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By KEN LEVINE

Surviving Your Summer Vacation

Posted 4:27 p.m., May 1, 2008

Do you remember those family vacations you took as a kid? I sure do. My parents almost had to draw a line down the center of the car to keep me and my sister co-existing in a semi-peaceful environment. Talk about roughing it, all we had to keep us entertained for hours as we drove to our vacation destination was looking out the window, AM radio and fighting with each other.

In contrast, today’s kids ride in style with individual DVD players in the headrest, Sirius satellite radio, text messaging, computer games and individual cup holders.

They don’t even have to look out the windows. Where was all this stuff when I was a kid?

To add to my traveling hardships, I remember one trip to Las Vegas, on a scorching hot summer day, when our car overheated in the middle of nowhere, stranding us for hours with no water. I had to walk along way in the broiling heat to get help. Not a way to start a fun filled vacation!

To avoid this happening to you, check out my list of top 10 items to prepare your vehicle for a road trip.

1. Replace any tire that is worn down to the tread wear indicator. Have all the tires carefully inspected for any damage and the correct tire pressure. Who wants to be stuck on the side of the road changing a tire?

2. Have your brakes inspected. Mountain roads will destroy marginal brakes in a hurry.

3. Replace these three main fluids: oil and filter, coolant, transmission fluid. If any of these three fluids are low the consequence can be disastrous on your vehicle.

4. This is a reminder from my Vegas trip. Have the water pump, radiator and cooling hoses checked.

5. How old is your timing belt? If it has over 100,000 miles it and the fan belts should be replaced. A broken timing belt will stop the car in its tracks and could damage the motor.

6. The price of gas almost requires you to take out a loan to fill up your tank for family vacation. It is a good idea to check when the last time the spark plugs, air and fuel filters were replaced.

7. Are all your headlights, taillights, brake lights working?

8. Make sure that air conditioning blows ice cold and does not have a musty smell which indicates there is mold in the ducts.

9. Carry a lot of water, snacks, and paper towels. Kids get hungry and make messes. If you have real little ones have extra diaper changing supplies readily available where you will not have to go hunting for them. Also include heavy duty trash bags to store the bio-hazard.

10. If you are like me, direction impaired, buy a navigation system. The prices have really come down on them.

Ooh, don’t forget those DVD’s and electrical gadgets or you will need masking tape to put a line down the middle of the car.

Have a great vacation. Take a lot of pictures!

I hope this article helps you. I am Ken Levine, the owner of Ken’s Quality Auto Repair in Thousand Oaks, where we specialize in Lexus and Toyota vehicles. If you have any car questions, please e-mail me at kq@verizon.net, visit www.kensqualityauto.com or call 805-494-4344.