Charging on the Road

Whenever I travel, I want to make sure that all the mobile devices I bring along with me — like my iPhone, my iPad, my Kindle, and my laptop — will stay charged. How I am traveling determines which charging devices I need. Here are the chargers I use for road trips in the car.

Charging Phones and Tablets in a Car

When traveling by car, charging my iPhone and iPad is easy. New cars, or old cars with new stereos like mine, usually come equipped with a USB plug installed. Simply plug in the USB charging cord that came with your smart phone or tablet, and plug in your phone. Your phone should start charging immediately.

If you have an older car with no USB installed, or an older stereo, there is a very cheap gadget you can buy to convert any car’s 12 volt receptacle power outlet, (previously known as a cigarette lighter), into a USB charger. Most drug stores and gas stations sell portable Universal USB Car Chargers for as little as $1.99 and they come in a variety of colors. You can also find ones with two USB plugs so you can charge two USB devices at once. They are also very small and light, so you can carry them around with you to use whenever the need arises.

For both of these scenarios, make sure the USB cord is the authentic charging cord that either came with your device or is certified. Cheap knock-off brand chargers sometimes do not work in car stereo USBs and portable USB Car Chargers. Additionally, sometimes if the charging cord is longer than 3 feet it might have problems charging.

You can also use what is known as a lipstick charger without plugging anything into your car. These chargers are also very handy for charging on the go. I have a RAVPower Portable Charger 3200mAh External Battery Pack Power Bank with Ultra Bright Flashlight, that currently sells for about $7 on Amazon.com. It is lightweight and small, so you can easily just throw it in your purse or backpack. Just remember to bring the charging cord with you.

Charging Laptops in a Car

Charging my laptop on the road is a bit trickier, because they need more power than a USB cable can provide. Therefore, I always bring along my RAVPower 23000mAh Portable Charger Power Bank External Battery Pack (Xtreme Series,3-Port,9V/12V/16V/19V/20V – LCD Display). It lists at around $100, which is a hefty price for a mobile charger. However, if you are a freelancer like me who never seems to be off the clock, that extra time available on the computer when you really need it will more than make up for the price tag. I had to purchase a separate T-Head Power Bank Male Connector DC MagSafe 2 Cable For Apple Macbook Air Pro 5.5×2.5mm to make it compatible with my MacBook, which sells for around $9.00. This charger works well, and although it is big (about 7″ x 5″), it only weighs 1.3 pounds and is still portable enough to slip in my laptop case and bring with me when I have to do work on the road. It even comes with its own carrying case for added protection. Just be sure to fully charge it the night before you are planning to use it because it takes a while to fully charge.