SUNDRE - Last week’s extreme cold left a number of motorists struggling to start their frozen vehicles.
And without coverage, getting a tow truck dispatched just for a boost can be costly.
But a couple of local businesses stepped up to offer courtesy jump-starts to help out.
On Tuesday, Jan. 14 — when Sundre was plunged firmly into the grasp of a bitter deep freeze with temperatures reaching as low as - 40 C — Leah Young, the service manager at Jeftec Auto, said she noticed on social media a lot of people who were asking for boosts.
“It costs an arm and a leg to get a boost from a tow truck if you don’t have AMA,” said Young on Thursday, Jan. 16.
So she decided to share a post offering courtesy boosts to those in need.
“It takes us two minutes,” she said.
Equipped with two big booster packs as well as a smaller one, Young said they had the means and the manpower, using their own personal vehicles to provide jumpstarts in town.
Although Young wasn’t counting an official tally as the shop was too busy to keep track of each instance, she estimated about 10 people received a boost that got their vehicle started over the span of a couple of days.
“We didn’t get everybody boosted that asked. Some had bigger problems,” she said, adding those customers opted to have their vehicles towed into the shop.
“But at least we tried.”
Young encourages drivers to consider taking the time during the fall to have their vehicle’s block heater and cord tested, as well as to get a battery blanket installed, especially for a car or truck that is parked outside.
“If you have a heated garage or shop, you probably don’t need a battery blanket.”
From her own personal perspective, Young, who lives south of Westward Ho Park with trucks that remain exposed to the elements, said she has a battery blanket.
“Without a battery blanket on our trucks, they probably wouldn’t have started.”
At Sundre Fountain Tire, owner Todd Dalke said they were also providing courtesy boosts, mostly in town.
“We’ve probably done about 10,” he said last Thursday.
“We don’t charge for it.”
There’s not very much people can do when temperatures are as cold as they were last week, but Dalke did offer some advice that could help.
One of the primary factors that contributes to compromising a car’s battery in such extreme conditions is starting the vehicle and driving only a short distance in town. In these instances, he said the vehicle does not run long enough for the battery to adequately recharge. Each short trip slowly but surely drains the battery a bit more and more until it doesn’t have enough of a charge to start up again in extreme cold, he said.
He suggests trying to plan, whenever possible, for slightly longer trips to give the battery more time to recharge. For people without a garage, he also recommends trying to find a parking space that is not overly exposed to the wind, plugging in, as well as obtaining a battery blanket for older models.
