If you think that living a van life every weekend is something that you’d like to try occasionally, then you’re in for a surprise. Van life is becoming a trend nowadays, especially for people who love to stay outdoors. It gives them the option to enjoy nature in a van that has everything that they need.

But before you go on looking for a new Mercedes Benz Sprinter for sale in Salt Lake City, here are a few things that you need to understand to help live a van life.

1. Weigh the items in your van

You need to carefully keep count of all the item’s weight that you have in your van. Each country has its one weight limit for every type of vehicle.

If you’re caught being way past your threshold, then you may need to go back home until you’re at the right weight. Going back can be a little off-putting, especially if you’ve traveled for several miles.

2. Measure your van

To live a comfortable van life, you need to know the exact measurement of your van. It’s advisable to measure the height and width of the van so that you’ll know how much space you have. Doing so will help you plan the things that you can bring in the van without worrying if you have enough space for it.

3. Learn how to park smart

One of the things that you need to remember on mobile living is that you don’t park in the same place for two straight nights. Rotate around at least three two or four parking spots now and then, so you won’t get asked to relocate. A few establishments have Wi-Fi signal and a water source which can be great for Van Lifers.

4. Get a few power banks

Power banks can be lifesavers especially when you’re on the road. There are times when the sun’s not at its best, and your solar panels won’t get the power that it needs.

At times like these, power banks are your best allies. Charge your power banks from your solar on sunny days and then save them for later. It can come in handy especially when your power juices are low, and you’re in the middle of a shady area.

5. Have a few safety pieces of equipment

You need to have the necessary safety equipment whenever you’re traveling in a van. Each country has its essential gear that you should follow.

Some countries might require you to have headlamp deflectors and reflective jackets required by law to have while driving on the road. Reading up about the place that you’ll be visiting beforehand will give you a good understanding of what to prepare.

Living a van life is a dream that some people are willing to chase. But to live such life would require you to have a van that’ll fit all your needs. Most people would suggest cars like Sprinters especially if you’re planning to bring a lot of things with you while you’re on the road.

A brand new car starts losing its value immediately it leaves the dealer’s shop. It loses about 10% of the value depending on the brand. So, if you buy a car today and sell it several hours later during the day, you will make a loss of at least 10% of its value.

Sad, right? This is why a car is said to be a liability, but it’s a liability we can’t live without. Now, besides the depreciation bit, here are more critical factors that make a car lose its value.

The brand of the car

Regardless of other factors such as the condition of the car, the brand dictates the value. There are brands that will fetch a higher amount because of their popularity among users. Then, we have high-end luxury brands, such as the Volkswagen, which retain a higher resale value because of the fact that they are high-end.

That is why a dealer with a yard of VW commercial vehicles for sale will take home way more compared to one selling low end or unpopular brands. When planning to buy a car, it is advisable that you buy a brand that retains a higher resale value.

And, don’t think that just because a car is costly, it will fetch you more when reselling. No. There are cars that cost an arm and a leg, but immediately you drive off the dealer, they instantly depreciate with more than 10%. If you buy a car and you intend to sell it at a good amount, sell it within the first six years of ownership.

The condition of the exteriors and interiors

This is rather obvious. A well-maintained and a clean-looking car will definitely give you bargaining power when selling. So, clean the exterior of the car thoroughly, repair any cracks and dents, remove unnecessary things such as those old stickers and labels, and paint where there are chips before you put your car in the market.

For the interior, get rid of any unpleasant odour or else you will lose a potential customer. You can also change a few things such as the mats to make it look well-maintained and get rid of non-functional features.

The mechanical condition

The mechanical state of the car matters a lot. No one wants to buy a “dead” car. As such, keep your car in top-notch shape. Service it regularly, repair it as soon as you notice any faults, and drive it smoothly and safely. Keep a record of all the service appointments.

Additionally, the lower the car mileage, the higher the resale value. Also, the higher the mileage, the lower the resale value. To be on the safe side, try and maintain about 10,000 miles a year.

The colour of the car

This might not seem like much, but it does make a difference. A white car can fetch you extra dollars while a coloured car will fetch you less the same amount. So, stick to the most popular colours among buyers —  white, black, and silver if you intend to resale your car.

In conclusion, it all comes down to how well a car is maintained. Period! That is when we put its brand aside.

The condition of any vehicle’s tires contributes to its performance. It is, therefore, necessary to keep them in good condition. Doing this may include checking their pressure to determine whether they require additional inflation. Usually, car tires affect a vehicle’s gas consumption. It is likely that a car running with worn-out tires will consume more fuel than a car running with new tires.

