I work construction in Maine we start plugging trucks in come November. I get to work 20-30 minutes ahead of time and crank up one of my two trucks (Both Cat motors) and let them warm up and grab a cup of coffee while I wait. Nothing more uncomfortable than riding in a cold truck.
After 6 days frozen up in Wyoming with 100's of other rigs on the closed Interstate, we used charcoal briquettes in 2 lb. restaurant coffee cans to thaw and the warm the rigs. Lined up under the tanks engine, air lines, and brakes. No plug in's for all those rigs. Slept on the restaurant floor! Brutal winter back in the 1970's.
Back in the 70s my Cummins always needed Easy Start in the winter but the boss of the company (who was at a different depot) forbade it and told my boss to stop paying my expenses for the cans bought. So the first time it happened after the ban, it wouldn't start out in the countryside and had to phone a mechanic from a long way away. He started it, with Easy Start ;-). After that our depot boss said buy the stuff but put it down to something else on the expenses. Was a real pain though, the air intake was the opposite side of the cab, left on a rh drive, had to give it a squirt and then race round the front and leap in through the pre-opened door in order to catch it. I was a bit fitter in those days. Ha ha!
In the beginning of the vid he is talking about a plug-in oil heater. It's a heating element in the oil pan. Most plug in heaters are in the engine block where it heats the coolant. Those are ok to plug in when the engine is warm.
He may be misinformed, the plugin heating element on my Pete is in the coolant, not the oil, besides heating the oil in the oil pan will do little to warm the engine block until the engine is started.
Allan McCullough my 2012 Pete has an oil pan heating element as well as a block heater. When conventional oil is cooled below -25°c it doesn't flow very well which is hard on the starter trying to crank the engine and pump the oil. Not to mention the reduction in lubrication for the first bit.
I do generator service and if it’s gaseous or diesel all we usually use is those tank style block heaters with a built in thermostat to turn off around 120f or so. Touch the oil pan and it’s as warm as the block, no need for an oil heater.
Never put a truck to bed with an empty fuel tank, at the end of your shift. The warmth of the fuel creates condensation as it cools in the tank...so a full tank prevents this... Water in the fuel.
Thank you very much for your teachings. I just watched your video hoping to find something to can get start my truck under freezing conditions. You helped me to keep trying till it finally did it. I have saved a lot of money because of you. Thank you again.
My 2 cents 4 winter prepping is to put some rubbing alcohol on the washer fluid tank so the spray nozzles don't clog, this works great I have never have cloged nozzles on my wipers on winter time since I learned that trick.
Dave, gone are the days we used to build a fire under the crankcase! Too many electronics! I also remember wrapping a rag around a stick and lighting it with DF-1 or kerosene then having someone crank the engine while holding the flame over the intake with the ducting removed to get it running!
Dave, Thanks so much for your videos. They make good sense and your voice I think speaks for most of us. Keep up the good work and thanks for keeping us sane and focused on what's important.
Nice, Dave. First-time viewer, not a trucker, just an automotive and diesel enthusiast. I never would have guessed to not plug in when the engine is already warm, nor would I have guessed that only about an hour is enough to warm a stone-cold diesel engine in Canada. So many times here in Chicago I've seen parking lots with rows of diesel school buses plugged in for the night, and rows of diesel cabs also plugged in like at a UPS lot or a cartage company. I figured that's what it takes to ensure starting the following cold morning. I can't imagine all those electrical hookups being on individual timers or a massive master timer. Thank you. I'll check out more.
You need to check if they are heating the coolant or the motor oil. Heating the coolant will circulate it through the engine and keep the engine warm, but probably not engine oil. I've used synthetic oil for my cars, works great even at 40 below. You may need to check out synthetic oil for truck engines.
I had an old truck up in Canada (slant 6 - 1bbl), and the 'best' thing to start the vehicle was an under the hood trickle battery charger. These rigs are a little different, and air start may be different, but a 1987 Dodge/slant 6 with a trickle charger worked better than a 'new' (at the time) Ford F-150. Cold/dead battery won't crank.
