15 Simple Tips For Better Maintenance of Commercial Truck

The proper maintaining of a commercial truck is necessary for safety and as a preventative measure. It can potentially save you a lot of money by preventing excessive wear and tear and help to make a truck more fuel efficient, save tyres and reduce running costs.

1. Check your head lights, indicator lights, windscreen wiper blades, washer bottle level and horn.
2. Maintaining proper manufacturers recommended tyre pressure is important as every 10 psi a tyre is underinflated a truck can have a 1% drop in fuel economy so check tyres daily.
3. Check the tyre tread on all tyres, including the spare and trailer.
4. With a tractor trailer combination the trailer tyres if not correctly inflated can have a large impact on fuel economy because of their increased drag effect.
5. Check the Wheel alignment to ensure the tyres are pointed straight ahead. A ¼ degree deviation in alignment can cause a 10 to a 15ft sideways movement for every mile traveled according to “Cummins Trucks” and cause premature tire wear.
6. Check the toe in and axle alignment as a steer tire toe in of just 3/8in and an axle that is out of alignment can result in a 2.2% loss of fuel economy.
7. Inspect the fan operation as an engine cooling fan on a heavy duty truck engine will use between 10 and 70 horsepower to run. The typical time a fan runs, is 5 to 7% of the time, but if not working correctly, it can run more often using valuable fuel.
8. Check the thermostatic switch for proper function as this controls the fan.
9. Always ensure that the correct coolant mixture and levels are maintained.
10. Check the Freon compressor operation and system levels as an overcharged system, defective or incorrect head pressure switch and a failed condenser can all lead to increased fuel consumption.
11. Replace the oil, hydraulic fluid, air and fuel filters at the proper intervals as indicated by the vehicle manufacturer recommendations.
12. Check for air leaks in the braking system to avoid the compressor over working.
13. Check and activate the vehicle speed limiters a simple process by plugging into the ECM and manually setting your desired, top speed Caterpillar suggests that reducing top speed from 113km/h to 105km/h will improve mileage to about ½ a mile per gallon of fuel. It is claimed that fuel economy suffers 1/10 of a gallon per mile for every 1.6km/h over 89km/h the truck travels.
14. Check your trucks gearing and gear oil levels. According to Van hire companies on the Gold Coast,  always use a good quality synthetic or semi synthetic oil in the drive axles, drive train and engine and avoid a higher viscosity oil than you need for the climatic and operating conditions you will be working in. Set up your trucks specifications to “gear fast, run slow’ for optimum economy and wear prevention.
15. Check the body for any rust or damage and repair it as soon as possible to avoid further damage and maintain the body’s aerodynamics and fuel economy.