What Should You Do to Ready Your Vehicle for a Road Trip?

Check the Oil
Before a long road trip, you should check the oil to make sure your vehicle is ready to go. Running out of oil midway through a road trip will ruin your vacation and put you on the side of the road for a long amount of time. If you are due for an oil change soon, you should take it into your local body shop and take care of the potential issue. Oil keeps your engine moving, so neglecting it will surely end your road trip early.
Check Your Battery
When you start your car, you should take time to listen for any weird noises or prolonged starts. If you notice your car doing either of these things, you should take it in to be checked at a body shop near you. Most body shops can check your battery’s power, and some will even do it for free. If your battery is not putting out power, you will want to get it changed before hitting the road. Your battery is a vital component of your vehicle and will leave you stranded in a gas station’s parking lot if left unattended.
Clean Your Windshield
If you are going to be heading out of town soon, you should take time to ensure your windshield is clean. If you notice constant streaks across the shield, you should replace your wipers. If you need to replace your windshield wipers you will notice streaks forming on your windshield when you run the wipers. Windshield wipers need to be replaced every six months to a year, or they will begin to streak like this. You can pick up windshield wipers at any auto body shop, and usually employees will be available to help you install them if you need the help.
Check Your Tires
Before taking a long road trip you should check the tread on your tires. If your tread is beginning to look worn down it is definitely a good idea to take your car in for a tire change. You should immediately call your body shop and begin the process of changing your tires if they are looking worn out. If you have gone too long without a tire rotation, it would be a good idea to rotate them. You can either do this at home, or in the body shop. After you have driven on your tires for so many miles you need to rotate your tires so that they do not wear down as easily. If you take your vehicle into the body shop, they should be able to do this easily. However, you can also do this in your driveway.
Check Your Tire Pressure
If your vehicle's tire pressure is off, you may be running into trouble. You should take time to check each tire’s pressure before going out of town to make sure that there is nothing wrong with each tire. You don’t want to find out about a leaky tire midway through your vacation. Checking your tire pressure is simple and will only take a few minutes to do. All you need to know is the pressure your tires are supposed to ride at and all you need to have is a way to check them. You can purchase a small manual pressure sensor that can easily fit in your console. You can purchase these at most body shops or even grocery stores. All you need to do when using it is to attach it to the tire and read the meter. If your tire pressure is off, you should air your tires up. If the tire continues to be off, you should take it into your car into a body shop to have replaced before your long trip.









