Winter weather is closing in around us, and we’ve already witnessed some early wintery weather and freezing temperatures. While this frigid weather can create conditions that make road travel difficult due to icy and snowy road conditions that require constant maintenance to keep our roads safe, it’s easy to forget how crucial it is to properly prepare your forklifts and other material handling machines for freezing temperatures.
Don’t Put Off Winterizing Your Forklifts Until It’s Too Late
Being caught unprepared for the wrath that winter weather can impose upon your forklifts and material handling equipment, is costly and can put a freeze on your productivity. Before the next cold snap hits, take the proper steps to get your forklifts cold-weather ready, and save yourself the headaches associated with the costly effects of freezing temperatures on your equipment.
Risks of Not Winterizing Your Fleet
With the combination of frigid temperatures and moisture caused by the constant freeze and thaw cycles, there are a multitude of adverse effects that could impact your lift trucks. The areas most often affected are batteries, hydraulics, electrical systems, and engines. Leaks in tubing resulting from freezing fuels, dead batteries, and/or cracked radiators will put a halt to your operations.
You need your equipment to be in top working condition year-round, and not protecting your investment this winter is a chance you don’t want to take. Why take the gamble when there are ways to avoid the risks associated with not properly winterizing your fleet?
Steps to Winterize Your Forklifts This Winter
Knowing how important winterizing is for your equipment this winter is a great first step, but knowing how to properly prepare your forklift for freezing temperatures is essential. Through a series of assessments and maintenance operations, you can keep your fleet ready to go this winter:
Check your batteries and charging systems by a certified technician to ensure they are optimized for impending freezing temperatures.
- Assess your equipment for any warning lights that signal that your equipment needs attention.
- Inspect work light and tail lights for proper function.
- Check oil levels and lubricants.
- Perform any regular maintenance and/or tune-ups, if necessary, before winter arrives.
- Clean out and flush the cooling system and add new anti-freeze.
- Inspect your lift truck’s braking systems to ensure it is functioning effectively.
- Inspect the exhaust system for carbon monoxide leaks.
- Check fuel, air, transmission and hydraulic filters.
Having an action plan to prepare your forklifts and material handling equipment for winter’s harsh weather, is a relatively simple and inexpensive task compared to the loss in productivity and expensive cost to repair equipment damaged by freezing temperatures.
At Shoppa’s Material Handling, we can help you with the winterizing of your lift trucks and equipment, and we also offer planned maintenance programs to take the guesswork out of properly maintaining your equipment and preparing your lift trucks for the transitions between the seasons. Preventative maintenance will help keep your operating costs low and can help to prevent downtime due to repairs needed due to complications caused by wintery weather. At Shoppa’s Material Handling, our primary concern is helping you to optimize your operations. Contact us today to learn how we can help you with winterizing your fleet!