The Hot Weather Toolkit for the Car

Summer months are a time when people enjoy the outdoors with their families and friends. The warmer temperatures and the longer hours of daylight mean extra trips to recreational areas and even family vacations. Often wilderness areas are ideal spots for camping and summer family vacations, and necessitate the need for long drives. Although in places like Missouri and Nebraska insurance premiums can be lower for good drivers, the added driving and the warmer weather brings its own share of risks that can create conditions for raised insurance rates, conditions like accidents and bad weather. Simple checklist for a toolkit for the warmer months can help alleviate some of these concerns.

The first thing that a driver should check their vehicle for in the summer months is the exterior. When the weather turns warm, it can be a good idea to give the car a good wash and to provide the car with a good wax protectant. This does a couple of things. For one thing it gives the car added protection from the rain and dust of summer months. It also helps protect the cars paint from damage that occurs from ultraviolet radiation. The paint on a car is meant to protect the metal from exposure to the elements where it can rust and lose its structural integrity. Summers can be extremely hot, and this combination of extreme heat and rain can be especially damaging to a car's exterior.

The driver should then turn their attention to the interior of the car. The summer heat can turn the interior of a car into a furnace. This is not only damaging to upholstery, but electronics and personal items that one leaves inside a vehicle. This is particularly true for black colored vehicles. For protection of the upholstery it is essential that a driver invest in a sunshade for the front windshield. Sunshades offer great protection to a car from both the heat and the damaging effects of heat on sensitive upholstery like leather. They are generally fairly inexpensive, and the driver should consider one with a reflective surface since they radiate heat and light back most effectively.

For roadside emergencies, there are a few items that a driver should consider having in their car for the summer months. Water is an essential addition. Water can mean survival when a driver is stranded in a hot place many miles from roadside assistance, but it can also mean having a necessary item for batteries and coolant systems. Batteries use water, and having water on hand to add to a coolant system that has leaked can mean being able to drive that extra mile to a gas station. Food that has been freeze dried is important to have because it can keep indefinitely and can be on hand in the case of a remote stranding. One should also keep an umbrella, a flashlight, and a basic toolkit for repairs.

The summer months are great for enjoying the outdoors, and the motor vehicle makes it possible to enjoy much of it. If the driver keeps these simple things in their cars, they will be prepared when disaster strikes.

Sally Smith writes for insurance blogs where you can learn more about Cheap Nebraska Car Insurance quotes and compare Missouri auto Insurance rates