First winter, do I idle in -13 degree weather?

I should clarify that I was switching from one truck to another and the truck I'm referring to had a check engine light AFTER being in the shop for 2 weeks getting prepped for me to get into the truck. I agree that something is amiss with the company.

I did notice the wheels not spinning and did not drive them over anything other than hard packed snow and ice. I don't think there was any damage to the tires but rather it was an overzealous mechanic on the staff that has some personal issue with me that is trying to stir up problems with me and our management.

 

Keep your tanks as full as possible, treat the fuel, idle it up, and let it run. Don't set your trailer brakes when parked if you've been running on wet roads.

 

Does your truck have Opti-idle? all our trucks except the oldest have it. You turn it on through the dash menu and leave the key on. If the battery voltage gets too low or the coolant temp gets too low, the truck will automatically start and idle for about two hours then shut off.

 

I would run the truck engine, not to keep you warm, the Webasto will do that, but to keep the engine oil and coolant warm. The cost of fuel is a lot less than a service call and thawing out the truck.

 

22f and less I treat fuel if I didn’t fuel up North.

In single digits I retreat fuel.

I run 5w40 and have 4 batteries. I run bunk heater till about 3f.

Colder than that I idle at 850 rpm and trailer brakes do not get set.

At about -15 and below I double treat fuel and idle 900 rpm.
Reefer I idle if colder than 3f. Treat fuel a bit more than tractor. 5w40 oil in reefer.

Don’t just focus on oil. Batteries take a beating from cold and have a hard time starting cold oil. If I ran 15w40 oil I’d idle at 11f and below.

Have extra fuel filters, anti gel, and 911 additive. Also some anti-gel freezes at around 11f such as fuel ox, if it is in the container and is unmixed with diesel. So don’t store it in outside box. The antigel needs to be runny to mix well with fuel when fueling. Have good carhartts, boots, gloves, face mask beenie , etc.. so when you have an issue you can work outside comfortably.

 

And a filter wrench……

 

Oh, good lord, that's the LAST thing you should do in severe cold; you're likely to freeze your brake shoes to your drums! Drivers in the upper midwest know that you ONLY set your TRACTOR brake, and leave the trailer air charged. That's only 2 drums engaged, and those will usually break free with application of the throttle. Trailer drums (4 of them) get a lot more spray from the road and will freeze-up very easily.

Also, to the OP, if you have cruise control, engage it when parked and idle-up. Usually this will set it up to like 900 RPM, where it's a LOT smoother.

 

EVERY truck 'returns warm fuel'; it's called a "fuel return line", and it's been a standard part of every fuel system since Rudolf Diesel invented the diesel engine..

Jumping Jehosephat, you DROVE with your trailer wheels locked? Man, I'm surprised they didn't fire you on the spot!!! If you're gonna drive in these conditions, you have to either be prepared to get your vehicle working, or wait all day for a service truck to come get you. I always drove with a jug of the purest isopropyl alcohol I could find (to put inside the air lines when hooking-up), kept a garden spray bottle filled with it (gets rid of ice on mirrors, and will sometimes get a frozen brake shoe un-stuck), and a propane torch. A couple minutes on each drum will get them rolling....

 

Perhaps I'm not wise to something here, I did not discover my wheels/brakes were frozen until I began pulling forward. How am I supposed to figure that out otherwise? My frozen brakes crystal ball is in the shop with a recall right now.

 

Yes, all diesels return warm fuel, but some return very little and it is not hot, and others return a lot of hot fuel, and it sounds like the new engines are somewhere in the middle. Have you ever seen the orifice in the 90 degree fitting for the return line on a B model? It is a tiny hole.