A successful summer road trip involves a cooler packed with delicious snacks and a truck that doesn’t break down at all during the trip. While travelers are opting to stay closer to home when heading out of town, the condition of your truck has become more important than ever. When planning that summer road trip adventure, keep these helpful tips in mind for a safe and fun time with family and friends.
Get a Tune Up
Before you hit the open road, take your truck in for a tune up. This usually involves changing the spark plugs and air filter, along with distributor camp and rotor button and wires. Get the major systems checked out while you’re there, including the fuel filter and cooling system. Check to make sure the tune up includes an oil change as well. Getting oil changes every three to four thousand miles can help you avoid extra wear and tear on the engine.\
Clean Up and Be Prepared
Extra “junk in the trunk” is fun in a song, but not so fun when it comes to your gas mileage. Keeping a lot of stuff in your car adds extra weight, which means you can end up paying more at the pump. By having to haul whatever you’ve stashed in your truck, it will go through more gas and use it less efficiently. To prepare for your trip, clean out the truck first. Eliminate anything you don’t absolutely need for the trip. However, it’s important to be prepared on a roadtrip. Make sure to pack plenty of water – a large thermos with ice will go a long way without creating extra waste – along with plenty of healthy snacks to keep everyone satisfied over the miles.
In Case of Emergency
It’s also imperative to be prepared for an emergency while on the road. In addition to water and food, check to make sure you have an adequate emergency kit for your truck. A few essentials include a flashlight, flares, a first aid kit, and jumper cables. Hopefully you won’t use them at all on your summer road trip, but you’ll be glad to have them should you ever need them!
Go the Speed Limit
This may seem obvious when it comes to road trip safety, but this tip is also great for your wallet. Every time you go over the speed limit, your truck burns more gas less efficiently. This quickly turns into higher payments when you fill up your truck with gas, where every five miles over the 60 mph mark equals out to paying an extra quarter per gallon of gas. Save by simply going the speed limit, using your funds for fun on the road instead!
Kelly Wilson writes on behalf of L&C Trucks, who provide a wide range of 4×4 Accessories in Portland, Oregon.