"Winter Travel Safety: Build the Ultimate Emergency Kit Before You Hit The Road"

Good morning Niagara and friends you're tuned to car connection where the

coffee's hot, the tools are ready, and the talk is always tuned up. I'm your

host, Niall Motormouth Jenkins, come to you straight from the car connection

workshop where we mix a little humor, a little know-how, and a whole lot of

horsepower. Here it's not just about fixing cars, it's about keeping you

rolling, saving you money, and giving you the confidence to understand what's

under that hood. From the classics to the commuters, the weird noises to the

what the heck moments, we've got you covered. So grab your coffee, lock it

down in your cup holder if you're driving, sit back, watch out for the other

guy, you know what I mean, and join the crew because this is car connection.

Your Saturday morning pit stop for stories, smarts, and a few laughs. I'm

your motormouth Jenkins and we're shifting into drive right here in the

car connection workshop. So get yourself ready, get a crayon or two, and a brown

paper bag to take some notes down, and we will get right into things this

morning. Wow, we are moving along and we've made it to the weekend. Thanks for

joining me. Appreciate that. We made it. Yippee! That's right, it's more like

here in the car connection workshop, it's more like this. Yippee! Exactly,

that's exactly it. Especially when the coffee's hot and it's actually, it's

good. So let's take a moment and have a swiggy together whatever your favorite

morning beverage is. Keep your eyes on the road, take a good look before you have

a swiggy. We'll count it down on three, two, one, and let's have that morning

coffee together. Three, two, one.

That's so good, it should be illegal. I should probably hide it. Yeah. All right,

let's jump right in this morning. Thanks for joining us, appreciate that. And we

are enjoying our Saturday morning together. I'd like to say thank you to our

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logos of the businesses that are a part of our car connection community. Thank

you to Crystal Ridge Dream Center for being our non-profit, faith-based

organization for 2025-26 serving men, women, seniors, children, meals, love and

hope and changing lives one at a time in the Niagara region. They have after

school programs for the kids, music lessons, tutoring, the whole nine yards.

You want to be a part of something that will change the life of small humans to

big humans and everything in between. Single moms as well. No one is

discluded. Visit them on our website. City Auto Sales and Leasing, GTA's

premier pre-owned auto store with Louise and Earl Grant. Fantastic people to

deal with. That's who you'll be dealing with is the owners for 25 plus years

selling low mileage, top quality vehicles at fair prices. They sell no junk. I

will tell you that right now. That's the only reason why they're part of car

connection as a car lot because as you know, I know the same thing. Car lots

can be a creepy place to buy a car and I'm grateful that pigs don't fly if you

know what I'm saying. Yeah, the lies are flying. Yeah, so City Auto Sales and

Leasing, it doesn't matter if you got to drive 90 minutes to be able to buy with

confidence and be treated with nothing less than honesty and integrity. They

also do in-house financing so whether you have good credit, bad credit or no

credit, they also do leases as well. Fair prices, low mileage, vehicles that look

like brand spanking new. It's worth your drive. I have driven four hours to

purchase a vehicle privately because it was everything that I was looking for

and the lady I purchased from sent me all the pictures that I wanted to see of

her vehicle including any damage and that made me satisfied that I could

purchase that vehicle, go and see it and it was everything that she showed me

and then some. Thank you to Rita and Ramiz, the brothers at Rainbow Motors and

Garage, sales and service you can trust in Scarborough, Ontario, Canada. They

service what they sell. They also service all years, make some models

including light truck and commercial vehicles, light commercial vehicles to

our certified financial planning professionals, my brothers from other

mothers, two of the best CFPs in all of Canada with IG Wealth Management, Tony

Mielly and Larry Tietro combined. They have 50 years experience. You have the

opportunity to get a discovery meeting. We call it the hour and a coffee to go

over your portfolio debt and dealing with that debt dragon estate planning. If

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always had my mortgage for the last 15 years with IG Wealth and I would not

think of going anywhere else. They're fabulous to deal with and great rates.

