As a driver of a truck or as a manager of a fleet of trucks for a trucking firm, avoiding breakdowns and ensuring repairs are completed before serious harm occurs is essential to keep costs under control and protect drivers from breakdowns that could put a driver’s life at risk. This helps to reduce break downs that chew up the profits and increase the risk of drivers’ lives while simultaneously creating unsafe driving conditions for them.
This ‘preventative maintenance’ includes hundreds of relatively minor tasks, from checking tyres and fluid levels to inspecting cabin interiors, but it also involves the detection of malfunctions in key engine functions such as overheating.
Tires
Truck tires are very important feature of trucking because they are the only part of the truck which gets in contact with the road. Therefore cleanliness and periodic maintenance of tyres can increase safety and efficiency of trucking. A clean tire plays a vital role for safe driving and prolonged functioning. Mud prevents wheels from spinning and thick oil makes tires slippery, both of which can cause accidents.
On the other hand, if gray rubber components of tires remain dirty, they can stick to the road which increases possibility of skidding and can cause serious accident. To prevent accumulation of dirt, regular maintenance of tires is must as it not only ensures durability but also enhances life of tyres.
If professionals keep detailed records of their tire maintenance, they can predict possible damage and better understand its nature. This awareness will ensure the replacement of tyres before their rupture which is a dangerous risk and can lead to sudden and fatal accident.
To conclude, although maintaining tires requires regular efforts, proper and routine care unarguably makes the truck driving safe and economical.
Choosing the right tires for your vehicle by taking into account factors such as load weight, weather and running conditions and operational needs is crucial to successfully run any truck fleet. Tires should also be regularly inspected to ensure correct tread depth, wheel alignment and tire pressure.
Tires that are under or over-inflated will wear unevenly and have their lives cut short so, before long journeys, always check the air pressure when refuelling.
The change of filters will minimize the accumulation of dust and the problems with the engine; and the washing of your truck will nullify the presence of the toxic road salt which reduces mechanical components and parts life.
Brakes
Truck unit consists of various componets. Brakes provide stability, particularly when driving under extreme conditions, such as in emergency stops, fast acceleration and fast lane changes.Imbalanced tire might cause uneven of tread and need to be taken safety measures as regular maintenance including pressure of air, depth of tread and tire balance.
Truck brakes need to be inspected every time to ensure the brake drums or rotors are not warped. If they are, it’s important that drivers replace them immediately.
Moreimportantly – and in addition to adding life-saving components – keeping brakes properly maintained means saving money for fleet managers as well as owner-operators by adding mileage between repairs and maintenance. Overall, repeatingkey steps of proactive maintenance of brakes will also send messages to drivers for improvingresponsibility and professionalism.It is good for the industry’s image.
Electrical
Major feature of the semi truck mechanical systems is an electrical system. To be sure of road safety, check the marker lights, brake lights, flashers, head lights wires, wire condition, if they are cut or abraided you should check before replacing the altermeter which might leak.
Proactive maintenance that prevents expensive truck problems is the key to having an efficient operation so the costs are under control and FMCSA is satisfied. That includes having a proper maintenance checklist along with a proper preventative maintenance schedule, as well as the software programmes and checklists related to the tracking of this work, for instance.
Fuel
All the food and equipment needed to sustain us probably arrived in trucks, so we need to make sure these vehicles are maintained and kept moving safely.
These fluids can often be found as optional additions on some performance cars. Drivers will need to check and top up these levels as they become low, especially oil, antifreeze/coolant, power steering oil and windscreen washer water. Many modern vehicles now have warning lights that will let you know that the level of one of these fluids has fallen too low. It’s often much better to know about potential problems and fix them early as it will save much more costly repairs later.
Using a truck maintenance checklist makes the inspection and fix of all critical elements in truck care in a more efficient and effective way to eliminate mistakes and save time in commercial trucking operations where minutes make the difference.
Cab
Inspector is very important in truck maintenance because truck are the ones saving lives of the drivers. So we need an inspection checklist to save the life of Drivers. If you see on the cab, carefullly in that : Warning and Alarms lights : Got inspect on that one first ! warning lights that alert driver. Gauges : Digits and lhopes and loles ! Dashboard gauges shows the vital cultural information of the truck. HVAC : Its what deal with … you know… Urine! ( Health is also vital for the drivers ) Seatbelt : Specially 3 lenth yarns seatbelt ! it deals with your seat !important for a driver who need to drive patiently. Door latches hinges strikers : give them some lubricant . These components all save Drivers.
It is an obvious way to save on repairs and productivity in the future, while trucks remain in service and goods make it to their customers on time. Drivers benefit from the smooth road by not delaying driving routines unexpectedly and adding more stress to a job that is already quite demanding out there on those highways. With firms and drivers using truck maintenance schedules and lists, they can stay organised and remain content at work.
