The holidays are almost upon us, and it’s inevitable that you’re itching to engage in a bit of holiday trucking. Whether it’s a solo endeavor with family, friends, or a like-minded group of enthusiasts, we’ve got some tips to keep you and keep everyone else safe. Here are our top five truck driving tips for the holidays.
We’ve also got a safety message for truck and SUV drivers. Please be careful, especially in inclement weather. Ensure that your truck is in tip-top condition. Check your wheels, tires, brakes, drivetrain, lights and wipers, to name a few critical areas. Without further ado, let’s dive into our top five holiday trucking tips.
Plan Your Route
Advance planning is critical when embarking on a long trip, and the same goes for safe trucking. Be sure to plan out your route well in advance, identifying ideal locations for overnight stays, points of interest, gas stations, garages, restaurants, convenience stores, and nearby hospitals in the event of a medical emergency. You can never plan too much. If parts of your route are to cover areas that may get snowed in, flooded, or otherwise impassable at certain times, ensure that you’ve identified at least one alternative way, if not two.
Book in Advance
Hotels and motels sell out fast during holiday time, so if you want to avoid sleeping in your truck and setting up a makeshift portapotty by the side of the road, you’d better book your overnight accommodations well in advance. Alternatively, why not prepare your truck for a spot of overlanding and camping, ensuring that you’ve got a contingency plan in case your chosen hotels or motels tend to be overbooked, or otherwise unable to accommodate your reservation? Overbooking is rampant during the holiday season, and can lead to a lot of frayed tempers; plus, you might find that your camping or overlanding-ready truck is actually more comfortable than some of these places!
Prepare for Snow if Applicable
Does your route include snow? Snow is awesome, especially for the kids, both big and small. However, for adults — especially those driving — it can present its challenges. Let’s assume your truck has four-wheel drive if you’re venturing into a snowy area. In addition to this, you may want to invest in a set of snow chains, as well as a set of winter tires or, at the very least, all-seasons. Other helpful supplies to have in the event of facing moderate to heavy snowfall on your route include a power bank, supplies of food, fuel, and water, a tow rope, and a basic first aid kit.
Suit Your Truck to Your Environment
Ensure that your truck is well suited to the environment that you will be doing your holiday trucking in. How do you do that? Here’s how.
- Firstly, ensure that your truck is in good mechanical condition. We’re talking about drivetrain, steering, brakes, cooling, electrical, and all critical systems. If you haven’t done a routine service in a while, that’s a good place to start. Have an OBD scan performed as well, to catch any electronic errors.
- Are you venturing off the beaten track? If so, make sure that you’ve equipped your truck with the correct wheels and tires. A set of All-Terrains is the best middle ground and offers a great blend of on-road performance and low noise coupled with decent capability on most mild to moderate trails. However, if you’re going mudding, dune bashing, or rock crawling, you’ll likely need more specialized rubber, which we have in stock. You’ll also probably need a suspension upgrade or, at the very least, a lift kit to accommodate the chunkier rubber.
- Ensure that your HVAC system is in top-notch condition. You’ll need the heater to be at its peak efficiency if you’re going into frigid places, likewise, you’ll want your AC to provide maximum chills if it’s the desert heat that you’re going to face.
- Now would be a great time to consider upgrading your truck’s lighting, consider install some auxiliary lights as well. This is critical if you’re going to be driving in the dead of night, or on trails. Not all highways have lighting, so you want to be well-prepared. Just remember to dip or dim your main lights, and switch off your auxiliary lights when there’s oncoming traffic to avoid blinding them. You should also check the legality of your lighting additions with each state that you’re planning to venture into, as laws may vary.
Stay Alert for Inclement Weather
The weather can turn nasty at the drop of a hat, so it’s essential to continually check the weather ahead of you during your trip. How can you do this? There are a few ways.
- Install a comprehensive weather app on your smartphone, or sign up for a weather alerting service which will alert you to inclement conditions along your route or pre-determined areas.
- Keep an eye and ear out at all times. If you see clouds building and lightning bolts in the distance ahead, you know what you’re likely to face.
- Weather reports on radio are another great way to check the weather, especially when mobile phone reception is patchy.
- Talk to the locals in towns and find out what’s expected. Even the best weather apps can’t beat on-the-ground reports.
- If you do find yourself facing inclement weather on the next leg of your trip, consider whether it’s wise to proceed, or wait till the weather improves.
Truck Safely and Confidently with 4 Wheel Parts
If you’re looking to jazz up your truck, whether it’s a performance enhancement, cosmetic modification, lifestyle accessory, or just bringing it back into shape, 4 Wheel Parts is bound to have exactly what you need, as well as things you didn’t know that you needed. Shop online for thousands of SKUs from hundreds of the world’s best brands, backed by competitive pricing and all applicable warranties. If you’re a physical shopper, we operate over 100 stores nationwide, so drop by, have a chat, and let’s get you set for holiday trucking.
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