Best practices for truck repair and increased mileage

Autos & TrucksTrucks

  • Author Gary Allen
  • Published July 19, 2010
  • Word count 575

Truck repair is avoidable to an extent. If you regularly service and maintain your truck you can avoid truck repair and the associated tension and loss while enjoying the benefits of increased mileage. You are practically spending more than half of the time you are awake in the truck and it is with you passively helping you, making your livelihood. It’s working doubly hard as you do, five days a week, all day, in stop-and-go traffic, in the heat, cold, rain, snow, ice, etc., It’s high time you stop and pay it back or it’s going to leave you stranded.

Truck repair is essentially a demanding expense in your business. As long as you have the owner’s manual it is going to come handy telling you categorically when to take it for a service maintenance. In its absence how often should you change fluids, check brakes, etc.? Unfortunately, there is not a single answer. There are several variables to consider – the climatic condition your truck is subjected to, the fuel used, the age of your truck, etc., and of course its type.

Another crucial question is how often you are taking care of its service maintenance. Are you doing it yourself or having it done by a technician? Either way, you will have to be proactive in keeping a time log in terms of the service maintenance frequency.

Preventive Maintenance

The adage "prevention is better than cure" will apply squarely for your truck maintenance.

Best Practice Daily Checks

• Regardless of the age and type of the truck you are running, many of the basics are the same. Make it a habit to do a visual check of your truck. This is just to make sure it’s clean and sparkling.

• Next, you should do a basic safety check by checking the lights (including hazards), tire condition and air pressure. It is crucial to check fluid levels daily, engine oil, power steering fluid, brake fluid, and transmission fluid. Get your brake line inspected, spark plugs inspected and filters replaced regularly. These can warn you about bigger repair problems beforehand.

• Look underneath your high-mileage truck for signs of fluid leaks, they shouldn't be ignored. If left unattended to they can turn into expensive truck repair jobs.

• Listen for unusual sounds, such as thumps, bangs or pings. These could be warning signs that your truck needs serious attention. Keeping track of any new noises and info on when they started may help your mechanic to diagnose the problem.

Best Practices for increased mileage

• Tire pressure is critical! It is a proven fact that you can improve your gas mileage by keeping your tires inflated to the proper pressure. This will also ward off unexpected flats and blowouts.

• Performing regular tune-ups on you truck will keep your truck’s engine running at top speed.

• Stick to a certain mechanic who knows the history of your truck.

• Another most important system to the "health" of your engine is the lubrication system; clean oil in your truck is like healthy blood in a human body so change it every three months.

Therefore, it is better to learn how to maintain your high-mileage truck to keep repair bills at a minimum and enjoy increased mileage. The concept is quite simple – maintain the truck before it becomes too late and breaks down. Remember, a stitch in time saves nine. Regular truck maintenance multiplies profits and reduces truck repair instances.

Gary Allen is the co-founder of Southeast Truck Center Inc. which was started in 2001. He specializes in truck repair and increased mileage and has an experience of over a decade. For more information, visit http://www.southeasttruckcenter.com/

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