Planning a Trip?

Preparing for that long awaited annual vacation can be a pretty stressful ordeal.  Make it simpler by preparing a checklist of things to do to get ready.  Adding items like 'make reservations' or 'pack the toothbrush' are things that nobody forgets to do, but you need to add a few things that everyone ignores until the day before the trip.

'Check Tires' is one of the worst things to forget.  It is no fun to have completed everything in preparation for that trip to Disneyland and then realize that your tires are so thin you can see the air in them.  In your frantic attempt to get them replaced you find out that your car has a tire size on it that is unique, rare and is not kept in stock by anyone.  Now you are faced with delaying the trip until you can get new tires or risk going and having some kind of problem on the way there.

Have you ever blown a tire on Interstate 10 in the middle of Arizona in July??  Not a fun thought.  The temperature is over 100, the road service is taking their time getting there, it is going to cost you $100 plus the price of a new tire (which, by the way, you ARE an out of towner and have no choice) and the kids are hungry!  Talk about stress!

Do yourself a favor and make sure you check your tires at least a week ahead of time.  If they need replaced, this gives your local dealer the time to get them in if they are an odd size.  And even if they are a common size, understand that there are a lot of others going on vacation.  He may be out of stock!

We have seen too many customers come in at 5PM the night before they are leaving and needing 4 new tires on their SUV that uses a new size 18 inch tire that nobody keeps in stock.  Don't get caught like this.  Just remember to check your tires early.

Hot Tires and Cold Air

You started out on your trip, checked the air in your tires and found it was good.  After driving for about 4 hours you stop to take a break, get something to eat and relax for a minute. In the process you pull in, fill the tank, check the oil and tire pressure.  You notice that your tires are showing too much air pressure, so you drop it to the recommended inflation pressure.

Your break is over, you get back out on the road and are enjoying the beautiful scenery when a tire blows out!  What happened?  The tires are only a couple of months old, the air pressure was good when you left from your break, so what caused this?

Remember the air pressure was good before you started, and when you stopped for your break, they had an extra 5 pounds of air?  Where did THAT come from?! So you lowered the air in your tires.

What you actually did was cause your tires to be UNDERinflated.  As you were driving, your tires became hot, thus causing the air to expand inside the tire making it appear that your tires had too much air in them, when actually they were fine. By lowering the air pressure your tires now didn't have enough air to properly perform.

Anytime you drive for an extended period of time and pull over to check out your car, let your tires cool down for about an hour before checking the air.  If you don't have that kind of time, just remember that if they are showing a little extra, they are probably okay.

Gas Prices got you worried?

A major concern during the summer months is the price of gas. When planning a long trip, it is nice to be able to find where the cheaper gas prices are along your route, or that you can plan your trip to take you along the cheaper route.

There is a website that you can go to and find where the cheaper prices are, not just by city, but by gas stations within the city!  Check out www.mapgasprices.com, or www.gasbuddy.com .  See if they can help you save money on your next trip.