Diesel rigs in extreme cold

[bornhunter]

Anyone do anything other than maybe a block heater for diesel rigs in extreme cold. Going to look at some property in eastern Montana and wonder about additives or other things to do for my 6.7?

[jackson7]

add some anti gelling fuel additive. I am good down to 15 degrees without plugging in.

[jmscon]

The local stations over there will have a diesel #1 blend that should work most of the time but I’d carry some anti gel with you for those deep freezes.

[jackelope]

Always best to plug in. In those areas, the fuel is more than likely already winterized.

[usmc74]

Years ago my boss installed a propane powered block heater on his diesel Blazer

[hunt3636223]

Some white jug Power Service diesel additive is good insurance for anti-gelling plus helps lubricate the fuel system.  I use it year round (silver jug in warm months). As stated above fuel in cold climate areas is often a No. 1 & 2 blend to lover the wax/gel point of the fuel. Plugging in isn’t required on a lot of newer diesels but when below freezing it helps them start and warm up so much easier. I personally have mine on a timer to come on a couple hours before I take off in the morning.  Plenty of time to get everything up to temp . 

[KFhunter]

cover 3/4 of the radiator with some corrugated plastic cardboard.   political signs work well.  regular card board works in a pinch


change oil in all your running gear to synthetic for cold weather


and as stated, plug it in always.  When it's not tooo cold you could put the plug on a timer to save some energy, have it turn on 1hr before your commute.  If it's bitter cold plug it in always and blanket the engine and have a battery warmer


winter blend fuel can gel too, had it happen when I got 60 below zero up north in Canada,  lot of trucks were gelling that week for sure even with winter blend.   If that polar vortex comes down and you get a freakish cold snap add more anti-gel for good measure, and carry spare fuel filter. 

oh and make sure you have good radiator fluid, radiators will freeze up fast if you have old or improperly blended fluid, then you'll overheat your engine.

[bornhunter]

Wow. Thanks everyone. I need to do some shopping!

[PolarBear]

Some white jug Power Service diesel additive is good insurance for anti-gelling plus helps lubricate the fuel system.  I use it year round (silver jug in warm months). As stated above fuel in cold climate areas is often a No. 1 & 2 blend to lover the wax/gel point of the fuel. Plugging in isn’t required on a lot of newer diesels but when below freezing it helps them start and warm up so much easier. I personally have mine on a timer to come on a couple hours before I take off in the morning.  Plenty of time to get everything up to temp .

[bornhunter]

Another question because you guys have much better answers than our local dealer. How long should stock batteries last in a 2015 Ram diesel. My old 2000 Dodge 3500 with the 5.9 in it, the batteries lasted almost 11 years.

[jackelope]

4-6 years is probably average here, I'd say.

11 years is almost unheard of! You got your money's worth out of that one.
 

[Jpmiller]

I always plug mine in if it's going to be below freezing if for nothing else than the heater warms up almost instantly  I have an anti gel treatment I use when it gets below ten or so as most of my fill ups are in Seattle where winterized diesel is apparently as available as moon rocks.

[bornhunter]

4-6 years is probably average here, I'd say.

11 years is almost unheard of! You got your money's worth out of that one.

I did. When I went in to get new ones at Costco the guys there couldnt believe it until they saw the dates on the old ones.

[bornhunter]

I always plug mine in if it's going to be below freezing if for nothing else than the heater warms up almost instantly  I have an anti gel treatment I use when it gets below ten or so as most of my fill ups are in Seattle where winterized diesel is apparently as available as moon rocks.

 

[CAMPMEAT]

I plugged my '13 Duramax in when I lived in Curlew. Never had a problem even at -10 below zero or more.

[PolarBear]

I've had my 7.3 in -10 or more and even unplugged started right up.  I plug it in if I can when it drops into the teens.  I also use that white jug diesel additive.

[bornhunter]

My truck didnt come with the block heater cord so bought one and installed it last week. Now gotta fins the "white jug" additive and should be good to go. Thanks again everyone for the advice.

