How To Check Your Antifreeze

It may not cross most people's minds, but checking your car's antifreeze protection level is an important part of regular maintenance. Anti-freeze helps protect your car from damage caused by cold weather, and keeping it at the proper level could save you from costly repairs down the road. In this article, we will show you how to check your car's antifreeze protection level and what to do if it needs to be adjusted.

What You Need

Before you begin, there are a few items you need for the job:

• An anti-freeze tester: These are usually sold for just a few dollars at any auto parts store.

• Paper towel or rag: This will help keep the anti-freeze off of surfaces like paint that could get damaged.

• Ziplock bag: This will help keep dirt out of your anti-freeze tester while you’re not using it.

Step 1: Locate The Reservoir

The first step is to locate the reservoir where your car’s anti-freeze is stored. This is usually in the engine compartment, and it looks like a plastic container with a lid on top (as seen in Figure 1). There should also be a warning label telling you not to open the lid while the fluid is hot – so always make sure that your car has been sitting idle for at least two hours before proceeding! 

Step 2: Testing The Anti-Freeze

Now that you have located the reservoir, insert the end of your tester into the fluid (you may have to use a straw attached to the bottom of the tester). Then pump up and down until about half of the fluid has been drawn up into the glass chamber on top (Figure 2). Now look at how many “balls” are floating on top of the fluid; this number tells you how well protected your car is against extreme cold temperatures (see Table 1 below). Once done testing, pour any remaining liquid into its original container, then wipe off any residue with paper towel or rag. 

Step 3: Storing The Tester

After testing, take a ziplock bag and store your anti-freeze tester in it until its next use. This will help keep dust and dirt off of it when it’s not in use! And don't forget - always remember that antifreeze is poisonous so make sure none gets on any surfaces outside of its original container!   

Checking your car's antifreeze protection level doesn't have to be difficult or complicated; with these simple steps anyone can do it themselves! With regular testing every few months, you'll know exactly how well protected against extreme cold temperatures your vehicle really is - potentially saving yourself hundreds or thousands of dollars in repairs down the line!

FrontlineMotors and Frontline Truck Bodies

Will Be Closed

Fri 12/30, Sat 12/31,

Sun 1/1/23 and Mon 1/2/23 and

return Tues 1/3/23 to normal operating business hours.

Frontline Truck Bodies is now working with Duramag. This means that you will have the opportunity to get one of the best built aluminum truck bodies on the market.
Plus we have them in stock ready to go now- no need to wait months. You will be able to choose from our range of instock ready to go Duramag aluminum truck beds. These include Service truck bodies, flatbed and dump bodies as well as a number of other options including custom options as well.

Besides the excellent craftsmanship that Duramag brings to the table, they are great story of how a you don't need fancy offices and high class high rent locations.

Instead they are centrally located in the heart of Maine. They may not fancy plush and ornate marble but they do have state of the art equipment and manufacture one of the best built aluminum truck bodies in the market.

Besides being made in America they are really the pioneers in the aluminum truck body industry. In 1995, steel dominated the truck body marketplace, less than 10% of truck beds were built with aluminum.

Fast forward to today and Duramag predicted that the demand for aluminum would only grow. So they focused their efforts on creating the largest aluminum recreational manufacturing truck body facility in all of North America.

Their belief is that the right tool for the right time. They have the perfect truck body for the specific job you require.

Give us a call here at FrontlineMotors/Frontline Truck Bodies.

717-627-7888 or visit our sister site at frontlinetruckbodies.com

Buying Used Pickup Trucks: What Should You Look For?

Buying a used pickup truck is a lot harder than buying a used car. Used pickup trucks have often lived a harder workhorse-style life, which means there’s more to consider when you’re buying a truck than when you’re buying a normal family sedan or minivan. So just what should you look for? We have some answers that can help you when you’re checking out a used truck.

Towing and Hauling

One thing you’ll have to consider when buying a used truck is just how much towing and hauling the previous owner has done. Obviously, this isn’t something you’ll need to think about if you’re buying a hatchback or a convertible, but trucks are different. If a truck has spent 50,000 miles hooked up to a trailer, it may have caused more than normal wear on the truck’s mechanical components.

Of course, one way to find out just how much towing and hauling a truck has done is to simply ask the owner. But since you can’t always count on the truth from someone selling a used car — and since you can’t always count on a dealer to know the whole story — we recommend taking the truck for a mechanical inspection before you buy it. We especially recommend this if you see evidence of a lot of towing, such as a well-worn tow hitch, a severely bent rear license plate or a cable for wiring a trailer’s brake lights.

Off-Road Use

Another thing you’ll need to consider when buying a truck is exactly how it’s been used. Many used pickup trucks lead pampered in-town lives, but some are used in fields, on farms or on ranches — exactly as they were intended to be. The problem with this sort of use, however, is that it can cause a lot of wear to a truck’s suspension, chassis and other components. To check for off-road use, get under the truck and take a look around. If you see a lot of scratches, scrapes and bent parts on the truck’s underside, it may have had a rough life off-road. While this isn’t necessarily a reason to avoid a truck, it’s certainly a red flag that may warrant a mechanical inspection by a professional.

Commercial Use?

Many trucks are bought by businesses and used as workhorses in a wide variety of applications, including shuttling around the foreman and hauling serious debris and heavy goods. Because so many trucks are used by businesses, we wouldn’t tell you to avoid a truck that’s had commercial use, but we do suggest paying a mechanic to check it over before you buy it. Businesses aren’t always as careful with maintenance as private owners, and you’ll want to be sure that no important services were skipped. Buying a used pickup truck is hard, since used trucks have often had a rough life. But if you follow our suggestions and thoroughly check out any truck before you buy it, you’ll probably end up with a used pickup that serves you well for years to come.

If you are looking for dump bodies or want to know what type of options you have then you're going to love this article.

First item that you'll want to know is what type of dump body do you want because you can get a steel dump body or an aluminum dump body.

You will also want to know what the purpose of the dump body is because that will answer a number of questions as to which manufacturer might be best for your specific business needs. For instance you can use a CM Truck Bed for certain projects or maybe a SH truck body but there is a company that can literally switch your bed as your needs change. We carry a manufacturing line called Switch-N-Go that can do just that, they can switch our their bodies to meet your needs.

This means you can save money not having to purchase several different types of vehicles, this could add up to tens of thousands of dollars that you'll save because of using a truck body like a Switch-N-Go that is so flexible in it's capacity to do the work.

Take a second to see all of the options that are available if you are looking for a dump bodies near you or give us a call at 717-203-4598 or visit us on the web at frontlinetruckbodies.com

Truck in picture not for sale DEMO ONLY