Packing Tips for a Safe Summer Vacation

Stuff always seems to expand to fill up available space, and your car is no exception. That’s especially true when you get ready to go on vacation. Whether it’s a day trip to the beach or a week camping in the mountains, it’s just about impossible to head out without a completely full car.

As summer comes around and we all get ready to take some road trips, I thought it would be good to talk about how to load your vehicle to keep your family safe. It doesn’t matter if it’s a truck, SUV, or passenger car, the way you load the vehicle is the difference between a pleasant drive and a nightmare of bad handling and risky lane changes.

We’ve all seen cars going down the road totally overloaded. They’re dragging the back end, going too slow (or too fast), and the driver can’t possibly see anything. In extreme cases, stuff can be falling off the car, creating a hazard for other drivers. Besides being dangerous, it’s no fun to drive that car.

Start with a look at your vehicle’s carrying capacity (found in the driver’s door jam). How much weight can you really put in, including all the passengers? When you put in too much weight, your vehicle’s wheel alignment changes and the brakes have to work that much harder to stop. That can spell disaster if your trip involves any long downhill stretches where you can experience brake fade.

Next, look at how you load your vehicle. Try to get the heaviest gear between the axles, so it balances the weight around all four tires. That’s hard to do if you have a full load of passengers, so consider investing in a roof rack with an aerodynamic pod, if possible. That will reduce drag and help with fuel economy.

Blocking the rear view mirror could cause unnecessary traffic accidents.

Make sure you have a clear view of your mirrors. If you can’t see out the back for whatever reason, make sure you have good side-view mirrors on both sides of the car to minimize that blind spot.

If you’re towing a trailer of any kind, check the total weight of the trailer against the weight ratings in your vehicle’s owner’s manual. Then check the tongue weight of the trailer – this is critical to avoid losing control of your trailer on curves and down hills.

You want about 10% of the total trailer weight on the tongue. Too much tongue weight is like dragging an anchor, but not enough tongue weight is much worse. If your tongue weight is too light – or even negative because you loaded too much in the back of the trailer – then the trailer becomes a big weight just swinging around behind the car, and it can drag you into an accident. Consider installing a weight-distributing hitch and a sway control if you’re getting close to your maximum total weight, and trailer brakes are always a good idea for heaver loads.

Regular maintenance will ensure your vacation goes smoothly.

Finally, make sure your vehicle is in top condition and ready to give you a trouble-free vacation. If there’s some maintenance that’s due (or overdue), you want to get that handled before you end up parked by the side of the road somewhere. Have your tires – including the spare – checked, along with shocks, brakes, fluids, and belts. We can take care of all of that for you at Leif’s Tigard location.

Oh, one other thing – every time I go camping, it seems like big globs of tree sap drop on my car. It’s important to get that off your paint as soon as possible, because it’s really hard to remove once it hardens. It’s also super sticky and hard to wipe off, but if it does get a chance to harden you should consider taking it our Tigard Location or any professional Detail Shop for a removal that won’t damage your paint.