Repair or replacement

Sometimes, car tires suffer damage raising a need to repair or replace them. There are several wheel shops in Salt Lake City, Utah, where you may take your car wheels for proper checkup and repair. The benefit of taking your car tires to such shops is that they often have a majority of the spare parts that your car may require. This saves you a lot of time and money as you do not have to move from one store to another in search of the spare parts.

At a wheel shop, it is also likely that they offer wheel alignment services. It is done to ascertain that the wheels match the correct position and angles as recommended by the manufacturer. An unevenly worn-out tire is an indicator of wheels that require alignment.

Regular wheel rotation

This mainly applies to vehicles that are used in transporting heavy loads. Usually, the rear wheels tend to wear out at a higher rate than the front wheels. As a result, you may end up replacing the rear wheels at least twice before the front wheels require replacement. To avoid that, wheel specialists encourage regular wheel rotation. Every few trips, consider switching the front wheels with the rear ones. That allows for the even wearing out of the tires so that they are all replaced together. However, it is essential to first ascertain that the front and rear axles are equal in size. Otherwise, you may end up with an abnormally slanted vehicle which may put your safety at risk. Other times, the wheels may refuse to rotate at all due to the lack of adequate allowance for rotation.

Pre-ride inspection

Before embarking on any journey, it is essential to first conduct an inspection of your vehicle’s wheels. This allows you to detect possible faults. You may realize that the wire beads in your wheels are showing or that some of the wheel spokes are broken. It is dangerous to drive on such wheels. Such an early discovery allows you to replace the wheels with spare ones. You may also realize that the tires’ pressure levels are below the required standards. With that in mind, you are able to assess the situation to determine the best response. If you are to load the vehicle with goods, you may choose to first drive to a nearby gas station or auto repair shop to get the wheels inflated then come back.

With the dependence of your car’s performance on the condition of its tires, it is necessary that you keep them in good condition. Good tires guarantee a proper grip on the road, which not only improves your car’s transmission but also guarantees effective braking.

Luxury cars cost double and triple the cost of regular cars. This is why if you buy one, you need to really make sure that your investment will last longer, which can be done through proper care. The following are effective tips for luxury car owners so they can properly take care of their automobiles:

Get regular oil changes for your car

If you owned a car in the past, you would know how important oil changes are. It makes sure that the dust, dirt, and debris from the engine of the car will not affect its performance.

It also ensures that the engines are lubricated. Search for a Porsche scheduled maintenance service provider in New York City that can do an oil change for your luxury car so that it will last longer.

Follow the manufacturer’s maintenance instructions

Most luxury car manufacturers have suggested maintenance schedules that they give out to car buyers. Car owners should follow this as highly experienced mechanics, and engineers usually verify this maintenance schedule. This will help owners ensure that the car will perform at an optimal level consistently.

Clean the luxury car regularly

Just like any type of machine, the level of cleanliness of the car can have an impact on how it performs. If you want to take care of your car, you need to clean it on a regular basis.

You can do the cleaning for both the exterior and exterior of your car. This can be done every few months also to preserve the beauty of the car.

Join a motor club

Joining a motor club presents a wide array of advantages. Some of these clubs have towing services. A few of them also provides roadside assistance 24/7 once your vehicle breaks down. That’s not all: These motor clubs offer discounts as well for a lot of things, which include hotels.

Read the owner’s manual

When you buy your car, you will be provided with an owner’s manual that offers guidelines. Such guidelines help car owners about how to take care of your car. On top of that, you will be provided with the necessary information that you can use when carrying out maintenance activities.

Carry out an inspection

Another good way to take care of your car is to carry out a light inspection prior to driving. You can do the simple inspection of the car parts even for five minutes. Some of the things you need to check include the tires, windshields, brakes, fluids, and more.

Be careful when driving

If there is one effective tip that every car owner should remember for their luxury car, it is to drive carefully. Luxury cars cost a lot of money, which you could have spent on other things. If you crash the car, it can set you back by a few hundred thousand dollars.

Remember that there are quite a few accidents that involve cars in the US every year. If you are to drive more carefully, then there is a great chance that you will veer away from experiencing road accidents.

Luxury cars are not cheap. If you want your luxury car to be worth the money you spent on it, you need to take care of it.

