How the Summer Heat Can Affect Your Mid-Range Import Truck

Getting your Mitsubishi Fuso, Isuzu, or Hino medium-duty box truck ready for each of the different seasons is as important as getting ourselves ready because it increases the vehicles resilience, it makes it more comfortable to drive in, and keeps you safe. You wouldn't go out in this heat in a big Carhartt jacket & longjohns, so now that the dog days of summer are here you should take a minute to acquaint yourself with the issues that your truck faces in the summer heat and then summer proof it.

With that in mind, you should definitely top off the coolant and fluids, change the oil, and properly inflate your tires.  Here are a couple more tips and some insights about the summer heats affects on your truck, in no particular order:

• Gasoline - Many people think that water is the only thing that can be evaporated, but gas is a fluid, and, when it gets hot, it can evaporate - even in your closed tank. While this not a safety concern, it is definitely a financial one to keep in mind. With gas prices being what they are you certainly don’t want to lose any of it to the atmosphere. So try to park in the shade—your budget and your passengers will thank you for it.

• The battery - According to the Car Care Council, heat is one of the main causes for shortened battery life. If your battery is more than two years old, you should have it tested. If it’s older than four, it probably needs to be replaced, or at least you shouldn't go on an extended road trip without a set of jumper cables. Here are some warning signs that your truck battery may be dying.

Related blog: Medium Duty Truck Battery FAQs

• Windshield wipers - Your windshield wipers endure the sun all year, and, if they’re not used regularly, the heat can take its toll on them. Make sure you use your windshield wipers; otherwise your wipers may actually melt to the glass surface. Pulling them loose after they’ve stuck on will likely make them skitter and scrub across your windshield, smearing rather than cleaning.

• Tires - Improperly inflated tires carry a higher risk of catastrophic failure when the temperatures soar. Getting a flat tire is one thing, but a catastrophic failure or blowout while the vehicle is at a high speed can cause a serious accident. So, make it a habit to check your tire pressure once a month, year round, especially in the summer.

• Transmission - When you're carrying a heavy load, make sure your transmission can handle the strain. If you try to move or pull too much during the summer months, the transmission can heat up from the overload.  It’s one thing in the cooler months, but in the summer heat the fluid that’s pushed through the system heats up dramatically, and could do enough damage to ruin a transmission.

If you or a co-worker needs replacement parts this summer for your medium or heavy duty import truck, call us at (803) 564-3228 or (877) 564-6307. If you have any difficulties getting through our phone system, please use our Contact Form or Parts Request Form, or email sales@busbeetruckparts.com.

We have hundreds of Salvaged Medium Duty Trucks and Commercial Box Trucks for Parts including: Isuzu, Mitsubishi Fuso, UD, and GMC. With thousands of parts, including our most popular Isuzu NPR Truck Parts, we should have any part that you need in stock. Our sales professionals will be glad to assist you.  We are located at 4107 Festival Trail Rd, Wagener, SC 29164.


Be sure to Subscribe to the Busbee Blog for more helpful tips and tricks for safe and easy driving. Follow us on Facebook and Twitter, and sign up for our Free Monthly Newsletters.