Oil Changes and Tyre Pressures

If you've got a long road trip ahead of you, you may have been preparing for your adventure by stocking up with water and provisions, making sure that your vehicle has plenty of fuel and checking the tyre pressure carefully. You may be fairly confident in its ability to reach your destination, as, after all, it's not been too long since you last had a full service. However, you should always expect the unexpected and be prepared to take action in the event of a breakdown.

Don't Travel Alone

In an ideal world, you should travel with a partner on such a long journey, especially as you will be motoring through some very remote areas on your way. Nevertheless, sometimes this is unavoidable, but you must always ensure that you have a fully charged mobile phone on hand, so you can deal with any eventuality.

Expect the Unexpected

What happens if you stop halfway along your journey for a rest, only to find that the engine will not crank to life when you are ready to resume? Unfortunately, this is something that happens all too often and may be due to a faulty battery. As you may know, these units do fail, even though you may have thought there was plenty of life left in it.

Jumpstart

If you can, flag down another motorist to see if they have any jumper cables. If they are willing to do so, see if they can help you to crank the car to life by connecting both positive and negative terminals on both vehicles. Just be careful when you are connecting and disconnecting, as remember you are dealing with live electricity and accidents can happen.

Push Start

If you cannot find anyone with these cables, then see if you can get a few strong people together to help you push the car. Sit in the driver's seat with the ignition on, engage second gear and depress the clutch pedal. As your helpers gather some momentum, remove your foot sharply from the clutch pedal and this ought to force the engine to start. Just remember, this method only works if you have a car fitted with a manual gearbox.

Another Option

If you happen to be stuck on a particularly remote stretch of road or nobody seems to want to stop for you, then you should call out a mobile battery replacement service instead. Tap the phone number into your phone before you leave so that you have additional peace of mind for your epic adventure.