Welcome to the latest Mechanical Mum blog. In this blog I will be giving you some hints and tips that will be useful when planning a road trip. In this blog I will be discussing just a standard road trip- so no off roading just heading away for a break.
Ok, so with school holidays coming up soon, you have decided to take the family on a road trip. What should you be doing in regards to checking your vehicle before you head off. The first thing is, if it is overdue a service, make sure it is done before as a preemptive measure. Having your vehicle checked over by a professional technician is always recommended, however if it has been serviced recently it is a good idea to do a few checks yourself before you head off.
Basic Mechanical Checks
The first check is your oil and water. Making sure these are at the correct level will mean the car will be protected on the longer drives. Cars need oil in their engines so they run smoothly by lubricating and cleaning the internals. Coolant is needed to cool the engine and if it overheats it can potentially cause engine failure. Checking tyre pressure is also important. If they are underinflated there will be excess wear on the tyre and the car’s handling will be less than optimal. If there is too much air then the braking capabilities is reduced as well as handling. Checking the spare tyre to make sure it is roadworthy is also really important. This means both tread and pressure needs to be checked. Often people change their tyre to the spare because they got a puncture and forget to replace or repair the “now” spare tyre. These are the really basic items to check – something that should be routinely done even if you are not going on a long trip. Take the car into your local mechanic if you are concerned about any of these items rather than topping them up yourselves. If you are towing a caravan or trailer and you have a trailer plug it is a good idea to connect it all up and get someone to check that all the brake lights and indicators are working.
Useful Products for Safety and convenience
Some handy products that are available for you to add to your vehicle that might make your trip easier and more comfortable are roof racks, jumper packs and puncture repair kits. Roof racks come in a few different designs. There are basket racks, which are great to help carry additional items, there are racks specifically designed for carrying bicycles and ones that are just rods that are great for attaching surfboards to. Deciding on which one would suit your needs best is really up to the individual and then speaking to your local supplier will allow you to make the best decision.
Jumper packs are a great item to have, in fact all of our cars including our kids cars have jumper packs in them. With all the computers in cars these days using jumper cables are not advised and often aren’t strong enough to jump start a car. These packs can be used as a battery for charging devices as well and often have a torch on them so if you are stuck at night you are able to see what you are doing. Using these are really straight forward and you are not relying on anyone else being around if you get stuck.
Puncture repair kits come in a couple of different forms. Some tyres are runflats and wont actually go flat if you have a puncture, however most tyres will. It is important to not drive on the flat tyre as you can damage the tyre and the rim. One type is a rope repair kit. This will contain a T reamer tool to make widen the hole where the puncture has occurred (I know this sounds counterproductive, but trust the process), a T plugger tool to push the rope in and the rope repair as well. The instructions come with them. The other type is a spray in foam. These are easy to use but make a huge mess and usually make the tyre unrepairable when you get to a tyre shop to fix it. In an emergency both are fine. It is important to get to a shop to have fixed ASAP. The alternate is changing the tyre to your spare. Please be mindful that if you have one of those space saver tyres as your spare, they are only rated to 80km per hour, so if you are travelling on freeways you may need to adjust your speed to allow for this.
So if you are planning on going away these holidays, these are a few things you may want to consider checking and or purchasing. Keep an eye on my socials for videos on these products and how to check your oil and water. Stay tuned for more blog posts where I will offer some advise on what you might want to consider having with you if you are traveling off road or into some of the more remote destinations.
If you have anything you would like to ask, please don’t hesitate to drop me a question and don’t forget to like, subscribe and follow me on Facebook, Instagram, YouTube and TikTok.
Safe driving,
Gabbi
