An owner operator has a lot on their plate. As the owner and driver of your own trucking company, you’re involved in several operations. This might include loading and unloading freight, planning transportation routes, communicating with truck dispatch services, ensuring safe delivery, and record keeping.
Here’s how you can maintain the fleet at the center of these operations and minimize downtime.
Change Engine Oil
Oil helps your engine avoid friction through lubrication. However, the more you’re on the road, the more this oil encounters dust, debris, and other contaminants from the environment. There comes a point when this oil is so contaminated your engine suffers a breakdown.
While this breaking point varies by the make and model of your truck, you might as well change your motor oil every three months or25,000 to 40,000 miles. There’s also something to be said about the age of your fleet. The older your fleet, the more often you should check and change their engine oil.
Clean At Least Once a Month
Your engine isn’t the only place that has to weather outside contaminants. When you’re driving, the body of your truck is in constant contact with the air and all the debris it carries. If you don’t clean this off at least once or twice a month, not only will it damage your paint, but you’ll have a much harder time getting rid of it in the long run.
Abrasive debris can also form chips and cracks on your auto glass. You might want to take care of that early on to ensure safety and avoid expensive replacements.
Check Your Brakes
Brake failure is one of the most common causes of truck accidents. It may lead to expensive repair costsand other consequences. The only way to avoid these repercussions is to stay on top of your brake inspections.
During oil changes, have your brakes checked and inspected for wear and heat cracks. Paying for minor repairs is way cheaper than paying for replacements.
Check the Battery and Other Electricals
All freight and multiple stops and starts can take a toll on your truck’s electricals. Since they’re what’s running your truck in the first place, you might want to check them with every motor oil replacement. Make sure they’re in tiptop condition because even a slight calibration issue can snowball into a bigger problem further down the line.
You could also schedule an inspection before the winter or summer season because the days ahead may test your truck’s electrical system to the max.
Find Timely Help Through Our Professional Drivers Service
Breakdowns come with the territory of a trucking business. Fortunately, we do a whole lot more than find freight opportunities for transportation companies and owneroperators.
The next time a truck in your fleet suffers downtime, inform our freight dispatch service agencyto get your issue fixed as soon as possible. Register with our dispatch company to take on regional, intermodal, and expedited loads anywhere in the US.
Reach out to the best dispatch service for owneroperators today.
