If You Have to Travel By Car

In the warmer months there are many ways to spend a vacation. And one of them is to go on a road trip with friends or family.  In today’s article we have prepared basic recommendations on how to properly prepare your car for a long journey. So that there were no unexpected surprises during the trip.

Carry out a complete technical inspection

On a road trip, one of engine cylinders may, for example, suddenly fail. Or, as the mechanics say, the engine “stutters” – due to a faulty power system or ignition. Emergency solution of such a problem will take much time and money, but the planned diagnostics helps to detect malfunctions at an early stage and to avoid serious consequences.

Separate attention should be paid to checking the brake system. It is better to replace the pads, if before a long trip their wear is about 50% – because when driving on the highway they can work in the mode of increased load and will begin to wear out much faster.

Change technical fluids

Change the oil in the engine if you have a long journey ahead of you. Or if last time it was replaced five thousand kilometers ago or even earlier. If in the conditions of city driving a faultless car usually does not waste oil, then at prolonged increased loads on the highway may start “oily” – when the consumption increases from 0.1 to 1 liter per thousand kilometers. And take a couple of liters of oil to spare. After all, the same brand of engine oil, which is poured in the engine of your car may not be in the first or second, or even in the fifth pop-up store.

Adjust the alignment

With time, any, even exact adjustment of wheel camber will be out of tune. Therefore, it is worth to visit a car service before the trip, where specialists will check the angle of wheel alignment on a special stand and, if necessary, make fine-tuning with modern equipment.

If the camber is not adjusted, the driver may experience problems with steering – the car will start to pull to the side, and the tires will wear out faster than usual.

Fill up the air conditioner

It can also happen that when you’re traveling in the summer and your air conditioner breaks down. The only thing worse than that is a faulty “heater” on a winter trip.

Let’s check the freon level in the car. We also recommend to find out if the air conditioner has any functional problems or leaks. For starters, inspect for fogging and oil drops on external elements of cooling system. And if there are any questions – be sure to drop in at service for diagnostics.

Stock up on a bunch of keys and batteries

There have been situations where the battery in the key fob suddenly died and the car was difficult to open. Locked because of broken keys is an unpleasant problem which may occur at any time due to carelessness and thousands of kilometers away from home.

That’s why we always take a spare set of car keys and a set of batteries for the alarm and the key when travelling. The main thing that at the right time they were not inside the closed car.

Plan places for refueling

When traveling you may come across stations with low-quality gasoline. Filling up with such fuel can negatively affect the performance of the engine. To avoid such force majeure, it is better to plan a route with reliable gas stations along the way. Even better – always leave with a full tank of quality gasoline. And if the route runs in remote areas, it is worth having a canister of fuel in the trunk.

Renew wiper blades and fill up the windshield washer tank

After winter, the rubber on the windshield wipers shrinks, and after the summer – it dries out. Because of this, the “wipers” begin to poorly clean and even scratch the windshield. This is very dangerous when traveling on unknown roads, where dirt can get on the glass in large quantities.

So before you leave, check the condition of the windshield wipers and the level of windshield washer fluid, replenishing it. Be especially attentive to the choice of fluid before a trip in winter. In the regions it can be difficult to find a quality product. That’s why we always take a couple of canisters of cleaner with us and make sure the view is always perfect.

Check the battery

Before the road, I always check the condition of the battery. Even in the summer – because there are a lot of power-consuming devices in the car. If you, like me, need to charge your photo equipment, laptop and even heat your kettle while moving, take a battery starter with you. With it, you can revive even the deadest battery and not have to interrupt your trip looking for a recharge.

Change the air filter

Increased fuel consumption and difficulty starting the engine may be an indication that the air filter is dirty and it’s time to change it. You can check for yourself by opening the air filter cover under the hood. If you know in advance that it gets clogged quickly, take a spare one on your trip. It is especially important if your way lies in the mountains. On bad roads, the filter should be changed about every 15,000 kilometers to keep the car from “suffocating”.

Adjusting the headlights

Most people, when they go on a trip, do not pay any attention to this. At the same time, you often see drivers on the roads who dazzle the flow of oncoming traffic because of poorly adjusted headlights. Adjusting the daytime running lights and fog lights yourself, you need to check the bulbs themselves: their life on all cars is different, but even if one works at half its power, it is better to replace both at once.