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Updated on Dec 3, 2024
With winter in full swing, it’s time to outfit your truck, Jeep, or SUV to take on anything the harsh season offers. Cold weather poses several challenges, especially for those living in Northern parts of the country. With regular heavy snowfall and exposure to sub-freezing temperatures, winter in the Northern states isn’t just unpleasant but downright dangerous!
Everything from rust-inducing road salt exposure to slick roads and other unprepared drivers can cause significant stress and wear and tear to your vehicle, most of which is avoidable with the proper upgrades!
At RealTruck, we offer all the leading accessories to winterize your ride, including interior and exterior protection, temperature management, and traction control products. Such accessories ensure safe and comfortable travels regardless of the weather conditions, and in this guide, we’re outlining our experts’ top product picks.
If you’re looking to improve your ride’s functionality and winter performance, you’re in the right place!
Winter brings snow, ice and plummeting temperatures, each of which can take a toll on the performance of your vehicle. To help you make sure you have the most reliable winter truck possible, follow these easy maintenance steps from our experts and check out these truck accessories that help take the edge off this frigid time of year.
Flush and Fill Coolant
Antifreeze can lose its effectiveness over time, so before you subject your truck to winter driving, make sure your coolant system is filled with the prescribed amount of antifreeze/water mixture. Remember to use whichever antifreeze formulation is recommended by the manufacturer of your truck (e.g., Dex Cool for GMC and Chevrolet).
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Check Defroster and Heater
Your defroster and heater get a workout in the winter and usually spend the rest of the year without seeing much use. Test them out before winter gets into full swing and replace items such as fuses, blend doors, hoses or the heater core as necessary. To make sure your cabin air is as fresh as possible, consider checking and replacing your cabin air filter if needed.
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Test Battery
Extreme temperatures can wreak havoc on a 12-volt battery and the last thing you want is to be stranded in a snowstorm with an engine that won’t turn over. Most auto parts stores offer a free battery check: take advantage of this service and replace your battery if necessary. Consider upgrading to an AGM battery such as those from Full Throttle for extra resistance to extreme heat and cold, or keep a C-Tek Battery Charger around to top off all of your automotive batteries as necessary including boat, ATV and golf cart batteries.
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Add Truck Bed Weight
While not strictly necessary, many trucks benefit from having some extra weight over or behind the rear axle to ensure good traction on wet and icy roads. If you are using and operating a 2 wheel drive or rear wheel drive truck, this step will be more important for driving in inclement winter weather. Sand or salt bags are often used for this purpose, but for greater control over added weight distribution, consider adding a Shurtrax All Weather Traction System, which is rated for temperatures as low as -40 degrees Fahrenheit.
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Check Tires and Tire Pressure
Old and worn tires can spell disaster when driving in snowy and icy conditions. Check your tire’s tread depth with a tire tread depth gauge to ensure you have greater than 2/32nds of an inch of tire tread depth. If you do not have a tire tread depth gauge, insert a penny in your tire tread heads down. If you can see Lincoln’s entire head, it’s time for new tires. Also be sure to check your tire pressures using a tire pressure gauge and adjust your tire pressure according to the tire and loading information located in your door jamb or owners manual.
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Change Oil
Getting your oil changed before the weather changes is a great maintenance item to check off your winterization list, especially if you do it yourself. Plan ahead, before it gets too cold to work on your truck in the driveway. Additionally, cold weather causes motor oil to thicken so switching to a thinner oil in cold weather months can help with cold start ups.
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Fill your Fuel Tank
When temperatures drop, condensation can develop inside of your fuel tank leading to water contamination. This can lead to additional damage to your fuel system and engine. Keep your tank at least half full using high quality top tier fuel for the best results and consider using a fuel stabilizer if you are storing your vehicle for the winter.
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Prepare an Emergency Kit
No matter how much preparation you put into winterizing your truck, there’s always a chance of getting stuck in a snowstorm. To avoid this, plan ahead by packing an emergency kit with essentials like blankets, road flares, non-perishable foods and a first aid kit.
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Check your Wipers and Washer Fluid
Wintery conditions can wreak havoc on your truck’s wiper blades, causing them to get brittle and even crack and tear. Inspect your wiper blades for damage and replace them if necessary to ensure clear visibility while traversing treacherous winter terrain. Also, keep your windshield wiper fluid topped off with winter blend wiper fluid to ensure that it doesn’t freeze inside the reservoir.
