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When it’s already cold and grey and permanently damp outside, the very last thing you want is to find yourself high and dry on a Wednesday morning in December because your truck got towed to the shop. Winter is tough enough already, let alone when you’ve got a backlog of jobs to catch-up on, and a week or two of shutdown fast-approaching on the calendar.
But the trouble is, winter is the worst time for a truck – especially one that sees heavy use on a daily basis. El Nino’s ire is getting stronger, and that’s pushing a complicated winter toward Maryland, with heavy storms of rain, sleet, ice and heavy snow all on the cards in the next couple months.
If you’re going to avoid unexpected downtime in the run-up to the holiday season, then you’ll want to perform some maintenance and checks on your truck sooner rather than later.
Tire Pressure Checks Now, and Through Winter
Hot weather causes tire pressure to increase, while cold weather causes it to decrease pretty fast. As the seasons change, you’ll want to check your tire pressure now, get it to the ideal level as per your owner’s manual, and continue to check it throughout the winter.
In fact, if you keep your vehicle outside a lot, you’ll want to check it even more regularly – at least once a week. Don’t just trust the dashboard to light up when pressure needs fixing. Low pressure wastes fuel (which gets used more in the winter anyway) and increases your risk on the roads.
Reduce the Risk of Slips (and Protect Your Truck)
You don’t want your truck to be out of commission during the busy winter months, but, equally, you don’t want to put yourself out of commission, either. Ice, rain, and frost all increase the chances of you slipping on your own truckbed when you’re moving cargo around, and it only takes one fall to jeopardize your whole week.
Ice, rain, and frost are all bad for your truck’s finish, too. Little scrapes in the paintwork can get worse when the moisture in the air freezes and subsequently expands.
That’s why a top quality bed liner spray is an excellent pre-winter investment. It will protect your truck bed from rust, UV damage, and wear and tear while also providing an anti-slip layer for you.
Check Your Coolant to Anti-Freeze Ratio
Anti-freeze is essential for keeping your coolant in a liquid state, which is, in turn, vital for stopping your engine from overheating. Engines have to work harder in the cold weather, so doing what you can to keep them functioning healthily is very important.
Generally, a ratio of 50:50 is ideal for anti-freeze in coolant, although higher ratios of anti-freeze may be necessary in extremely cold weather.
Make Sure You’re Prepared
Tyre chains, a snow shovel, a windshield scraper, jumper cables (since batteries drain faster in cold weather), and a blanket or two – and even a change of clothes if you work outside a lot, since wet clothes are dangerous in cold weather – are all vital additions to make to your truck when the temperature drops.
