Spring cleaning your garage?

What about your car? Is it ready for the stress of your summer trips?

Optimize your car for the summer road

We clean our garage, our driveways, prepare our lawns for summer but what about our cars? The cars that we rely upon to get us through the heat and stress of a summer road trip. Here are some things to check out and keep in mind.

Under the hood. Take a look at your hoses and belts. Inspect them for wear, cracks, chips or that just-plain-old look. Give a squeeze on the hoses as they should firm but with give. If they are too hard or too soft, replace them. Push on the belts. There should about a half inch movement on them. More or less and they may need to be replaced or adjusted.

Check your fluids. Both level and quality. Check the antifreeze-coolant level, oil and washer fluid. Most other fluids don't need to be refilled. If you see that any of those are low, it is a signal of other problems and should be seen by a mechanic. In fact, an oil change is recommended before any long trips. You may not need it now, but what about halfway through your trip in a strange city? Better to get it changed by the local service that you know and can go back to in the future.

It's a good idea to keep a small stock of fluids in your vehicle on the road. Antifreeze/coolant, oil, maybe even brake fluid and power steering fluid. The containers are small and the price is cheap if it keeps you from being stranded. If you have the room, a gas can is a good idea as well. You may need either the gas inside it or the container for that long walk to the service station you passed while trying to get to the next one down the road.

Check your air conditioning early in the summer. It's best to make sure that it cools your car quickly now rather than on the hottest day of the year when you're many miles from home.

Spare tires are not designed for highway driving, either the speed or more than 50 miles. They are meant to get you to the next service station. Therefore, we recommend you buying a regular tire for your spare. Preferably the same as your other four tires, but a decent used tire will suffice as well.

We want you to have a summer vacation, not a nightmare, and to arrive at your next hotel or stay ready to enjoy every minute of it.

-Adam Longfellow, AllStays On The Web

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