Road Trip Safety ChecklistĪlong with changing your oil, you should always check your tires in order to get your car ready for a road trip. Let them know that it wasn’t you, but them all along. If they aren’t, then it may be time to end the relationship. If they’re good and honest, things will always work out. The relationship you have with your mechanic is like a marriage. Who knows where else they are cheating you. Though, if they shorted you a quart of oil, have them top off the oil and then never go back there again. Most places that specialize in oil changes – think Jiffy Lube – will top off the fluid in your vehicle if they were the ones to have done the service in the first place. It takes only a minute to pop the hood and pull the dipstick to check and make sure fresh oil was put in the engine block and it was the right amount. Pro Tip – If you pay someone to change your oil for you, don’t take their word for it, check the oil yourself. If you take care of the engine with regular service, then your engine will take care of you. Whether you still do this yourself, or you pay someone to do it, it’ll save you the hassle on the trip and even once the trip is over. One of the easiest things to prepare your vehicle for a long trip is to simply change the engine oil. Winging it and filling up the coolant to whatever “seems close” could damage your AC, in which case you’ll either have to go without or spend more money to fix the thing you just broke. Pro Tip – If you are going to recharge your AC alone, buy the kit that has the gauge. Make sure to read them completely before you start the job. The kits come with step-by-step instructions on how to fill up your system. If you wish to go it alone, pick up an R-134a refrigerant kit at an automotive supply store. This is something that isn’t too hard to do yourself, and in most cases isn’t too expensive to have someone else do either. Sometimes this consists of a wallet, cell phone and a Triple A or car insurance card.Īlso, if you’re traveling in the summer it might be worth having your AC “recharged.” Basically, bring the tools you need to fix the things you are comfortable fixing in case of an unforeseen incident. For this reason, make sure you have an emergency toolkit in your car so can change a flat tire, or jump-start your car. Pro Tip – Things will happen sometimes despite our best efforts. I suggest finding an honest and skilled mechanic to help you on this part of your quest. Not all of these will need to be done, and some, if not most of these you may not be able to do yourself. replacing old or worn out belts and hoses.checking your battery and alternator (every auto parts store will do this for you for free).checking the spark plugs and spark plug wires.checking brake wear and brake fluid levels.
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