Winter is a wonderful time of the year. The cold weather, the rain or snow, and the holidays make for some magical months. But for all the fun of winter, it often requires a good amount of preparation as well. A lot of chores need to happen before we’re fully ready for the coldest months of the year.
That extends to your garage, where winterizing your pickup truck is an important task. Before the weather gets too cold, make sure that you have your truck fully prepared for the conditions.
Why Winterize Your Truck?
The reasons for winterizing your truck are simple. Winter might be a fun time to be a human, but it’s not always a fun time to be a truck. The harsh weather can take its toll on vehicles, and it can cause some damage to them. And, it’s not always easy or safe to drive your truck in the winter. Winterizing your pickup truck isn’t just to keep your vehicle in good shape through the winter, but also to make it safer and easier for you to drive in adverse weather conditions.
But safely driving in the cold weather requires more than just a truck that’s up to the task. It also requires a good driver behind the wheel, because driving in the winter isn’t as easy as driving in other months.
Tips for Driving in the Winter
The biggest tip for driving safely in the winter is to simply slow down. You should always drive at a safe speed, but that safe speed is a lot lower in the winter. When roads are wet or icy, your truck’s tires will have less traction, and your truck won’t be able to safely drive as fast. So take your foot off the gas, and reduce your speed a little bit.
You also want to be a bit more observant when you’re driving in the winter. It’s darker out for more of the day, and rain, snow, or fog can greatly reduce visibility. You’re more likely to encounter cars that are pulled over to the side of the road or machines like snow plows. Simply put, driving in the winter is more dangerous, so you should be extra careful, and pay closer attention.
It’s also a smart idea to keep your gas tank full when driving in the winter. The odds of getting stuck somewhere, or having to reroute to take a longer way home greatly increase during the winter months, so make sure you have enough gas in your truck that you won’t get stranded.
Now, with those tips out of the way, let’s get your truck ready for the winter.
Weighting Truck Bed
This trick is particularly important for two-wheel drive pickup trucks. Cars and trucks lack traction during the winter, due to the roads being less grippy. One way to counteract that is by adding weight to the bed of your truck. By adding weight, you push the rear wheels into the ground a little bit more, which increases their connection to the road, and thus their traction. You don’t want to add too much weight to the truck bed though, or else the rear of the truck will get too much momentum through turns. But a little additional weight can greatly improve your truck’s grip.
Checking Fluids
Once the weather starts to drop, you must keep an eye on your antifreeze. Antifreeze does exactly what the name suggests: it helps keep things from freezing. Without enough antifreeze, your engine could have serious issues, or incur extreme damage when the weather is very cold.
It’s also important to check the other fluids in your truck as well. Your truck is more susceptible in the cold months, so make sure it has a good amount of oil, brake fluid, gas, and any other needed fluids. Oil works differently depending on the temperature, so it’s recommended that you get an oil change for your pickup truck at the start of the winter. That way you can get a motor oil that will work better with the winter temperatures, like a high-quality synthetic oil.
Snow Tires
Traction is hard to come by in the winter, especially if there’s snow or ice on the ground. Snow tires can really help make sure that your pickup truck has the best possible grip. You don’t need to live somewhere with a bunch of snowfall to use snow tires. They’ll increase the traction for ice and rain as well, and they’re the right choice when the temperature drops below 45 degrees.
Good Windshield Wipers
It’s a good idea to start the winter with a new set of windshield wipers. Visibility is very poor in the winter. Nights are darker, and there’s usually fog, rain, snow, or sleet. The result is that it’s often really hard to see. So you don’t want to be stuck with a pickup truck that has mediocre windshield wipers. You need all the help you can get with visibility, so go into the winter with fresh wipers.
Make Sure Your Battery Is in Good Condition
Batteries die more quickly when the weather is cold, so it’s important to make sure that your pickup truck’s battery is in good health, so it can withstand the plummeting temperatures. When winter begins, make sure that your truck’s battery has a lot of life in it, then check all of the connections to make sure that they’re clean and well-secured. Depending on your type of truck, and how cold your winters are, you might also want to consider purchasing a heavy-duty truck battery.
Best Truck Lights for Snow
Purchasing some high-quality, extra-bright truck lights for the snow can really help your pickup truck in the winter. Good LED lights can really help cut through poor visibility that occurs in the winter, and flood lights can provide extra light to make it easier to see where you’re going.
Winterizing your pickup truck doesn’t need to be a big deal. It only takes a little bit of TLC to make sure that your truck is ready to get you through some cold weather, and JEGS has everything you need with competitive pricing and expert advice.
