Add-on And Take-Along Car Accessories To Enhance Your Ride And Empower You
And Where To Get Them Online

-- by Alan Detwiler

Add-on devices for your car make your ride more enjoyable. A power cord plugged into the cigarette lighter socket will keep your cell phone running. An iceless cooler will conveniently keep a drink cold. A heated mug will keep coffee hot as long as the car is running. Listen to music that is more to your liking with an MP3 player. Add-on accessories add enjoyment to your ride. Many are low enough in price that they are well worth installing. This article concentrates on accessories priced under $50.

When driving, make the right choice for which way to go when travelling in unfamilar territory - you know which direction is which, you have a compass in your car. The check engine light comes on along with several other warning lights on the dashboard. The temperature gauge starts to climb. It's night. You can see the cause of your delema because you have a trouble light to visually spot a missing engine belt that broke and fell away. Be enabled, empower yourself with a few useful add-on and take-along car accessories.

Below is information and comments about a dozen add-on car accessories. Basic features of each item is specified so you can choose one as a gift to enable someone you know and/or to choose one to enable yourself. Clickable links are provided for each item's retail website. Most are from major retailers including Walmart, Amazon.com, J.C. Whitney, and Radio Shack.


12-volt heated mug - A mug with a plug for getting power from the cigarette lighter socket. It keeps a liquid such as coffee hot for as long as the vehicle is running. Some models have a thermostat to set the temperature.

Example models:

  • Wagan Tech Heated Travel Mug Removeable cord plugs into cigarette lighter socket, 16-ounce capacity, double wall vacuum insulation to keep drinks hot up to an hour after you unplug, mug fits cup holders. Available through www.autoanything.com for about $30.

  • New VR3 Stainless Steel Heated Insulated Travel Mug Cup Plugs into cigarette lighter socket, 14-ounce capacity, base sized to fit cup holder, about $10 plus shipping. Available through www.amazon.com.

  • Bell & Howell Hot N' Go Heated Car Mug Heats to 145-degrees F in 30 minutes, 16-ounce capacity, available through www.amazon.com for about $18.

  • JLR Gear Smart Mug Set the temperature you want, has ready light, 16-ounces, plugs into lighter socket, available through amazon.com for $20 plus shipping.



Cooler/warmer - These give the choice of keeping food hot or cold. Can warm food and can cool. Some are sized to hold a can of soda or a mug of coffee, larger units might hold a six pack or more.

Example models:



Cell phone charger - Plugs into the cigarette lighter socket to power or charge your cell phone.

Example models:



12-volt coolers - No ice required to keep food cold. These range in size to hold 2 soda cans up to full size refrigerators for recreational vehicles.

Example models:
  • Rubbermaid 10.5-Liter Cooler (617977223501) Keep drinks or food cold or warm, 10.5-liter, up to fourteen 12-oz. cans, two built-in cup holders and a padded seat, plugs into car's 12-volt DC outlet. Available through Walmart.com for about $50 plus shipping.

  • Kool Mate Thermo-Electric Cooler Holds cans and 2-liter bottles upright, 32-can capacity, cold use only, 8' 12-volt power cord, cools 44-degrees farenheit/24-degrees celsius below ambient temp. Available through www.amazon.com for $100 plus shipping.



Power inverter - Plugs into the cigarette lighter socket, clips to battery, or wire it in. The vehicle's 12-volts dc is changed to 120-volts ac to power things like laptop computers, coffee makers, cell phones, camcorder battery chargers and other small appliances. Don't go bigger than 400 watts unless you want to go directly to the battery with heavy wire. Even then, high power devices will drain your battery quickly and could fry the alternator if the engine is running.

example models:



mp3 player - Down load music or other audio content, save it to either the player's memory or a separate flash drive. Some content can be downloaded for free. Hours of audio can be stored in a single memory device. Listen to the program any time you choose.

example models:
  • VR3 MP3/WMA FM Modulator w/USB Port and Audio, VRFM8BLN Plug a flash drive into its USB port and use Play, Pause, Volume, Shuffle, and Track Selection controls to play MP3 and WMA files, has a mini jack to use a mp3 player or other audio source, has cigarette lighter plug . Available through www.walmart.com for about $35.

  • DLO TransCast FM Transmiter for MP3 Players, 0092007 Use to play audio from an MP3 player through a car's radio. Gets power from cigarette lighter jack or batteries, 3-foot cord for connecting an audio source, compatible with MP3 players, PSP, and iPod. Available from www.radioshack.com for about $40 plus shipping. Radio shack will ship free to the store nearest you.

