How to make your car festival-ready

As Glastonbury Festival kicks off this week, a lot of us will be hitting the roads to enjoy an action-packed week of fun in the sun.

Festival-goers cars will be put to the test as they are filled with camping equipment, friends and family.

But, although it might be an exciting time to travel, you need to make sure that you’ve prepared your vehicle for the journey ahead.

We’ve compiled a list of vital checks you need to do to make sure that your car is festival-ready.

Before setting off on your journey, do some basic mechanical checks to your vehicle to make sure it’s roadworthy enough to get to your destination.

Simple checks include inspecting the condition of the tyres. Look for cracks, perishing and damage on the sidewalls and measure the amount of tread depth you have remaining on the tyre – the legal limit in the UK is 1.6mm.

Check your wiper blades to make sure they’re not split or perished, look for chips in the windscreen, check that all your headlights and brake lights work and inspect that all the seatbelts are working.

If your car isn’t due a service, why not get it done a little earlier? Giving your car a fresh service will give it a clean bill of health and make it more reliable and responsive – which is great if you’re planning on doing a long journey to the festival this week.

New oil and filter, pollen filter, air filter and spark plugs can all make your car perform a lot smoother on a long trip. If you’re not confident or mechanically minded, then get your car serviced through a reputable garage, as it can be quicker and more effective. However, expect to pay more, compared to doing it on your driveway.

A smart idea would be to invest in breakdown cover as you never know when you might need it.

If you’re travelling far to get to this week’s festival, the last thing you want is your car to break down. Not only does it cause stress, but it’s inconvenient and can be dangerous if you’re stationary at the side of a busy motorway.

By having breakdown cover, it will enable you to contact a recovery service and they will be able to send someone out straight away to look at your vehicle. This saves time, money and will guarantee you to be back on the road in a much shorter period.

One crucial thing you must never do is overload your vehicle. If you’re planning to take a lot of people on your journey to this week’s festival, make sure you plan how much luggage you will be taking.

Driving a car that is overloaded can be dangerous, it will make it heavier and will take longer to stop in the event of an emergency.

When loading up the boot, don’t pack larger items on top of small ones too as it can obstruct your rear view and in the event of an accident, the heavier items that are not secured down can cause serious injuries to occupants inside the vehicle.

Make sure that you don’t run your battery flat when you’re at the festival as this will be very inconvenient if you’re left stranded on a camping field.

A handy piece of advice would be to take a jump pack, just in case one of your passengers leaves an interior light on, or there are too many mobile devices plugged into the USB-C ports when the vehicle is parked.

A jump pack will put power back into your car’s battery, enabling you to carry on with your journey.

Always take plenty of food and drink with you, as no one wants to travel in a car without anything to eat.

Driving on an empty stomach or being dehydrated can be dangerous as it can affect your concentration levels and make you more irritated out on the road.

Pack bottles of water and make sure everyone in the vehicle has enough food to last throughout the journey.