Cold, winter weather is hard on the many trucks across the central United States. Frozen fuel, weak batteries, and slippery roads are all part of life on the road, sometimes causing stalls in productivity and creating safety issues for all those who share the road. As a result, staying dedicated to winter maintenance can ensure productivity, but also promote safer roads. Your commitment to road safety can help your fleet avoid downtime and prevent costly repairs before they occur. Explore these winter maintenance tips for heavy-duty trucks and stay prepared for all the challenges that come with trucking during winter weather.
We all have a part to play in ensuring roads across the state of Ohio and beyond are free from reasonable harm. As such, it remains your duty as a fleet manager or employer to take the steps to ensure safe roads and trucks.
These are the top 10 proven tips for winterizing heavy-duty trucks.
10 Essential Winter Truck Maintenance Tips
Safe roads call for drivers to take additional steps to ensure the safety of their rig. Simple preparations can actively prevent issues, but also ensure your fleet remains focused on productivity, rather than poor driving conditions. Prepare your fleet for the world-possible winter weather situation.
Use these top ten tips for exceptional truck maintenance and road safety.
1. Regularly Inspect and Replace Batteries for Heavy-Duty Truck Winterization
Harsh cold weather can wreak havoc on a truck’s batteries, weakening their capacity and resulting in unexpected issues. Drivers should regularly test the voltage of their truck’s batteries and clean terminals as a means of preventing a battery from dying while on the road. These issues can arise unexpectedly; consider replacing older batteries entirely before failure.
2. Use the Right Engine Oil and Fluids
Winter weather can challenge oils and prevent truckers from successfully starting their rigs, especially when temperature conditions dip below zero. Truck engine failure can be prevented, however, by using specific engine oils and other fluids.
Switch over to winter-grade oils for easier cold starts, but also pay close attention to your levels of antifreeze. Always top off your windshield washer fluids, and use winter blends during colder months.
3. Check Your Fuel and Other Additives:
Especially cold conditions can result in diesel fuels gelling within a truck’s fuel system, prompting a challenging roadside breakdown. Add anti-gel additives to your fuel, but also keep tanks as full as possible to minimize condensation. Properly prep your diesel engines for winter weather well before the colder months begin. Look to professional technicians who can help advise on the correct additives that can prevent gelling or fuel freezing.
4. Inspect Tires and Maintain Proper Tire Pressure
Having worn-down tires or simply the wrong types of tires for winter road conditions is a recipe for disaster. Slippery road conditions and black ice can appear on roads even in mild temperatures, calling on fleet managers to prepare for this issue months in advance.
Regularly check tread depth and consider snow-rated or all-weather tires that are designed specifically for winter driving conditions. Regularly monitor tire pressure, as cold air can reduce pressure and cause unsafe driving conditions. In any circumstance a driver’s tires are worn or damaged, replace them entirely.
5. Regularly Test Heating and Defrosting Systems
Without proper visibility, truckers can cause significant harm to others on the road. The heating and cooling systems within each rig should be carefully checked before heading out on the road. Ensure cab comfort and proper visibility by replacing clogged cabin filters while regularly testing blower motors. A comfortable and well-heated cab means truckers can focus on the road ahead.
6. Examine Braking Systems
Cold and moisture can result in frozen break lines, calling for regular inspection and maintenance to prevent break failure. Having a rig’s brakes fail in the middle of winter driving conditions can cause significant harm to others on the road. Drain air tanks regularly and stay committed to regular inspection of brake pads, rotors, and ABS sensors. Qualified truck technicians can help your fleet properly examine and maintain brake systems, leaving this sometimes qualified work to those who have extensive experience.
7. Protect the Undercarriage and Exterior of Your Rig
Salt and debris can quickly build up during winter driving conditions. Snow and ice buildup can challenge a driver’s ability to navigate such conditions, resulting in serious collisions. Drivers will need to apply corrosion protection to prevent damage and stop rust from building up. Keep your rig clean, but also regularly clean its undercarriage to prevent the buildup of ice and snow.
8. Inspect Wipers, Lights, and Electrical Systems
Wipers can quickly experience the buildup of snow and ice, and winter blades are essential to ensuring visibility during snowy conditions. Additionally, wipers that have snow build up not only fail to work properly, but can also be damaged if they are not properly cleared first.
Pay close attention to any snow or ice buildup directly on your wipers, but also take the time to remove snow or ice directly from the windshield. Clean and test your headlights, taillights, and reflectors before driving through challenging winter conditions.
9. Keep Emergency Supplies in the Cab
Having an emergency supplies kit can help drivers address the unexpected, including being stranded during hazardous winter driving conditions. Pack your emergency kit with a pair of jumper cables, emergency blankets, flares, a first-aid kit, fuel stabilizer, and traction aids.
10. Schedule a Professional Winter Inspection
Look to the professionals to conduct regular winter truck inspections on your fleet. Certified technicians can ensure every detail of a rig is ready for winter weather. Never skip out on such due diligence, and partner with a trusted shop or service provider who understands the challenges your fleet will be facing this winter. Consider reaching out to a company sooner, rather than later, to properly prepare your fleet for the often challenging winter driving conditions felt across the United States.
Create A Fleet Winter Prep Checklist
There are so many elements required to properly prepare your fleet for winter weather. The extra effort you place in ensuring the safety and comfort of your drivers will help to promote safer roads across the country. Consider building out a winter preparation checklist specifically for your fleet, helping drivers not just better understand road conditions, but also helping them properly prepare for anything.
Your efforts are essential steps to ensuring your fleet is compliant with any and all road regulations, while also actively preventing collisions before they occur. Never leave safety to chance, and make additional efforts to ensure each trip is as safe as possible. Your fleet winter prep checklist can also include an emergency kit, helping drivers remain prepared for any kind of weather conditions, both hot and cold.
Road safety doesn’t happen by accident, and as such, your preparation can work to save lives.
Lean On Point Spring & Driveshaft Co. For Cold Weather Truck Care
Safety should be the top priority for fleet managers, ensuring trucks and drivers are ready and prepared for the most challenging winter driving conditions.
Well-maintained trucks are a crucial part of creating safer roads for all those who use them. Winter presents endless challenges, and your careful preparation can mitigate risks and prevent accidents or breakdowns before they occur. A well-maintained fleet can ensure that your drivers remain compliant and promote ongoing productivity, even in challenging winter weather. Trucks that are regularly inspected and maintained are core elements to safer driving, preventing collisions and ensuring the entire public can use roads safely.
Don’t wait until winter weather hits; instead, take proactive care for ongoing safety, uptime, and savings. The costs of conducting such maintenance remain small, whereas reactive truck repairs can be incredibly costly. Keep your fleet of heavy-duty trucks running strong throughout any season alongside Pint Spring & Driveshaft Co.
With decades of experience in maintaining the safety of long-haul trucks of all sizes, we remain your trusted partner in such services, committed to promoting safety across the roads of the United States. We continue to be your trusted provider of truck maintenance services, leaning on a team of highly experienced professionals who bring experience in properly winterizing fleets of commercial trucks.
Have more questions? We are happy to hear from new clients who have questions about winter truck maintenance and our long line of product offerings. Contact us today, either by phone or email, to learn more about our offerings. Take road safety seriously alongside the professionals at Point Spring & Driveshaft Co. Reach out now to learn more.