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Protect your Exterior
Salt and road brine in winter months will coat your truck in layers of film and grime. To protect your truck’s finish from the harshness of winter, consider protecting your truck’s exterior by washing and waxing before the weather gets too cold. These additional protective layers will help to combat abrasion and corrosion to ensure your truck stays looking its best.
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Though your ride’s exterior takes the brunt of abuse during the winter months, that’s not to say the interior gets off scot-free! Wet jackets, spilled hot drinks, and muddy, salty boots can wreak havoc on your upholstery and carpeting, leaving stubborn stains and unnecessary wear. Fortunately, RealTruck carries a wide selection of products to winterize your ride’s interior!
While running boards, side steps, and nerf bars may seem like purely exterior accessories, they also offer several benefits to your vehicle’s interior! Side steps ease entry into your vehicle’s cab or, more specifically, onto the seat. Hoisting yourself on and off your seat rather than sliding across the side bolsters helps to prevent unnecessary wear and tear. Additionally, side steps help to reduce contact between you and your vehicle’s cab, minimizing dirt/salt residue transfer to keep your clothing cleaner and your seats free from staining!
We offer several side step styles, including sleek running boards, like AMP Research PowerSteps, and off-road-inspired nerf bars, like Havoc HS2 Black Hoop Steps. No matter your needs and style, we carry a product for you!
Following the trend of seat protection, let’s discuss seat covers! We recommend seat covers for every application, especially those exposed to harsh winter conditions. These accessories protect your vehicle’s factory upholstery with a durable, abrasion, and often moisture-resistant layer, guarding against unsightly wear and tear. Whether you slide in and out of the seat each day or occasionally spill your morning coffee, high-quality seat covers will keep your ride’s factory seats looking new for years to come.
We offer a wide assortment of seat covers in various materials and finishes. For winter use, we recommend products offering maximum durability and weather resistance, like Covercraft Carhartt seat covers! These seat covers feature a rugged duck-weave-fabric construction, withstanding punctures, abrasions, and moisture. For factory styling, consider Covercraft Carhartt Precision Fit Seat Covers; however, if you’re all about making a statement, check out the striking styling of Covercraft Carhartt Mossy Oak Camo Seat Covers.
Lastly, let’s talk about floor mats and liners. Your vehicle’s factory carpeting is just as prone to wear, tear, and staining as the upholstery, especially in the winter months. Mud, snow, slush, and road salt can wreak havoc on carpeting, leaving stubborn stains and matted fibers.
Fortunately, RealTruck carries a wide selection of heavy-duty, all-weather floor liners. Products like the Husky Liners WeatherBeater Floor Liners and WeatherTech DigitalFit Floor Liners offer precise fitment, exceptional weather resistance, and sleek styling.
With your ride’s interior covered, let’s move on to the area most subjected to the elements: the exterior. Corrosive road salt, road grime, ice, and mud spray the chassis and body of your vehicle throughout the winter months, wreaking havoc on paintwork and promoting corrosion unless you have the proper accessories!
If you inspect any 10-plus-year-old vehicle in a Northern area of the country, you’ll likely notice the first inklings of structural damage from rust. We're talking physical rot holes, bubbling paint, and deep pitting. One of the most common areas for rust to form is above and around your vehicle’s wheel arches, but why?
As you plow through snowy roads, corrosive road salt, dirt, and other contaminants collect in hard-to-reach areas, like your vehicle’s inner wheel arches, bedsides, and quarter panels. A simple exterior cleaning won’t remove these contaminants. If left long enough, the corrosive mixture eats through steel to leave unsightly holes and bubbles in the bodywork! Fortunately, RealTruck has the solution: wheel well liners!
Wheel well liners, like these products from Husky Liners and Rugged Liners, form a seal between your vehicle’s wheel wells and inner bedsides/quarter panels, preventing salt and mud from accessing corrosion-prone chassis and body parts.
One of the leading causes of rust is rock chips, and arguably the most chip-prone area on your Jeep, truck, or SUV is its rocker panels! As your tires eject rocks and other debris from the treads, the fender liners catch most debris; however, especially after adding low-offset wheels and wide tires, debris has a much greater chance of striking the paintwork. It only takes hours of salt exposure for surface rust to form and a single season for surface rust to bubble and rot!
