Travel Tips: Pre-Trip Car Checklist
The best way to ensure you make it to your destination safely and on time is to check a few simple things before you leave...
Click here for essentials for long car trips.
Click here for packing tips for a long car trip.
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Check:
- Oil
- Transmission fluid
- power steering fluid
- brake fluid
- brake pedal
- air cleaner/filter
- tire pressure
- unusual wear on tires
- windshield wipers and wiper fluid
- lights (headlights, high beams, tail lights, emergency hazard lights, backing lights, and turn signals)
- childs' car seat(s)
Don't Forget These:
Car Water - Container full of tap water for the car.
Screw Driver - Both a philips head and a regular screwdriver are recommended.
Spare Tire - Ever forgotten to replace your spare? Ever had a flat in the desert? At high noon? With the kids crying?
Can of Fix-A-Flat - Never change another tire! This stuff is great for fixing slow leaks and small punctures.
Lug Wrench and Jack - These have gotten to be pretty model-specific. Without them, you'll need a tow-truck.
A Hubcap Key - Another model-specific piece of equipment you don't want to have to buy on the road.
Duct Tape - Also known as "hundred-mile-an-hour tape." As in, it'll hold even at one hundred per.
A Bike Pump - You can pump up your tires with this, even if you won't want to. But sometimes, you just have to make do.
Jumper Cables - Are there still people without these essentials?
Extra Fuses - Not so obvious, and you won't have to be stranded by a .35 cent piece of plastic.
Air Pressure Gauge - Of course you can just trust the one on the air hose. 'Course, you could trust the kids to pack the car, too.
Motor Oil - Of course you had the car serviced before you left, but what if the kid at the Fast Lube forget to tighten something?
Pliers and/or an adjustable wrench - Handy in a hundred ways.
Knife - You'll be surprised how often you wish you had one if you don't.