So there's a lot more services available to you and make sure you grab that

hour and a coffee with either Tony or Larry. They're both available to you on

our website at carconnectionbusinessnetwork.com. Thank you to the

Grimoire family, Niagara Block at 5000 Montrose Road, Niagara Falls, building

Canada since 1931. Building materials as well as landscaping, hardscape

materials for landscaping. So if you're looking to create that oasis in your

backyard, side yard or front yard, you'll want to connect with the team at

Niagara Block. They have gorgeous stoneware there to create just a fabulous

place for you to hang out at your home. So thank you to Total Freedom Deering

Center New York and Total Freedom Sydney Manitoba, the Rick and Robin are the

facilitators. They're wonderful, wonderful people that know exactly what it's

like to kick a habit and an addiction big time. So check in with them. They're

available to you. Be sure to let them know that Car Connection sent you. That's

very, very helpful to us. And we want to say thank you to them as well because

they're making Car Connection here on this iHeart podcast at all the major

platforms, Apple, music, Amazon, music. We're on every platform that you can find

out there and Spotify. So thanks for stopping by. Let's get our Saturday

morning going together. Let's kick it off with a motormouth winter tech tip. Yeah,

another one. I'm trying to help you. That's what it's all about is I'm trying to

help you. I've been licensed, a license out of tech and heavy-duty truck and

equipment since 1988. It's been a while and I am up to date as well with my

licenses. So I'm here to try and help you get a better understanding of your

automobile and with some tips, maybe prevent you from having a bad day. So

let's make it a great day, a great Saturday. Well, cold mornings and weak

batteries go together like pumpkin spice and regret. So if your car cranks slower

than a teenager getting out of bed, check that battery before you're

stranded sipping coffee in the driveway. Yeah, it only takes a few minutes for

your tech to put the electronic tool on there to check your battery thoroughly

and verify its state of condition. And if it shows weak, I'm going to tell you

this, first cold snap, that battery is going to fail. So if it tests weak,

change it before that happens and leaves you stranded. Nothing worse than, you

know, the days are short and it's dark before you know it in the early

evening and in the winter when it's freezing, stinking cold and blowing and

whatever else weather conditions coming at you and you get to the car and it's

click, click, click or you can't even unlock it with your remote, that sucks

with a K and a capital T s. Absolutely. So that doesn't need to happen. So get

your battery electronically tested. We can print it, do a printout, show you

exactly what's going on within your vehicle's battery to give you that

warning. So sound that warning bell and say it's on the edge. Yeah, you don't

want to cross that Rubicon. So get the battery change because it will fail. It's

takes you out and you're in a hurry and the kids got to get to school and you

got nothing. Yeah, it's not good. Not good at all. Well, what I wanted to talk

with you today about and if there's any time, a topic that you would like for

me to cover, you can go into our website, carconnectionbusinessnetwork.com. I

know it's a long title, but I got it short as much as I could 31 years. This

is the shortest we could get CC B us is in Sam bus net net.com. There is a

website form there. You can send me an email through there through our website

and in the top right hand corner of the homepage, you'll see all the links, which

I always put in every description for our YouTube videos, our teaching videos and

also the podcast. I make sure that every piece of information for you to connect

and be a part of our car connection community. Been on the air for 31 years

with radio and now we just made the decision to come off and move into

podcasting where we can reach even more and more people around this globe that

we're spinning on. So that's the whole purpose behind that. So I always

include all every every piece of detailing in the descriptions for

videos on YouTube for a podcast here. And there's also an email source at

Stevensville on the web dot ca click on the businesses tab. And you can open our

profile page there. We come alongside all the businesses in Stevensville to

Quaintown and lots of great eateries there and lots of amazing family owned

and operated businesses. Great people. It is a great community and my pops has

lived there for 42 years. So I love hanging out there. It's just a great

place to go and support local. We also have our Instagram link there, Facebook

and our merch store. We have winter merch goodies coming. We have knitted knitted

winter hats. I like to call them toks and because I'm Canadian. That's right. We

drive bobsleds or is that dog sleds in the winter and we're frozen mucklucks.