Some trucks like to rev themselves up. My 2012 International Maxforce does that. Maryland/Pennsylvania state line, and this winter we had that deep freeze. Weeks of 10-20°F mornings. My truck would go into an auto high idle, way early (for my taste). Oil would be could, and i'd see oil psi spike to damn near 100psi, with the computer yelling at me to shut it down. I found out that having the Johnny bar pulled back, even with no trailer hooked up, would keep it from idling up. Once warmed some, the oil psi drops back to normal, and id turn on the manual high idle.
Scott Berg Yea it is. When it’s brutal cold, notice the next time you start and release the clutch (in neutral) that you hear the engine revs drop. Turning that mainshaft in pea soup gear oil. I notice it even in my manual trans cars. One of em is so bad it’ll want to creep forward on a flat surface if the ebrake is released. It’s fine after a few minutes but that’s some neat fluid drag. Cranking speed makes a diesel start, pushing in the clutch I’ll guarantee it spins over quicker. That crank thrust bearing? When it’s worn out in 50 years, I’ll bet the rest of the engine is too.
I don't move my truck until it hits 150 degrees or 170 if im loaded. When it's cool out I'll run my Espar while it's warming up to help speed things up, but even a -15 c I'm still looking at an hour warm up time. It's a deleted 600isx, being deleted it takes longer.
Buddy's truck tripped the breaker, so it wasn't plugged in. He couldn't get it started. I threw a Tiger torch under it for half an hour. It fired right up.
Get yourself a metal watering can. Place small rocks around the inside. Place a small sterno can the ones you keep food warm in the bottom of the watering can. Place it under the oil pan. Light it up. The small flame will heat the can and rocks that will thin out the oil. Oh get the long type of lighter. They even have the ones that have a long flexible tube.
I use methyl hydrate all the time for de icing padlocks and putting in gas tanks. It gets to -40 to -50°c and we have a generator we use around the property and we brought it inside and all the frost melted and water got into the carb and then we brought it outside and it froze and wasn’t running right and a little methyl hydrate in the tank cleared it right up
A good warm up is key pull throttle out to bout 900rpm let warm up for 15 min get that oil pressure stabile....using either I think is ok I have had to use even when my rig was plugged in and excessive use will cuz a premature inframe some idiots will use just too see flames come out of the stacks. I"ve seen pistons blow out of the block cuz of poor warm ups and low oil and too high rpm and definatley adding conditioner helps but a lot of cold weather aids are in the winter fuel depends how fussy you are bout the rig your driving. Many fleet drivers don't care and if a company driver cares he is kinda fooling himself cuz the fleet owners don't appreciate what you do for the rig. To this day I still care my grease gun but cuz newer trucks have no grease nipples mostly I use on driveline or fifthwheel.
Burrrr....my 3406e wears shorts mostly down here in the southeast...lol. Maaaan you guys get real cold up around the maple leaf! But i do plan on going to stepdeck so i will roll where the money is. Uhhh with in reason of course! Good stuff 👍
I don't know about your engine. But my cummins has a grid heater. if you spray starting fluid, and then need to cycle the grid heater again you may very well destroy some expensive parts. Maybe it's good for glow plugs, but never with grid heaters unless you have complete manual control of that grid heater.
For the guys, making a fire, under the oil pan. I used to drive, for a farmer friend, had a new Western Star, cat engine, day cab. (for farm work) One cold winter day, the truck ' burned down ' from the fire lit, underneath it. Not sure, what the insurance company had to say......this was fall /winter of late 1999. WAS a nice unit, though ......B E CAREFULL....... ~!!
full tank and plugged in - never had a truck not start in nearly 50 years and that includes many minus 50 F. and below real temp - wind chill makes no difference to a truck
Use of starting fluid note: If your motor is equipped with a glow plug system, I wouldn't recommend using starting fluid. Otherwise, great tips. Think spring!
An easy way to spray starting fluid is to screw out the restriction gauge and not bother with the boot on the air pipe. Fast and easy with no danger of damaging the pipe or boot.