[Jpmiller]

My truck didnt come with the block heater cord so bought one and installed it last week. Now gotta fins the "white jug" additive and should be good to go. Thanks again everyone for the advice.

I feel like every new truck I've looked at the last few years has a twenty inch screen in the dash, a sunroof, some fancy surround sound speakers and hested seats but none of them have block warmers. I feel like diesel manufacturers have their priorities a little misaligned.

[luckyman]

Now gotta fins the "white jug" additive and should be good to go. Thanks again everyone for the advice.

Walmart,  sells both white and grey diesel service additive in small and large bottles.

[bornhunter]

My truck didnt come with the block heater cord so bought one and installed it last week. Now gotta fins the "white jug" additive and should be good to go. Thanks again everyone for the advice.

I feel like every new truck I've looked at the last few years has a twenty inch screen in the dash, a sunroof, some fancy surround sound speakers and hested seats but none of them have block warmers. I feel like diesel manufacturers have their priorities a little misaligned.

Its about money. The local Ram dealer wanted $70 for the cord and between $110 and $170 to install. Bought the cord online for $25 and its easy to install.

[Boss .300 winmag]

Rams never have them, bought mine in 2004, found it didn’t have it and went back to the dealer made them feel bad paid $30 and they installed it.🤣

The block heater was there, just no cord.

[CAMPMEAT]

My truck didnt come with the block heater cord so bought one and installed it last week. Now gotta fins the "white jug" additive and should be good to go. Thanks again everyone for the advice.

I feel like every new truck I've looked at the last few years has a twenty inch screen in the dash, a sunroof, some fancy surround sound speakers and hested seats but none of them have block warmers. I feel like diesel manufacturers have their priorities a little misaligned.

I think it's the dealer who orders the trucks that doesn't get block heaters. All the trucks from my old dealer orders them that way, OR, the salesman doesn't have a clue. The cords are tied up near the front passenger side fender.

[bornhunter]

Rams never have them, bought mine in 2004, found it didn’t have it and went back to the dealer made them feel bad paid $30 and they installed it.🤣

You have a much better dealer

[jackelope]

The Dodge and Ford trucks all have the heaters always. It’s whether or not they have the cord. Dumb. No idea why.

[bornhunter]

The Dodge and Ford trucks all have the heaters always. It’s whether or not they have the cord. Dumb. No idea why.

Money!

[jackelope]

The Dodge and Ford trucks all have the heaters always. It’s whether or not they have the cord. Dumb. No idea why.

Money!

I’m not sure a $40 cord on a $65,000 truck makes much difference in terms of money.

[jmscon]

Eastern Montana, North Dakota, Minnesota can all get well below -10 and seem to every year. If you’re there during those kind of cold snaps just leave you rig running. Hopefully the engine heat and the return line will keep the diesel from gelling. The folks I know who live in Alaska year round do this. Engine block heaters don’t heat you fuel tank. There are fuel tank heaters available too, have seen those installed on trucks running straight fryer grease.

[Mudman]

The Dodge and Ford trucks all have the heaters always. It’s whether or not they have the cord. Dumb. No idea why.

Not sure if ya refer to new trucks?  My o5 Dodge did Not have heater installed.  My 06 does.  IMOP the Dodges start much easier in the cold then the V-8 engines.

[bornhunter]

The Dodge and Ford trucks all have the heaters always. It’s whether or not they have the cord. Dumb. No idea why.

Money!

I’m not sure a $40 cord on a $65,000 truck makes much difference in terms of money.

 

[Jpmiller]

My truck didnt come with the block heater cord so bought one and installed it last week. Now gotta fins the "white jug" additive and should be good to go. Thanks again everyone for the advice.

I feel like every new truck I've looked at the last few years has a twenty inch screen in the dash, a sunroof, some fancy surround sound speakers and hested seats but none of them have block warmers. I feel like diesel manufacturers have their priorities a little misaligned.

I think it's the dealer who orders the trucks that doesn't get block heaters. All the trucks from my old dealer orders them that way, OR, the salesman doesn't have a clue. The cords are tied up near the front passenger side fender.

