Everyone loves good weather on their holidays, but high temperatures on long drives can create problems for your towcar and your passengers. here are some points to bear in mind.
l Towing (or just travelling solo with the family and your holiday luggage in the car) makes your car work harder than usual. The engine will run slightly hotter, but this is not a particular concern so long as the temperature stays within acceptable limits and doesn’t keep rising.
l On higher-mileage cars, make sure the cooling system and fan belt are in good condition before setting out. If necessary, have the radiator flushed and refilled, since this can restore cooling capacity.
l Anything that makes the passengers cooler conversely tends to make the car itself hotter!
Air-conditioning should be turned off if the engine temperature starts to climb too high, perhaps in a traffic jam. Travelling with the windows open compromises your car’s aerodynamics, and increases the engine effort needed. But by keeping the car moving, you will increase the airflow and provide some forced ventilation for the occupants.
l If the temperature of your engine does get high enough to cause concern, it is best to stop immediately. If road or traffic conditions prevent this, a last resort is to turn off any non-vital equipment and turn on the heater. This will draw some heat from the engine (albeit at some discomfort to your passengers), and might just allow you get to the next lay-by or turn-off without the car overheating. l Automatic gearboxes used to be prone to overheating when the car they were fitted to was being used to tow, but these days they are generally trouble-free. Do, however, check whether additional transmission fluid is required: some cars need more when towing.