Road trip prep - what have I forgotten?

[Greenace]

The end of May sees me en route to Nice via the Route Napoleon and all the good places you read about. This will be my first proper trip in my 2009 C4S and I'm drawing up a to-do list before I go. I've already sorted the usual nonsense needed to drive in France so my attention's all on the car itself.

It's in a good place mechanically so I'm not too worried about anything breaking. It had a major service and a PDK oil change a year ago, plus some wear and tear bits and bobs such as engine mounts, battery, rear lights, 4 new tyres, brake fluid, alignment and so on in Feb. It also had an all-good 111-point inspection at OPC Silverstone last summer.

I'll pop it into my local indy for an oil change and a check over before I go but is there anything else I need to consider or get them to look at? I'd rather not spend a fortune but I don't want to break down either - just want to be prudent. Thoughts and suggestions very welcome

 

[ralphmusic]

On board tyre pump and goo in case of puncture. Also I now carry battery booster and jump leads in all cars, based on a random ‘experience’. Plan for the worst and enjoy the best.

 

[Greenace]

Ah yes, tyre goo. Good shout, thanks!

 

[darren.sidney]

Foxwell or equivalent code reader. New drive/serpentine belt.

I keep tyre plugs in the car in case of puncture. This allows for the tyre to be repaired (if you wish) whereas the tyre weld stuff renders the tyre a write-off once used.

Oh - and cable ties. Just because.

 

[Greenace]

Belt is a good idea, although I’ll get indy to check that anyway. Cheers

 

[Ann_Carruthers]

Just in case, I take it that the "usual nonsense" includes your Crit Air sticker and liber-t tag (others are available).

Happy memories so enjoy the trip.

John Carruthers

 

[Greenace]

That’s right John, yep. Plus the fluorescent jackets, bulb kit, docs, breathalyser etc

 

[PersistantPolisher]

Libert-e tag for your windscreen - if youre doing Peage - absolute must.... company in Harrogate who sort this - v efficient. Also - the days of cracking on down the peage have gone - they can time you between toĺls these days!
I would map locations of OPCs and indies in ths areas youre travelling - not that ANYTHING will go wrong!!
Personally i never travel without European recovery- but thats me.
Finally, Napoleon is good - but the gorge runs are better - for me personally
Not sure which way youre swinging back - but dont forget your Swiss vignette.
Oh....and have an absolutely FABULOUS time!

 

[Ann_Carruthers]

....and your boring GHIC card, sorry.

John

 

[paul_f]

Bottle of oil, bottle of pre-mixed coolant, glass cleaning stuff and microfibre, small 1/4" drive socket set in addition to everything mentioned above.

 

[Greenace]

All good stuff, thanks guys. I've got pretty much everything I can sort, sorted.

I was also wondering if there's anything specific I should get the indy to check/look at/replace. I can't think of much beyond the obvious...

 

[911hillclimber]

A new, spare coil pack, about £60
Torch
Tyre pressure gauge.
Good large scale maps (wife and I do not use SatNav)
Euro breakdown cover as mentioned, you might find the car is NOT covered under the AA (9 year max age) but RAC will cover. Can be expensive, but when I used it a few years ago (duff coil pack...) it worked really well in Austria.
If you are tempted to pop into Italy you will now need an International Driving Permit.

Take lots of pics so you can use them in your road trip report here on the forum!

 

[Scrounger]

Agree with the above

Euro breakdown cover and, be warned, your clean air window stickers are not designed to come off (ask me how I know) so I now use a couple of clear tax disc holders so I can remove and re-use the stickers when necessary.

Dan

 

[Greenman986S]

A new, spare coil pack, about £60
Torch
Tyre pressure gauge.
Good large scale maps (wife and I do not use SatNav)
Euro breakdown cover as mentioned, you might find the car is NOT covered under the AA (9 year max age) but RAC will cover. Can be expensive, but when I used it a few years ago (duff coil pack...) it worked really well in Austria.
If you are tempted to pop into Italy you will now need an International Driving Permit.

Take lots of pics so you can use them in your road trip report here on the forum!

• UK Drivers: You do not need an IDP if you have a UK photocard license.

 

[jdpef356]

You may wish to take your spare car key and fob with you. I always have a dilemma, where should I keep it!?

 

[Greenman986S]

You may wish to take your spare car key and fob with you. I always have a dilemma, where should I keep it!?

Your manbag

Or wife's handbag

 

[malarcy]

Mot (if applicable) and v5 (or copies).

Jump pack because that’s exactly the kind of trip where the battery will have a sulk.

Scanner is a good call (especially a foxwell nt530) Peace of mind more than anything else - but scan it before you go so you know what’s already there. Otherwise you will frighten yourself if you have a real issue.

Deionised water if you haven’t got premix coolant , and a litre of oil.

Charge pack for your phone just Incase you are somewhere for a while and the phone batteries are low.

 

[PersistantPolisher]

For reasons wont bore you with... but its 8yrs since my last roadtrip.. - BUT..... one thing that people did forget, was disabling the "speed camera warning" feature on the satnav! .. youd be unlucky to be caught - but illegal in France( and many other EU)

 

[malarcy]

All the sat nav’s I have used for the past few year automatically switch “off” speed cameras in France. Some replace them with “danger zones” where you get a warning of area of road perhaps a mile ahead that often has a camera in the middle of it.

Things like road angels and other dedicated speed camera detection kit is a no no though.

 

[911hillclimber]

We did a good road trip in France last year and never saw a police man on the roads except at the toll stops, millions of them 10 years ago.
Lots more sneaky cameras though…
All the great advice is good to have for the uk in the car too.