***** Glow Plugs are used on InDirect injection and can be disabled to use starting fluid. Trust me, I have had to do this on a TDI to get it started in very cold weather.
On my 379 I just reach out the window and spray it in the air cleaner while cranking the engine, but never needed to due to cold temp even at -20F. Only needed when changing fuel filter and in a situation where filling the filter was not easily doable.
curious if it's the same thing by pushing in the clutch and putting it in neutral?. When its in neutral does the transmission still turn over? Thanks in advance for this, please. Great channel love your vids!!
you know I heard a truck stop legend of guy blowing off his oil filter on a Cummins Big Block in a arctic -40 morning in Regina Sask. using ether I know I had one hell of time Start my Freightliner until I got the ether but once it fired and started I always let the them dead idle for little bit
i find most people plug there truck in all night , so you only need to plug it in for an hour before you start it? i live in canada too and there are some mornings plugged in all night the motor roll over very slow. I like your way better and would save me a whole lot of electricity, lastly, did you ever have problems starting it being plug in for only an hour?
+GmGarlo should go with an hours plug in. If not, somethings wrong. Oil level too low, old block heater, cord to plug in too long. something. Check it out. Dave
They can freeze up. A little methyl hydrate in the air lines and backing up in the morning to help pop them open usually does the trick. If not, a couple of taps on the brake shoes with a hammer should do it. Dave
hi guys if your simi truck don't start , try turn on key and don't start until half hour and had jump wire on and make sure volts full then start it will work
Sir, if we somehow provide hot air supply from heating source like hair dryer to the air intake(from the location where you were trying to use spray). Will it help?
I'm not a trucker (or even close) but does my neighbor _really_ need to leave his semi on for over an hour to heat up? (on cruise control, no less, so it's super loud and I'm sick of being woken up at four in the morning)
Smart-Trucking.com Thanks! I mean, we're never going to bring up the problem to them, but now I at least know I actually have a good reason to be mad at them.
CAUTION depending on your engine using either can act as gurnard sending small piece of metal flying all over, if engine has the preheater in the manifold , and not in the block you will have a bomb go off, sending small pieces of metal all over read your manaul , can the the dealership. .
the best thing to do is around the end of November drive south for 5 or maybe even 6 months!!
I'm with you there! Dave
I work construction in Maine we start plugging trucks in come November. I get to work 20-30 minutes ahead of time and crank up one of my two trucks (Both Cat motors) and let them warm up and grab a cup of coffee while I wait. Nothing more uncomfortable than riding in a cold truck.
After 6 days frozen up in Wyoming with 100's of other rigs on the closed Interstate, we used charcoal briquettes in 2 lb. restaurant coffee cans to thaw and the warm the rigs. Lined up under the tanks engine, air lines, and brakes. No plug in's for all those rigs. Slept on the restaurant floor! Brutal winter back in the 1970's.
I remember those days, but that part I don't miss! Dave
Back in the 70s my Cummins always needed Easy Start in the winter but the boss of the company (who was at a different depot) forbade it and told my boss to stop paying my expenses for the cans bought. So the first time it happened after the ban, it wouldn't start out in the countryside and had to phone a mechanic from a long way away. He started it, with Easy Start ;-). After that our depot boss said buy the stuff but put it down to something else on the expenses. Was a real pain though, the air intake was the opposite side of the cab, left on a rh drive, had to give it a squirt and then race round the front and leap in through the pre-opened door in order to catch it. I was a bit fitter in those days. Ha ha!
I grew up and currently live and work in Maine we always plug our trucks in pretty much starting in November. Some great tips for the southern boys
In the beginning of the vid he is talking about a plug-in oil heater. It's a heating element in the oil pan. Most plug in heaters are in the engine block where it heats the coolant. Those are ok to plug in when the engine is warm.
Keep in mind, he is generally speaking of a semi, not a pickup
He may be misinformed, the plugin heating element on my Pete is in the coolant, not the oil, besides heating the oil in the oil pan will do little to warm the engine block until the engine is started.
