With spring coming into full bloom, and the chill beginning to dissipate throughout parts of the country, warm weather preparedness should be on the minds. A lot of planning goes into preparing for winter driving conditions, so you may wonder, “What has to be done to prepare for warm weather?”. 

Preparedness for spring, and summer driving, is a little simpler than hanging chains and getting out your winterfronts, but is just as important to keep you safe and comfortable on the road. Be sure to go through this list before your next run:

Inspect Your Coolant System
Running in southern California, it's not uncommon that I see temperatures upwards of 100 degrees throughout the warm season. When your engine operates in higher temperature environments, your coolant system works harder to get rid of excess heat.

Inspect your engine coolant system especially for signs of worn hoses, tubes, and clamps. Check for small leaks that can become big ones to avoid being stranded later with an overheating problem. Also, be sure to check your storage compartment for an extra gallon of coolant. Lastly, it's not a bad idea to carry a couple spare pieces of coolant hose, just in case. 

Check Your A/C
Don't forget that you're the most important business asset you have. Your comfort, and health, should rank number one, right above truck and equipment safety. You should check your cab air conditioning, which may not have been used in months depending on where you run, to make sure it still blows cold. Nothing makes me more irritable than sitting in a hot cab with no air conditioning on a hot day. 

This irritability can directly affect your mood with customers and fellow drivers on, and off, the road. If not blowing cold, check with an A/C expert to see what the problem is. Sometimes it can be as simple as a recharge and you could be right back on the road in comfort.

Hydrate
In the warmer months, I also make sure hydration becomes an important part of my routine. I carry an extra case of water under the bunk, and keep the fridge stocked to keep them cold. Whatever you do, whether it's carry an extra case, or a couple extra gallon jugs, do not get caught out in the heat without an ample water supply onboard.

Check Your Tire Pressure
You may think, “I thump my tires all the time!”. As routine as this may be, it's no substitute for “sticking” the tire every time. Using a proper checker or TPMS system can help you avoid under-inflating tires, which will only end up with overheated tires in warmer weather. The last thing you want, is to become deserted in a remote area, waiting on a road service call that could have been avoided!

This is just a small list of items I give priority to when I prepare for the warm California weather. I know this can differ by what equipment, or cargo, you may haul. For instance, I know in the livestock hauling business, you have to take extra precautions to eliminate your livestock from overheating. If you have any other parts of your warm weather preparedness that should be considered, let us know in the comments!

Comments (2)

Jimmy Nevarez

Jimmy Nevarez is the Owner/President of Angus Transportation, Inc., based in Chino, California.  Jimmy pulls a 53' dry van hauling general dry freight for his own small fleet, operating on its own authority throughout all of Southern California and Southern Nevada.

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Here I thought that I carried a lot of stuff! That is quite a list of spare equipment. Knowing a little about what you do also helps me to understand that these small things can be critical in your case. I would imagine, in some of the remote places you travel into, that one spare part like that could mean the difference between an hour to repair in the field or a day trying to get it if you didn't have it on-board. Glad to see I am not the only one who believes in being over-prepared.

April 29, 2013 21:56:27 PM

This is a great article Jimmy. I'm going to try this again since the last two posts have disappeared. I don't think it is possible to be over prepared. In addition to carrying all the industry specific equipment and spare parts for items unique to my operation such as ball valves, spray heads and gaskets, I also carry two gallons of oil, 1 gallon of antifreeze, spare lengths of the different sizes of radiator hoses, spare air line tubing and assorted fittings, one each oil, fuel and water filters, grease gun, tire gauge, a good assortment of hand tools to fix most small problems, spare belts for the fan, AC, alternator, a complete electrical connector kit, electrical tape, electrical wire in the gauges common on my truck, two flashlights with one being hands free that straps on your head, extra light bulbs for my tank clearance lights, back-up and work lights, a cheap blue tarp in case we have to work under the truck in a dirty environment, blue shop towels and hand cleaner.

I believe if you have it you probably won't need it, but you will always need what you don't have and since weight is not an issue for me I might as well carry it. Plus I have had stuff to help others on occasion. So far we have been lucky and only needed the oil and a couple light bulbs.

April 23, 2013 8:24:42 AM