Consider some tips before you head off to nature’s back roads
Heading up to the cottage? Going camping? These pointers can help you stay safe
Every summer, we take to the roads — and often back roads — of our expansive land. But the last thing we want is some major vehicle damage or breakdown that can quickly turn any getaway into a disaster.
If you’re setting off along the roads less travelled in a new or new-to-you ride, keep these tips in mind to ensure a happy ending.
First, know your ground clearance. Familiar cottage and camp roads can become unknown risks when heading out in a vehicle that’s never taken that trail before. Modern undercarriages carry a lot of components and parts that don’t necessarily like to be scrubbed by rocks, ruts, and such. Knowing your ground clearance can save a lot of grief and expense, not to mention keeping you and your passengers safe.
Also, it’s important to remember that if you’re towing anything, the hitch point will usually be the lowest part of the ensemble.
If you’re really worried about tree branch scrapes, maybe you should leave the car at home. It’s nearly impossible to avoid some contact between your ride’s paint and nature on narrow back roads.
If you have a few travellers along for the ride, you might be able to enlist their help in keeping tree branches away from the paint for a few points of the trip. But if you have to make a choice between a hard undercarriage scrape and a few gentle forest-growth brushes, take the slight branch contact anytime. A little wax or polish can make small marks disappear, but a punctured fuel tank is a lot more serious.
Critter-proof your wheels. Vehicles are a wonderful attraction to animals of every size and stripe, which find them a great place for shelter, heat and food. When parked at a cabin or cottage, make sure to remove all food, including the various wrappings and empty packaging.
If you’re venturing into an area known to experience animal intrusions into vehicles, you might want to invest in a few ounces of aromatic peppermint oil. Diluted eight-to-one with warm water and put into a spray bottle, it makes for a great repellent when spritzed under the hood and in discreet parts of the interior — but test for fabric staining.
If you’ve noticed porcupines under your vehicle, check very carefully before starting up and heading off, because these spiky critters love to gnaw through flexible brake lines and other chewables.