  • USB Car MP3/WMA FM Modulator Player W/Audio Input Will accept a standard USB drive to play MP3 files with car's FM radio, plugs in cigarette lighter jack, input jack for audio from CD, DVD or MP3 player. Available through www.amazon.com for about $25.

  • Belkin TuneCast II Mobile FM Transmitter Will accept audio from a MP3 player's headphone jack and transmit it to a car's radio to be played through the car's existing speaker system, powered by batteries or through car's cigarette lighter jack, available through www.walmart.com for about $24.


12-volt coolers - No ice required to keep food cold. These range in size to hold 2 soda cans up to dozens of cans. For owners of recreational vehicles, full size refrigerators that run on 12 volts are available.

Example models:
  • Rubbermaid 10.5-Liter Cooler (617977223501) Keep drinks or food cold or warm, 10.5-liter, up to fourteen 12-oz. cans, two built-in cup holders and a padded seat, plugs into car's 12-volt DC outlet. Available through Walmart.com for about $50 plus shipping.

  • Kool Mate Thermo-Electric Cooler Holds cans and 2-liter bottles upright, 32-can capacity, cold use only, 8' 12-volt power cord, cools 44-degrees farenheit/24-degrees celsius below ambient temp. Available through www.amazon.com for $100 plus shipping.


Multipurpose lights - Can be incandescent, flourescent or LED. Some plug into the cigarette lighter socket, some are wired directly into the car's power circuits, and some are battery operated and portable. If used while the vehicle is not running, LED models will drain the battery much less (but in general produce less light).

Example models:


Compass - Some are mechanical, some are electronic and battery powered with digital displays, some are lighted to read at night, some have additional features such as time, date, and/or temperature readouts.

example models:



Weather alert radio - Receives broadcasts from the National Weather Service. The NWS provides weather forecasts and reports as well as announcements about severe weather and any possible disasters. I have a radio that uses the vehicle's power so I don't have to replace batteries every time I turn around. You have to be within about 5 to 20 miles from the transmitter, depending on terrain and the power of the nearest transmitter.

example models:



Flashlight - Dozens of types available including windups that don't require batteries, solar rechargeables, flourescent tube (flourescent bulbs last much longer), and LED models that will run many hours on one set of batteries and don't have bulbs that burn out.

example models:
  • Rebel LED flashlight Includes belt clip, 7-inches long, includes 3 snap-on filters - red to enhance night vision, amber for fog, blue for glass and water. Available through www.coolflashlights.com. Runs on two AA batteries, Model # 809-1055-0, $25 plus shipping.

  • Dorcy Waterproof LED 4AA Flashlight 200-hour Run Time on 4 AA alkaline batteries. Available through www.coolflashlights.com for about $15 plus shipping.

  • Himount Windup LED Flashlight Wind up for 1 minute to get 40-minutes light, 5-1/2-inches long. Available through www.jcwhitney.com for about $15.

  • Coleman 1 Watt LED Micro-Packer Lantern Runs 30 hours on 3 AA batteries. Available through www.coolflashlights.com for about $24 plus shipping.

  • Energizer Weather-Ready Compact LED Light Runs about 100 hours on 4 AA batteries, included. Ought to be good for the glove box or trunk. Available through www.walmart.com for about $9 plus shipping.

  • Dorcy 1/2-Watt LED Flashlight #41-2498 Waterproof, floats, 200-hours run time on 4 AA batteries Available through www.amazon.com for about $9 plus shipping.



4-point safety harness - Has four anchor points and a restraint for each shoulder. These are more likely to get you through a crash with less injury than if you had been using a standard belt (across one shoulder and across the lap). Most models are made to attach to a roll bar, so make sure the one you are getting is appropriate for your vehicle. If in doubt, call the retailer or manufacturer.

example models:



Other accessories that can be used to enhance your car include seat covers, floor mats, steering wheel covers, sun shades, head rest covers, litter bags, can and cup holders, inside/outside thermometer, gps/map device, extra loud or novelty sound horns.

Items to keep in your car for repair, emergency, safety and miscellaneous - Jack, lug wrench, trouble light, flares, jumper cables, maps, cell phone and phone numbers, coolant for radiator, drinking water, long storage food, empty container for gasoline, various hand tools, gloves, coat, hat, blanket, rain poncho, and a first aid kit.


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The author's web sites are www.leisureideas.com and www.makegizmos.com

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Updated 20080110