Looking to satisfy your wanderlust? Start off with taking a road trip. With summer right around the corner, it’s natural to want to hit the open road with your best mates or special someone, shamelessly play your favorite songs the whole journey, and make some kickass and unforgettable memories.
If you’re ready to transform your car into the ultimate road trip machine, check out the following tips below:
Take care of it
First, road-prep a car by taking it in for basic maintenance at the auto-shop. You want to make sure your car is not only functioning at its prime, but it’s safe for traveling overall. Therefore, get your oil changed, test out your lights and turn signals, pick up a spare tire, normalize tire pressure, replace coolant and wiper fluid, clean the air filter, and ask the mechanic to check out the efficiency of your brakes. Never neglect optimizing a car before a road trip. If you do, you’re not only putting your safety and everyone else’s in jeopardy, you’ll consequently shorten the vehicle’s lifespan.
Stock up on the essentials
Every car should be equipped with the essentials of a road trip: i.e., food, water, chargers, extra car parts, and an emergency kit. While road trips are inherently fun to take — anyone would get agitated sitting down in one place for a long period of time. Pre-packaged food and water can sustain everyone’s energy and cheery mood when there’s no restaurant or pit-stop for miles; extra chargers are crucial since your phone may be the main source of navigation if not using a formal GPS; an emergency kit should be in the trunk at all times. You never know when an accident or injury may happen, so being prepared for the unexpected is better than not being prepared at all.
Keep all your belongings in organizers
Somehow, during long weekend road trips, our belongings will inevitably get tossed into an organized but chaotic pile or misplaced no matter how hard we try to avoid that scenario. It’s just one of the many events that happen on a vacation. However, while we’re unable to keep track of every single item or article of clothing we brought, we should create designated spaces in our car for them all. Organizers come in every shape and size and can hold anything your heart desires. For example, trunk organizers can easily compact camping gear, coolers, and luggage in one area, while on the other hand, smaller organizers or storage containers can hold the lunch bought during a spontaneous food run when the cupholders are already full. Subsequently, if you plan on being active at your destination, like shredding powder on Mammoth Mountain, and need to bring things that have no way of fitting in the trunk like a snowboard or pair of skis, opt for attaching a roof rack to your vehicle to strap them down.
Clean it inside and out
You want to make the trip as comfortable as possible, and the number one thing to do that is to clean your car. Throw out forgotten receipts and small pieces of trash and take some time to scrub off the dirt that has accumulated on the exterior. The best part of cleaning a car is feeling like you’re driving off in a brand-new ride. Plus, it’s easier to pack everything in a clean car, and everyone will genuinely feel comfortable sinking back into the seats since there’s nothing taking up room under their feet.
Road trips are always going to be an unforgettable travel adventure you will have in life. But before you impulsively drive to a destination or into the sunset, make sure that your car is ready for the journey ahead. You need to learn how to keep it rolling in addition to functioning! As long as you follow the tips above, your car will undeniably become the ultimate road trip machine. Cheers to safe travels on that open road!