The chill is gone from the air, now replaced by torrents of rain and pollen; ladies and gentlemen, winter is gone and springtime is finally here. No more shoveling snow or salting the sidewalks, you can get back to grilling and mowing the lawn. But isn’t there something you feel like you might be forgetting?
The change of the season means more than swapping out those snow tires, you’ve got maintenance to do if you want to keep your fleet moving smoothly.
Regular maintenance is important, but now is a good time to make your cleaning routine more in-depth than usual. Not only is it more difficult to check everything on a truck when it’s freezing cold and you’re trudging through a foot of snow, but the chemicals used to treat icy roads don’t play very nicely with automotive components. Chris Coleman, regional sales director at FleetPride, recommends making sure your vehicles are thoroughly washed this time of year.
“We have shops in the north that we have trucks come in and frame rails are just rotted through because no ones flushing that salt and brine out of the system, and it’s just sitting there month after month and it continues to eat at the frame rails,” said Coleman. “Running them through a truck wash and having them pressure washed out, that’s just about the only thing you can do to combat it the salt and brine from eating away at the frame.”
If you run a different fuel mixture for frigid weather, Coleman adds that now is a good time to swap the fuel filter and start fresh. The climate of region you work in plays a big role in finding a maintenance plan that fits your fleets needs.
“A maintenance program for a company that’s in the north versus the south will not be the same,” Coleman continued. “It all comes down to adopting a maintenance program that works for you and for your company. Stocking the parts for spring, winter and summer that you’re going to proactively replace to stay ahead of maintenance and breakdowns.”
Coleman adds maintenance managers should check things that may be overlooked during winter, like cooling components, belts, hoses, radiators and air filters. This will make sure the A/C still works before drivers are sweltering through summer heat, waiting on a high-demand part.
Watch the latest episode of Uptime to get all the tips on what to look for and which components you may have a hard time finding, if you wait too long.
