Hurricane season is part of the deal in South Florida, and a well-prepped truck is one of the most useful things you can own when a storm is coming. Here's the checklist we run on our own trucks.
Before the storm
- Fill the tank early, stations run dry fast once a cone shows up
- Check tire pressure and the spare, debris on the roads after a storm is a tire's worst week
- Load generators, fuel cans, and supplies with weight low and strapped, not loose in the bed
- Park away from trees and power lines, under cover if you have it
- Photograph the truck for insurance before the weather arrives
The honest truth about high water
A lifted truck has more clearance than anything else on your street, and that margin is real, but moving water is deceptive, and flooded streets hide debris, open manholes, and washouts. Turn around, don't drown applies to every vehicle. The lift buys you margin on a wet road; it does not make the truck a boat.
After the storm
Trucks do their best work in the cleanup: hauling debris, towing, running supplies. Watch for nails and screws on every road for weeks after, and if you did push through standing water, have the driveline and brakes looked at.
Want your build specced for storm-season usefulness, towing, payload, lighting? That's what we do all day at the West Palm Beach shop.