Is it time to winterize your truck? That depends on several things, such as where you drive and what you haul. TruckingOffice PRO can help you prioritize your truck maintenance and organize your maintenance records to make sure that you’re ready when the snow starts to fly.
Winterize Your Truck Engine
Winterize your truck engine while it’s still nice out. Why? (Because it’s not cold.) The easiest time to examine your engine is when it’s cold and you’re warm enough to spend the time you need to do it right the first time.
Looking for Leaks
Check the obvious places for leaks: gaskets, hoses, clamps. Whether it’s oil, water, wiper fluid, or coolant, finding a leak may be as easy as looking for fluids where they shouldn’t be. A sheet of newspaper under the engine may show some slow leaks. Taking care of slow leaks in the garage is easier and cheaper than a breakdown on the road.
Hoses may need to be removed to be completely examined. Then we face the decision to put the used hose back on or put on a new one. It’s key to know how old those hoses are. How do you know how old they are?
Using a maintenance record management system will track those parts. By recording when repairs are made, the age of a piece of equipment is simple to find. TruckingOffice PRO tracks all maintenance: scheduling and work that has been done.
Finding Fluids
Tracking oil changes is normal for any truck owner. No one will risk burning out their engine by failing to change their oil on a regular basis. Truckers who move extra heavy loads know they need to pay extra attention. But oil isn’t the only fluid. Transmission fluid. Water. Coolant. Those should be checked daily before rolling out. Winterize your truck by making sure now that all your truck fluids are in good condition and at the proper level.
Winterize Your Truck Tires
We can’t predict the weather. Even drivers who never leave the south can’t count on an ice-free winter. Ice storms and snow falls in the deep south are the worst because they don’t have the equipment or the supplies to take care of the roads. The first winter storms in the north and in our mountain ranges show up often without warning.
Tires are not cheap. No one should have to replace tires before their time. Tread carefully (yeah, I did that) and check the tires daily to watch for signs of uneven wear, axel, wheel, bearing problems. Some truckers carry their own spare tire under their trailer or on the back of their cab. That’s smart – you’ll know what tire you’re getting on your rig and not stuck with whatever the repair truck brings you (and charges you for it.)
Testing the hub temperatures may prevent more problems. Getting an infrared thermometer to track the temperature is a small but valuable investment.
Preventative Maintenance
Owner-operators who are committed to their trucking business know that preventative maintenance has a powerful impact on their business and their lives. The investment may seem expensive, but compare the price of calling a repair truck to a road side emergency.
TruckingOffice PRO has a maintenance system already installed in the program. There’s no extra cost to you to track your repairs, schedule maintenance, or to keep your records for an FMCSA audit.
Try us out for free! Our free trial gives you complete access to the program. Since it’s cloud-based, anywhere you have internet access, you can find your maintenance records as well as
- dispatches
- routings
- invoices
- company reports
- expense reports
- driver information.
It’s a free trial! What do you have to lose? Nothing but your fear of hauling freight in an unprepared vehicle.
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