We ended up having to do a dealer transfer with one of their eastern Washington dealerships and the salesman there told him it didn't have a heater. It showed up with a heater and a cord lol

[jackelope]

The Dodge and Ford trucks all have the heaters always. It’s whether or not they have the cord. Dumb. No idea why.

Not sure if ya refer to new trucks?  My o5 Dodge did Not have heater installed.  My 06 does.  IMOP the Dodges start much easier in the cold then the V-8 engines.

I was referring to the newer trucks. Some come with a cord and some don’t. All the diesels have the heaters from the factory.

[bornhunter]

My 2000 with 5.9 came with heater and cord.

[Crunchy]

My 17 Ram 2500 didnt have the cord.  Hard to believe after spending that kind of cheese on a new truck it wasnt included. 

[huntnnw]

never plugged my cummins in has started just fine to -24 below.

[bornhunter]

never plugged my cummins in has started just fine to -24 below.

What year?

[KFhunter]

I advanced the timing on my cummins, it doesn't like cold starts now. 


I should put it back.

[coachcw]

Ford, powerstrokes are different than the hi rail pressure dodge and chevrolets. They require hi pressure engine oil to fire the injectors , clean oil and possibly lighter weight oil in extreme weather will help starts . plugging them in warms the oil a bit and allows them to build pressure to start faster. good batteries are a must , when you check them make sure and disconnect one . any truck stop should carry a good anti gel additive , as welll keep clean fuel filters in them . 

[dyhardhuntr]

A lot of good info here. Keep it plugged in overnight if you can. It won’t hurt anything. It aids in a quicker warmup. What kind of truck is it? The big 3 have all switched to a common rail style fuel system which is a fantastic system unless you get water contamination. Ford lagged behind until the 6.7 came out. The big items will be your batteries. You can get insulated covers for them. Keep those in good shape and like others have said in colder climates fuel stations run winter blend which has a higher heat rating than summer blend. Adding cetane booster does the same thing. Winter front covers can keep your coolant temp up which is a must as it aids in proper emissions. You don’t want a plugged egr cooler. Watch your coolant temp. As long as it stays normal your good.  It sure what the temps get to over there but you shouldn’t have to go crazy. Might run 5w-40 motor oil. 15w-40 is usually good for right below freezing to over 100*. Check your owners manual. It will tell you a lot of info. If you have a newer truck it will already have synthetic oil in the power train. Good luck!


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[huntnnw]

never plugged my cummins in has started just fine to -24 below.

What year?

02 and 05

[coachcw]

A lot of good info here. Keep it plugged in overnight if you can. It won’t hurt anything. It aids in a quicker warmup. What kind of truck is it? The big 3 have all switched to a common rail style fuel system which is a fantastic system unless you get water contamination. Ford lagged behind until the 6.7 came out. The big items will be your batteries. You can get insulated covers for them. Keep those in good shape and like others have said in colder climates fuel stations run winter blend which has a higher heat rating than summer blend. Adding cetane booster does the same thing. Winter front covers can keep your coolant temp up which is a must as it aids in proper emissions. You don’t want a plugged egr cooler. Watch your coolant temp. As long as it stays normal your good.  It sure what the temps get to over there but you shouldn’t have to go crazy. Might run 5w-40 motor oil. 15w-40 is usually good for right below freezing to over 100*. Check your owners manual. It will tell you a lot of info. If you have a newer truck it will already have synthetic oil in the power train. Good luck!
Your correct I forgot he has a 6.7l

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[trophyhunt]

Ford, powerstrokes are different than the hi rail pressure dodge and chevrolets. They require hi pressure engine oil to fire the injectors , clean oil and possibly lighter weight oil in extreme weather will help starts . plugging them in warms the oil a bit and allows them to build pressure to start faster. good batteries are a must , when you check them make sure and disconnect one . any truck stop should carry a good anti gel additive , as welll keep clean fuel filters in them .

When Cory speaks, I listen!!