Rollover Prevention: How To Properly Pack Your Car For Vacation

(WCCO) When you hit the road with your family this summer, you may think you’ve thought of everything. But the way you pack up your car can cause problems you may not expect.

That’s especially true if you’re one of those families that loads up every last inch of the SUV.”That can really make a vehicle unstable (and) more likely to rollover,” said David Champion of Consumer Reports.

Champion said most SUV owners don’t realize their vehicles will hold more than they can safely carry. “You’d think that with all this space, you’d be able to load it up,” said Champion.

The truth is it’s easy to overload an SUV with passengers alone. Consumer Reports recruited state police cadets at their training center. With seven state police recruits inside a Ford Explorer, they were over the weight limit. Even taking the biggest guy out didn’t help. They were still over the limit. Lots of luggage can also get you in trouble.