5 Common Preventive Maintenance Mistakes You May Be Making With Your Semi-Trucks
Continual maintenance of your trucks play a vital role in ensuring optimal operating conditions for your equipment. While many truck owners recognize the importance of maintenance, some aspects still get overlooked.
Putting off an oil change one day or forgetting to check the service light may not seem detrimental now; however, avoiding maintenance can lead to further damages in the long run and may even affect the up-time of your company. Truck preventive maintenance mistakes are often not intentional but can hurt your business in more ways than one. Here’s what you need to know about common truck maintenance problems and how to avoid them.
1) NO STANDARDS FOR SCHEDULED MAINTENANCE PROGRAMS
Many owner-operators have set standard intervals for maintenance programs, but not everyone sticks to the schedule. Trucks used 24/7 require preventive maintenance, but when you put off a brake check or oil change, more damage will occur.
If your machines go too long without being checked, your repair costs can also increase and hurt your fleet in the long run. Neglecting routine maintenance can lead to severe problems. To avoid future issues, get your equipment inspected at scheduled times with no excuses.
2) LOOKING AT YOUR TRUCKS THE SAME AS YOU WOULD EQUIPMENT
Many owner-operators have several different pieces of machinery, ranging from bulldozers and forklifts to tractors and skid loaders. However, if you look your trucks thinking everything has the same problems, you’re doing it wrong. Different vehicles require different interval maintenance schedules. By treating and maintaining each piece of individual equipment, you can avoid this one common truck maintenance problem.
3) NOT CAPTURING DATA FROM INSPECTIONS
Owner-operators often don’t consider the information they get after inspection. When you don’t capture the right data, you miss out on valuable insights to problems across different makes and models you own. You can use the data to determine which systems are failing can develop a game plan on how to address specific issues.
4) NOT TRAINING YOUR DRIVERS
Truck preventive maintenance problems can arise when your drivers don’t understand the difference between fault codes that need attention or don’t. When a warning light appears on their dash, a driver should take note and have the problem resolved. While some lights indicate a faulty sensor, workers should know when to act and when to hold off on going to the maintenance shop. If they neglect the wrong lights, it can lead to serious damage.
5) LOOKING AT YOUR TRUCKS AS TOOLS INSTEAD OF ASSETS
Another truck maintenance mistake is seeing all your trucks as a tool instead of an asset making you money. If you use equipment too hard and don’t maintain your trucks, they can fail, break down and cost you money. If you take care of your equipment, it will result in well-maintained trucks for increased production.
WHY IT’S IMPORTANT TO PREVENT ISSUES
The purpose of a scheduled maintenance program is to have your trucks experience zero breakdowns. Inspections now and no failures later mean the schedules pay for themselves. Mechanics can prioritize and determine what needs fixing right away. The goal is to get your trucks on a maintenance program to keep equipment operating safely and to avoid interruptions.
FOLEY RIG360 TRUCK CENTER’S PREVENTION MAINTENANCE
Even though there are many common truck preventive maintenance problems that can occur, our mechanics find problems early. Our technicians strive to clean and repair your trucks rather than replace it. Foley RIG360 Truck Center’s preventive maintenance includes brakes and wheels, clutches and fluid power, and suspension steering and transmission.
Explore Foley RIG360 Truck Center’s related services for truck preventive maintenance services or contact a representative at (866) 434-3813 for more information or to schedule a service.
