It’s not here yet, but colder weather is right around the corner. If you own a mobile kitchen or concession truck, we’ve got a few winter tips to help you avoid potential problems with your vehicle and your food truck ventilation system. Even if you live in a climate that doesn’t allow your food truck to stay open all winter, a lot of these suggestions will still apply.
Whether you’re putting your food truck in storage until warmer weather returns, focusing on catering and indoor events, or simply changing your menu around, now is a great time to get your vehicle and your food truck ventilation system back in perfect working order.
Snow and ice on the road can make driving more hazardous. Cold weather can also be stressful on vehicles – especially older ones. Do a maintenance check yourself or take your food truck to a trusted mechanic. After the busy spring and summer season, you’re also going to want to do a complete assessment of your concession truck ventilation equipment. Everything from your hood to your exhaust fan should be cleaned and inspected. First, let’s start with your vehicle.
Fluid Levels
Be sure to check your fluid levels. These include your oil, transmission fluid, brake fluid, and sometimes power steering fluid. Switch to a cold weather engine protection motor oil if necessary. Check your antifreeze fluid and radiator water levels as well.
It’s also a good time to check your defroster, heating system, and wipers. Carry an extra gallon of heavy-duty washer fluid and motor oil in your vehicle. You never know when you’ll need it.
Storing your food truck for the winter? This is a great time to go ahead and change the oil and replace the oil filter. This will keep contaminants from just sitting in your engine for the entire season.
Battery Maintenance
Use a multimeter to check and see if your battery has reached the leaking point. If you get a reading of 12.5 or higher, your battery has a good charge. A reading of 12.3 is about 75% and a reading of 11.8 or lower means your battery is about 25% or less charged.
In most cases, a moderately charged battery can be improved with a slow or trickle charge to help improve the chemical reaction in the battery. Try that and then retest. If your battery is still very low however, you should probably replace it.
Wipers
Check your wipers, defroster, heating system, and antifreeze. Now is a good time to replace worn wiper blades. Carry an extra gallon of heavy-duty washer fluid and motor oil in your vehicle. You never know when you’ll need it.
Fan Belts and Hoses
You should also closely monitor all fan belts and hoses. Colder weather causes additional strain on belts. They are more likely to stretch and snap. If a belt looks worn, replace it or at least have an extra on hand. Fan belts are quick and inexpensive to repair. Plus, it’s much better to be prepared than to be stranded.
Tires
Something that often gets overlooked are tires. Make sure your tire treads are not worn out and that they are properly inflated. During winter, you should check your tire pressure often.
Cold weather can cause the air pressure in your tires to drop dramatically in a very short amount of time. Low tire pressure can cause your vehicle to not handle as well and tires that are not properly inflated are more likely to develop a flat.
If you are keeping your truck parked for the winter, a helpful tip is to over-inflate your tires by about five to eight PSI to help prevent flat-spotting. Flat-spotting is a condition where the spot that the tire is in contact with the ground flattens a bit as it is pressed against the ground. It’s typically temporary but annoying and commonly occurs in vehicles stored long-term, especially in colder climates.
You might want to take this opportunity to rotate and balance your tires. If you live where there is a lot of snow and ice, you might consider switching from all season tires to snow tires. At the very least, have a set of tire chains on hand, just in case.
Rust Prevention
Winter weather can be wet and harsh. Help prevent rust on your food truck by applying a penetrating oil and water-displacing spray such as WD-40 to protect and lubricate latches, hinges, and any metal moving parts to reduce friction and prevent locking. You might want to just keep a can of WD-40 in your truck. If a lock gets iced up this winter, it will work as a deicer too.
Winter Safety Items
How about a winter safety kit for your food truck? Here are a few winter-related items you might want to have on hand in addition to your standard safety kit: extra cold weather clothing and gear, blankets, ice scraper, snow shovel, deicer (remember that WD-40 works double-duty as a deicer), salt, sand, jumper cables.
Keep a few tools such as a wrench, a screwdriver, and pliers along with a flashlight handy for small onsite repairs. With the days turning dark earlier, you might also want to have a set of road flares or reflective triangles should you have to make roadside repairs at night.
Food Truck Ventilation
Without a mobile kitchen, your food truck would be just another vehicle on the road. Make sure your food truck ventilation equipment is in tip-top shape by giving it a winter once over treatment as well.
First, thoroughly inspect and clean your entire kitchen ventilation system. This includes your hood filters, vent hood, duct work, exhaust fan, and grease containment system.
Check your hood filters for any major wear and tear. Some grease filters are made to last longer than others. It might be time to replace one. You may decide it’s time to make an upgrade to a filter that is heavier-duty, more attractive, easier to clean, or all of the above.
Make sure your exhaust fan belts are in good working order. We suggest keeping a spare replacement fan belt on hand for your food truck exhaust hood. Check your fan and motor for any frayed wiring. Make sure the upblast exhaust fan is balanced and that the bearings are in good shape. Also check the fan for any signs of damage. If it is located on the roof of your food truck it is particularly vulnerable to harsh weather and flying debris.
If you will be storing your mobile kitchen for the winter, remove any food truck ventilation system equipment that is not permanently attached to the vehicle and store it in a secure area.
If you notice your equipment looking a little worse for the wear, you might consider replacing older items before taking your food truck back out in the spring.
An Ounce of Prevention Is Worth a Pound of Cure
Keeping your vehicle and your food truck ventilation equipment properly maintained is important year-round but winter weather can be harsh and unpredictable. Preventive care will help you avoid breakdowns and maintenance emergencies.
Do you need some help getting your food truck ventilation system ready for the winter? Give us call at 877-394-9731 and speak with one of our product specialists. We are always happy to help! You can also email us with your questions.
To see our full selection of mobile kitchen exhaust hoods, upblast fans, and accessories visit HoodFilters.com. Many of our items ship for free and you’ll always get the best price with our low price guarantee.