Allan McCullough my 2012 Pete has an oil pan heating element as well as a block heater. When conventional oil is cooled below -25°c it doesn't flow very well which is hard on the starter trying to crank the engine and pump the oil. Not to mention the reduction in lubrication for the first bit.
I do generator service and if it’s gaseous or diesel all we usually use is those tank style block heaters with a built in thermostat to turn off around 120f or so.
Touch the oil pan and it’s as warm as the block, no need for an oil heater.
Never put a truck to bed with an empty fuel tank, at the end of your shift. The warmth of the fuel creates condensation as it cools in the tank...so a full tank prevents this... Water in the fuel.
That's right! Dave
lots of good tips, the webasto system is great, heats the cab and engine for hours. it also shuts down by it self before drains the bateries to much.
Thank you very much for your teachings. I just watched your video hoping to find something to can get start my truck under freezing conditions. You helped me to keep trying till it finally did it. I have saved a lot of money because of you. Thank you again.
Glad to help Gustavo, thanks!
My 2 cents 4 winter prepping is to put some rubbing alcohol on the washer fluid tank so the spray nozzles don't clog, this works great I have never have cloged nozzles on my wipers on winter time since I learned that trick.
Good advice! Thanks Juan! Dave
He has a peterbuilt and some grey hair, I trust him!
No really great tips everyone should know lol
This looks like a C15 cat? You really are a pro in this business. You know what you are doing. Good video. Drive safe and keep up the good work Dave.
Thanks! you're right, C15. Great engine. Dave
Dave, gone are the days we used to build a fire under the crankcase! Too many electronics! I also remember wrapping a rag around a stick and lighting it with DF-1 or kerosene then having someone crank the engine while holding the flame over the intake with the ducting removed to get it running!
Dave,
Thanks so much for your videos. They make good sense and your voice I think speaks for most of us. Keep up the good work and thanks for keeping us sane and focused on what's important.
Thank you sir! Dave
Pre-trip under your hood, get it started, and then finish your pre-trip while it is warming up.
I love my APU. I service it with Mobil 1 20w50 and change all filters yearly as f she has been amazing. Tripac
Rubbing alcohol works great in the fuel system and the air system.To help get rid of water and ice.
Nice, Dave. First-time viewer, not a trucker, just an automotive and diesel enthusiast. I never would have guessed to not plug in when the engine is already warm, nor would I have guessed that only about an hour is enough to warm a stone-cold diesel engine in Canada. So many times here in Chicago I've seen parking lots with rows of diesel school buses plugged in for the night, and rows of diesel cabs also plugged in like at a UPS lot or a cartage company. I figured that's what it takes to ensure starting the following cold morning. I can't imagine all those electrical hookups being on individual timers or a massive master timer. Thank you. I'll check out more.
You need to check if they are heating the coolant or the motor oil. Heating the coolant will circulate it through the engine and keep the engine warm, but probably not engine oil. I've used synthetic oil for my cars, works great even at 40 below. You may need to check out synthetic oil for truck engines.
thank you sir, hope to see and hear better videos from you here shortly!
I had an old truck up in Canada (slant 6 - 1bbl), and the 'best' thing to start the vehicle was an under the hood trickle battery charger. These rigs are a little different, and air start may be different, but a 1987 Dodge/slant 6 with a trickle charger worked better than a 'new' (at the time) Ford F-150. Cold/dead battery won't crank.
Some trucks like to rev themselves up. My 2012 International Maxforce does that. Maryland/Pennsylvania state line, and this winter we had that deep freeze. Weeks of 10-20°F mornings. My truck would go into an auto high idle, way early (for my taste). Oil would be could, and i'd see oil psi spike to damn near 100psi, with the computer yelling at me to shut it down. I found out that having the Johnny bar pulled back, even with no trailer hooked up, would keep it from idling up. Once warmed some, the oil psi drops back to normal, and id turn on the manual high idle.
Good tip! Thank you! Dave
that clutch tip is a good one!