Once a staple for rural families working the land, utes have become extremely popular among suburban people, particularly for leisure. New Zealand is blessed with endless tracks of rugged, smooth, and rolling terrains that having utes seems more like a great, natural idea.

With a ute, you can work on your farm during the weekdays or spend the weekends strolling in pristine landscapes. Or you can do both at will. A ute is a must have. But before crashing into ute dealers in NZ, below are some tips to help you start with owning one.

Carrying and Towing Prowess

Most if not all buyers will definitely put a vehicle’s carrying and towing prowess as the foremost consideration. It is no different with utes. Actually, it is even more important. Models that offer a balanced suspension and improved strength are expected to tow better.

But too much rigidity, usually subscribed to by owners with few people and stuff to carry, can give you a bumpy ride. If you carry a family often, look for balance and space. Speaking of space, a double cab will surely be a hit to the children.

Cabin Comfort

Truly, comfort is hard to measure when you are just trying to get a feel of the wheels in a shop or even test driving. You have got to spend more time with your ute to see if it matches your expectations or your wants. Dual cabs or double cabs are made for comfort while single cabs are for performance.

There are some choices in between, those that can have the best of both worlds. Dealers will give you options for such need but limiting the need for performance and looking for more roomy interiors should give you the idea of a balanced ute. Also, do not forget to seek high ANCAP ratings.

Safety Technology

There are now more utes designed for safety. They are not just more equipped, but they are also high-tech. Standard fittings are usually reserved for traction control and side airbags. For more advanced features, one should find a ute equipped with a lane departure warning as well as adaptive cruise control capabilities.

Keeping your family safe every weekend trip or you and a companion in every work shift are taken into consideration now by manufacturers. And of course, utes with more capabilities come with a higher price tag.

Prices and Freebies

And yes, the price is the ultimate decider. If you cannot get a good finance deal or find models with good resale prices, especially if you are regularly upgrading, look out for free deals.

Free onroads and extra bonuses like an alloy wheel upgrade can be found. And so are free scheduled servicing (for the first few years), free accessories, and a free upgrade to auto.

Whether it be performance, comfort, safety, and affordability, any buyer would still be bent to find a ute that is best fit to one’s needs. All the above features will always come anyway, in one way or another. What is important is you get the right mix to give you a great driving experience.

There used to be a time when what you saw was what you got with regard to cars. Today, however, people are far more spoiled with aftermarket upgrade available for every conceivable want and need. Perhaps one of the best first upgrades anyone should make needs to focus on your comfort.

That’s because comfort usually gets the last billing. From seat types to the application of commercial window film in Arizona, these are the most popular upgrade options geared towards comfort that you can make today.

Change the seats

Depending on how long you’re going to plant yourself in your car seat, or how terrible the traffic is along your daily commute gets, the first thing that you might want to do is replace your seats. There is nothing wrong with your stock seats, but they are not maximized comfort.

You should get something that is more ergonomically designed. Racing seats are a good option, and there are even memory foam options floating out in the market that are the height of comfort. At all costs, avoid leather. They look great, sure, but are very uncomfortable.

Shade the windows

At their most basic, car windows have no shade or tinting whatsoever. If you were going for economy when you first got your ride, you might not have opted for tinting and experienced the heat that came from being so exposed. The upside here is that you can now opt for commercial window film in Arizona.

These are customized to be better performing than the standards pushed out by dealerships. They filter UV light better and even polarize better to allow for privacy. It is utterly customizable to your own specific needs and wants.

Cushion the floor

What most people do not realize is that a lot of the exhaustion that comes from riding their cars is that their feet planted on the floor is exposed to constant vibrations. This affects the muscles in their legs adversely. Fortunately, the simple investment in mats can help combat that.

There are mats that actually dampen these vibrations and spare the legs the ache that can develop over time. These are affordable options that anyone can get on a budget and still turn up something that works great.

Dampen sounds

Old cars suffer from the prevalence of constant droning of sounds. These can come from the engine as well as the frame vibrating a result. While you often tune these out, they can be annoying and headache inducing when left untended to. Fortunately, it is affordable to invest in sound deadening material.

These are heavy and very dense materials placed on the floor, under the roof, and on your doors. You will be surprised just how effective such an affordable option can be at killing annoying and cloying noise and sounds from your ride.

Investing in your car is a smart way of personalizing it to your own needs and wants. If you are to prioritize anything, start with your comfort. Just make sure that you get the very best accessories provided for a reliable company. Not only will your body thank you, but your wallet will too.