And keep your gas tank full. In the west you will often
see signs that will say " Next gas 75 Mi." It's true and even
then when you get to the station it might not be open or the owner
might have gone fishing.
Most often you will find these signs 15mi. on the way out of town.

Buy a couple rolls of Vanilla scented trashbags from the Dollar tree/99 cent store.These are Invaluable as,things can get "rank" quickly!Obtain a few packs of Listerine Breath strips,aside from the obvious use,if you slip a double dose(2 leaves)in your mouth when your feeling drowsy,they WILL reverse, that drowsy feeling quite rapidly!Bon Voyage' Standard Disclaimer for the above stores mentioned

On the spare key. When I was a working guy I'd often go on trips of extended or unknown duration and rely on one or more rental cars wherever I was. The first thing I'd do was have a spare made at a local hardware store. No, it didn't have the chip in it and wouldn't start the car, but it did open the doors very well allowing me to get the factory key from the ignition, or sear or wherever I had left it before accidentaly locking myself out. These spares are very small, and can be carried in your wallet.
Lots of good tips here. Thanks to all.

must be different brands, ours are 2001 and 2004.

Paper towels, knapkins or possible a smallish roll of toilet paper. Not only to wipe up spills, some of the rest stops will have no toilet paper, towels or hand dryers.

Windex or other glass cleaner in a smallish spray bottle. Take some cotton rags with it. This is for the inside of the windshield. Even the normal thin layer of grime which is normal increases the glare especially at night. Clean glass makes driving easier and safer.

I usually throw a small bag of extra clean rags in the trunk with an extra jug of water. That is for face and hand washing. Sometimes it is nice to be able to freshen up a bit after a long drive.

A blanket and pillow. They do not need to be large, just enough to get a bit comfy if you want to nap while the wife drives, or vice versa. Sometimes it really helps on a long drive.

If you take a thermos or two you can have hot coffee or tea.

edit: IO almost forgot. If you are leaving at the end of September be sure to throw a couple of pairs of gloves in. You might appreciate them if you need to change a flat tire or something.

Don't use windex on the inside of glass, the ammonia can soften some of the window tinting and will make a big mess. I ruined a window once with it, never could get it to not be cloudy afterward.

That is interesting Eugene. I have never had a problem with it, but our windshields are probably not tinted like that. (It is against the law here to darken your windshield and factory tinting is sealed in the plastic layer in the middle of the glass.)

What cleaners would you recommend for cleaning the crud of the inside of a windshield instead? Just vinegar and water or have you got a better solution?

Aparently sometimes the factory tinting isn't in between the glass, its sprayed on, this was a chrysler minivan from the 90's when they were using a lot of mitsubishi parts.
Ammonia is considered a pretty bad chemical, I wouldn't want to use in inside a car anyway where my nose is inches from the window. They make automotive glass cleaner and we use some of the method stuff as well since its a non toxic cleaner.

O.K. All here it is my travel bag.

I have shelter with tyrex ground cloth, 5X7 tarp,large orange 4 mil. trash bag. ponchos
fire is taken care of with REI matches,lighters(2) tinder and PJcotton balls.
food is a hot drink kit coffee,tea and sugger&cream packets
water drink packets (for taste)
cup and pot on full 32oz. water bottle
esbit folding stove.
mainstay 3600cal. food packet, 2 power bars 2 small rools of salami.
DR PSK
AMk FAK
2 large fixed blade knifes,one folder and a multi tool
spy glass knife sharpner 2 small flashlights
water bag,duct tape 3 different colors 8ft.each.
road maps 550 cord(50)ft.
pills and n95 masks
Country com radio
gps gloves(2) pair, light jacket, hat for hot and cold
sun glasses, food packet light store bought food, rice, oatmeal spork. Jolt gum candel hand warmers


all in this bag 17lbs.

Personal hygiene items elsewhere?

I keep my truck's spare key in my EDC Mission Wallet. It's always in my front left pocket.

yes personal hyglene items are in our travel bagage. the bag is for un forseen disruptions in the trip. we will be on large main interstates all the way

I have spare key and money,spare I.D.'s in a neck wallet in the bag that is not showen in the picture.

I believe you will be crossing long stretches of desert. If so, water gets very high on my list. I believe one person has already mentioned this. Desert heat can be way over 100 degrees.

I don't live in the desert,but today at my house it was 108, (most of S. Calif is desert with a lot of water added) but yes we will have lots of cold water in the car and I will only be in the desert for 3/4 of 1 day. Then its mountians and a lot of flat lands.

Correction: You only hope you are just in the desert for 3/4 of 1 day.

Even here where we are far from deserts everybody I know carries more than 4 liters of drinking water in their car.
They usually take a case of small bottles of spring water, but cheap cusses like me just fill up old 2 liter pop bottles with tap water.