Don't Pack The Kitchen Sink
Before you fill the trunk and the roof rack with your stuff, check out the vehicle manufacturer's recommendations for loading your vehicle. Remember, you and your passengers count towards the total recommended vehicle weight. Your vehicle's loading recommendation can be found on the information placard on the door post or in your owners’ manual. Overloading creates excessive heat inside your tires. This can lead to tire failure, vehicle damage and even serious injury or death. Take time to plan for what you take along.

Check Tire Balance and Wheel Alignment
Driving a loaded vehicle long distances with out-of-balance tires or misaligned wheels can cause uneven wear and other vehicle problems. Have the alignment and rotation checked before that trip.

Summer Road Reminder
Great warm weather doesn't always mean good driving conditions. Hot sun can melt some road surfaces making them very slippery. Also, rain after a long dry spell can mix with dust, oil and rubber on the road, to produce a surface like an ice rink.

What's The Point in Speeding?
Don't forget -- when you're fully loaded and maybe pulling a heavy load, high speed driving is imposing a tremendous demand on the engine -- to say nothing about the wind resistance of that trailer you may be hauling. Sure, you might be able to drive 70 miles an hour, but you're doing it at the expense of your engine. You might get to your destination a half-hour earlier, but you might just toast your engine on the way. Relax and enjoy the ride. It's a vacation.

Smart Things To Bring:

1. some extra coolant, particularly if you are traveling through the boonies where service stations are farther apart.
2. a quart or two of oil.
3. maps - you'll need them.
4. duct tape ... great for tempory repairs.
5. some flares to warn other drivers.
6. anything you forgot last summer.