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19/11/2007
By EWAN KENNEDY
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“Travel light” is an old piece of advice, but it’s still as appropriate on today’s holiday trips as it has ever been.
The trouble with having a car is that it’s tempting to load up everything that you might conceivably need in every circumstance. That’s understandable with beginners, but experienced travellers soon learn to cut their gear to a comfortable (not necessarily Spartan) minimum.
Try to avoid the need for a roof rack or trailer. Both decrease aerodynamic efficiency and can upset the balance of the car, particularly in cross winds. And trailers severely restrict the places where you can park.
 When possible, load the heaviest items towards the back of the boot (i.e. the front of the car) to improve the weight distribution. If yours is a hatchback, a station wagon, or a sedan with a folding rear-seat backrest, make sure the restraining catches on the seat are correctly set.
Tie the load down with straps to stop it being thrown forward in a crash, or even under heavy braking. It’s only in very recent times that car designers have started to fit proper tie-down hooks and supply extra straps and/or cargo nets. Volvo and Mercedes are two major exceptions to this, having supplied sturdy cargo-security items for many years.
Also fairly new on the everyday scene are cargo barriers, and even then they are normally only sold for station wagons, not for hatchbacks. You know you are safe when you buy a barrier from the car’s maker, though generally the aftermarket units are to a reasonable standard of engineering.
Do not put any heavy items inside the cabin if this can be avoided. In particular, never place heavy objects on the rear parcel shelf. They can fly forward in a crash, or even under heavy braking, and cause injuries. Pillows and blankets are all that should be loaded on the parcel shelf. Even that should be avoided if possible as they can fly forward under heavy braking and distract the driver, possibly even becoming caught up with the steering wheel or pedals if you are really unlucky.
Before setting out each day, do a check of the car to make sure everything has been loaded back into it. It’s all too easy for the little darlings to leave toys under motel beds, or for dad or mum to forget they have unloaded to some items to give them access to others.
Make a note now to have a post mortem following your first couple of holiday trips. If something has been carted around for weeks and never used, it should be listed as a possible candidate for being left behind next time. Obviously this doesn’t apply to spare parts, first-aid kits and the like.
Taking these steps may sound a little on the clinical side when you are planning for the fun of a long holiday trip. But by following some basic rules at the start you will actually add to, not detract from, the enjoyment you get from exploring this wide brown land of ours.
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