How Can I Tell If My Truck Needs Repairs?

Maintaining the needs of the truck is the best way to make sure deliveries are on time. There is no reason to keep driving an unsafe vehicle across the country. A vehicle that is unfit for travel is dangerous to other cars, and it could be a serious danger to the life of the driver behind the wheel. In addition to the mortality risks of driving a dangerous vehicle on the road, the driver will be inconvenienced, and a broken-down vehicle will cause shipments to be delayed. Delayed shipments lead to unsatisfied clients, and refrigerated products might expire on the side of a highway.

Whether you are driving trucks yourself or are involved in operating an entire fleet of vehicles, you will need to pay careful attention to the maintenance needs of your vehicle. In order to make sure that your vehicles are running properly, you should have a mechanic that specializes in diesel repair look over each vehicle on a regular basis. Responsible drivers care for their vehicles; you should be looking for reasons to pull the vehicle into a service facility.

Reason to Repair 1: Smoke Coming From Engine

Even if the vehicle has passed its latest inspection, there are plenty of issues that might come up while it’s operating on the roadways. Drivers should be prepared to call a technician when they see smoke coming from the engine. A little vapor in the air is nothing to worry about, but any kind of thick smoke is a good reason to take the truck to a shop that specializes in fleet services. Operating the vehicle when it is smoking makes for a dangerous situation.

The color of the smoke is important because it might reveal what problems the vehicle is experiencing. The mechanic will likely ask about the color of the smoke, and this information might help a mechanic diagnose the problem over the phone. However, a good mechanic should be able to figure out the causes of the smoke when you bring the vehicle into the shop. This problem could be serious enough to call a tow truck to help take the tractor-trailer to the shop.

Reason to Repair 2: Flat Tires

Your clients expect that your truck will arrive with their shipment at the scheduled arrival time. The trucks are moving hundreds or thousands of miles across states and across the country. Trailers are carrying heavy loads along the roads. It’s no wonder that the rubber on tractor-trailer tires runs low so quickly. When your drivers are moving along the roads at high speeds, they want to know that the truck will get there in one piece. This means that you need to have a mechanic look over the tires of the truck on a regular basis.

The driver of the vehicle has the responsibility of checking the vehicle once it is on the road, but the vehicle might need to be serviced while the driver is off the road. Take time to get your vehicles serviced by professional mechanics at Semi Truck Repair Houston. Blowouts are dangerous for all vehicles on the road, so be sure to keep your vehicles running on top-performing tires.

Reason to Repair 3: Refrigeration Unit Won’t Cool Down

Most of the job involves shipping products from one location to another, which might sound simple. However, there are plenty of clients that have products that require special arrangements to move their shipments to a new location. Climate controlled trailers are used to keep products cool when they need to be transported from warehouses to retail locations.

Part of the job is keeping these refrigeration units running smoothly. The truck needs to operate in order to get the products to their destination, but the product will be worthless if it arrives in a damaged state. Refrigeration units need to be inspected on a regular basis in order to make sure that they are running smoothly. Part of the driver’s job is to check the temperature gauge while they are on the road, and any problems they find with the refrigeration should be taken care of when the truck is taken off the road.

Reason to Repair 4: Grinding Sounds

The way that the truck sounds when it moves from being parked to going onto the highway is an indication of how well it is performing. If the truck sounds like it needs service, this is a good enough reason to take it to see a mechanic. You do not need to wait for a problem to show itself before getting your vehicle serviced. Drivers should report any irregular grinding sounds as soon as they occur.

The vehicle might be making those sounds because it was sitting for too long. Rusty springs and shocks could be making all that noise. However, the grinding sounds when you switch gears of the vehicle need to be addressed. The vehicle should not be making terrible sounds when the driver switches between gears, and the vehicle should not be slipping between gears either.

Reason to Repair 5: Screeching Brakes

Your tractor trailer needs to run smoothly to keep your clients happy, and your drivers will be glad that you took precautions to make sure that their vehicles are running smoothly. Even if you have new tires, drivers might experience another common maintenance issue while on the road that can be easily handled by a qualified service technician. The brakes need to be checked on a regular basis to make sure that the vehicle has the right stopping power to operate safely.

Commercial trucks are massive machines, and they pull heavy loads of freight behind them. The tractor-trailer is a modern marvel of human ingenuity. Unfortunately, the combination of high speeds and large loads spells disaster for many unlucky motorists. When the tractor-trailers get out of control, their drivers rely on properly functioning brakes. Make sure the brake pads are not worn down or get them replaced if they are.