Scott Berg except that it's a real good way to wipe out the thrust bearing on the cold Engine
Scott Berg
Yea it is.
When it’s brutal cold, notice the next time you start and release the clutch (in neutral) that you hear the engine revs drop.
Turning that mainshaft in pea soup gear oil.
I notice it even in my manual trans cars.
One of em is so bad it’ll want to creep forward on a flat surface if the ebrake is released.
It’s fine after a few minutes but that’s some neat fluid drag.
Cranking speed makes a diesel start, pushing in the clutch I’ll guarantee it spins over quicker.
That crank thrust bearing?
When it’s worn out in 50 years, I’ll bet the rest of the engine is too.
Excellent advise thank you i can tell that your very experienced God bless you Brother
Thanks Thomas! Dave
Thank you for the lesson, be good
Dave good video greetings from Texas
I don't move my truck until it hits 150 degrees or 170 if im loaded. When it's cool out I'll run my Espar while it's warming up to help speed things up, but even a -15 c I'm still looking at an hour warm up time. It's a deleted 600isx, being deleted it takes longer.
Buddy's truck tripped the breaker, so it wasn't plugged in. He couldn't get it started. I threw a Tiger torch under it for half an hour. It fired right up.
Get yourself a metal watering can. Place small rocks around the inside. Place a small sterno can the ones you keep food warm in the bottom of the watering can. Place it under the oil pan. Light it up. The small flame will heat the can and rocks that will thin out the oil. Oh get the long type of lighter. They even have the ones that have a long flexible tube.
Change your air drier cartridge in the fall.
Good advise
Oh what a tease, no cold start?
aboot? what about boot?
I use methyl hydrate all the time for de icing padlocks and putting in gas tanks. It gets to -40 to -50°c and we have a generator we use around the property and we brought it inside and all the frost melted and water got into the carb and then we brought it outside and it froze and wasn’t running right and a little methyl hydrate in the tank cleared it right up
Remember detriot s running backwards? 13 speeds reverse and 1 foreward!
A good warm up is key pull throttle out to bout 900rpm let warm up for 15 min get that oil pressure stabile....using either I think is ok I have had to use even when my rig was plugged in and excessive use will cuz a premature inframe some idiots will use just too see flames come out of the stacks. I"ve seen pistons blow out of the block cuz of poor warm ups and low oil and too high rpm and definatley adding conditioner helps but a lot of cold weather aids are in the winter fuel depends how fussy you are bout the rig your driving. Many fleet drivers don't care and if a company driver cares he is kinda fooling himself cuz the fleet owners don't appreciate what you do for the rig. To this day I still care my grease gun but cuz newer trucks have no grease nipples mostly I use on driveline or fifthwheel.
Burrrr....my 3406e wears shorts mostly down here in the southeast...lol. Maaaan you guys get real cold up around the maple leaf! But i do plan on going to stepdeck so i will roll where the money is. Uhhh with in reason of course! Good stuff 👍
Thanks for watching Big R ! Dave
I don't know about your engine. But my cummins has a grid heater. if you spray starting fluid, and then need to cycle the grid heater again you may very well destroy some expensive parts. Maybe it's good for glow plugs, but never with grid heaters unless you have complete manual control of that grid heater.
can you please please make a video showing the proper way of couple and uncoupling...thank you in advance
I've used wd40, spray paint, butane brake clean to start diesels. Probably not recommended but works,
I was taught not touch the pedals, but you are to push the clutch in ?
Seems to me you and I learned the hard way in Calgary lol
How are you Donny? Dave
Smart-Trucking.com ...great just coming out of Houston tonight..home by Saturday I hope lol..you know dispatch right..
Man i would do anything to work for u so professional
For the guys, making a fire, under the oil pan. I used to drive, for a farmer friend, had a new Western Star, cat engine, day cab. (for farm work) One cold winter day, the truck ' burned down ' from the fire lit, underneath it. Not sure, what the insurance company had to say......this was fall /winter of late 1999. WAS a nice unit, though ......B E CAREFULL....... ~!!
