While caring for your van is always important, nothing is more crucial than winter maintenance for your wheelchair accessible vehicle.
It’s already October, which means that the cold weather (and likely the snow) are right around the corner. If you are from the midwest -particularly Minnesota – you know that the fall tends to be short, so there is no better time than now to complete your winter vehicle preparations.
So what do you need to get done to prepare handicap accessible vans for the winter? Follow these tips to have your van running smoothly all winter long.
Run Some Tests
Extreme cold can wreak havoc on a lot of vehicle parts, so you want to make sure that you test the following:
- Battery life: you’ll want your van to start without any problems.
- Treads and tire pressure: make sure to replace your tires if they are getting old. At the very least, check your owner’s manual to make sure that your tires are filled to the appropriate winter pressure. You may even want to invest in some snow tires for better traction.
- Heater: turn on the heat in your vehicle and make sure that warms your car up.
Fluids and Lubricants
Make sure to check all of your fluid levels, including:
- Antifreeze
- Windshield washer fluid (get the winter formula to prevent ice!)
- Engine oil
- Brake fluid
- Transmission fluid
- Radiator fluid
- Power steering fluid
Additionally, you should also make sure that your ramp and transfer seat are well lubricated so that they continue to operate smoothly throughout the winter.
Stock Some Essentials
In the event that your car stop working in the extreme cold, it always pays to be prepared. Keep a couple of blankets, jackets, glove and hats in your car to help you keep warm in case you become stranded.
Contact Us if Anything Seems Off with Your Van!
Don’t wait until the dead of winter to find out that something is not working properly with your van. Although we guarantee that our vans will perform well in the winter, time can erode anything. If something seems off with your van or if you want to learn more about winter maintenance for your wheelchair accessible vehicle, give us a call at 1-866-997-Rollx (1-866-997-6559) or email our service team at RollxService@rollxvans.com. We will either come right to you to fix your van or direct you to one of our qualified service partners who are located all across the country (and a few in Canada, too!).
Do you have any winter wheelchair van maintenance advice to share? Let our readers know by commenting below!