Some people really believe that we live in igloos. Just saying. Yeah, we should

enlighten them. Hockey's our sport, right? Yeah, exactly. Alright, let's dive

into it. So any way you want to choose, you can connect with me. And if you

haven't liked and subscribed to our YouTube channel, no matter what age you

are, male, female, single, widowed on your own, trying to keep the car going. All

our YouTube videos cover five things. What it is, where it is, how it works, why

it matters. And what could you have learned as a takeaway to have prevented

the damage from happening? That's the key. That is the purpose of our YouTube

channel is to reach and teach so that the more you know about your automobile,

the less chance you're going to get ripped off out there. And there's a lot of

that going on. I don't want to harp on it too much, but it's ugly. So the more

you can learn, ladies and gents, and even the youth, you know, I know they're

busy on their phones all the time and friends and whatnot. But if they have a

car, they need to learn how to take care of it and moms and dads and grandparents.

That's your job to teach them to take care of it to be a great caregiver. And

if you've given your kids a car, that's not a good idea. I've seen it for for

decades running my own automotive shop. If the kids don't have any skin in the

game, they treat the car like they stole it. And they abuse it big time. So I'm

just saying we'll do a show on that and I can share some stories with you that

will curl your toes back. Do not give your kids a car. They need to have some

skin in the game so that they can be the caregiver of that car, not just drive

it like they stole it, hand you the keys when it's broken and you pay the bill.

They need to play a part in that role of vehicle ownership. And if you don't

start that at a young age, they'll treat every car they own like a piece of junk

and they'll be car broke forever, forever. I keep my vehicles as long as I

can. I do annual rust proofing, regular maintenance, preventative maintenance,

and I can put 400,000 K. In fact, the old seven Toyota FJ Cruiser is

approaching 400,000 K. Doesn't happen just because. So that's what you need to

teach your kids. So enough said on that, I will do a program on that just for

parents and the youth that get the car keys. And if it's your car, it's being

treated like that when you're not watching. The little angels have black

wings if you know what I'm saying. All right, let's jump in. You know what I

wanted to talk about today, something really important, heading into the some

of the what can be some of the roughest weather and road conditions in the

months ahead and I hope they go really fast because I am looking forward to

spring. You know, the summer to me felt kind of short at both ends. If you

know what I mean, let's talk about the winter travel package. That's right. I

like to call it the winter roadside assistance package because we never

know what we're going to get into on the roadways. So number one is when

traveling and you know, in just a few weeks, people be hitting the road,

visiting family, people you've not seen for quite some time and get having a

family gathering, and you're going to be driving into different areas. Yes,

demographics. That's what we're going to talk about. Be prepared. Weather

reports, check weather reports to where you're going, the arrival place. What

are the roads like? What's the weather like? Because it can change from place

to place to place. Check out weather reports, accurate weather reports. Yeah,

like today's weather report with rain coming in late in the afternoon. I'm

up at five o'clock in the morning. It's pouring cats and dogs. That's what I'm

saying. Yeah. So I had plans for the Saturday morning and that kind of got

washed out. No pun intended. Change of schedule. So weather reports, accurate

weather reports and check up to date up to the moment you're leaving the

driveway and road conditions. What are you going to be dealing with out there?

Ice, snow, slush, winter events, accumulation, visibility. You need to

know all of that before you head out and it's always best just like with

you know, I'm a voter and if you're going on an excursion, you need to have a

plan. It needs to be recorded and you need to leave it with someone at the

dock that you're departing. It needs to be with someone who knows where you left

from, what route you're taking on the water to get to your final destination.

