In addition, you should make your vehicles ready for a busy holiday season. Here are the four practical tips to prepare your semi-truck for winter.
Getting stuck in a snowstorm is a common phenomenon to many semi-truck drivers. However, when the cold season sets in, drivers are sure of lots of delivery work. As a semi-truck driver/owner, you must prepare before the winter arrives. In addition, you should make your vehicles ready for a busy holiday season. Here are the four practical tips to prepare your semi-truck for winter.
Install Electric-Powered Block Heater
Block heaters are devices needed to warm the engine and its fluids before a vehicle starts. Heaters are useful in icy areas because they reduce the risk of “cold starts” and idling damage. In addition, fluids quickly achieve an ideal operating temperature when the truck is started after using a heater.
In cold weather, warming your semi-truck fluids is critical. Installing an electric block heater lets you heat the oil before starting the truck. Heaters can also be used for the warm coolant, which adjusts the temperature of your car. Because coolant impacts cabin heat, utilizing a heater will reduce the time, it takes to warm your vehicle’s interior.
Check Your Battery
Extreme weather can cause the charge in a vehicle’s battery to go down quickly, a thing many people are unaware of. Even though batteries can function in various settings, cold weather deteriorates high-quality batteries and renders inferior ones ineffective. The last thing a truck driver/owner wants is to wake up to a dead battery when parked in the middle of nowhere, wasting necessary traveling time and raising expenses.
Equip Your Emergency Kit
However, emergencies are bound to happen no matter how you prepare. For this reason, you should make an emergency kit that includes a first aid kit, flashlights, batteries, gloves, charging cords, food, extra clothing, water bottles, medicine, critical documents, etc.
With your emergency kit fully equipped, you can embark on your primary duty without worrying about your safety.
Examine The Truck Tires
Studies show that tire bursts account for approximately 6% of semi-truck accidents. With that in mind, drivers should examine their tires routinely, particularly during the cold winter weather. Check the tire conditions, pressure, antifreeze before you start.
Additionally, if their route takes them through a state where semi-trucks are obliged to utilize chains, owner/operators must load the correct size and number of tire chains. Finally, when traveling on snowy terrain, tire chains are an owner/best operator’s friend; this can also mean the difference between safely arriving at your destination or rolling into a ditch—or worse.
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Tags: semi trucks, winter trucking, winterizing