A Fleet Manager’s Ultimate Guide to Semi Truck Fleet Maintenance

Although they’re not out on the road making deliveries, fleet managers are just as important as drivers when it comes to delivering goods from point A to B. Trucks can require more frequent semi truck repair without a quality fleet manager, which delays delivery times and leads to unhappy customers.

A critical component of their job is coordinating preventative maintenance—and you could argue that it’s one of the most challenging parts of their role.

This post will cover everything fleet managers need to know when it comes to preventative maintenance for all the trucks under their supervision.

Why is maintenance important?

The biggest reason to schedule preventative maintenance is to keep drivers safe. Without preventative maintenance, sudden breakdowns can occur that lead to serious injuries or even deaths in some scenarios. Regular maintenance also helps avoid the need for extensive semi truck repair, saving the trucking company thousands of dollars on repairs and lost revenue throughout the year.

Steps for proper preventative maintenance

Regardless of the fleet’s size or the types of vehicles in it, fleet managers should follow these steps for preventative maintenance:

• Know your fleet inside and out: The first item on the agenda is to take stock of the fleet. Even if all the vehicles are the same make and model, they all have different mileage and different repair and maintenance histories. Fleet managers need to know this information or at least have files somewhere easily accessible.
• Keep detailed records: Fleet managers need to note the date of each maintenance appointment and record what service was performed when the truck went to the shop. Failing to keep those files can land fleet managers in hot water with the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration if they ever request that info.
• Be sure to train your drivers: Since they’re the ones actually operating the trucks each day, fleet managers should train their drivers on how to inspect their trucks before a delivery. Drivers need to inspect the brakes, tires, electrical system and fluid levels before hitting the road each day.

Seasonal maintenance

Bringing your trucks in before hot summers and frigid winters is one of the best ways to prevent issues with tires, heating and cooling systems and brakes. These biannual checkups are also the perfect time to have an oil change to keep all the engine components running smoothly.

Maintenance by mile

Nothing should be overlooked during your biannual inspection. Scheduling maintenance after a vehicle has passed a certain number on the odometer is the best way to ensure truck parts don’t get worn out and fail while a driver is on the road. Check your manufacturer’s recommendations for how frequently trucks need to be serviced.

Visit us for your preventative maintenance

The next time you need to schedule preventative fleet maintenance, be sure to bring your trucks to our team at United Diesel Power – Truck Repair. We’re experts in keeping your trucks in tip-top shape, and we even perform all sorts of semi truck repair to get vehicles back up and running ASAP.

Categorised in: Fleet Maintenance

This post was written by Writer