Same with flying airplanes. Same thing. You've got a travel report. Where

you're going, where you're leaving from, what airports you're going to be

touching down to check the aircraft and refuel and stretch your legs and grab

a cup of Joe or whatever and off you go. You need to know for sure. People

need to know for sure. Hey, we're just leaving the driveway. Okay, Sally, we'll

see you. Our expected time of arrival is this and you know what that does two

things. Number one, you've made contact. Number two, you've checked the weather

and road conditions in the area and you've let them know where and how

you'll be traveling. So share your travel route with those that are at the

other end expecting you. So should something happen, someone knows where

you possibly could be. And if you're late, or looking like you're going to be

late, call the people at the other end at your arrival spot, just to put them at

ease because you know what we are like people, we turn shrubs into trees,

right? Worry warts, deeply concerned. Oh, they're 10 minutes late. Oh, they're an

hour late. Oh, no. Hey, you're running behind. We're still on route. Here's where

we are and look forward to seeing you. So that's a proper way to travel and to

make sure that you're in good shape. Now let's talk about the emergency roadside

kit for winter. But before we do that, one other thing. Yep. Check your tire

pressures. Once a month in the winter, the molecules of air in the tires, they

shrink and they pass right through the sidewall. Did you know that tires leak

normally without anything in the tread running over something nasty, like a

fork or a 716 bolt or a wire something or other that looks like a spoke? Yeah. Some

of the weirdest things I've pulled out of tires. So check your tire pressures

once a month. They normally lose air through the sidewall because that's the

weakest point on the tire and the molecules escape. They go to your

neighbor's tires. No, not really. So check your tire pressures before you head

out on your travel and check the fluids. Let's make sure everything's good. Look

under the hood. If anything looks abnormal, then there's probably something

going on that needs to be checked before you leave the driveway and drive

according to the road conditions. Slow down. Be safe. Safer to arrive late than

not. So be safe out there. Check your fluids, including the washer fluid and

make sure you have a full jug of washer fluid unopened in the car all season.

Have a full one in each car that's hitting the road.

And what else have I got for you? Yeah, more. There's more. I knew you'd ask. So

you can create your own winter emergency roadside assistance kit and add in or

take something out. But here's some suggestion. Cell phone charger, not just

one pack another one and a cable to make sure you can charge your battery and

make sure all cell phones are charged that are in the car as well. Because if

there's only one cell phone that goes down, you can't run the engine. How are

you going to charge it? Cell charger doesn't. It's not going to help you at

that point. Not at all. Here's a couple of ideas for a winter travel kit that

could save your life or someone else. Blankets, warmies. That means multiple

pairs of dry socks. You can Ziploc bag this stuff too. Be creative. I know

some people they vacuum pack everything. Yeah, that's good as long as you got

something to cut the vacuum pack up with to get it open. Not your teeth won't

work well. So multiple warmies, gloves, mittens, hats, socks, blankets, boots.

So if you're traveling in Peter Pan getaway shoes and you get into snow,

that isn't going to work. So make sure you've got good, dry, solid snow boots in

the vehicle. A candle, something to hold it in so that and some matches some form

to light that candle. If you're stuck in the snow or in a drift waiting for

roadside assistance or somebody to come along and help you. Kitty litter can

make a good rescue. If you're stuck on ice, you can throw that on the wheel.

Even a blanket can get you out of a bind as well. Believe it or not, it creates a

fair amount of grip. Booster cables. Make sure you pack water the morning of

leaving, not overnight. Otherwise you have a bottle popsicle. That's not going

to be helpful. Also, some kind of food stuff. Nothing with sugar in it. So if

you're doing a trail mix, mom's no chocolate in there, just a trail mix.

Something that can tide you over and sustain life till you get there. Again,

you can add some other things. You know, it's not cast in stone, what you put in

your winter travel kit, just that you have one. I use a clear tote so that I

can see everything in there. And I leave that totter in my vehicle so that you

know if the two legged mice come looking for something in my vehicle, they'll

see it's a totter and there's really nothing in there. Flashlight with

battery or USB port, something, not a dead battery flashlight. Yeah, most

flashlights that take batteries are just storage spots for dead batteries. So we

need some, we need something that we can see with so you can sort that out

amongst yourselves. What else do I have here? Just remember this, here's

another tip for you. All wheel drive, front wheel drive, sometime rear wheel

drive, four wheel drive traction control does not save you from poor driving

habits. Doesn't make you infallible out there. None of it. Even in my 2007 FJ

Cruiser, it's got every traction control thing, thingy me Bob, known to mankind.

