No matter you own one heavy-duty truck or a fleet of trucks, prioritizing designing a preventive truck maintenance program is imperative. Scheduled maintenance is necessary to ensure that your semi-trucks or heavy-duty trucks remain in top-notch condition. Fleet managers must opt for regular truck maintenance services to comply with federal rules and regulations.
Moreover, proactively opting for truck repair and servicing can extend the lifespan of trucks. In addition, taking this step can reduce the chances of expensive emergency repairs besides increasing uptime for the entire truck fleet. It is wise to invest in heavy truck body shop services to make sure that each part of your truck operates at peak performance.
Undoubtedly, designing and executing a preventive truck maintenance program is a bit daunting and not a cakewalk. It becomes more difficult when you have a fleet of trucks or semi-trucks. However, taking the below-mentioned steps in the correct manner can enable you to design and implement a preventive maintenance program.
Check Each Truck in Your Fleet
It is paramount to have a clear knowledge of the present condition of each truck you own. The maintenance requirements of different truck models mostly differ to a great extent. Things become more complicated and troublesome when you have other types of trucks in your fleet apart from heavy-duty trucks.
Know that the preventive maintenance plan of each truck depends on several factors, such as its fuel system type and the distance it has covered. Additionally, the weather conditions in which each truck operates are crucial factors. Maintaining accurate or flawless maintenance records for each truck in your fleet is important. Doing so allows for the enforcement of FMCSA safety guidelines.
Schedule Planning for Each Truck
Building a different preventive maintenance schedule for every truck is easier once you start keeping a detailed note of each truck in the fleet. The way a truck has been used matters a lot in determining how to carry out a preventive truck maintenance program. Understanding when to avail heavy truck body shop services won’t be difficult if you closely pay attention to some key indicators.
Besides prioritizing fuel levels, engine hours and mileage of each truck, tracking your truck drivers’ routes is necessary. Doing so will help you map at what time each of your trucks will be close to a service shop. You can capitalize on downtime between several trips. You can keep unwanted incidents away if you make minor repairs instead of putting off the same during downtime.
Proper Documentation of Preventive Maintenance
You will be on the safer side and experience the least amount of stress if you document activities in regard to preventive truck maintenance. The best thing you can do is make a checklist before a trip. It is a must for each truck to carry at least a year of well-planned and documented service so as to stay compliant.
It is not wise for truck owners, fleet managers and truck drivers to rely only on paper documentation. The physical documents may lose, get damaged, or someone can steal them. So, the risk associated is higher. The prudent step is to plan and document your truck’s preventive maintenance program digitally.
Training drivers on performing pre-trip inspections of each truck at scheduled intervals is vital for a preventive truck maintenance program. Ensure your heavy-duty truck drivers are well-equipped with the knowledge to conduct truck checking flawlessly. Choose the best truck repair and maintenance service shop to make sure that each truck you have in your fleet keeps functioning in a seamless way.
