The primary function of a commercial vehicle is to transport goods over long distances. This makes them essential for businesses and industries across the world. The longer a vehicle is in use, the more likely it is to experience some type of breakdown. To keep your wheels rolling smoothly and efficiently, it’s important to establish a preventative maintenance program for your commercial truck fleet. This will help make sure that your trucks are ready to go when they need to be—no matter how long they’ve been on the job. Here are some tips for creating a successful preventative maintenance program for your semi trucks and trailers:
Know your fleet’s health and usage patterns.
Before you start developing a preventative maintenance program for your commercial truck fleet, you need to understand its current state of health. This includes both its current condition and its expected usage patterns.When you know what the typical health of your fleet is like, you can design a maintenance schedule that’s appropriate for its current condition and usage patterns. This will help you to avoid pushing your fleet too hard and risking an equipment failure. It will also make it easier to identify when repairs are needed and what needs to be replaced.This is especially important if you have multiple commercial vehicles. You’ll want to make sure that their maintenance schedules are regularly audited and updated to account for the wear and tear that each vehicle experiences.
Change your oil and filter.
Your truck’s engine oil is a key component of your truck’s drivetrain. It plays a key role in keeping your engine and transmission in good working order and extending their useful life.To help maintain the health of your engine and transmission, it’s important to change your oil and filter every 3,000 miles or so. You can also use a synthetic oil during cold weather to help prevent your engine from getting too cold.If you use a semi-tractor to haul a trailer, you can also use a trailer-mounted jack-shaft oiler. If you use a trailer, you’ll need to change your trailer’s oil as often as you change your truck’s oil.
Have your brakes and tires inspected and replaced as needed.
Brakes are another key component of your commercial vehicle’s drivetrain. They’re responsible for slowing your vehicle or stopping it completely. To help prevent unnecessary wear and tear on your brakes and extend their useful life, it’s important to have them inspected and replaced as needed.As part of your preventative maintenance program, it’s a good idea to have an engineer inspect and service your trailer’s brakes and tires as well. This will help you to avoid brake-related breakdowns and make it easier to comply with state-mandated tire-wear limits.
Keep a record of all repairs and replacements.
As part of your preventative maintenance program, it’s a good idea to keep track of all the repairs and replacements that you do for your trucks and trailers. This will make it easier to identify when something needs to be fixed and will help you to develop a more effective long-term maintenance plan. You can keep track of this information in a variety of ways.Some fleet managers keep a spreadsheet with all of the vehicles listed down the left-hand side. Then, they record the repairs and replacements in a column on the right.
Conclusion
Commercial trucks are a major part of the global economy. They’re used for everything from hauling goods to shipping them across the ocean. To keep these vehicles running smoothly, it’s important to establish a preventative maintenance program. This will help you to identify when repairs are needed and make it easier to comply with state-mandated maintenance schedules.