Exciting to head off on a road trip and go and have fun for a weekend. Whether you’re driving to a place an hour away or you’re planning on travelling for 8 hours, you need to make sure that you’ve packed the car or the Ute properly.
Packing the car safely for a road trip means making sure that you’re not going to get hit with luggage while you drive. It also means ensuring that your Ute storage is up to scratch.
Before you go, you need to check your vehicle’s VIN plate or handbook for the weight limit of what it can take and adjust tyre pressure as recommended for heavy loads.
You have to be certain that your car’s going to be able to handle the road that it’s about to go on, especially if you’re adding boxes or bags. Take a look at our tips below for packing your car safely for the road trip.
At the top tips:
- Large or awkwardly shaped items such as sporting equipment should always be stored on your roof rack as long as it’s not too heavy, because otherwise heavy items are best stored inside your Ute tray.
- Car drag will always be influenced by car height and weight. You need to make sure that if you’re adding roof storage that you check the weight limits of the car first.
- Measure the height of the car after you’ve packed, because if there are overpasses or tunnels you don’t want to get stuck.
- Secure any roof racks with ropes, straps and hooks.
- Check your roof racks and the straps and hooks every single time you make a rest stop to make sure that everything is well fastened.
In the boot tips:
- Any large or heavy items should be at the bottom of your boot and as far forward as possible. You want to keep the centre of gravity of your car low.
- Pack things in tightly and strap down any large items. Small items should be put in suitcases or boxes.
- Remember that objects in the car can become dangerous projectiles if there’s a crash. Having a net or a safety partition can prevent this from happening.
- Don’t pack too high. You don’t want to obscure your rear view by having your pack above the line of the back seat.
- Make sure that you can still see through the front and rear windscreens and mirrors. You don’t want to deal with road trauma because you couldn’t see what was coming.
- Don’t forget to pack an easily accessible emergency breakdown kit.
In the car tips:
- Avoid using the passenger area for luggage storage if you can. Loose items during emergency braking can have up to 50 times their weight as a force hitting the back of your seat.
- If you don’t have a choice, use the spaces beneath the passenger seats and in the footwells.
- Keep the essentials within reach. Try not to turn or reach for items while you’re driving.
- Pack rubbish bags to keep the car clean.
- Have a flashlight and emergency kit ready in the glove box for easy reach.
