Summer Road Trips Grande Guide

Make your Summer Road Trip The best that can be

If you plan to do any driving this summer, it will be one of the 35 million hit the roads. But the fun is in the experience, my friends. Road trips and summer vacations have a unique place in the American experience. So we wanted to put together a booklet with tips and suggestions on how to make your summer vacation trip or driving the best it can be. First, we will get the company on track with some tips to make sure your car is in better driving condition before hitting the road.

Tires and tire pressure

No doubt, the tires are the most neglected part of the car, especially when it comes to security. Yes, tires are part of the vehicle security system. They maintain contact with the road and work with the braking system to ensure that you actually stop at red lights and not in the window opposite ...

Having the right tire pressure is the best way to make sure your tires are working properly. There are two numbers to watch. Your tires will be listed on the side that the maximum tire pressure. It is located on each side of the door on the driver side in the glove compartment or in the owner's manual. The reason you want to go that value and not the maximum is because tire pressure increases with increasing temperature. And since this is a summer trip, the tire pressure may be 5-10 psi higher on the road than when you started. Excessive tire pressure increases the risk of a flat tire on the road.

Having the right tire pressure will keep you safe, give you the best treatment and better mileage. Overinflating tires, as indicated, can give you better gas mileage, but it is dangerous. Underinflating tires gives you worse fuel consumption and tire wear faster on the edges.

Speaking of tire edges, look at your tread before beginning a trip. Good depth of tires keep you on the road in the rain. Looking for uneven wear patterns on each side. If it is more worn on one side, get an alignment. Composition cost a little early, but save money in the long run by keeping your tires to wear.

The cooling system

Your cooling system is working hard in the heat of the summer to keep the car running. No, we're not talking about sales, we talk about the system that keeps your fusion engine. The cooling system has a number of parts, and since few of us are very good at diagnosing cooling problems, the best thing to do is to have your system checked out by a good mechanic before you leave. You do not want to be driving through the desert of Arizona with a sore cooling system.

A brief summary of the parts of the cooling system, so you can at least look like you know what your mechanic tells you:

Radiator core - the tubes which hold the coolant radiator. Exposure to road salt rots over time. Bad news if you drive and it happens. Or it can be blocked, which means that your engine will run hot when driving at high speed. A radiator flush is a good idea here.

Belts and hoses - Check for small cracks in the rubber and make sure that the pipes are still tight and arrested.

Coolant and thermostat - obviously need your radiator antifreeze to run correctly. If you have not had a new thermostat in a few years to get a new one before your trip.

Water pump - the pump circulates water ... water. Good mechanics will replace the water pump when replacing the timing belt. The cooling fan and central heating - cooling fan sounds like something important, and it is. But the heater core is so important to your cooling system (sounds funny?). This is because the central heating keeps your coolant to leak everywhere. You do not want a central heating stopped.

Air conditioning

This seems to be a particular need for a summer trip, especially if you go somewhere like the tourist paradise of Florida. If the area is cold breath, you're good to go. But if he gives some clues that he might want to cause trouble ahead, it is certainly a good idea to have it checked. For as many things in the vehicle, the AC system does not work alone. The AC belt also helps to power things like the water pump and alternator. So if the belt breaks AC, or the compressor (the really expensive part) stops functioning, the belt may break then. And now you're really stuck without a switch or a water pump. Once the controlled AC system. So it's really a good idea to take your vehicle once again, before your big trip.

Relief material being prepared

It is always a good idea to be prepared for emergencies. Play some useful things in your trunk can turn a potential crisis of bad luck of not-as-a-big-business. And, like any good financial planner will tell you, auto (and financial) problems are just a matter of if, not when. Here are some things to take with you on your road trip:

Soda - you can not always rely on the existence of a service station at regular intervals, especially if you travel west.

Oil (2 liters) - to keep your engine explode if you have an unexpected leak (it is another kind?)

Maps and / or Atlas - you can not always rely on cellular service, even if you have a smart phone. On paper.

The tape - for repairing leaky pipes (not for strapping things to your roof). A real spare tire - you can get a used tire in the local dump. Have a spare tire size maintain a flat cramp your style if you're on a tight schedule.

Various tools - simple things such as a screwdriver, pliers, even a hanger. Here are some other helpful tips

Here are some useful tips you might not have thought with regard to any journey you plan. Make sure to pack for warm weather - it seems obvious, but sometimes we forget the obvious for us if we go to new places. Do not forget to bring sunscreen, light clothing and repellent. It's the little things in life, you know?

Take a swimsuit - if you want to be spontaneous, do not forget your swimsuit. You never know when the opportunity may arise for a quick dip in a location you will remember. Limit your afternoon driving - Hopefully his schedule is not so tight that you feel you have to chew the miles during each period of free time down. If you are driving at night or dusk / dawn, you also save fuel because it takes less gas to cool your car when it is not so hot outside.

Three words:

trucks. Stop. Showers. - When you've been driving for hours outside the box and hit the showers in a large truck stop. They are usually very clean and cheer you to the place. So pack your shampoo and conditioner, and wear rubber sandals, too. If it is a good truck stop where you go, just bring a jug of water and wash your hair in a parking lot. Get enough sleep - This seems obvious, but we have the bad habit of packing a lot in our travels so we drive 14 hours at a time. You should enjoy a trip on the road.

 
Choose wisely your electronics - by which we mean a number of things. Turn off the phone or limited to checking email just a couple of times a day. The business world will not implode if you take the time to the family of a priority switch for a day. Do you have a camera ready to go and store the fun music on your mp3 player to have on hand.

Get off the well traveled road and go somewhere you've never been (and may never be again) - everyone takes highways. Try to hit the scenic route instead. You will not remember the Applebees in Metarie, Louisiana. But you will remember the small joint up hole-in-the-wall that is always crowded by people living in the area and know where the food is good.

Healthy food (some) - we do not suggest plans are for road trips. But someone said that the best way to feel "terrible" on a road trip is to eat "terrible". Replace its own right words, no. You want to have fun on your trip. Camping, anyone? The idea is that you can be flexible in your choices when you're faced with a choice of where bed for the night. And who knows, can be fun to say you were sleeping under the stars.

Save your contacts and tell people where you are going - which is something that most people overlook. We rely on our phones to store information, but what happens if you drop your phone in the lake, you are camping nearby? Save large contact information in various places - in line (same email address?) Make photocopies license and credit card your driver too, while you're there. Suggested destinations to travel

You did the Disney thing before?