Preparing Your Car for Summer Road Trips

Sound like a familiar song? We’re all a little eager to get back to summer outings after COVID lockdowns, and even if we’ve had to postpone over-the-border vacations, we can still go out on day drives to enjoy the stunning scenery around Kamloops. We have several lakes all within an hour’s drive of the city, and campgrounds that welcome both overnighters and day trippers. Before you pack your SUV with bikes, paddleboards and picnic food, check your vehicle over for seasonal maintenance to avoid fun-wrecking breakdowns.

Bring your travel wagon in for a check-over before hitting the road. Scheduled maintenance items include oil changes, transmission and coolant flushes, driveline and brake fluids. Mechanical parts wear out over time, so we’ll check your brakes (more about brakes in our next blog), steering and suspension. We will check your wheel alignment for the ultimate in fuel economy and tire wear and even replace your wiper blades in case it rains and we will make sure your air conditioner is working so you stay comfortable. Kamloops AutoPro is NAPA affiliated with access to high quality parts for all makes and models so you won’t have to delay your road trip.

Don’t forget to pack your emergency kit, and keep the number of your favourite towing service on your cell phone. No doubt, you will stock an emergency kit unique to the specific needs of you and your family, but drinking water, cell phone chargers and batteries (for flashlights etc.) are essential to everyone. Other items to think about when preparing your safety kit include sealed food, visibility equipment (such as LED flameless flares), a small tool kit, first aid kit and flashlight. Light summer blankets are great to pack, along with a deck of cards or book to read while waiting for roadside assistance to arrive for those friends of yours that are stuck on the side of the road (apparently, they forgot to do a summer maintenance check on their vehicle). Of course, if you plan on traveling off-road, communicate your plans to a designated monitor and check in with them when you have cell service and when you arrive back home.

Let’s hope you don’t need an emergency kit and can enjoy your road trip safely. Call Kamloops AutoPro for vehicle preparedness. We will make sure your car or truck is road worthy so you can concentrate on having fun in the sun with your family.