Before you begin one of many best American road trips, you need to be thoroughly prepared for what lies ahead. Going out on the open highway can be an exhilarating feeling, filling you with a sense of liberation and freedom. That can all come crashing down if you don’t make the right preparations, turning your dream trip into a nightmare.

Instead of just worrying about what all could go wrong, follow this checklist. It will help you remember all of the essentials, and be prepared in case things take a turn for the worse, allowing you to enjoy the best cross country road trip possible.

Best American Road Trips Checklist

Fluids

There’s nothing worse than having your car break down in the middle of nowhere. Even if you have cell service in the area, having to wait for a tow truck, dealing with a shop you don’t know, and everything else that comes with the situation really kills a vacation. One of the simplest ways to prevent this from happening is to just check all of the fluids in your car before you head out. This includes the oil, coolant, power steering fluid, brake fluid and even the window washing fluid. It’s such an easy thing to do, but failure to execute on it can lead to a serious disaster.

Tires

Probably the most overlooked maintenance item is tires. Drivers tend to take the rubber that hits the road for granted, which can lead to poor fuel economy and maybe even a serious accident. Before you hit the open road, check the air pressure for each tire and inspect the tread and sidewall for signs of excessive wear or damage. If you’re not especially well-versed in tire care, bring your vehicle into our shop and we can gladly do an inspection, plus rotate and balance the tires before sending you off.

Routing

If you don’t know where you’re going, your road trip could become interesting in all the wrong sorts of ways. It’s worth taking some time before you get into the car to plan out some good road trip routes. Look over which roads you need to take along the way, along with exit numbers and other directions. Of course it’s great if you have GPS in your car, but that doesn’t make knowing the way in advance any less valuable.

Food and Water

Not to sound paranoid, but you could conceivably find yourself in a situation where not having food and drinkable water in your vehicle puts you in a real bind. Bad weather, an accident, car trouble, etc. could strand you in the middle of nowhere. Your very life in that situation would depend on having enough food and water to last until you can get help.

Flashlight

So many people these days depend on their smartphone for a small light. While this can work in a pinch around the house, the fact is having a good flashlight tucked in your glovebox is an incredibly wise idea. If you are stranded somewhere and night falls, you’ll have a trust light that doesn’t involve draining your phone battery.

Tools

Sometimes vehicles have trouble and help is far away. Taking some basic tools with you, like screwdrivers, pliers, a hammer, etc. can allow you to patch things together enough to reach civilization. The older the vehicle and the more trouble it’s had in the past, the more tools you should bring along, just in case.

First Aid Kit

You don’t plan to get hurt, but you never know. Even during an otherwise uneventful trip, someone could get a fairly small cut or be stung by a bee. While neither situation is life threatening, having a basic first aid kit can help a person get comfortable and avoid a painful infection.

T3 Atlanta

This summer, before you take the best American road trip, bring your auto to T3 Atlanta for a thorough check. T3 Atlanta provides professional service for Lexus, Infiniti, Toyota, and Nissan automobiles.