Long drive and road trips are quite exciting and equally relaxing- well, not so much if you end up having to change tires yourself with no help. You need to check and make sure your tires are capable of standing the long-distance drive. Particularly with the whole pandemic going, there might already be a scarcity of immediate services and support available in remote areas. So best to be prepared. Here are a few tips for tire maintenance for your next long-distance drive. You can also check out autonerdsreview.com for more car maintenance tips!
Look for any visible wear and tear
If your tires have been around for a while, it would be a great idea to check them for any sort of damages. Get down on your knees and closely check for any visible crack or damages. If you do see them, replace the tires before your trip. If you are not good at or familiar with mechanical tasks/ car maintenance, you can simply pay a few bucks and hire a professional to check them tires properly for you. Either way, you should make sure that your tires are in good condition before your trip to reduce the chance of ending up with a flat. If you have any concerns, I recommend a free car tax check with help from justcarchecks.co.uk, it put my mind at ease.
Check Tread depth
Few things to take care in case of car tires would be tread depth and cracks or damages. If you notice tread depth below the recommended level, it would be a good decision to replace the tires before your long drive. Here’s an average tread depth recommendation for different terrains.
For normal road and weather conditions:
For normal roads and weather conditions, a tire with a tread of 4/32 inches or deeper would be considered to be in good and usable condition. If it’s down to 3/32 inches, you should be considered to have the tire replaced sometime soon. However, if the tread has worn down to 2/32 inches or lesser, we would recommend that you replace the tires just as soon as possible.
For snowy road and weather conditions:
In snowy conditions, you need to keep the tread depth above 6/32 inches to keep decent traction and mobility.
For wet, muddy trails and rainy weather conditions:
In wet weather conditions and for muddy trails, you’d need a deep tread depth- at least 4/32 inches. In such trails, water needs to be compressed so as to have it evade through the tire grooves, which won’t be possible with lower tread depths.
Always carry an extra tire
Always. There wouldn’t be much to explain about it. Just keep a quality tire handy, for you never know what surprises you may get along the way. If you’ve been carrying an extra for a while, it would be a good idea to have the pressure and condition of it checked as well.
Pack your “car essentials”
When you decide to pack up and go for your long drive, it would be a very good idea to be prepared for “surprises”. Your car may give away despite your mechanic saying it is all set and in excellent condition. You may get a flat despite having checked everything before the big ride. If something like that happens, you need to be in a position to try and take action instead of remaining stuck in the middle of nowhere.
If you got the right tools along with the extra tires, you just need the know-how and you will be on your way. Most importantly, if you got stuck somewhere, you’ll not have to wait for some help to arrive if you have the tool. Here are a few essentials you should keep with you on a long-distance drive include a proper toolset including different sizes of screwdrivers, wrenches, plier, and also a jack. It would be a good idea to keep some ropes and a brick handy too.
Learn to change a tire
Talking about the know-how and tire changing brings us to this next important tip. If there’s some time left for your ride, it would actually be a great idea and a very good time to learn how to change your car tire. Instead of just reading about it, also try to get some hands-on experience in changing car tires.
