Travel Tips: Pre-Trip Car Checklist

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Key West, FL -
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...

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)

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.