I thought I recognized the fellow Canadian accent.
full tank and plugged in - never had a truck not start in nearly 50 years and that includes many minus 50 F. and below real temp - wind chill makes no difference to a truck
What do you mean by plugging in?
A piece of cloth with Gas is a lot better than starter fluid.
Use of starting fluid note: If your motor is equipped with a glow plug system, I wouldn't recommend using starting fluid. Otherwise, great tips. Think spring!
Yes, good point... we should have noted that in the video. Spring is hopefully coming soon! ;)
An easy way to spray starting fluid is to screw out the restriction gauge and not bother with the boot on the air pipe. Fast and easy with no danger of damaging the pipe or boot.
*****
Glow Plugs are used on InDirect injection and can be disabled to use starting fluid. Trust me, I have had to do this on a TDI to get it started in very cold weather.
On my 379 I just reach out the window and spray it in the air cleaner while cranking the engine, but never needed to due to cold temp even at -20F. Only needed when changing fuel filter and in a situation where filling the filter was not easily doable.
By the way your truck is exactly what I'd would like my truck to look like, color and all.
Thanks! I had a series of trucks, all that same colour. My wife chose that colour years ago. Dave
What should I do if I plan 2 week vacation in winter ? Take batteries home keep warm ?
Yup!
Are you living in Ontario if so where about
curious if it's the same thing by pushing in the clutch and putting it in neutral?. When its in neutral does the transmission still turn over? Thanks in advance for this, please. Great channel love your vids!!
Plug it in ?
you know I heard a truck stop legend of guy blowing off his oil filter on a Cummins Big Block in a arctic -40 morning in Regina Sask. using ether I know I had one hell of time Start my Freightliner until I got the ether but once it fired and started I always let the them dead idle for little bit
Good idea. Dave
i find most people plug there truck in all night , so you only need to plug it in for an hour before you start it? i live in canada too and there are some mornings plugged in all night the motor roll over very slow. I like your way better and would save me a whole lot of electricity, lastly, did you ever have problems starting it being plug in for only an hour?
+GmGarlo should go with an hours plug in. If not, somethings wrong. Oil level too low, old block heater, cord to plug in too long. something. Check it out. Dave
What about the brakes on a trailer in cold weather
They can freeze up. A little methyl hydrate in the air lines and backing up in the morning to help pop them open usually does the trick. If not, a couple of taps on the brake shoes with a hammer should do it. Dave
hi guys if your simi truck don't start , try turn on key and don't start until half hour and had jump wire on and make sure volts full then start it will work
hopefully, it works better than your grammer.
You mean grammar. ;-)
Mandeep Singh hi guys don't take advice from someone who uses the word "simi".
He might be new to English , so come on you people .
Sir, if we somehow provide hot air supply from heating source like hair dryer to the air intake(from the location where you were trying to use spray). Will it help?
No, I don't think so. If you put that hair dryer on the oil pan or the batteries, that will help. Dave
A bottle of conditioner?
Matrix or Paul Mitchell?
So your previous employment was with a hair salon? Dave
I'm not a trucker (or even close) but does my neighbor _really_ need to leave his semi on for over an hour to heat up? (on cruise control, no less, so it's super loud and I'm sick of being woken up at four in the morning)
No, they only need a few minutes warm up time unless it's really cold out. Dave
Smart-Trucking.com Thanks! I mean, we're never going to bring up the problem to them, but now I at least know I actually have a good reason to be mad at them.
You didn't mention how long should you let the engine warm up when its cold?
I like to see 150 degrees before moving. Dave
Get the needles off the pegs and you should b ok
detroits need a can of either
CAUTION depending on your engine using either can act as gurnard sending small piece of metal flying all over, if engine has the preheater in the manifold , and not in the block you will have a bomb go off, sending small pieces of metal all over read your manaul , can the the dealership. .
pour in that tractor smack.......KABOOM
How to turn on your truck, when it's -140 fahrenheit degrees?
I don't know, because i never seen what guys turn engine off, when it's so cold.
um air horns?ugh...