Hitting the Highway This May Long Weekend? Your Pre-Trip Vehicle Checklist

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The May long weekend is the unofficial kickoff to road trip season in BC. Whether you're heading to Shuswap for a campsite, Sun Peaks to catch the last of the season, or down to the Okanagan for a wine weekend, your vehicle is about to spend a few hours on highways it hasn't seen all winter. A 15-minute check before you leave Kamloops can be the difference between a smooth trip and a long wait on the side of the Coquihalla.

Here's what to walk through the day before you head out.

1. Tires: Pressure, Tread, and the Spare

Tires are the single biggest pre-trip variable. Cold winter mornings drop tire pressure, and a lot of vehicles roll into May still running last fall's PSI. Underinflated tires wear faster, hurt fuel economy, and handle worse on hot summer pavement. Overinflated ones ride rough and lose grip in the rain.

Check the door-jamb sticker for the correct pressure (not the number on the tire sidewall — that's the maximum, not the recommended), and check pressure when the tires are cold. Don't forget the spare. A spare that's been sitting under your truck for three years often has 10 PSI in it and won't get you down the mountain.

For tread, the old quarter test still works: if you can see the top of the caribou's nose when you stick a quarter into the groove, the tread is too low for confident wet-weather highway driving.

2. Fluids: A Quick Walk-Around

You don't need to do a full inspection — just pop the hood and check the levels in the marked reservoirs. Five fluids worth eyeballing:

• Engine oil. Pull the dipstick. Level between MIN and MAX, colour should be amber to light brown — not black or gritty.
• Coolant. Check the overflow reservoir. Bright green, orange, or pink is normal. Brown or murky means it's time for a flush.
• Brake fluid. Should be clear to light amber. Dark fluid is moisture-contaminated and needs replacing.
• Windshield washer. Easy one. Top it up before you go — Highway 5 dust will eat through a reservoir fast.
• Power steering. If you have hydraulic steering, check the level. Low fluid often means a slow leak that's about to get worse.

3. Brakes

You don't need to take the wheels off — just listen and feel. Are the brakes quiet when you stop? Does the pedal feel firm and consistent, or does it sink slowly? Any pulling to one side when you brake hard? Any of those signs means it's worth getting them looked at before you point the car at a mountain pass.

The Coquihalla and Highway 5 to Sun Peaks both have long downhill stretches that work the brakes hard. Marginal pads or warped rotors that you barely notice around town can become genuinely scary on a 7% grade with a full trailer.

4. Lights, Wipers, and Visibility

Walk around the vehicle with someone in the driver's seat, and check every exterior light: headlights (low and high beam), brake lights, turn signals, hazards, reverse lights, license plate light. A burnt-out brake light is one of the more common reasons for a Highway 5 ticket.

Spring sunshine in the BC Interior is intense, and a hazy windshield is a real safety issue when you're driving into a low evening sun. Replace wiper blades if they're streaking — they take 30 seconds to swap — and clean the glass inside and out. While you're at it, check that all the washer jets work.

5. Battery

Cold Kamloops winters are hard on batteries, and weak ones often fail in the first hot weekend of the season — the combination of long cranking from a winter start and now a hot engine bay finishes them off. If your battery is more than four years old, or your vehicle was slow to crank in March, get it tested. It's a five-minute job and saves you from sitting in a campground waiting for CAA.

6. The Boring But Critical Stuff: Emergency Kit

Highway 5, the Coquihalla, and the back roads up to the Shuswap all pass through long stretches with no cell service. If something goes wrong, you may be on your own for an hour or more. A real BC summer emergency kit should include:

• Drinking water (at least 2 litres per person)
• Non-perishable snacks
• A working flashlight and extra batteries
• A blanket or two (yes, even in summer — overnight temperatures in the mountains still drop)
• Basic first aid kit
• Jumper cables or a jump pack
• A tire pressure gauge and a small compressor if you have room
• Reflective triangles or flares

7. The Trailer, the Bike Rack, or the Roof Box

If you're towing or hauling, check the connections the day before you leave. Trailer wiring corrodes over winter — confirm brake lights and turn signals are working before you head out. Check that bike rack mounts and roof box clamps are tight, and that the load is balanced. An unbalanced load at highway speed is a real handling problem.

For trailers, walk around and visually inspect tires, hitch ball coupler, safety chains, and the breakaway cable. If your trailer hasn't moved since last summer, the tires might look fine but be dry-rotted from sitting — get them inspected.

When to Have a Pro Look

Some of this is genuinely DIY — checking tire pressure, topping up washer fluid, walking around looking at lights. But if you notice anything that feels off when you drive — a vibration, a noise, soft brakes, slow cranking, a warning light — don't push through it. Highway 5 in May long weekend traffic is not the place to discover you have a wheel bearing about to fail.

If it's been a while since your vehicle had a proper service, or if you don't know the history (used purchase, lease return, etc.), spring is the best time to get a thorough check. We're happy to do a full inspection and give you a straight answer about what needs attention now versus what can wait until fall.