How to get ready for a roadie
Nile Bijoux tells you how to ensure your vehicle goes the distance.
It’s summer and that means one thing. Road trip season. As you cross off the cricket sets, togs and jandals from your packing checklist, why not add some vehicle-related boxes to tick?
Tyres
Check tyre pressures, and don’t forget to also check the spare. Under-inflated tyres use more fuel and therefore cost more money.
You can quickly measure tyre tread by using a 20c piece; measuring from the bottom of the coin to the ‘‘20’’ or writing edge is approximately 2mm. If you have this depth of tread you are within the guidelines, but you’ll need to get them replaced soon, as 1.5mm is the minimum legal depth to pass awarrant of fitness. Cracked tyres typically won’t pass awof.
Run your hand around the circumference of the tyre to check for cuts, bulges and uneven wear. If unsure, consult a tyre professional to help ease your mind – you may even need awheel alignment and balance if you’ve not had one in the past 12 months.
There’s also the potential for ‘‘summer ice’’ which is when rain falls on dry roads, bringing dust and grime to the surface and making the tarmac much more slippery than it looks.
Basically, make sure your tyres are fairly new with good tread and no cracks.
Vision
Clean all glass, including yourmirrors. Ensure yourwiper blades are in good condition. Also make sure your windscreenwasher fluid is topped up and fresh detergent has been added.
Lights
Walk around the outside of your car to check all your lights are working and all lenses are clean.
Cooling system
If you have to regularly top up your car’s cooling system, get it seen to before hitting the road. Things will only get worse if you don’t. From experience, it’s not worth the ‘‘she’ll be right’’ attitude. Especially if the problem lies with the water pump and your car is from the late 1990s with the pump located behind the cam belt, making it amassive pain to replace, but only after it bleeds rusty water all over your mate’s driveway.
Sorry mate. Anyway, if your car has it, check your air conditioning system is it still able to cool your vehicle.
Towing
Trailers, boats and caravans aren’t normally used as frequently as vehicles, and things can deterioratewhile they’re not being used. Always check the wheel bearings of your trailer or caravan to make sure they’re not loose or noisy, and make sure you’re carrying a spare tyre for them. Also ensure that all lights and indicators are operating correctly.
Service
Check the engine oil level and top it up if required before heading off on a long road trip. If the distance you’ll cover will take you into your next service interval, arrange a service before you head off. Also check your WOF will remain current for your journey. Dig out any past service or WOF notes that you may need to attend to this time; problems tend to get worse over time, not better.
Speed
Over summer, the open road speed tolerances drop to 104kmh in an effort to reduce the road toll. Mostmodern cars overestimate their speeds, meaning the speedo might read 100kmh but you’re actually moving at around 97kmh. That said, it’s still better to set cruise control to 100kmh to really make sure you’re not speeding. You won’t get to the bach any sooner by driving faster, and a speeding fine is just going to spoil the holidays.