2022 Volvo VNL 860, D13, I-Shift, Carrier reefer on a 53 ft Utility. i've got a regular Laredo to Chicago produce run starting after new year's, and i've never been north of Dallas in january.
i fuel in Laredo and usually don't fill again until Oklahoma or Missouri. is plain south Texas #2 going to gel on me at 5 below in Chicago? do i dump anti-gel in every fill, or only when it drops under 20?
then the winterfront. the parts guy at the Volvo dealer in San Antonio says the 860 doesn't need one because the shutters and the fan clutch handle it. the old guys at the truck stop say stuff cardboard in the grill. i went through the owner stuff on volvotrucks.us and came out more confused than when i went in.
eighteen_speed_onlyMillion milerGreat Falls, MT64 posts, joined Nov 2025Runs2016 Peterbilt 579, ISX15, 18 speed / grain hopper
Great Falls. 20 below happens most januaries here.
stations up north blend #1 into their winter fuel, so what you buy up there is mostly ready for it. the fuel that gels is the southern #2 already in your tanks when the temperature drops. plain #2 can start clouding up somewhere around 15 to 20 degrees, and the filter plugs before the tank ever turns to jelly.
so: treat every fill from the time you leave Texas, and pour the treatment in before the fuel so it mixes. fill up north where you can. carry a spare fuel filter and the wrench for it. drain the water separator, water freezes before diesel does.
winterfront: on my 579 i run one below zero with the snaps half open. on a newer truck with grille shutters i'd trust the dealer before the cardboard guys. cardboard blocks air unevenly across the charge air cooler.
cvsa_inspector_retMillion milerSioux Falls, SD88 posts, joined Nov 2025Runsretired, 26 years SD Highway Patrol motor carrier side
moisture in the air tanks freezes, and then you've got brakes that won't release or won't apply. the most brake trouble i ever wrote up came in january, and a lot of it started as water in the system. drain the tanks or make sure the automatic drains work, and if the air dryer cartridge is more than a year old, change it before you go.
road brine gets into everything electrical too. pack the 7 way plug and the glad hand seals before you leave, and look at them at every stop.
x15_565_guyMillion milerSalt Lake City, UT73 posts, joined Nov 2025Runs2018 Kenworth W900L, X15 565, 18 speed / steel on a 48 ft flatbed
southern #2 into a Chicago cold snap without treatment is how you end up with the story everybody has. i keep a bottle of the emergency stuff for when it's already gelled. Power Service makes the one most truck stops carry, the Diesel 9-1-1. it goes in the filter and the tank and you wait.
and use the bunk heater instead of idling all night if you can. long cold idle with a light load on the engine is hard on the aftertreatment.
lease_onto_or_ownOwner operatorMemphis, TN57 posts, joined Nov 2025Runs2019 International LT, A26, automated / dry van, leased on
reefer guys forget the reefer tank. on most trailers it's its own tank, and it's the one nobody treats. the Carrier gels the same as the truck does, and a load of produce freezing in a dead trailer at 0 degrees costs more than everything else in this thread put together.
laredo_reefer_runsOPOwner operatorLaredo, TX41 posts, joined Nov 2025Runs2022 Volvo VNL 860, D13, I-Shift / reefer, produce north
left january 2, delivered in Chicago at 4 below. treated every fill from Oklahoma City north, filled in Joplin and again in Bloomington, Illinois. treated the reefer tank too, thanks memphis, i would have forgotten. carried a spare filter and never touched it.
no winterfront. coolant temp held about 185 the whole way and the cab was warm, so the shutters did their job like the dealer said.
one thing broke. the passenger mirror heater quit somewhere in Missouri, so i drove 400 miles with a frosted mirror on the side i need most backing into a produce dock. that one's getting fixed before the next trip.
mod_glenn_aModeratorSpringfield, OH212 posts, joined Nov 2025Runs2017 Kenworth T680, MX-13, 10 speed / regional flatbed
one more for the next southern driver who finds this. the cold gets you sitting, not rolling. if you're going to be parked more than a few hours at zero, plug in if the truck has a block heater and there's power, or keep it running on treated fuel. don't shut down for eight hours on untreated #2 and walk away.
glad it went fine. go get that mirror fixed.
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