Those boxed pasta salad kits are pretty good. I bet it would last long enough in a cooler for a road trip. Most of them are some sort of pasta (bowtie, elbow, ect), some type of seasoning packet (ranch, bacon, italian), and you add the mayo. What I like to do is boil a chicken breast and slice it up into bite sized peices and add it to the pasta salad as a protein boost. If I was on the road I think this would be a good meal to have. The pasta has the B vitamins, the chicken or tuna would provide protien to keep hunger away, and the pasta salad tastes good cold.

I've seen these in Walmart for as little as $1.25 and it makes 2 servings if chicken is added to it.

It would taste even better adding a veggie to the salad. For example, if I had the ranch pasta salad and was adding chicken breast, I might also steam broccoli and when it cools off add it to the salad. Lots more vitamins and fiber, and it makes the dish taste better. If I was doing the italian pasta kit I might add cherry tomatoes.