It is finally summer. Plenty of us will hence be making extensive plans for the annual summer road trip that we look so much forward to. Past summer trips have been a raging success. This summer should be much the same. But it is not a good idea to rest on your laurels and not make sure that you are protected from misfortune.
Are you about to head off for the holidays for a trip in your car? Then you need to keep an eye out for the increased traffic that you are bound to encounter. Here are more handy hints for making sure that your car is in tip-top condition for the long haul ahead of you.
Tyres are the only point of contact between the car and the road, and therefore are most prone to extreme wear and tear. You can expect your car’s tyres to wear out quite a lot over the course of a year. If they don’t wear out completely, you will at the very least find that they have developed uneven wear.
Don’t forget to check the tyre pressure as well. This includes the tyre pressure of the spare tyre. This has as much to do with safety as it does fuel consumption, which increases when driving with under-inflated tyres.
Do you want to check the depth of your tyre’s tread? It is easy. You can do it with a twenty cent coin. If you look at the bottom of the number 20, you will find that it is about 2mm from the edge of the coin in question. Put the coin into the tread so that the base of the number is going in first. If you can see the whole number, your tyre’s tread is too low. You need to replace it now.
It won’t be a waste of time to also look for any bulges on your tyre, or uneven wear, by sliding your hand over the tyre’s circumference. Are you worried that you will miss something? Have a professional look at them.
Make sure all the lights on your car are working. This will involve walking around you vehicle after turning them all on. Don’t forget to have a close look at the lenses to make sure they aren’t dirty. It is holiday season, which means that children aren’t at school. The need to be visible is more important than at other times of the year.
If your car overheats, the best case scenario is it will be a major nuisance and add time to your trip that is wasted. The worst is that your engine is irreparably damaged. It is therefore a great idea to check it before-hand. Does it need regular top-up? Then have it looked at by a professional.
If you have a regular yearly service looming for your vehicle, do it before the trip rather than afterward. Workshops tend to be extremely busy right before the holiday season. This is why it is a good idea to book the servicing well in advance.
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