Taking Car Vacation
Let me start by saying that when we go on vacation it is always in our car because we do not fly. We always take our vacation here in the states unless we take a cruise as our vacation location. There are two reasons for this, one being I do not like being stripped searched at the airports and the second thing is we need to keep our money in our country and stop giving it away to foreigners, so we drive everywhere we go.
So if you are the kind of person who does not like leaving his car all alone at home while you are on vacation you need to keep it in good working order. You are probably are going with your entire family; so in order to keep them as safe as possible on the road making sure your automobile is in good working condition will help make your vacation more enjoyable.
There are two main things that could put your family at risk and should be the first things to check, which are tires and brakes. You do not want to have a blow out at 70 miles an hour by yourself let alone with you entire family in the car. You have to consider this when you are traveling outside your hometown area because you may not be familiar with the neighborhood you have broke down in.
Also you better check that spare tire to make sure you have air in it or you may have to leave your family on the road while you get some help. The second thing is to make sure you have enough brake pad left on your car before you leave home. If your brakes start squeaking after a few miles down the road it will ruin your vacation. Also check the tread and the tire pressure before leaving home.
Having bad brakes will affect the way your cars stops or don’t stop. If you are out on vacation and these need to be replaced it will cost you a fortune to get them fixed. There are many crooks out there and they all do not carry guns but hold you up with outrageous fees for fixing you car because they know you have no other place you can go.
Some people like to travel in the winter months so I would suggest you invest in a set of chains so you do not have to be stuck out in the cold on the side of the road. Many people who get backed up in traffic have to have the heat on or air conditioner running which uses more fuel than normal so you never want to let your car get under one quarter full while traveling on the main highways.
Make sure you check all your fluid levels before going on vacation. What I do is I try to time my oil change to when I am getting ready to travel. That way all the fluids are checked by my mechanic and they usually have all the products on hand to fill anything that might need something added.
I also get them to check my belts for wear, my windshield wipers as I cannot stand a set of wipers that squeak or don’t clean the windows off when it is raining, the air cleaner and finally I have them check my battery as there is nothing worse than your car not starting after taking a rest area break or stopping for breakfast.
You should also make sure you have an emergency kit with at least these items, flashlight, some non perishable foods, some water also a pair of jumper cables and then you can put all that worry behind you as you will know you are prepared for just about anything and a great vacation.
