As we all know, “an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.” And with fleet maintenance, you will absolutely find this to be true. Vehicle maintenance can seem costly in terms of both downtime and money, but the bottom line is that having a truck break down mid-route will cost your business so much more.
Managing a fleet of semis is no simple task. Regular fleet vehicle maintenance is just as important as fleet insurance, efficient scheduling, and driver training when it comes to your trucking business. Keeping your trucks properly maintained will lower operating costs, improve fuel efficiency, and reduce safety risks.
One of the best things you can do to make sure your fleet is well-maintained is to utilize a fleet maintenance schedule. There are many companies and software options out there now to help with this, but essentially you need to make (and keep) a calendar for preventative maintenance like tire rotation and changes, oil changes, and other regular upkeep tasks. The larger your fleet size, the more complex your maintenance program will be.
Stick to the truck manufacturer’s recommended schedule as much as possible. And if you know a truck will hit a maintenance milestone while on the road, address it early to keep all vehicles in working order.
Another important thing to remember when it comes to fleet maintenance is to communicate with your drivers. Make sure drivers feel comfortable reporting issues or possible problems. Asking drivers to complete short surveys (including odometer readings) after every trip is a good way to stay on top of truck maintenance costs.
Keeping detailed records is important in any business. With fleet maintenance, detailed records of every service, preventive or otherwise, is critical to supporting the optimal performance of your trucks and complying with federal regulations. These maintenance history records will also be invaluable if you ever need to make a warranty claim or want to sell a used truck for any reason.
One of the biggest ways you can impact the longevity of your trucks is to make sure you’re utilizing the right truck for each job. Not every delivery or pickup requires a heavy-duty vehicle. Using light or medium-duty trucks for lighter loads will improve fuel efficiency, safety, and overall fleet performance.
In addition to asking drivers for their feedback after a trip, it’s important to train them from the start on how to properly maintain their vehicles while on the road. Things like checking tire pressure, keeping the truck clean, and knowing what to do when a warning light appears are all important tasks for drivers to be trained on before ever going on a route.
Fleet maintenance services are solutions to your fleet management headaches. There are companies that can take care of absolutely everything to do with maintaining your fleet. There are also companies that offer software solutions to streamline things so that you can still be in control without getting overwhelmed with details and minutiae. If you have a small to medium sized fleet, you may find that it’s not too difficult to keep track of the fleet maintenance yourself, but as your fleet grows, you might decide that hiring a dedicated company or adding some helpful fleet management software to ease your maintenance woes will make your life a lot easier.
The cost to maintain a fleet will vary greatly. But no matter the cost, be assured that it is far less expensive to properly maintain your fleet than it is to react to problems due to lack of consistent maintenance. Repair costs can grow substantially when vehicle maintenance is neglected. Downtime for repairs is also usually much longer than what is needed for regular fleet maintenance. The cost of towing and diagnostics for a broken down big rig alone can eclipse the cost of vehicle inspections, maintenance, and fleet management software.