Ever been on a road trip? We bet you had the time of your life during your adventure. However, did you know that if your car isn’t in good condition, your long drives could end up in chaos? Here are road trip tips on how to avoid this.
In these present times, owning a car has turned out to be a crucial component of our lives. This is because we commute to our workplaces with them on a daily basis, take our children to school and go on vacation with them. With this in mind, the people who consider their vehicles to be precious, ensure that they keep them in great shape through taking them for regular service sessions.
As much as it`s good to ensure that professionals check your vehicle, there are many tips that would see to it that your car remains in good condition. Below are some tips that you should enforce as you prepare to take your vehicle for a long drive.
Exceptional Road Trip Tips
- Check Your Car’s Engine Oil
One of the most crucial sections of your car that you should be concerned about is the engine. Here, you`ll find around four primary things that you are supposed to check before embarking on a long drive. These include your vehicle`s engine oil, brake fluid, coolant, and the windscreen`s washer fluid.
For you to evaluate the engine oil, you should first ensure that your car has been parked on a level surface. You should then warm the car up and stop its engine and wait for a couple of minutes to allow its oil to gather inside the oil pan. After you’ve done this, you should remove the dipstick, wipe it and return it. On completing this, withdraw the dipstick once again and check out its level (it should be next to the dipstick`s high-level mark).
In case the engine oil is dark or almost pitch black, you should change it immediately. If the level is lower than it ought to be, you should top it up. If you have been observing that your car consumes a significant amount of oil, you should then resort to carrying extra bottles of engine oil as you prepare car for road trip.
- Check Your Air Filter
One of the other vital road trip tips is that you should always check out your air filter as your prepare car for a long drive. Every air filter manufacturer has his setup for air filters, but it`s easy to remove it from the rest of the car`s housing. If you are aware that it has been a long time since you changed your vehicle`s air filter, you should change it before going for a car road trip.
- Evaluate Your Lights and Other Electrical Equipment
Checking out your vehicle`s electrical equipment doesn’t always mean that you are required to split the entire vehicle`s wiring system. All that you need to do is find out whether the wipers, the horn, and all your car`s lights are functioning correctly. The best car road trip tips also dictate that you should carry spare bulbs (taillight and headlights) as you prepare car for road trip. Also, you should see to it that your car`s cooling and heating system is working flawlessly before you begin your road trip to see to it that you have a comfortable experience as you drive to your destination.
- Check Your Battery
All new batteries have a lifespan of around three to five years. As you prepare car for road trip, you should use the visual check to find out if there are any corroded terminals or if there are acid leaks. It is hard to know the exact time that your car`s battery could die (it often ends up being sudden/unexpected). However, when starting your car`s engine, the moment you perceive the crank to be relatively slow, you should start thinking about getting a new battery.
- Ensure the Tires Are in Good Condition
Tires are among the most crucial components of a car that connect it to the ground. One of the best road trip tips is that you should ensure that your tires are in optimum condition because failure of seeing this through could lead to immobility of your vehicle when having a long drive.
For you to check your tires` condition, you need to first see to it that their treads are deep enough to avoid aquaplaning. You should then ensure that they are inflated with the appropriate pressure which makes sure that your vehicle has proper stability as well as gripping. The tire pressure is normally mentioned on the driver`s door post or his/her side door edge. In addition to the above, in case you feel there are vibrations as your vehicle increases its speed, you should see to it that you balance your tires.
Conclusion
Going for long drives in a car and road trips is one of the most exciting things that a person can do during this festive season. While driving on some of the best road trip roads is something to look forward to, it is good for you to know that there`s a need for you to prevent your road trip from ending up into a disaster with your car breaking down. With this in mind, the article above will provide one of the best road trip tips that can act as a guide to some of the things you should do as you prepare car for road trip. But if you wish to take a bus you can ride a Palm Bay party bus. Do you own a car and have been driving for long distances? Are there any other road trip tips that have worked for you? Some car preparing tips perhaps? Share with us by commenting below.
About the author:
Carlos Blue is an auto expert, traveler, and father of 2 awesome kids. He loves cars and everything related to it. Carlos works at the Shell Service Station and he manages some projects, including AutoExpertGuides.
