It's a Team's Life
Ready for winter inside the truck
Taken from Henry Albert's Blog
With the start of winter we change our way of thinking as well as what all is packed in the truck. Bob is always cold in the winter and I am usually hot which means he is often wearing heavier shirts and I am still in lighter shirts.
One winter we carried the long FedEx coats, but found they were too big and cumbersome in the truck. They were exceptionally warm and kept us dry but not worth the room they took up. We went back to the lighter waist length FedEx jackets. We have found if the weather is cold enough we add hats, gloves and if needed a sweatshirt and we stay comfortably warm.
We have found that layering works the best for us and our clothing starts from t-shirts, long sleeved shirts, as well as sweatshirts and all can be worn at one time if needed. We carry thermal long johns as a precaution, but in eleven years we have not needed them. I also keep a heavy set of socks to wear in the truck to keep my feet warm.
When I see the first snowflake I lower the visors so that the heat from the defroster is trapped between the glass and the visor to keep the upper windshield melted. We also have slush busters on the truck, as I cannot reach the wipers to clear them of ice. If we have been running through bad weather we are even more watchful when getting out of the truck as the steps can be covered in ice or the pavement can be an icy.
Our shoes in the winter have good soles that do not slip easy. Some of the rest stops as well as truck stops can get a really thick coating of ice and the last thing we want to have happen is to slip and break a bone. Another thing I learned the hard way is when parking on ice after coming in on hot tires it is easy to get stuck Now when I pull into a stop I set the brakes and wait a minute or two and pull forward about a foot and set the brakes again. What I had happen is when I stopped the tires melted through the ice and made a perfect hole and the ice was thick enough the truck could not get out of the hole. We had to get our chains out and place them in front of the tires so that the tires could get a grip and pull the truck out of the small 1†deep hole.
It is much harder to keep the floors of the truck clean in the winter as we are constantly dragging in mud or snow. We knock as much snow or mud off as we can getting into the truck and leave our shoes on the passenger floor mat. If our coats are wet we drape them over the steering wheel to let them dry. Getting clothes dry in the winter is a constant battle.
We stop for fuel more often as we keep our tanks above half full in case we run into an interstate that is shut down and we have to spend time waiting for the road to open. We also clean our windshield; side windows and we clear off all of our exterior lights for better visibility. We have found with the Air Tabs our rear lights tend to stay clean which helps our visibility. Bob checks the levels of our windshield washer fluid, as we do not want to get into bad weather and have an empty reservoir.
I also like to keep soups or have the makings for a pot of chili in the winter. When we are laid over and the wind is howling and the snow is flying there is nothing better than a warm bowl of soup and a good DVD.
Bob & Linda Caffee
Leased to: FedEx Custom Critical 

TeamCaffee

Saint Louis MO
Expediters 6 years been out here on the road 11 years
Expediting isn't just trucking, it's a lifestyle; 

Expediting isn't just a lifestyle, it's an adventure;

Expediting isn't just an adventure, it's a job;

Expediting isn't just a job, it's a business.