Childproof Your Vehicle

PEKIN, Ill.,–– No one wants to drive around in a dirty vehicle. Crumb-filled, sticky vehicles are the nightmare of every parent's existence. What may start off as a small mess at first can quickly become a trash-filled disaster. Childproof your vehicle today to reduce the messiness of your vehicle and keep your children occupied through any drive. Whether you're planning on heading out on a vacation or going for a drive to the grocery store, these helpful tips can be the difference between a pristine vehicle and an unappealing one.

Fill Your Vehicle With Entertainment

Electronics, road games, coloring books, and more can keep your passengers occupied while you continue on your drive. This will reduce the buildup of messes and can entertain everyone in the vehicle. From the License Plate Game to 20 Questions, get everyone in the vehicle involved with fun road trip games! Before you leave for a vacation, commute, or errand with your passengers, make sure you have several forms of entertainment to reduce your distractions and prevent any messes.

Keep Your Vehicle's Entertainment Organized

Now that your vehicle is full of entertainment, you'll want to avoid creating more messes by keeping everything all in one place. IKEA hackers is a blog dedicated to repurposing old IKEA products into new uses. In their most recent endeavor, they repurposed a Flort, a remote organizer, into an entertainment organizer for their children. Keep everything in one place with a repurposed Flort to teach your kids the importance of organization!

Manage Backseat Messes With a Bath Rug

Yes, you read that correctly - a bath rug can make all the difference between a messy and clean vehicle! You can easily take it out of your vehicle and shake off any crumbs or residue that builds up on its surface and can place it back in with ease. It can protect the floor mats on your vehicle and can increase its resale value or prevent fines if you own a lease! View the quick and easy installation directions to create an efficient backseat cleaner!

Turn an Art Caddy into a Food Container

Another great way to minimize messes in your vehicle is by repurposing art caddies into food containers! They're relatively inexpensive and can help make a huge difference with the buildup of messes, as passengers can contain most of their debris within these caddies. While it may not prevent the spread of crumbs that end up everywhere, it will at least teach your children the value of organization, especially with food!

Use Shopping Bags to Clean Up Trash

Put your plastic shopping bags to good use by keeping one or two in your vehicle to clean up trash easily! Keep yourself and your passengers accountable by hanging them from the backs of your front seat's headrests. That way, everyone in the back can throw their trash in the grocery bags instead of scattering it throughout your vehicle. You can also use your shopping bags to carry emergency supplies, food, or other necessities, giving your passengers easy access should they need it.

Whether you're heading on a cross-country road trip or are visiting friends, make sure you childproof your vehicle to protect it from a potential backseat disaster. Traveling soon? Keep your kids occupied on road trips to reduce distractions, messes, and "are we there yet?"s. Before you know it, school will be starting up again. Grab everything your elementary schooler may need with our back to school shopping list to prepare them for the new year! 

At Velde Ford, we're committed to providing our customers with an unbeatable level of service and a great car buying experience. Stop by the dealership located at 2200 North 8th Street, Pekin, IL 61554 or visit our website: VeldeFordPekin.com for more information.

Follow us on: Facebook, Twitter, Google+, Pinterest, Instagram

Ideas to Keep Your Kids Busy On Any Road Trip

PEKIN, Ill.,–– What makes a road trip last longer than it should? Young, bored passengers. Hearing "I'm bored", "Are we there yet?" and other repetitive questions can make a trip seem that much longer and can make driving a less-than-stellar experience. However, if you know a few tricks, you can keep your passengers from distracting you. In fact, distracted driving is the number one cause of car accidents and can be severely reduced with just a little pre-trip prep. Use the ideas below to keep your kids busy on any road trip!

1. Create a Busy Box or Bag

Turn a shoebox or pencil case into a busy box for the younger kids! You can fill them with educational activities like the one above, Lego sets, classic games like tic-tac-toe, or other fun activities. All you need is a small box with a securable lid and something that fits the fancy of your little ones inside! 

2. Turn Your Windows into Canvases

If you're willing to have your windows a little messy, use window markers to turn your windows into canvases for your kids! You can give everyone in the vehicle one window and have them draw something a piece of art with the window as their "canvas". Before you know it, you'll be piloting the best collaborative art project on the road! Just make sure to avoid blocking blind spots and the windshields.

3. Pack Plenty of Movies

Whether you own a vehicle with a built-in DVD player or have movies downloaded on a tablet, having digital entertainment on hand will keep everyone occupied for hours at a time. We recommend bringing family-friendly classics such as The Wizard of Oz, Toy Story, and Finding Nemo for movies that everyone will love!

4. Invest in a Polaroid

For younger passengers and teens, a simple Polaroid camera is a great way to keep everyone entertained. It'll give them a chance to express themselves with photography and the instantly developed photos look great in a scrapbook. You can alternatively purchase a disposable camera and wait until the end of the trip to develop the memories! 

