How to Prep Your Vehicle for a Road Trip

Prepping your classic car or truck – or even a fairly modern one – for a road trip can prevent a lot of headaches. Not to mention save some money.

Let’s face some facts. Most vehicles that most people embark on a great road trip like Pavement Pounder Events Route 66 to the SEMA Show 2025 or Hot Rod Power Tour are 30-60 years old with some amount of updates over
the decades. And they usually are not driven every day, so it’s easy to overlook some basic maintenance or forget about that one little thing that
you’ve been meaning to fix.

So before you put it in gear for the next adventure, here are some items to check and maintain to help the trip be as trouble-free and fun as possible.

Tires

Let’s start with something super basic – check the tire pressure! Even gearheads can get complacent when your daily driver has tire-pressure monitoring. When’s the last time you broke out the tire pressure gauge and checked the tires on your hot rod?

Combine age with highway speeds in potentially hot weather, and you’re juggling chainsaws on a trampoline — it might be fine… until it’s not. Most tire manufacturers recommend that tires be replaced every 6 years regardless of tread left.

Next, let’s talk about tire age. This is a critical one often overlooked with cars and trucks that don’t get a lot of miles put on them every year. Just because a tire has a lot of tread on it doesn’t mean it’s still good. Age can make a tire a ticking time bomb, prime for failure and potentially send you careening off the road or into another vehicle.

To check the date on your tires, look for the DOT stamp on the sidewall, then look for the four digit number to the right. The first two digits denote the week the tire was manufactured, the second two digits denote year. In this tire’s case, the 44th week of 2023 was when it came off the assembly line.

Fluid Check

Before you hit the road, make sure your vehicle’s vital fluids are in good shape. If you’ve got a classic car or truck, pay attention to how long it’s been since the last oil change, not just the mileage. Even with synthetic oil, it’s best to change it every 6-12 months.

Don’t forget to lube the chassis and suspension! Modern cars with sealed components can lead to forgetting that our classics have balljoints and control-arm bushings that need a shot of grease when doing an oil change.

Next up: coolant. A summer road trip can quickly turn into a roadside meltdown if your engine overheats due to outdated or over-thinned coolant. When coolant breaks down, it can’t transfer heat effectively. Worse, it can start corroding the inside of your cooling system and leave behind sludge that clogs radiator tubes and coolant passages. If your coolant looks dirty or off-color, flush it and replace it before you hit the road.

Don’t forget the radiator and heater hoses. Today’s hoses last longer than they used to, but they’re not invincible. When they fail — and they always seem to do it at the worst possible time — you’ll wish you’d checked them.

Brake Check

This is another item that can sneak up on you if don’t pro-actively check it. Whether this is a daily driver or a classic that you rarely drive, check the thickness and condition of brake pads and shoes before starting a long road trip. Metal and metal brake components can be a pain and a serious delay for repairs mid road trip.

Pulling the wheels off your car and checking the wear on brake pads, shoes, rotors and drums before a big trip is a good idea. Also look for cracked rubber brake lines and any leaks. These things are much easier to fix in your garage than on the side of the road or a hotel parking lot.

Lights

Before heading out, check that all your vehicle’s lights are working properly. You’re likely to do some nighttime driving or be caught in rain where proper lighting will help make your classic more visible to other motorists.

Check the include headlights, brake lights, turn signals and even interior lights. Interior lighting matters more than you think. The factory interior lighting in most classic cars is dimmer than your cousin Earl after three beers. Stash a good flashlight with fresh batteries in the glove box.

If you’re driving a classic car or truck, keep in mind that the original incandescent bulbs weren’t particularly bright, especially in the gauges and exterior lights. Fortunately, upgrading to modern LED bulbs is easier than ever. They’re much brighter, which improves visibility all around — especially your brake lights, which can make a real difference if the driver behind you isn’t paying full attention.

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