The holidays are popular for road trips to visit relatives several states away. Before taking your winter holiday road trip, prepare your car for cold weather.
If you travel from a warmer climate to a colder area to visit relatives or enjoy a “white Christmas,” you’ll need to prepare yourself, your family, and your car for the drive. Your vehicle is accustomed to living in a warm area and needs to be prepared for the challenges of sub-zero temperatures, ice, snow, slush, and salted roads.
Here are a few car preparation tips to help you enjoy your winter holiday road trip.
Check your battery and lights
If your battery goes dead during your winter holiday road trip, you might be stranded somewhere. Even if you’re flying to your destination, you’ll want to make sure your battery is in good shape so you can get home once you return. While checking your battery, test your headlights, brake lights, turn signals, fog lights, and emergency flashers to ensure all lights are working well. It gets dark early in winter, and you’ll need these lights working properly to make sure you can drive safely when the sun goes down.
Check your tires frequently
When your trip starts in warmer southern climates and ends in the cold of the north, you’ll need to check your tire air pressure several times. Check the pressure and tread before heading out for your holiday excursion. When you stop for gas in a colder area, check your tires again to ensure they’re still properly inflated. You’ll need to do this again on the return when you stop in warmer areas. Your tires could be the difference between a great road trip and one that you’d rather forget.
Check your wiper blades and fluid
If you haven’t replaced your wiper blades for several months, now might be a good time to complete this task. Fill your windshield washer reservoir with fluid made to withstand freezing temperatures to ensure it will continue to clear your windshield during your winter holiday road trip. While checking these items, top off the engine coolant and other fluids to ensure you have the right fluid levels for your time on the road.
Pack for the winter weather
Pack the winter gear you need, but don’t wear most of it while driving. Gloves, bulky coats, and boots can get in the way while driving, decreasing steering ability. You should also pack a shovel and sand or kitty litter. These items help when you’re stuck in the snow and need to create some grip to help you get your car moving again. If you drive an RWD vehicle, it’s a good idea to pack a couple of sandbags in the trunk to add weight and increase traction at the rear wheels.
Pack an emergency kit and extra food
You might have a few holiday gifts in the car, and your vehicle might feel loaded down, but an emergency kit could save your life, so make sure it’s packed. This kit should include a first aid kit, snacks, blankets, an ice scraper, a few basic tools, warning flares, and drinking water. You could find yourself stranded on the side of the road in freezing temperatures; when that happens, this kit will come in handy. Your emergency kit is something you don’t want to open during your winter holiday road trip.
Gather information before heading out
Once you’ve got your car checked, packed, and ready to go, you need to know where you’re going and what to expect. This means understanding road conditions, directions, weather forecasts, and traffic patterns along your route. Check the National Weather Service website for road conditions and weather advisories in the area. It’s also a good idea to have a weather app loaded on your phone to help provide information along your route.
Drive carefully; arrive late and alive
It’s better to arrive late and alive than not at all. When driving during your winter holiday road trip, you need to think about how to drive in the snow. Here are some basic tips:
- Drive slow – traction is reduced in the snow
- Accelerate and decelerate slowly
- Increase your following distance – stopping distance increases on ice and snow
- Keep your heel on the floor when braking to apply steady pressure
- Avoid stopping while driving uphill, but don’t power up hills either
- Keep all windows clear of snow to maximize visibility
Enjoy your winter holiday road trip with friends and family awaiting you in a colder, northern climate. These tips should help you get where you need to go safely and, hopefully, without incident.
This post may contain affiliate links. Meaning a commission is given should you decide to make a purchase through these links, at no cost to you. All products shown are researched and tested to give an accurate review for you.
