10 tips on how to maintain your truck

Next to fuel and equipment, maintenance is one of the most expensive aspects of the trucking industry. In order to ensure that your truck is always operating at its best, it is important to make sure that your vehicle is given the regular attention that it needs. The following tips can help you to get the most out of your truck.

Daily Safety Checklist

The best maintained heavy-duty trucks are mostly the ones that have a well-planned maintenance schedule. This requires some work on the part of the owner but the rewards far outweigh the effort.

Rotate your Tyres

When trucks are carrying large loads over long distances, there is the potential for a loss of air pressure to decrease in the tyres, which in turn leads to less stability on the road. That’s why regularly rotating your tyres is a must, as it prolongs the life and improves mileage.

Check the Air Pressure

Making sure you check the air pressure on your tyres on a regular basis is recommended. Tyres provide a vital link to the road, and only properly maintained tyres give you the best ability to brake, accelerate and steer.

Alignment is Key

Positioning the wheels on your heavy-duty truck and ensuring that your tyres are aligned correctly ensures that you the least amount of wear on your tyres. This helps to improve handling and it leads to greater fuel efficiency.

Check your Brakes

Transporting a heavy load is a big responsibility, so it’s important that your brakes are working and there are no faults. To keep them in check, make sure you get the brakes checked on a regular basis, as well as checking the brake drums.

Routinely Check and Change the Engine Oil

If you want your truck to run well, and last, changing the oil is something you don’t want to forget. The standard recommendation is to change your oil every 3000 to 4000 kilometres. Using a good quality oil is crucial, as it will ensure that the engine can manage soot, heat, and different levels of fuel sulphur.

Avoid Filter Clogging

Just as your truck needs clean oil to function at its best, it also needs clean air. A good rule of thumb is to change the filter every time you’re changing the oil.

Maintain Lubrication

You should always keep your truck lubed with grease on the steering, suspension, and drivetrain zerks. It is very important that you use a high-quality lube, as failure to do so can lead to premature wear and costly breakdowns.

Monitor Coolant System Malfunction

Many premature engine failures are the result of the coolant system being poorly maintained, so make sure to monitor this on an ongoing basis. For your truck to stop and start, especially in construction zones and traffic jams, requires that your cooling system is in tip-top shape, and you certainly don’t want a failure at that moment!

Don’t Miss a Check-up

The tips written above are only helpful if you take action, so a regular check-up on the overall functionality and condition of your truck is a must. Following these steps will result in fewer problems on the road, and will keep your maintenance costs, stress levels, and time management in check.

For more information and advice on maintaining your truck, contact the friendly team at QP Lubes today.