There’s nothing quite like hopping into your car with all the essentials and a bunch of great friends or family or even just your dog, and setting off on a long road trip across the country. The raw beauty and up close experiences that road trips offer are in stark contrast to luxury travel to far off resorts, and far more experiential. While you may choose to even camp, you can always look for budget hotels on your route.

 However, it isn’t all hassle free to go on a road trip and requires a lot more detailed planning, with the key focus on preparing your vehicle.

Here are the top tips to prepare your car for a long road trip

  1. Check & Replace Your Tires: The most important place to start with your car is to get your tires checked and preferably even if there’s little wear and tear, get them replaced, or buy off roading tires because on your road trip, you might come across rough terrains, slippery roads or treks as well as inclined roads where you will definitely need tires with a stronger road grip.
  2. Check the Engine, Oil & Filters: Before setting off, check your engine as well as the oil and the air filters of your vehicle. It is best that you check the engine oil, as well as the radiator coolant, transmission fluid, brake oil and the filters. If possible, better keep additional air filters and engine oil in your car’s trunk, just in case.
  3. General Maintenance: Check the brake pads, water body hoses, and all the electrical connections in your vehicle. It’s better to get additional HID driving lights on your vehicle because during road trip you might have to drive through areas with improper lighting or weather condition might hamper your visibility. It is best to go fully prepare on such an expedition instead of being stranded in the middle of nowhere due to improper preps.
  4. Essential Tools: When setting off on a road trip, prepare an essential tools kit, which includes tools that help with your car as well as those that could help you in situations as well. Some of the key things you could put in this kit are jumper cables, flash lights, first aid kit, car charger and portable USB pack, spare batteries, and preferably road flares. Additionally, you could also keep a water or fluid container for when you need to fill water to use on your car or simply for yourself.
  5. Carry a Garbage Collector: Don’t forget to keep a big enough garbage bag in your trunk. The worst road trippers and vacationers do to the nature is leave their trash behind and destroy the ecosystem over time. Collect all your trash in a big trash bag and store it in the trunk of your car and discard it only where you find proper trash bins during your trip.

If you are regular on road-trips and trekking tours, check out our guide for five modern trekking essentials that will help you plan an ultimate trekking trip.