Easter road trip tips and how to change a tyre
Thousands of Australians are currently gearing up for the annual Easter weekend road trip. But how many of us prepare for a long drive properly?
According to a recent RACQ survey less than 35 per cent of motorists take their car to a mechanic for a check-up or service before a road trip.
However, almost 70 per cent of drivers will check tyre pressure before hitting the road.
But what do the experts say about how to prepare for the beloved Aussie road trip?
CQUniversity’s heavy automotive teacher Tom Greensill has five trip tips for preparing for the road.
- Check tyre pressures. For standard tyres there is a sticker usually inside the driver’s door that lists the recommended tyre pressures. Most service stations offer access to a compressor to allow you to pump up your tyres.
- Check your oil and coolant levels. There is usually a dipstick for the engine and a level marked on the overflow bottle that shows recommended level, but DO NOT OPEN WHILE HOT.
- Walk around your vehicle and look under the bonnet with a torch. Even if you don’t know what you’re looking for, you should still be able to see if something doesn’t look right, for example fluid leaks, fan belts with stringy bits hanging off or chunks missing, cracks or damage, bushes with big splits or chunks missing. If you see something that looks suspicious, have it looked at by a professional before leaving. Some shops offer free inspections, which will give you piece of mind.
- Fill up your washer bottle. How frustrating when you’re on the highway and get bugs and dust on the windscreen and you go to wash it and all you do is smear it and now you have 200km to the nearest town!
- Fuel your car fully and try not to let it run low. The service station you are counting on might be closed for repairs, or out of fuel, or EFTPOS isn’t working. Always make sure you have the option to keep going to the next service station if you need to.
Last year, RACQ roadside assistance patrols turned out to 738,950 call outs – most were battery-related issues, while more than 70,000 were due to flat tyres.
Even more interesting is the fact that according to their recent survey results 44 per cent of Queenslanders aged 18 – 34 don’t know how to change a tyre.
Although this is a service provided by most roadside assistance providers, it’s a great skill to have when you need to get back on the road fast or you are out of range.
Transcript
We're just going to tell you a few things this morning that are important that you should know about changing a tyre. You should have your vehicle on level ground as level as possible plus if you have an automatic you would put it in park and you would put the handbrake on. If you have a manual you would put it in first gear and pull the hand brake on. Grab your wheel brace and and the little screwdriver there some of them have a little cap and then before I jack it up I always loosen the wheel nuts first. Behind your seat usually or in the back you'll find a jack having the jack under the chassis rails or in the position shown in the OEM manuals. Rightio. So once that's off the ground then you would go to your spare and you'd take your spare off making sure that at no stage you put yourself in what they call the footprint of the vehicle. So don't be underneath it like this. You need to be away from it in case it does fall it doesn't trap you underneath and hurt you. Okay so once you got your wheel you can take the wheel off and just take it away. You just wheel your spare tyre in now. You look at where the wheel nuts are here and then you put the tyre in roughly where that's got to go and then you can use your wheel brace as a lever and just up and on and then just put a put a wheel nut on first one wheel nut to hold it in position and then put your other wheel nuts on around so once you got all those wheel nuts started always make sure you started all your wheel nuts and just run one up then go diagonal. When you tighten you always do diagonal go from here that way that's what they call self-centering your tyre and then you can release the jack you'll come back and then you do a double check final tighten on the ground. So as soon as you can go to the next town or wherever and get that spare fixed because if you're out on the highway in the middle of nowhere and you have another puncher then you are really not in a nice place. In your glove box you should have a manual an owner's manual that will have a step-by-step procedure of how to change your tyre.
CQUniversity’s heavy automotive teacher Chris Brady said there’s a few steps and safety tips involved in changing a tyre which he showcases in this step-by-step video guide to changing a tyre.
But here are the essential steps you need to follow.
- Put your vehicle on level ground before attempting to change a tyre.
- If you have an automatic, put it in park and put the handbrake on. If you have a manual, put it in first gear and put the handbrake on.
- Loosen the wheel nuts with your wheel brace before jacking the vehicle.
- Put your jack under the chassis rails or in the position shown in your owner’s manual.
- Undo your wheel nuts and take the wheel away and replace with your spare wheel.
- Put your wheel nuts back on by hand then tighten with your wheel nuts diagonally.
- Release the jack and do a final tighten of the wheel nuts.
- As soon as possible fix your spare tyre.
Each vehicle should have the procedure outlined in its Owner’s Manual, often found in your car’s glovebox.
According to CQUniversity automotive experts, having a few basic automotive skills, like knowing how to change a tyre, makes for a safer road trip experience.