Mud flaps help to counteract this issue, providing additional coverage to prevent rocks, road salt, mud, and debris from peppering your vehicle’s rocker panels. We offer several mud flap sizes and styles, ranging from factory-style products, like Husky Liners Custom Molded Mud Flaps, to oversized, rubberized flaps, like Husky Liners MudDog Mud Flaps.
Thus far, we’ve covered protection for your vehicle, but what about the cargo in your truck’s bed? Without proper cargo coverage, winter weather exposes your valuable cargo to snow, ice, and excessive moisture, causing significant damage to luggage, cardboard boxes, wooden furniture, and other delicates. Fortunately, RealTruck has just the solution to winterize your truck’s bed: a premium tonneau cover!
We offer a wide selection of tonneau covers, including various brands, styles, and price points. For maximum security, consider the rigid construction and lockability of a hard folding tonneau cover, like the BAKFlip MX4. However, if you’re in the market for a budget-minded option, you can’t beat the weather-proof construction of a soft roll-up bed cover, like the TruXedo Pro X15.
Winter isn’t just hard on your vehicle’s interior and exterior but also the drivetrain! Engines require heat to operate efficiently. In sub-freezing temperatures, an engine may struggle to reach proper operating temperatures, especially on shorter drives. As a result, the heater likely won’t function properly, the engine won’t operate efficiently, and drivers may experience poor fuel economy and performance.
To counteract the cold, consider installing a winter front! Products like the Fia Custom Winter Front and Bug Screen block airflow through your vehicle's grille, preventing cold air from dropping engine temperatures below optimal levels.
Nothing slows you down on a cold morning more than a thick layer of frost and ice frozen to your windshield. To prevent delays and late arrivals, consider investing in a premium frost shield! These products lay across your ride’s windshield; as frost settles in, it clings to the frost shield rather than your windshield. Just strip the ice-lined frost shield when it's time to leave and enjoy your clean windshield and crystal-clear visibility!
Check out the Coverking Custom Frost Shield, a rugged, American-made frost shield featuring a ballistic nylon construction, vehicle-specific fit, and secure installation!
With exterior and interior protection covered, let’s turn our attention to drivability and safety! Regardless of how recently roads have been plowed and how much salt your county drops, most roads are still slick enough to provide traction issues. Fortunately, RealTruck carries all the parts and accessories required to bolster traction.
Sufficient cold weather traction begins with your vehicle’s contact area with the asphalt: the tires! Regardless of your driving skills, cruising down an icy road with worn Summer tires is a surefire way to end up in a ditch...or worse!
In extreme climates, we’d recommend a quality all-season or all-terrain tire with a 3-Peak Mountain Snowflake (3PMSF) rating, ensuring adequate cold-weather performance. Tires like the Falken Wildpeak A/T3W feature an attractive design, excellent on and off-road manners, and the 3PMSF rating, making them an ideal choice for your snow-dwelling pickup, Jeep or SUV!
Pickups aren’t known for even weight distribution, and with an empty bed, they often struggle to gain traction at the rear wheels. If tires alone aren’t enough, consider bolstering your ride's grip with our traction products! We offer several accessories to ensure adequate grip in the snow, including weight adders like the Shurtrax All Weather Traction System. This product consists of a durable bladder installed in the bed that, when filled with water, increases weight over the rear axles for superior traction.
Other traction products include recovery ropes, straps, and traction boards like the Rugged Ridge Traction Recovery Kit.
A wise man once said, “It’s not if you’ll get stuck, but when.” We couldn’t agree more; when that time comes, it’s best to have a way out! There’s no better solution than a winch, allowing you to pull yourself or other drivers out of sticky situations like deep snow or muddy ditches.
At RealTruck, we offer a wide selection of products to outfit your ride with a heavy-duty winch, including winch-capable bumpers, like the Go Rhino BR6 premium winches, the Warn Zeon 12 Platinum Series 12000 lb Winch, and the recovery gear necessary for safe and efficient winch operation.
With the aforementioned products on order, you’ll be well on your way to building a thoroughly winterized ride! As always, we’re available seven days a week for product inquiries and order assistance. Don’t hesitate to contact the experts.
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