“An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.”—Benjamin Franklin.
Leave it to one of our Founding Fathers to highlight a founding principle for ensuring your truck’s reliability: preventive maintenance.
The truth is keeping your truck reliable also means keeping it affordable. Let’s start by putting that in real-world
Want to guess the cost of blowing your engine while under a load? According to OverdriveOnline.com, this costs a whopping $23,000 in repairs, towing, and lost productivity.
That’s a scary number for any business. But here’s the good news preventive maintenance can reduce the cost of breakdowns by as much as half, according OverdriveOnline.com.
To help keep your truck — and your business — up and running, here are five tips to avoid truck breakdowns among owner-operators, according to five years of data from a major roadside firm.
- Check your tires
- Tire Pressure – Underinflated tires (more prone to blowouts) and overinflated tires (poor handling) both undermine fuel economy and tire life. Your Owner’s Manual lists the correct pressure for your specific tires. Trucks made since 2003 display this information on a placard in the driver’s side doorjamb. Remember, truck tires lose about 1-psi of pressure each month. Seasonal temperature changes take an additional 1-psi for every 10 degrees in air temperature.
- Tire Wear – Damaged treads, cracks and bald spots are major warning signs. The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) says minimum tread depth for a steer tire is 4/32 of an inch. The Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance (CVSA) goes further, saying that if tread depth is less than 2/32 of an inch, the truck is taken out of service pending tire replacement.
- Make sure your brakes are in tip-top shape
- Water and contamination in air supply and control system
- Oil passing from compressor
- External contamination and corrosion
- Air pressure leakage
- Brake system pressure and timing imbalance
- Reduced foundation brake performance
- Monitor your electrical system
- The Battery – Make sure yours is in good condition, has the manufacturer’s recommended capacity, and is fully charged at all times. Defective batteries can damage vital engine parts, or just leave you stranded in the dark.
- Wires and Cables – Keep battery cables and wiring connections securely fastened and corrosion-free, helping to prevent shorts, faulty lights, and even major system failures.
- Maintain proper oil and engine coolant
- Oil – At major oil change intervals (every 10,000 miles), work with a service center, especially once your used truck has logged 300,000 miles. Pros can give you analysis of how your particular engine may be burning oil, breaking down its viscosity, or operating outside of optimal OEM parameters.
- Coolant – Stick to OEM recommendations and go to the pros for major intervals. Take note of what coolant type your engine requires (for example, Extended Life Coolant or conventional coolant). It’s also fairly easy to do a visual inspection. Obtain a coolant sample and inspect it for clarity, color, and debris. Low-cost test strips can indicate antifreeze concentration and additive levels.
- Know when it’s time to trade up
Tire problems account for 25% or more of all truck-related roadside events, according to some estimates. Prevent these problems with pre-trip inspections of your:
The relentless heat, pressure, and friction absorbed by brakes makes them the second culprit for roadside events. Beware these six brake system “enemies”:
Not comfortable or confident in monitoring brakes? Take it to a shop. Nobody’s expecting you to be a mechanic — if any maintenance task seems beyond your comfort level, always employ help.
Trucks draw serious power. A poorly performing electrical system kills performance and can harm other components, leading to costly repairs. Keep an eye on:
There’s no better way to blow your truck’s engine than to slack on properly maintaining the oil and coolant systems. Keep your truck’s maintenance records handy to know when these fluids were checked and serviced. Then, stick to the Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM) recommended maintenance intervals. A couple of things to keep in mind:
Even the best-maintained used truck will eventually wear down. That’s when an owner-operator has to choose between preventive maintenance vs. replacement/upgrade.
OverdriveOnline.com offers a solid rule of thumb. Consider a new purchase when the principal, interest, maintenance and operating costs of an old vehicle are higher than the comparable costs attached to a new vehicle. Detailed service records—including costs—are the best foundation for doing repair vs. upgrade math.
