Preloading images with JavaScript
Yes. This should work on all major browsers.
Try this I think this is better.
var images = [];
function preload() {
for (var i = 0; i < arguments.length; i++) {
images[i] = new Image();
images[i].src = preload.arguments[i];
}
}
//-- usage --//
preload(
"http://domain.tld/gallery/image-001.jpg",
"http://domain.tld/gallery/image-002.jpg",
"http://domain.tld/gallery/image-003.jpg"
)
Source: http://perishablepress.com/3-ways-preload-images-css-javascript-ajax/