Getting From A to B This Summer

It’s finally summer and surprisingly it seems somebody actually told the weather this year. Summer brings festivals, day trips and staycations which inevitably lead to a good old fashion long car journey.

With this in mind we’ve got together some of the best tips for your car and your sanity when embarking on traveling the length of the country. From how to keep kids busy to top driving tips and checklists before you set off. Let our experts take the stress out of getting from A to holiday!

Get your car ready

• First, check under the hood for any leaks, ensure the battery terminals are clean and your drive belt doesn’t look worn.
• Check your engine oil by parking on a level spot, warm up and stop the engine, wait a minute to allow the oil to drain and pull out the dipstick, wipe it and insert it back fully, pull it out again and check the level – it should be close to “FULL” if not top it up.
• A long trip with a full load will put a strain on your automatic transition so make sure you’ve changed your transmission fluid if it’s due.
• Visually check the engine coolant in the overflow tank (refer to your owner’s manual for the directions on how to do this).
• Visually check your battery condition for acid leaks, cracks or other damage, replace the battery if it has any of these faults. Check the battery terminals are tight and not corroded, if they are have the battery changed.
• Check your air filter, if it hasn’t been changed in a while it’s worth doing before your trip. Your owner’s manual will have the directions for doing so.

Checklist before you set off

• Give the windscreen a good clean
• Check radiator coolant levels to avoid overheating
• Load the car with water in case of long traffic jams
• Put a pair of sunglasses in the car for driving towards sun
• Check your tyre tread, replace any that fall under legal requirements

Keeping kids entertained

We all remember how dull long journeys could be as a kid, especially ones heading along featureless motorways, so try some of these ideas to keep yours entertained the whole way:

• Activity books for drawing, colouring ot puzzles
• Travel games
• Audiobooks
• Word games – I-Spy, Word Association, Twenty Questions
• Snacks
• Story telling

If you’d like any more advice on getting your car ready for a long journey or want us to take a look at anything just get in touch.

How do you prepare for long journeys? Tell us on Facebook or Twitter!