General maintenance is what determines the lifespan of your heavy-duty truck. However, to keep your heavy-duty trucks and fleets running on a day-to-day basis, you also need to perform routine preventative maintenance. By performing this form of maintenance on your vehicle, you can reduce the risk of downtime and keep your vehicle on the road and making money.
Helpful Preventative Maintenance Tips:
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Check and Change Fluid Levels Regularly
Important fluids to check regularly include coolant or anti-freeze, engine oil, brake fluids, transmission fluids, and power steering among others. By performing these simple tasks, you can save your truck from a possible breakdown that would have resulted from consumption or leakage problems. Follow the manufacturer guidelines for how and when to change fluids.
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Make Sure the Air Filter Is Clean
Service the engine air filter based on the manufacturer maintenance scheduled and the location of the vehicle. Clean air filters help to reduce fuel consumption, especially for heavy-duty trucks. The cleaner your air filters are, the higher the chance the truck stands of running smoothly.
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Check Tire Quality & Tire Pressures
Heavy-duty trucks and commercial vehicles require that you check and maintain the tire pressure and condition for long time life and optimum fuel economy. Tires should be at the manufacturer’s recommended inflation levels and have good tread patterns. They have to be properly inflated at all times. Check all cases of uneven tire wear, alignment, suspension, and run at the proper inflation numbers. Checking this is one of the most crucial aspects of preventative maintenance.
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Ensure Proper Electrical System Connections
Today’s high-tech commercial vehicles require electrical systems to be working at peak levels. With numerous onboard computers, collision avoidance systems, ABS brakes, all requiring top performing electrical systems. Inspect connections and cables for corrosion and wear and clean and replace them as needed. Load test all suspect batteries if they are at the end of their lifecycles.
4 Benefits of Preventative Maintenance
Now that you know how to carry out preventative maintenance tasks on your heavy-duty truck, it is time to understand why these are needed. Since you’re operating a heavy-duty truck, the vehicle will be carrying a sizable load in product or weight. Your task, however, is to ensure the truck reaches its destination on time and in perfect condition. This task is why you need to adhere to the preventative maintenance measures that have been provided above. Here are 4 reasons why you should perform regular preventative maintenance on your heavy-duty truck.
1. Avoid On-Road Breakdown
On-road breakdowns of heavy-duty trucks can be very disastrous situations. Not only will the ETA for the deliveries be delayed, but it might also be very difficult to rectify the situation at the exact location of the breakdown and may require towing & recovery. This could also affect smooth traffic flow by causing a large backup on the roadway which could cause other dangerous situations.
2. Prevent Truck Safety Issues
Regular preventative maintenance helps to guarantee the safety of your heavy-duty truck. Poor maintenance, on the other hand, could result in an accident that can put you in danger, cause injuries or deaths to other drivers on the road, or damage the items being carried on your truck. This could be followed by lawsuits that may require complex analysis, high cost, and affect the reputation of your company.
3. Guarantee Fuel Efficiency
There is no doubt that heavy-duty trucks consume a lot of fuel. If there is one good reason why you need to carry out preventive maintenance for your heavy-duty truck, it’s to guarantee proper fuel efficiency. Regularly checking the air filters to be sure they are clean is a way to save fuel. No matter how little you can guarantee fuel efficiency for your trucks, it will be a financial lifesaver for you. To better maintain your heavy-duty truck to reduce fuel consumption, is a smart move to keep you in business.
4. To Save Cost of Replacement
With heavy-duty trucks, it is always best to prevent a breakdown than to bear the cost of an on-road service call or repair. Repairing and replacing parts of heavy-duty trucks require a lot of money. Some parts of the truck may not be available for sale in your city. Many times, when heavy-duty trucks break down, they become useless because the owner cannot bear the cost of replacement. With a comprehensive preventative maintenance plan, you can increase your vehicle lifespan and lower your cost per mile of your heavy-duty truck.
If you’re needing to perform preventative maintenance on your heavy-duty truck or fleet of trucks in the greater Twin Cities, MN or Central Minnesota area, contact the truck repair and maintenance experts at Blaine Brothers. With over 40 years of experience, along with being a Star Tribune “Top 150 Places To Work” Recipient, you can trust our high-quality services to deliver the results you need.