69-mile emergent transport of blood platelets to a hospital in ice and slush on a cold day.
The post-trip vehicle inspection revealed the Expedition’s wheel wells were FULL of brown ice. Were I to turn sharply, the front wheels would contact the ice.
Can anything be done to prevent/minimize this build-up?
Thank you.
I don’t know of any spray that will prevent your problem. I also see this as a non-issue. I lived in Northern Maine and Alaska and am very familiar with the build up of ice and snow in the wheel well. I also know that there is no snow or ice buildup that can withstand the force of a spinning wheel/tire.
What would be so bad about the wheels coming into contact with the snow and ice in the wheel well? Turning the wheels would probably clear some of that ice and snow out of the wheel well, crushing it underneath the weight of your Expedition. I don’t see any reason to worry about this.
This was unusual because the ice was very hard and wouldn’t knock out.
I was concerned it would cause damage to the rubber if I turned sharply. So I did not.
At home I used the garden hose in 20°F. to melt behind the ice and got most out before parking in the garage.
Wont work,now if you could rig a low wattage heating tape under the fender liners,given time it would take care of the problem,but while you were running it would probaly still build up,if you had an onboard compressor you might be able to take a small heavy duty innertube and fabricate a deicing liner-Kevin
Yes! A deicing bladder would work! How about teflon-coated liners?
Pam cooking spray and silicon do work on snow blower chutes, to keep heavy wet snow from accumulating. I have no doubt it would help. But, is it worth the expense to keep applying it every day which you must in other applications ? I think not unless it’s storm related and not a daily application. I just get off my lazy tosh and kick and scape it clean before any overnight freezing. Petrol based WD40 should not be used around any plastics or rubber. There are a lot of those parts under the wheel well. it could make matters worse which WD40 often does around rubber and plastics. Most conscious drivers just do a walk around and a few kicks when ever they stop for a time…need we do any more, really ?
Most people just get out and kick the stuff off and run it through the car wash. Now think about it. How does frozen ice get behind the wheel? Its not frozen when it gets put there, only after it sat there for a few minutes. So driving normally will keep the frozen material away from the tire because it it scraping it off as you are driving before it hardens. In 50 years of driving in Minnesota I’ve never run across these kinds of problems. I want to say just relax, drive, deliver blood, and be happy. Find a hobby.
Most people just get out and kick the stuff off
I’ve seen quite a few vehicles that have their wheel wells crammed full of snow and ice in the winter time, makes me wonder how they’re even able to turn the wheel sometimes. The same vehicles are usually the ones you see with 5 inches of snow on their windshield except for what their wipers cleared off.
The problem was that when I left the hospital, I could only knock a little ice out. (Not wanting to leave a mess, I didn’t try in the hospital’s parking lot.)
Next such storm I’ll try spraying the wheel well liners with Pam before departing.
Thanks for informing NOT to use petroleum-based sprays!
Similar happened after a 3 a.m. stat bloodelivery in the Toyota.
So much snow packed in the wheel wells that whenever I hit a gentle bump the tires rubbed on the snow. I think some snow retarded a wheel and the traction light occasionally lit.
(Th.is my hobby 24/7. My boss allows me the time off to do transports.
The blood has saved some lives and we have be able to see other parts of the state.)
@RG,go for it the only problem is anything you put in there will not stay very long-Kevin
I use Lemon Pledge on my snow blower and it smells nice.
Use what the pros use on their plows, Fluid Film. Been using it for years after hearing about it on plow forums. Lanolin based. Snow slides right off…google it yourself.
No WD40. It will attract and hold other debris that leads to premature rust and then you will have another issue.
Hospital parking lots have been dirty in the past and they will be dirty again. Kick the ice off and move on.
Hospital parking lots have been dirty in the past and they will be dirty againThey want emergent deliveries brought right to the entrance. ED entrance 2100 to 0600. This was a large amount. Guard remarked that the lower half of the white Expedition was solid brown. (Looked nice in two-tone!)
@Robert Gift
They want emergent deliveries brought right to the entrance. ED entrance 2100 to 0600.
This was a large amount. Guard remarked that the lower half of the white Expedition was solid brown. (Looked nice in two-tone!)
So I suppose if you would have kicked it out the next vehicle that hit the clump would be totaled? You post does not make sense. Robert, please post some photos.
So I suppose if you would have kicked it out the next vehicle that hit the clump would be totaled? You post does not make sense. Robert, please post some photos.No. It's a matter of being considerate. Many people would walk through it to the main entrance. Plus ambocabs unload and load wheelchair patients there.
I did not want it in our garage, either, so washed it out. Still a dirty mess on our street.