Depending on where your business is located, you may experience mildly cold temperatures or an intense freeze during the winter months. If you happen to be lucky enough to rarely experience freezing weather, don’t assume your vehicles can go without winter treatments–Houston in particular is known for wildly fluctuating temperatures in the winter. It’s better to overprepare for potentially bad weather than put it off till snow actually starts falling.

Industrial vehicles will need a little specialized care to continue running during the winter. Aside from routine maintenance on the engine, transmission, and body of the vehicle, you’ll need to invest in winterizing equipment and supplies. These first steps will get you started winterizing your trucks and other vehicles.

Clean the Exterior

Why leave mud or dirt on your vehicle before putting it in storage for the winter? Cleaning built-up gunk from your truck’s exterior, undercarriage, wheels, and axles prevents it from hardening during the winter months and making cleanup even harder in spring. Take the time to clean your vehicle thoroughly before storing it and save yourself some time later.

Check & Replace Engine Fluids

Leaving too much water in your engine could allow ice to form and damage your vehicle. On the other hand, neglecting the oil levels or transmission fluid could damage your engine when you turn your vehicle back on after storage. Before you store the vehicles, change the oil and lower the water levels as much as you realistically can. Don’t let potentially freezing temperatures cause damage when you can’t do anything about it.

Pro Tip: Staying on top of preventive maintenance work throughout the year will make winterizing your work vehicles much easier.

Inspect or Remove Batteries

When was the last time you replaced your vehicle battery? Cold temperatures won’t always necessitate replacing the battery, but they can certainly wreak havoc. Have an expert technician inspect the vehicle battery before you put your truck in storage, and before you start driving again in the spring, have another inspection done. It’s always better to know your vehicle battery suffered no damage than to discover that the hard way when the truck breaks down.

Winterize Your Industrial Vehicles!

Predicting the weather is not only difficult, but it’s also risky. Don’t count on mild winter weather and put off winterizing your work vehicles until it’s too late. Take the time to get ready for cold temperatures now and save yourself some problems and expensive repairs later on.

Join the conversation and learn more about preparing for cold temperatures this winter season.