Heading out on the road for adventure is one of the great American summer pastimes that has defined the country’s unique culture, uniting often diverse viewpoints from wildly different biomes and local economies. It’s no wonder that the classic cross-country road trip complete with overlanding for camp sites on the way is still one of the most popular vacations for families and individuals, even though more than a half century has passed since the practice was popularized in Jack Kerouac’s classic novel On the Road.
Provide For Your Own Shelter
Today’s road trips tend to be less nebulous than the nomadic wanderings of the beatniks and hippies, but that doesn’t make them any less exciting. Whether you’re traveling to see the country without a clear destination or you’re setting out with an agenda to cover specific trails and see specific sights, there are a few things you can do to manage the risks of a long trip in unfamiliar country. Buying the right equipment to rest wherever night finds you is one of them. A cheap roof top tent, along with a good portable cooking setup, turns any truck into a shelter with the features you need to rest and recover at the end of the day. Roof tents are especially popular with truck owners because they can be deployed anywhere you can part your vehicle, making dispersed camping easy even when there’s not a lot of open ground.
Your Road Trip Auto Safety Checklist
In addition to the supplies that take care of you and your needs on the road, you’re going to need to provide for your vehicle. That means putting together a road trip kit with basic tools and maintenance supplies, including a socket wrench set and screwdrivers. You’ll also want to keep extras of the major fluid types like oil and brake fluid, as well as spare radiator fluid. A lot can happen when the miles add up, and you never know when you might need to add just a little extra juice to a system.
You can minimize the chances of needing to use those supplies with a little preventive maintenance as well. Check out all your cars major systems and get the brakes inspected, and then follow through with any recommendations for updates on worn parts.
- Transmission fluid
- Radiator fluid level and condition
- Brakes and brake lines inspected
- Tire inspection and possibly replacement
- Check the condition of your wipers and the wiper fluid level
- Inspect all your lights to make sure no bulbs need replacing
In addition to these steps, it’s a good idea to get an oil change before any long road trip that involves more than a solid day of driving in each direction. In fact, for many experienced adventurers, an oil change before and after a road trip is just a given. It’s also a good idea to look into your vehicle owner’s manual to see if any other recommended maintenance is due soon. Taking care of your shocks or struts a little early is a lot easier than getting a repair on the road, and you can get those supplies from the same place you get your Toyota Tundra brakes.
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