As we head into the holiday season, many drivers will be preparing for a road trip or two and even if you don’t need to drive in snow, it’s important to make sure your vehicle is “winter driving ready.” Some of the things to check ahead of time apply to all road trips regardless of the season, but we have curated a special winter checklist to ensure you have the safest and smoothest ride possible. We can’t guarantee that it will reduce the frequency of “are we there yet?” probes, however!

Make sure your vehicle "winter driving ready"

Before embarking on any road trip, it’s always good to check you have the right tires for the occasion and check the tire pressure. Cold weather can sometimes lower the PSI so checking the pressure is especially important in winter. In terms of tire type, this will vary greatly depending on what conditions you are going to be driving through. All Season tires are sufficient if the climate is mild and you only encounter rainfall, but if you are going to be driving through snow or the temperature drops below 45°F (7°C), you’d be better off with winter or all weather tires that carry the 3PMSF rating. Read our previous blog to read more about snow ratings on tires. And of course, check ahead of time if the region you're driving to requires chains, and be sure to carry a set with you if so. Check out this blog for more details on chain requirements.

Perform a quick maintenance check

It’s also a good idea to do a quick maintenance check on the rest of your vehicle to make sure everything runs smoothly on the road and you don’t have to make any unnecessary stops. Here are a few maintenance tips that are easy to check yourself. 

Winter grade fluids: Top off the windshield washer reservoir with winter-grade fluid which contains chemicals (like methanol or ethanol) that allow it to stay liquid, even when temperatures drop below freezing. Check oil level and consider winter-grade oil if applicable.

Battery: Test battery health; replace if weak and make sure you carry a set of jumper cables or better yet, a car battery charger, so that you don’t need a second vehicle to jump start it.

Wipers & Visibility: Install winter wiper blades, which are designed to handle harsher weather conditions and are sturdier than regular blades.

Pack a winter emergency kit

While it's important to carry an emergency kit in the trunk of your car year-round, there are specific ones for winter and snow driving that include the following items: 

- Ice scraper & snow brush

- Small shovel

- Tire chains or traction aids (sand/kitty litter)

- Flashlight and extra batteries

- Blanket or emergency foil blanket

- First-aid kit

- Road flares or reflective triangles

Be sure to also pack extra bottled water and non-perishable snacks, a phone charger/power bank and a change of warm clothes. A quick google search will show you some ready-made winter kits to choose from from places like Amazon and Walmart if you don’t already have one. And of course, keep the emergency roadside assistance number saved in your phone, on the off-chance you should need it.

Plan stops ahead of time

To save time and to avoid running out of gas or EV charge, make sure you charge up or fill up the gas tank ahead of time and plan where you’ll fill up along the way. You should also plan restroom and meal breaks as best you can, to avoid having to drive on an empty stomach: sometimes the take-out restaurant you were planning to stop at ends up being too far out of the way due to unexpected traffic or it's closed due to irregular holiday hours. Also be sure to provide your general driving plan to someone not on the road with you in case you have an accident and have no service on your cell phone; this will help emergency services narrow down the search area and hopefully make it easier to find you.

While winter and snow driving requires more preparation than most road trips and getaways, it will be worth following this checklist for peace of mind. In most cases you won’t even need to use the snow chains, let alone an emergency kit, but you’ll feel more confident on your trip knowing you have everything on board, should you find yourself in one of aforementioned situations  

Want to read more informative articles about the automotive industry? Check out a previous blog below:

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