Avoiding Dead Car Batteries in the Summer Heat

This is a sponsored post written by me on behalf of Nationwide Mutual Insurance Company. All opinions are 100% mine.

It is constantly warm here in south Florida. The winter months are steadily in the 70’s. In the spring and summer, the temperature really gets hot. It can be 80° at 8 in the morning. You can only imagine how much hotter it’ll be later in the day. I park my truck in the garage, so in the mornings the temperature in there is sweltering. There have been a couple of times where my truck has taken a little longer than I’d like to turn on. It’s not a big difference, but it is noticeable to me. Last year my battery completely died and I didn’t realize it until after I loaded the kids up in the truck to take them to school. Can you say I was hot and sweaty in my garage trying to jump my truck off of my husband’s truck. After that sweaty ordeal, I now take a few precautions that I’ve learned from Nationwide about 5 Ways to Help Avoid a Dead Car Battery During the Summer.  I always keep my truck in the garage. No matter how hot the garage is, it’s always hotter outside. I also try to find shaded areas to park when we’re out and about. I make it a point to not put so much strain on my battery during the summer. Sometimes I ride with my radio off or when I listen to music, I play it through my phone without it being plugged up to the truck. Another step that I take is to keep a portable car battery charger on hand. It helps when my battery does unexpectedly die. Last, but not least, another precaution to take is having roadside assistance, like Nationwide’s 24-hour roadside assistance. What precautions do you take to avoid a dead battery during the summer?