Going on a road trip is both exciting and pragmatic. First of all, it’s cheaper, it gives you more control over the itinerary, and it turns the voyage into a memorable experience on its own. However, it also means taking the roads that you’ve never taken before which, although adventurous, also poses quite a threat. How will your tires act on a different quality of road? Will your coolant be as effective when taking a highway across the desert? Will your engine endure these long-distance voyages? Here’s a car care checklist you need to complete in order to increase your odds of staying safe on the road.
1. Checking Your Tires
Your car tires determine your control of the vehicle, your fuel economy, and the overall driving experience. Why does this make a difference on a road trip, when compared to your regular commute?
- Seeing as how the road conditions vary greatly on the road trip, the depth of your tread is suddenly far more important. While your tire may be good enough for a regular commute, the same doesn’t have to be the case when it comes to a desolate road you may encounter.
- While fuel economy is always important when going on a longer journey, the difference will be a lot more significant. What you can save on the route from home to work is a fraction of a percentage of what you’ll be able to save on a road trip.
- You can feel it when the state of your tires isn’t what it’s supposed to be. Now, spending hours behind the wheel, looking at the open road, this will become quite hard to ignore. Given enough time, it can be quite vexing.
Lastly, replacing your tires is not a major expense and rotating them takes minutes (half an hour at most). So, why not just get on with it?
2. Checking Car Fluids
The next thing you need to do is check your car fluids. Now, you may have written down when it was the last time you changed your engine oil but:
- You can’t always go by the list.
- There’s more to it than just engine oil.
The list of car fluids that you need to check and refill is quite long. Sure, not all of these fluids are as essential but if you want to be extra thorough, you need to pay attention to:
- Oil
- Radiator fluid
- Transmission fluid
- Brake fluid
- A/C coolant
- Windshield washer fluid
- Power steering fluid
The thing you need to understand is that, for instance, during the summer, you’re A/C coolant and windshield washer fluid (due to the dust) are more important. During winter, high-viscosity oil and antifreeze fluid take precedence.
3. Taking Your Car to a Professional
The best thing you can do is take your car to a mechanic and tell them that you’re planning to embark on a road trip. This way, they’ll know what to check and what to look for. Now, according to a veteran mechanic from Nerang, taking a malfunctioning vehicle on a road trip is extremely dangerous. Still, not all road trips are made the same.
Make sure to schedule this inspection in advance, so that the professional in question may examine your car thoroughly. Also, prepare a budget for this checkup, seeing as how, aside from the regular expenses of this inspection, an unexpected repair or two may be required, as well.
4. Clean It and Buy a Cover
We can’t stress this out enough when taking your car for a road trip, you want to clean it in advance, even though it’s going to get dirty fairly soon. Contrary to what you may believe, there’s this thing called the accumulation of dirt.
Second, cleaning the car from the inside is incredibly important and it needs to be done thoroughly. Think about it, you’re going to spend hours and hours every day inside and if there are any dangerous allergens inside, they need to be cleaned as soon as possible.
Most importantly, you never know where you’re going to leave your car overnight. It would be ideal if you could find a garage at your lodging but there’s just no guarantee that this will be the case. Luckily, buying a car cover is really not that expensive. Moreover, these covers can easily fit your trunk, even if you are packing heavily.
5. Start in Time
There are some repairs that just can’t be done in a matter of a day. So, when planning a road trip, make sure to start with this car care routine in time. In order to thoroughly inspect your vehicle, even the most competent specialists need to take their time.
Moreover, chances are that you’ll need to replace a part that needs to be ordered online. So, it will take some time until it arrives. Then, there’s the question of all the arrangements you’ve made in advance. Sure, you’re planning a road trip but maybe you’ve booked some accommodation options in advance or booked some tickets beforehand. If your car isn’t ready by then, you’ll have to postpone the entire journey, and the sooner you know, the better.
In conclusion
The very last thing you need to understand is that just because you do all of the above, this doesn’t mean that you’ll be 100% safe. However, it does mean that, when it comes to the technical viability of your vehicle, you have nothing to fear. Being safe at least on that front is a huge boost to your self-confidence moving forward.
