As a truck driver, your truck is a home away from home. This means that it is important that your truck is in working order. Trucking maintenance can keep your ride smooth and safe. TMS can help ensure you are staying on top of your maintenance.
Nobody wants to get stranded or in an accident in their truck. A truck endures more weathering than your typical car and has many parts to keep track of. Trucking maintenance goes beyond a simple oil check and wheel rotation. There are many ways to stay on top of your truck’s maintenance.
Understand Your Truck
The manual in your truck doesn’t exist to serve as a piece of decoration. Understanding the mechanics of your truck will help you know when certain parts of your truck need checking. You may know your truck well, but knowing what makes your truck act a certain way can save you from being stranded on the side of the road.
Your manual will also include maintenance schedules, as well as charts. These charts will tell you how often you need maintenance. A truck that drives at higher speeds will need more maintenance than a truck that drivers slower. Your manual will also factor in the weight of the hauls your truck carries, as heavier hauls age your rig more quickly.
Keep a Trucking Maintenance Calendar With TMS
Staying organized with a maintenance calendar can keep you ahead of your truck’s maintenance. While it may seem chaotic with all of the daily, weekly, monthly, and annual maintenance checks, it will keep you up-to-date. Instead of guessing when you need to take your truck in for maintenance, you will have your calendar to check.
Essential Maintenance
There are a variety of different maintenance checks that can really make or break your truck. Many understand the importance of an oil change, but the importance is amplified with a truck. More oil is needed for your truck. If it does not have enough oil, it could lead to huge delays and major repairs. This is why it is a good idea to check your oil before every haul.
The last thing any truck driver wants is for their brakes to stop working while on the road. The amount of weight you are hauling and the length of your trip can wear down your breaks. Having your brakes checked often will keep you safe on the road, especially during snowy months. If you hear squealing or feel vibrations from your tires, you should bring them in to be checked immediately.
Having the correct tire pressure can make your tires more efficient and durable. Truck tires can cost thousands of dollars, so the longer your tires can last, the better. Your radiator is also very important to your truck. As you probably know, your radiator keeps your truck cool. By taking a few moments to check it before a trip, you can determine if there are leaks or any need for fluid.
Advanced Trucking Maintenance
Checking the oil and tire pressure are all essential parts of preventative trucking maintenance. But there are also some advanced maintenance measures all truck drivers should take before heading out on the road. Recognizing tread wear early on can help prevent blowouts, and keeping the exterior of their trucks clean will help drivers spot issues with rust or deterioration before they become a more significant issue.
All trucking companies must set up a reliable way to receive regular reports from their drivers. This will help keep the dispatchers informed of any fleet issues while they are traveling on the highway. With the TruckingOffice TMS application, you can remind your drivers to perform essential preventative maintenance tasks to ensure there will be fewer issues while on the road.
This trucking software offers many benefits to drivers and company owners. Along with helping your drivers keep up with the basics, it can also decrease fuel consumption, improve productivity, and lower costs associated with accidents.
Excellent fleet maintenance can help keep your trucking company on the right path to success. By taking a few minutes to ensure your trucks are in perfect working condition, you can save your company thousands of dollars each year on repair costs.
Maintenance Tracking With TruckingOffice
If you are someone who has trouble keeping up with maintenance, you are in luck. Our trucking management software, otherwise known as TMS, is capable of tracking and planning maintenance for you! TMS trucking includes many benefits, such as keeping track of dispatch records, driver pay records, invoices, IFTA reports, truck maintenance records, mileage reports, expense records, and more! Interested in TMS trucking? After registering on our website, you will get 30-days of our TMS for free to test things out!
While you’re taking care of your truck – take care of yourself as well. People don’t realize that everything they have is because a trucker brought it. We’re depending you – please take care of yourselves as well.
Trackbacks/Pingbacks