Don’t let your car issues ruin your next road trip. Before going on a road trip, doing a vehicle maintenance is essential to make road trip journey flexible and smoother. Also, a quick inspection will give you peace of mind so you can enjoy your journey without maintenance fear.
Are you making plans to go on a road trip sooner? Before you do so, you should inspect your vehicle to ensure that it is in good condition and do not require any maintenance.
Read this blog post till end to get an idea about what should you inspect on your vehicle before going on a road trip?
What Should You Inspect on your Vehicle Before Going on a Road Trip?
Searching for how to know if your car can make a long trip? Here is a road trip car maintenance checklist to help you inspect your vehicle before going on a road trip.
1. Fluid Levels
Before going on road trip, must check your vehicle’s fluid levels. You need to check these:
Engine Oil: Check the oil level and quality. Also, you have to check if engine oil needs to be changed or full up.
Coolant: Normally vehicles face overheating issues on long-haul trips, so you need to ensure the coolant is at the appropriate level to prevent overheating.
Brake Fluid: Just like engine oil and coolant, do not forget to check the brake fluid level as low levels can impact brake performance.
Transmission Fluid: Reddish pink color transmission fluid is clean, while dark red to black color indicate it needs to change.
Power Steering Fluid: For smooth steering, verify that it’s at the recommended level so you won’t come up with any steering issues after.
Windshield Washer Fluid: When you are on a road trip, sometimes you need to clean the windshield. So, ensure there’s enough fluid for cleaning the windshield.
2. Tires
Tire is one of the important parts of any vehicle. If it gets damage or create any issues, you can ruin your road trip. So, you must have to check these things:
Pressure: Must check the pressure of all tires including spare tire inside the car. By checking pressure, your time won’t get punctured or damaged.
Tread Depth: You can check your tread depth with the help of penny test or gauge. Make sure tread depth level is accurate so you will not face traction issues.
Visual Inspection: Sometimes the old tires get worn with time. Look for any damages such as cuts or bulges.
3. Battery
Without fully charged battery, you can’t go on longer road trips. Before going anywhere on a road trip, confirm these things earlier:
Charge: Your battery is in good condition and fully charged. If it needs to get charged, charge it as soon as possible.
Terminals: It is not enough that you only charge your battery but also must check loose connections or corrosions on terminals for better pre tip car inspection.
4. Brakes
Vehicle brakes needs to inspect and maintain on time. For good brake performance, you need to inspect:
Pads and Rotors: With time, brake pads and rotors get damaged. So, make sure that brake pads or rotors don’t need wear or tear.
Performance: If you want to know whether your brake performs well or not, test them earlier they perform well and do not make any noises.
5. Lights and Signals
If you are going on a road trip to areas where weather conditions are not favorable, your vehicle’s lights and signals must function properly. Here are few travel hacks for you below:
Headlights and Taillights: From high beam lights to low beam lights and brake signals or indicators, check all headlights and taillights earlier.
Hazard Lights: These lights are usually for emergencies that help other drivers to alert in case of emergency or danger. Make sure they also function properly.
6. Wipers and Windshield
Imagine you are on your road trip and your vehicle’s wipers and windshield is not functioning properly, it will come up with low visibility issues.
Wiper Blades: Make sure that wiper blades of your vehicle function properly. If it doesn’t function, replace them.
Windshield: Windshield with chips or cracks reduces visibility. To enhance better visibility, change windshield if there’s any cracks on it.
7. Air Conditioning and Heating
For enhanced comfort, your vehicle air conditioning and heating must function properly. To check, you need to test both heating and air conditioning to make sure they are working properly. If it’s not working properly, contact with mechanic so you can enjoy your road trip journey to the fullest.
8. Belts and Hoses
Engine belts and hoses are important when it comes to keeping your car maintained on long road trips. Have them inspected earlier to determine if any are cracked or frayed.
Also, the vehicle’s belts should be tightly installed so make sure to verify that they are completely secure and don’t have a large amount of slack.
9. Suspension and Steering
Alignment: Must check the suspension or alignment issues earlier or also you need to check unusual vibrations.
Steering: Take a try to ensure smooth operation and notice any strange noises. If you experience any strange noises, try to fix it on time so they won’t ruin your longer road trip journey.
10. Emergency Kit
Traveling without emergency kit not only pose safety risks but also save you from emergency hazards. Make sure that you have fully equipped emergency kit that includes all the essentials emergency kit contents. Not only emergency contents inside the kit is present but also in good condition.
What should be in your car emergency kit?
- First aid kit
- Flashlight
- Basic tools
- Jumper cables
- Roadside flares
11. Registration and Insurance
Your vehicle’s registration and insurance documents should be in your hand during your road trip. Do not forget to travel without essential registration documents like vehicle’s registration copy, license and driving permit of your resident state. If you do not have insurance of your vehicle, try to get vehicle insurance as early as possible before you travel to some unique places.
Concluding Remarks!
What should you inspect on your vehicle before going on a road trip? Proper car maintenance is essential especially if want to go on a longer road trip. You can avail road trip ready package by searching road trip car inspection near me.
Even if your vehicle is well maintained and best prepared, unexpected incidents can occur so it’s best to inspect earlier. With a little planning and homework, you can have confidence your vehicle will be functional throughout the whole journey.
FAQs
1. What is the most important reason for inspecting your vehicle before traveling?
Safety is one of the most important causes for checking your vehicle before traveling. Not only safety for yourself but also for other road users as well.
2. How should you prepare for a road trip?
Here are some tips that will help you prepare for a road trip:
● Perform all the vehicle checks
● Stay alert
● Take frequent breaks
● Drive with co-driver
● Ensure vehicle’s control temperatures are working properly
3. What steps should I do before driving my vehicle to my destination?
● Check your vehicle tires
● Inspect all fluid leakages if any
● Must check all the damages
● Make sure snow is not blocking any part of the car
● Check surroundings
4. What to check before going on a long drive?
Before going on a long drive, you need to check:
● Oil
● Brakes
● Lights
● Battery
● Tires
5. What are 4 things you should check for look at before getting into your vehicle?
4 things you need to check before going anywhere in your vehicle:
● Wiper blades
● Brake pads
● Headlights and indicators
● Leakages
6. How do I prepare a high mileage car for a road trip?
High mileage car can go for road trip but care must be taken beforehand. You can prepare a high mileage car for a road trip with these ways:
● Check coolant
● Inspect air filter
● Tire maintenance
● Change oil on time
● Check alignment & suspension
