How to prepare your car for a cross-country road trip
When you are preparing to travel cross-country, there is more to the process than just booking hotel rooms and planning stops. Truth be told, having your car ready to safely (and completely) make the trip is probably the most important task of the entire planning process.
Traveling thousands of miles in just a few days puts a lot of additional wear and stress on your car, increasing the likelihood that any parts that are ready to break will end up doing so.
And trust me, the last thing you'll want to do is to experience a breakdown in the middle of nowhere and/or hundreds or even thousands of miles from home.
Preparing your car for the trip
One of the first things you will want to do is to ensure that your vehicle has been inspected for maintenance...
As a minimum, you'll want to have the oil changed (even if it isn't time for a regularly scheduled change), all the other fluids topped off and your tires rotated and properly inflated to the correct air pressure.
It would also be a good idea to have the engine checked out to make sure there aren't any unnoticed issues that could get worse during your trip. At a minimum, the engine's filters, hoses and other items should be thoroughly checked out.
Make sure you have an emergency kit in your car
Placing an emergency kit in the car is also going to be important. In the event that you do break down or have an accident, this kit is going to help to keep you safer and give you the tools that you need to avoid problems.
Consider having a first aid kit, flares, flags and other basics that might keep you safer on the road. You don’t need to shell out a fortune for this kit, just ensure that it does have the basic items in it.
Take along a few basic tools
Another important thing will be to have tools on hand. Everything from a jack and tire iron to a basic mechanics too set and even jumper cables should be in a tool box so you can find them quickly. The reason is that unexpected items can come up. When you have the chance to take care of these issues on your own, you will be able to avoid costly tows and repairs on your trip.
It would also be a good idea to include a tire air pressure gauge and an inexpensive OBD2 Scanner Vehicle Code Reader.
Most people tend to overlook the spare tire before they go out and just assume it will be fine. Before you leave, you will need to ensure that it is still in good repair and that it hasn’t been compromised by time sitting in your trunk.
While you won’t need to commonly replace these items, knowing that you have an extra you can count on will give you some peace of mind and this can also help you to avoid being stranded.
Reduce the clutter
One other thing to understand is that having too much clutter in the car is going to be dangerous. While your car fills with wrappers and other items, they do pose a risk. Try to keep items off your dashboard and away from the feet of the driver. If your car becomes too much of a mess, stop at a rest area and clean it out. The cleaner it remains, the safer you are going to be in this process.
You might also want to remove and heavy items that you know you won't need from the trunk, back seat and floorboard. This is important because extra dead weight will lower your gas mileage cause the car's engine and transmission to work a bit harder that necessary (which can be a big deal on a really long trip).
Bottom line: There is a lot that goes into the planning of a cross-country road trip. Make sure you have these basics in mind and you should be able to enjoy the trip and greatly decrease the odds of your car breaking down somewhere along the way.
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