Fleet Equipment caught up with Homer Hogg, manager of technical development with TA Truck Service, who recommended the following cold-weather maintenance tips.

• It only takes a few inexpensive maintenance procedures to get a truck ready for the deep freeze of cold climate driving.
• Always start with a thorough inspection of the batteries and cables. The batteries must be tested to ensure that they can handle the extra demand of extended dark hours and cold cranking conditions.
• Once the condition of the truck’s batteries is confirmed and any bad battery has been replaced, test the cables and connections with an adequate tool. When metal parts of an engine are cold, it takes more energy from the starter to crank the engine. This energy comes from the batteries in the form of electricity. If connections are loose or corroded, the additional electricity won’t make it from the batteries to the starter and back home to the batteries.
• Additionally, be sure to check the operation of the truck’s defrost system, heater, coolant freeze protection and air brake systems. A quick check of the amount of moisture in the air tanks indicates the effectiveness of an air dryer. If excessive moisture is in the air tanks, replace the desiccant cartridge in the air dryer.

For more on winterization, click here to read the full feature story.