3 Things You Need for Successful Truck Maintenance

Running a successful trucking business is like juggling a 1000 balls. Successful fleet owners are no less than magicians for they keep their businesses not just sustaining but growing through a stream of challenges. One of the major challenges fleet owners have to overcome is timely maintenance of trucks to keep the fleet healthy and running flawlessly. This can be achieved with my checklist further in this article.

While we discuss need and benefits of planned maintenance, here’s a quick list of things you need to check regularly:

• Braking System
• Exterior Maintenance
• Air pressure in tyres
• Undercarriage Inspection
• First Aid Kit

This Detailed Checklist Will Help You Inspect Your Vehicles [DOWNLOAD NOW]

Regular medical checkups are important for any human being for a better and healthy life. It is not necessary to only visit a doctor when you fall ill or get hurt: Similarly, trucks that make up the majority of Indian Road transportation need such checkups by a mechanic or a truck professional, so that they are in their best shape and do not break down. 

Trucks are a kind of long-haul vehicle that can travel on almost every terrain whether it is a hilly area, plains, or valley. As these vehicles are used for carrying heavy loads, they are subjected to wear and tear daily, and thus a maintenance checklist has to be followed to ensure the truck works fine.

A checklist would help you to maintain a series of steps that have to be followed by your mechanics or truck drivers to inspect various parts of your trucks and hence minimizing the possibility of unexpected and unfortunate breakdowns mid-way during travel. This checklist is designed for the benefit of fleet owners or transportation companies such that they can keep track of the maintenance of the trucks before it leaves for business or after returning and thus saving a lot of time and money.

Not to forget, that these checks can be recorded and kept for future reference to take a look back at what happened in the past. Even better if recorded digitally, then you have the capability to run analysis on usage of your trucks and plan your fleet management better.

Important Factors To Keep In Mind While Making A Truck Maintenance Checklist

•  Keep in mind the working of every part of your truck and its use so that you can work upon it in a detailed manner with correct knowledge. For e.g, before lubricating the defined parts of a truck you should know the amount of lubricant to be used. So that excessive lubricating is not done leading to excess heat build-up which can put stress on lube points, and increases downtime. Knowledge about the auxiliary system and its components is a must in case of an untimely engine breakdown. 
•  If you manage a large fleet, create a database with regular inspection information of every truck either manually or with the help of software so that it is in your knowledge regarding the needs of the truck whether it is a missing part, changing engine oil, etc. It will also be advised to mention truck details like Truck number, VIN, mileage, make/model, driver, dates of all service, dates of all checklists performed, previously made repairs, etc.
• Record the availability of spare parts, engine oils, stepney wheel, and toolset kit in every vehicle. So that in case of an unexpected breakdown of the vehicle you can have a quick look at whether or not you have that particular part.

What Regular Truck Maintenance Has To Be Done? 

It is essential to complete maintenance work promptly. While there are user manuals provided by the manufacturing company, it is advised to the mechanics and drivers to be thorough with the working tools and parts of the vehicle. Following is a list of things that you should consider while doing a regular maintenance check:

• Brake Service: The majority of accidents occur due to brake failure or fault in the brakes, one should take brake service very seriously by checking properly if there are any leaks in the air pressure system.
• Exterior Maintenance: The maintenance of outside parts of a truck is as important as the interior. Essential parts like stop lights, head and tail, direction lights, warning lights, glass, reflectors, and coupling devices should be serviced promptly to avoid any accidents.
• Air Pressure in Tyres: It is known that tires comprise ¼th of the entire maintenance cost of a truck and hence proper servicing has to be done in regards to air pressure and tread.
• Undercarriage Inspection: Truck drivers are encouraged to keep a look if they feel there is a fuel leak in the undercarriage. They should also regularly examine the ignition shaft, air pressure gauges, and mounts for proper running. 
• First Aid Kit: A first aid kit and a fluid kit is very important from a driver’s perspective as it pays off  in case of any mishap.

Advantages Of Preventive Truck Maintenance

Save your Company’s Reputation

If you are a fleet owner with a reputed name in the trucking industry, it is very important to maintain your company’s name in the market. One small mistake might cost you thousands and lakhs in business. So preventive maintenance of your trucks will help to save both time and money caused due to unplanned repairs.

Improve the lifespan of your truck

Regular maintenance before or after the vehicle goes for shipment is necessary. It is also very important to vehicle-specific maintenance because every vehicle has its requirements and repairs so it will be foolish for someone to assume that every truck has the same preventive maintenance routine.

Improve Safety

Knowing about potential damages or issues helps to avoid mechanical failures that may put drivers’ safety at risk. For eg. The in-cab portion of the truck is as important as the outer part. It is necessary to pay attention to seat condition, suspension, and seat belt operation this will ensure truck drivers’ safety and will also help them to drive with a clear conscience 

Saving the repair costs

Preventative maintenance is one way of reducing repair costs because unplanned maintenance can cost both time and money to the company and the driver. It is hence better to undergo the maintenance of the vehicle to increase its efficiency and to reduce the costs of changing valuable parts untimely.

Download and Use this Checklist for Timely Maintenance of Your Fleet

With that we can conclude that planning the right maintenance will help a fleet owner or a truck driver to stay prepared and minimize any surprise repairs and in doing so it will automatically save time, costly repairs and one’s reputation with the customers and promote good work ethics.