But let me tell you, I have gone into a total sideways skid. It's helped me, but

I went into a total sideways skid in a snow, it was a white out section on the

road and I wasn't aware of it and all of a sudden, bam, I went from really good

visual to zero and the truck went completely sideways and I didn't know if

something was coming or something was stuck in front of me, but it was a white

out condition on the road and it was thick and it was heavy and thank goodness

nobody was coming. I pedaled it and pedaled it and pedaled it sideways and

then I could hear the traction control clicking away, locking and releasing

wheels and then all of a sudden I went straight. Boom. So I didn't panic, I just

kind of thought, well, I'm sliding sideways. If there's something there, I'm

definitely going to meet it and thank goodness there wasn't. So, you know, be

prepared that all wheel drive, front wheel drive, four wheel drive traction

control does not save your bacon if you're driving like an idiot. Adjust your

driving habits to the road conditions and let's also be mindful of the road

clearing crews. Give them some space. They're doing their job. They're not,

they're, you know, annoying you or purposely making you late to get to your

destination. They're trying to keep us safe. So let's be grateful for them.

It's not a job that we can all do ourselves and they're trying to keep us

safe on safer road conditions in some what can be some really ugly weather

sometimes. It can get gruesome out there. So pack your winter travel kit. Put

everything in there and then some if you think you should put something in.

Here's what I've discovered for my own person. If I'm thinking of something, I

go and get it and put it right in the toter so I don't forget. Get it in the

toter. That's your best friend to help someone else that may be stuck on the

side of the road that has absolutely nothing, not a blanket, not a warmie for

their hands or their feet and maybe stuck for hours and they haven't eaten.

They're, you know, you can got to remember you can also dehydrate

because a lack of liquid. So put your toter together, snowbrush, ice scraper,

a small collapsible shovel that fits. It actually fits perfect in the toter

because the blade folds over. It's not very long until you unfold it and it

fits really, really good. These are just things that I think of and you know, you

can also ask chat or AI of some type. What are some of the best things to

keep when you're trying to create a winter travel kit? So it could save your

life from the life of someone else. I hope you got something out of this

podcast this morning. Thanks for stopping by on a sunny Saturday afternoon.

Well, it's supposed to be. We'll hang on to that thought. Afterwards, we can

report on it to be true or not. Like, share, follow, subscribe, ring the bell,

be part of our YouTube community. There's we're heading now for 200 YouTube

videos. We put three new videos up every week to on Tuesday, one every

Friday. And it's always new information. We do have our mascot. That's what

it's turned out to be. I call it our 1997 Jeep TJ Wrangler rescue because we

rescued it from a junkyard and it's coming back to life. And you can watch

all the episodes as we do so. And at the same time, learn about all the aspects

of a vehicle. Because as I've said already, there's lots of years, makes

and models of vehicles. But the basics when it comes to mechanicals and

electrical have never changed. They've never changed. The basics never

changed. So till next time. Have fun. Keep it under 100. Thanks for tuning in.

Let your family and friends and neighbors and coworkers know car

connection on iHeart radio and all the major platforms. We're on tons of

platforms. If you want to find us, just type car connection workshop in the

search bar and you'll find our podcast. We'll see you in the next one. Keep it

under 100 and put that coffee on. We're on our way to your house.

"Winter Travel Safety: Build the Ultimate Emergency Kit Before You Hit The Road"

About this episode

battery

electronic testing

preventative maintenance

Toyota Fj

Ford Excursion

tire pressures

Dodge Charger

all wheel drive

front wheel drive

rear wheel drive

four wheel drive

traction control

sideways skid

Jeep Wrangler

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