I was too complete newbie before my first trip. What I did was I aquired workshop manual for my car and also Haynes manual. Then I did all service points for my car before the trip, plus I also replaced all bushes, belts and rubber hoses with new ones, also put on new shocks etc. With this work I learned a lot about general mainenance and how stuff basically works.
Also a book that I can recommend is Auto Fundamentals (ISBN 1590703251). That is a big format automotive "bible" with a lot of illustrations about how (and why) different systems in a modern car work. The book is quite expensive but well worth it, IMO.
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