Tag: Winter Fleet Management

Truckers Keep an Eye on Inflation, Chains, Tread for Winter

A Good Set of Wheels Can Take You a Long Way on the Road. Ensure You're Taking Proper Care of Your Vehicle!
A Good Set of Wheels Can Take You a Long Way on the Road. Ensure You’re Taking Proper Care of Your Vehicle!

Driving in the winter is stressful, doubly-so for those toting a fully-loaded rig. Luckily, you can take a bit of worry off your shoulders with the help of your electric yard trucks and a properly prepped fleet. The right tire, sufficient, even tread, and proper inflation levels can greatly improve traction and handling on icy, snow-covered roads.

Selecting Tires

Performance is intimately tied to tire selection. Look to tread designs to find your ideal winter tire match. The more open the tread, the better tires perform in snow and slush. In addition, look to skid depth: Full skid-depth tires offer better traction than those with shallow depth.

Ensuring Proper Inflation

Maintaining proper inflation positively impacts a number of factors, including tire wear, casing life, the ability to retread tires, and even gas mileage. In winter driving, it provides an ‘enhanced footprint’ essential to navigating snowy, icy roads. Ambient temperature affects inflation levels, with pressure drops proportional to temperature: 2 psi for every 10° decrease. This makes frequent calibration, at least weekly, essential.

Checking Tread

Tread depth ensures tire ‘grip’ on road surfaces. Use retreads? Choose tread designs with numerous biting edges and ‘sipes’ to boost traction.

Chaining Up

Though this process is considered antiquated by some, ‘chaining up’ tires to improve traction and grip remains an effective way to ensure additional stability in snowy, icy road conditions. When properly chained up, no impact on tire longevity should occur. When selecting tires, opt for styles designed for easy chain application. Be sure to apply chains tightly, removing them as soon as they’re no longer needed.

Shipping schedule blowing up? Stay on top of delivery demands, saving time, reducing labor, and preventing injuries with the help of yard trucks from DJProducts today.

Winter Trucking Tips to Revisit with Your Drivers

Keep Your Fleet Safe in Winter with These Tips
Keep Your Fleet Safe in Winter with These Tips

Winter driving conditions require a specific skillset. Big rig operators must not disregard the need to alter driving habits in such dangerous conditions. Before your terminal tractors deliver another trailer for haul, ensure drivers make smart decisions by revisiting these essential winter driving safety skills.

Slow Down

Driving in snow and ice is riskier due to poor traction, increased stopping time/distances, reduced visibility, and the unpredictable nature of other drivers. Slowing down should be a top priority for every driver. Speed is the top cause for at-fault accidents. Speed kills!

Personal Space

Drivers should leave plenty of room between the vehicle in front of the truck (and those beside, when possible). Likewise, avoid moving ‘in packs,’ traveling alone to maximize the distance around your vehicle.

Don’t ‘Follow the Leader’

Remember Lemmings? If the vehicle ahead makes an error, so will you. Besides, when visibility is low, seeing the taillights of the vehicle ahead means you’re too close.

Know When to Get Off the Road

If the weather is so severe you wonder if you should get off the road – just do it. Delivery pressures may be high, but safety and lives are paramount. Don’t feel like you’re letting anyone down by playing it safe.

No Hovering

In low visibility situations, don’t stop on the shoulder. Drivers could mistake your vehicle as in-motion and slam into the back of your rig.

Don’t Wing It

Perform ALL necessary safety/equipment/fluid checks before heading off to prevent becoming stranded in winter storms. (And pack an emergency kit just in case. A smart trucker is always prepared.)

Safety issues or late delivery have you on thin ice? Increase safety and productivity with the help of terminal tractors from DJ Products today.

Tips for Preparing Your Trucking Fleet for Winter Operation

Tips for Preparing Your Trucking Fleet for Winter Operation
Tips for Preparing Your Trucking Fleet for Winter Operation

Your yard trucks may be ready to roll for the winter shipping season – but is your fleet? Frigid winter temperatures and icy driving conditions put fleet vehicles under additional stress. Luckily, a few minor preventative maintenance tasks can help you avoid costly downtown and emergency repairs during the cold winter months.

Winter Fleet Maintenance Checklist:

Winterize

Winterizing with seasonally-enhanced fuels will help vehicles operate in temperatures as low as -30° F with a cold filter plugging point of -55° F. Special additives can increase both horsepower and fuel efficiency as much as 5%, alleviating common cold weather hauling hassles. Ditto for replacing fluids such as motor oil, wiper fluid, power steering and brake fluids with more winter-friendly options.

Swap It & Drain It

Regularly drain water separators and replace water-absorbing filters that can plug-up during cold snaps and create cold engine startup issues (fuel gelling) as well as water damage in sub-zero temperatures to fuel pumps and injectors.

Be Proactive with Wearable Components

Cold temperatures are tough on wearables like belts, hoses, and brake pads. Perform maintenance now to avoid shivering roadside later. Battery testing and maintenance (and a glow-plug check on diesels) are also wisely performed at this time.

Keep Things Clean

Prep vehicles for snow, ice, and salt, ensuring longevity with a thorough pre-season cleaning and protective waxing. Wash the exterior regularly, including cab, body, and undercarriage to prevent damage from corrosive salts.

Dress Up Your Digs

Confirm winter heater/defroster operation and outfit your rigs with winter comfort and safety gear like warm blankets, water, food, flares, jumper cables, fire extinguisher, and more for safety in an emergency.

Gear up for the challenges of the winter driving season with the help of yard trucks from DJ Products today.