Whether you have a staff of electricians who make house calls or your business needs to ship small amounts of goods to various locations, when your business has a utility fleet it’s important to keep the vehicles in good shape. Here are four maintenance items you need to keep up on.
Oil Changes
Just like any car or vehicle, your utility truck needs regular oil changes. Dirty oil can wear down your engine because it isn’t properly lubricating the parts. If your engine runs out of oil entirely it can cause serious damage and potentially wreck the engine entirely. Oil changes are a simple, inexpensive step in keeping your fleet running longer.
Brake Checks
Your utility trucks need to be capable of carrying heavy equipment in all kinds of weather. Brake checkups and maintenance are important for keeping your drivers (and other people on the road) safe. If the brake pads get worn too thin you’ll notice a grinding noise. This noise is the sound of the rotors being damaged and possibly damaged calipers. Getting the calipers, rotors, and brakes all repaired can put you out around $1000. It’s much better to check the brakes instead and avoid all of the extra repairs and costs.
Tire Changes and Rotations
Utility trucks put a lot of miles on every month, which adds up over the years. This can wear your tires down quite a bit. Depending on the quality of tires you buy and how many miles your drivers are actually going every day, you could need to change out the tires entirely once a year. More likely you’ll need to replace them every couple of years.
Just like with standard vehicles, you can check your utility trucks’ tire tread. A coin test with a penny or a quarter will tell you how much tread remains. Turn a penny upside down and put it in between the tire grooves. If you can see all of Lincoln’s head, then your tread is at 2/32 inch or less. You can do the same test with a quarter. If the tread just touches Washington’s head then the tread is at 4/32 inch. Anything at or below 2/32 inch is dangerous and should be entirely replaced rather than rotated.
General Checks
When you’re having your utility trucks checked out by a mechanic make sure the technician checks the suspension, belts, and, if they are qualified, for any problematic body damage. Small issues like a cracked windshield may not seem like much, but the crack can grow over time and prevent your truck from passing important safety inspections. You should also check out your ute tray to make sure that it can securely hold a load and that there is no existing damage.
With these four maintenance items you can keep your entire utility fleet operating for longer and farther.