Preparing Your Car for a Driving Vacation
This
summer, while preparing for your family vacation, you'll probably
choose to hold your mail delivery, put your dog or cat in a "pet hotel,"
and do the dozen other things to secure your house and home for the
week or two that you might be away. But what about your beloved family
car? What will happen if you get stuck "in the boonies" with a breakdown
or failed part? Here's a few simple tips to make the motoring part of
your vacation safe and sound:
Put
together a "care package" of basic parts for your vehicle's particular
year, make and model. Start with a complete set of drivebelts: the
alternator, power steering pump, and the A/C compressor. Remember...if
only one belt comes flying off a pulley at freeway speeds it can wrap
itself around the other belts or pulleys and destroy EVERYTHING! There
goes your vacation, if only emotionally, down the drain.
Spend
a few extra dollars and buy a new waterpump to put away in the trunk.
Imagine being miles from nowhere in the late afternoon, with the kids
cranky and the Mrs. upset, and you can't find a parts store or service
station (remember them?) that has the correct part for your car. You'll
always find someone with the tools and knowledge to replace a
waterpump,no matter where your trip takes you.
While
flat tires are "merely a thing of the past," you might want to take
along a pressurized can of gooey, gummy tire stick'um that seals
punctures by applying the can's contents through the tire valve stem.
It's messy, but at least it will work everytime (unless there is a
monstrous cut or rupture in the tire).
A
gallon container of drinking water will satisfy the thirst of everyone
in the car AND take the place of any lost coolant should the cooling
system suddenly boil over, spewing liquid everywhere. It's certainly a
must to check this system, even before your trip!
Remember,
even if the alternator goes bad, you can still limp to a town for
repair as long as the battery is charged. Just don't drive at night (the
lights drain the battery faster), and keep electrical accessories
(especially your air conditioner) off.
That
old adage, "an ounce of prevention..." still holds true with our cars
of the '21st century. Give your car a travel treat, and she'll treat you
right!
Courtesy of Automotive Service Councils of California.
