Your truck is tough, but winter can be even tougher. Low temperatures and harsh weather conditions can take their toll on even the most resilient vehicles, potentially impacting safety and performance. Luckily, there are steps you can take to winterize your truck and make it much easier to navigate safely, comfortably, and in style all season long.
In this comprehensive guide, we’ll show you how to get your truck ready for anything winter throws your way with practical tips, accessory recommendations, and more.
Why Should You Winterize Your Truck?
Just like putting on a coat when it’s cold outside, winterizing your truck prepares it for the season’s low temperatures, ice, and snow. This usually involves cleaning, maintenance, and equipping your truck with accessories that boost safety and functionality during weather conditions.
Winterizing your truck offers many benefits, including:
- Saves you money: Taking steps to prevent damage before it happens reduces the likelihood of costly repairs in the future.
- Protects you: Winterizing your truck can help protect you, your passengers, and anyone you’re sharing the road with by ensuring your vehicle is equipped to face the toughest winter conditions.
- Helps your truck last longer: Proper seasonal maintenance and the right protective gear helps preserve your truck’s longevity so it lasts a long time.
How To Winterize Your Truck
There’s no need to let winter hold you back from getting out on the road. Below, we list some of the most essential steps to winterizing your truck to help you gear up for this season’s adventures.
Protect Your Truck Interior with Floor Mats and Liners
During winter, your shoes will probably bring in more dirt, mud, rainwater, and snow than ever. All this moisture and debris can accumulate on the floor of your truck, making it hard to clean and susceptible to mold.
Floor mats and liners help protect your truck’s floors from winter elements to keep your vehicle clean and comfortable—and it’s hard to beat the durability of Husky Liners. With their signature DuraGrip™ material that stands up to harsh chemicals and StayPut Cleats™, these liners keep mud, snow, and liquids under control all season long.
Check Your Tires
As temperatures decrease, tire inflation tends to do the same thing. Every winter, make sure to check your tire pressure and tread depth to verify that everything is good to go before hitting the road. You may also want to consider installing winter tires. Even if it doesn’t snow in your area, they can provide good traction over ice and wet pavement.
Ensure Good Visibility with LED Light Bars
With the right truck setup, winter doesn’t have to keep you from seeking your next adventure. LED light bars provide more illumination for better visibility while you’re off-roading, so you can stay out longer on trails—even with fewer daylight hours or winter fog.
The Rough Country Black Series LED Light Bar offers a sleek, modern design and 7,200 Lumens of powerful illumination. Weatherproof and built to last, these lights come with diecast aluminum housing, a premium waterproof wiring harness, and Rough Country’s 3-year warranty.
Replace Your Windshield Wipers
Windshield wipers keep your windshield clear during rain, hail, and snow. To ensure the best possible visibility during wintertime, check the condition of your windshield wipers as soon as you notice the weather starting to change and replace them if necessary.
Gear up with a Sports Rack
For many winter sports enthusiasts, snow and colder weather means answering the call of skiing, snowboarding, camping, and other outdoor adventures that require you to transport lots of bulky gear.
Whether you’re hauling snowboards or kayaks, a truck rack provides a secure platform for your cargo and frees up space in your truck bed for other essentials. The Xsporter Pro Truck Bed Rack by Thule is stylish, quiet, and aerodynamic, allowing you to transport up to 450 lbs. of evenly distributed weight. This rack is ready to carry everything you need for your next great adventure.
Running Boards to Enhance Safety
Winter weather can make getting in and out of your truck a treacherous task. Steps and running boards give your feet a sturdy, non-slip foothold when the ground is icy, wet, or covered in snow.
The AMP Research Bedstep®2 is a frame-mounted and retractable truck step that provides easier, faster, and safer access to your vehicle and the cargo in your truck bed. With just the nudge of your foot, it’ll flip down or retract to give you up to 300lbs of support. Plus, it’s maintenance-free with self-lubricating bushings for all-weather performance.
Schedule Break Repair and Maintenance
Road salt can build up on your brakes and wear them out, making it more challenging to stop your truck quickly and safely. Scheduling break repair and maintenance helps prepare your truck to navigate the winter conditions ahead.
Limit Wear and Tear with a Truck Bed Liner
Truck bed liners shield your truck bed from harsh winter weather to prevent rust and corrosion. It’ll also protect the bed from the wear and tear of loading, unloading, and hauling cargo.
The SPI Full Metal Jacket is a spray-in bedliner made of pure polyurea thermoplastic elastomer. This means it dries to touch in minutes and will be ready to use the same day it’s applied.
Use Antifreeze Properly
Coolant is essential for keeping your engine from overheating, but it can freeze and lose its fluidity during winter. If your truck needs it, adding antifreeze to the coolant reservoir will lower the temperature at which the water freezes. This keeps the coolant at the right consistency so the engine can continue functioning properly and safely. A ratio of one part antifreeze and one part water will generally get the job done.
Protect Your Cargo with a Tonneau Cover
A tonneau cover protects your truck bed from bad weather and rust. It’ll also keep your tools, winter gear, or any other cargo dry and secure.
The BAKFlip MX4 Hard Folding Truck Bed Cover is a stylish way to safeguard your gear and your truck bed from the elements. Made with aluminum matte-finish panels, this sleek, durable cover can withstand up to 400 lbs. of evenly distributed weight, making it a powerful choice for truck bed protection. It’s also built with a premium-density foam core to provide extra insulation during low winter temperatures.
Be Prepared with a Winch for Truck Recovery
No one likes thinking about worst-case scenarios, but when it comes to safety, there’s no room for taking chances. Whether you’re an off-roading enthusiast or simply use your truck for transportation, a winch is an important safety device that uses a motor and heavy cables to pull you out of tough situations like deep snow, mud, or ice.
Rough Country’s Pro Series Winch is a powerhouse that can pull up to 9500 lbs. of weight. With a 5.5 hp motor and a waterproof rating of IP67, this winch is built to last and ready to give you a hand when you need it.
Find Everything You Need to Prepare Your Truck for Winter at Campway’s Truck Accessory World
Winterizing your truck is essential for safety, functionality, and making the most of the season’s adventures. With the right setup and accessories, you can equip your vehicle with everything it needs to face harsh winter conditions.
Since 1970, Campway’s has been a leading retailer of the highest quality camper shells, trailers, and more. Our carefully curated selection of truck accessories has everything you need to achieve the perfect truck winterization setup. Shop our products online today for delivery or in-store pickup, or swing by one of our 5 Bay Area locations to browse our extensive selection in person.