5. Play the License Plate Game

If you're driving across state borders, it's a guarantee that you'll see non-Illinois license plates! You can have fun and do a little competition with your kids by playing the license plate game. This will help little ones learn a little more about our country and can be done sans-technology. Whoever finds the most unique license plates during the whole drive wins. You can incentivize winners with money, candy, front seat time on the way back, or whatever else you decide!

6. Make a Road Trip Playlist

Listening to music is one of the best, and most classic, ways to pass the time in the car. Get everyone to add their top 10 favorite songs to a playlist before leaving and play it on the drive through the speakers. You can keep the playlist and burn it on a CD when you get home, that way you'll have audible memories of your road trip!

7. Download Fun and Entertaining Apps

Get everyone in the vehicle involved in the family fun with some entertaining group apps! Play the famous guessing game Heads Up, play a unique version of Roadside Bingo, and sing your heart out with Karaoke Anywhere! There are plenty of apps to choose from, but these are our road trip favorites.

With this handy guide of ideas to keep your kids busy on any road trip, you'll be ready to take the best road trip yet! Before you head out on your trip, make sure you have all of your road trip essentials packed. You won't want to leave without them! If you happen to run into trouble on the road, knowing what to do in the event of an accident will help you prepare and get help as soon as possible. Don't forget to schedule an appointment with us before you leave to have your vehicle looked at to ensure that it's ready to go on your vacation!

At Velde Ford, we're committed to providing our customers with an unbeatable level of service and a great car buying experience. Stop by the dealership located at 2200 North 8th Street, Pekin, IL 61554 or visit our website: VeldeFordPekin.com for more information.

Follow us on: Facebook, Twitter, Google+, Pinterest, Instagram

6 Traveling Tips to Keep Your Dog Safe

VELDE, Ill. – Summer road trips are the best! With spring finally here, your family might already be thinking about where your vacation destination will be this year. If you’re going camping or visiting other family members, it’s likely you’re bringing the dog along with you, because they’re family too. Your safety on the road is always very important to us, but your furry friend’s safety is just as important. If you’re taking a road trip with the whole family this spring or summer, follow these 6 traveling tips to keep your dog safe.

6 Traveling Tips to Keep Your Dog Safe

1. The front seat is for humans. We know your dog looks like a great copilot, but he/she is not safe in the front seat. First off, if an accident occurs and the airbag deploys, they could seriously get hurt, even if they’re in a crate. Second, it’s very distracting to you as a driver to have them sitting in the front seat with you. Your eyes should always be focused on the road.
2. Pets shouldn’t roam in the vehicle. Going along with the first tip, this is a huge distraction to the drive and also another safety risk for your canine friend. You can either get them an appropriate sized crate and anchor it down so it doesn’t bounce or slide or you can get a dog seatbelt that will keep them safely tied to the seat comfortably.
3. Don’t skip rest stops! Your dog doesn't have a voice to tell you when he might need to use the bathroom, so stop intermittently to make sure they're ok. Not only that, but being cramped inside a car for too long isn’t good for you or your dog. Go for a walk and stretch your legs. This can also help with their rambunctiousness in the vehicle. Keep in mind that when you’re letting your dog out of the car he/she should have their collar and leash on with a name tag.
4. Keep your dog’s head inside the vehicle. We know that your dog loves sticking their head out the window, but this can be dangerous for him/her. Flying debris and other objects can get into your dog’s eyes, and the cold air from the wind can actually get into their lungs and make them sick. So while they may look like they’re enjoying themselves, it’s not worth their safety.
5. Don’t ever leave your dog alone in the car. This is a big no-no. Even if it’s nice outside, your vehicle gets much hotter in a small period of time. Cracking your window isn’t the best idea either; it can still get too hot in there for them. Also, what may seem like a short amount of time for you, is not for your dog. This could also cause anxiety. 
6. Give you dog as much comfort as possible. Some dogs like traveling, and others don’t. Either way, trying to comfort them with a familiar toy or some company from a person that’s not driving is important. This will keep our dog from getting to excited or anxious. Keep in mind that this should not be the job of just one person, try switching off duties every hour or so.

With these traveling tips, you and your dog will have a great road trip vacation. Before you start your road trip though, it’s important to make sure your vehicle is ready to go. Check out our service FAQ page to learn about the routine maintenance your vehicle needs to perform its best. We’re happy to take care of your brakes, tires, wipers, or anything else you need before you hit the road. You can schedule a service appointment online or over the phone by calling (888) 221-2804.

At Velde Ford, we're committed to providing our customers with an unbeatable level of service and a great car buying experience. Feel free to visit Velde Ford located at 2200 North 8th Street, Pekin, IL 61554.

Visit our website: VeldeFordPekin.com

Follow us on: Facebook, Twitter, Google+, Pinterest, Instagram