Tow trucks are essential equipment in your towing and roadside assistance business. In order to make sure you provide the best service you can, you have to make sure that they are properly maintained. Tow trucks that are properly cared for will also last longer and you can avoid expensive repairs or replacement. You’d also make it safer for everyone on the road if your tow trucks are properly maintained.
A preventive maintenance program is essential to any towing business. With this, you’ll have professionals check your truck. They would be able to tell you if there are any repairs that needed immediate attention. Having them repaired will prevent the tow trucks from breaking down unexpectedly. Here are the things you should do to start with your tow truck maintenance program:
Get A Starting Point
Before you do anything with your tow trucks or even before you even provide the first service, it is best to check the vehicles. This will serve as your starting point. Get a mechanic to help you assess the tow truck because those professionals can thoroughly check the vehicles. Take note of the mileage plus the fluid levels. This baseline should be recorded as well. All other inspections after this baseline should also be recorded and kept.
Record Important Details
There are important details that should be recorded for each one of your tow trucks. This includes the mileage covered and the fuel used. This will help you assess how efficient your tow trucks are. This does not only help with maintenance but it can also give you data to discover how you can improve fuel efficiency if needed.
Decide A Schedule For Your Preventive Maintenance
It is up to you to decide how often you’d do the preventive maintenance for your tow trucks. However, you don’t do this by guesswork. You should base it on something or do it regularly. There are some who base it on the mileage the trucks cover. This is a great basis because some trucks might be used more often than the others.
When deciding how often to have your trucks checked for preventive maintenance, you should also consider how many trucks you have and how many mechanics are available to check on them. It would be best to schedule each truck preventive maintenance at different times or days so that you’d still be able to use one in case you are called for service.
Inform Your Drivers About The Maintenance Program
Whether you are setting up a maintenance program from the start or changing your current maintenance program, you should also inform your drivers about it. Your drivers are the first to notice if there is something that feels wrong about the tow trucks. They shouldn’t just wait for the scheduled maintenance checks but also report any problem that they encounter.
Proper reporting of any recognized problems is essential and your drivers would be the ones to do that paperwork. They could also work with your mechanics on the paperwork so communication is essential between them. With proper documentation, you’d be able to better maintain your vehicles.
Record All Expenses
The main goal of having a preventive maintenance schedule is to minimize problems with your vehicles. These problems can be very costly if not remedied immediately. If they get worse, you might even need to replace the vehicles if they are beyond repair. That being said, you should keep track of how much you spend on preventive maintenance.
With detailed records, you can better see how much you’d actually be saving. You’d also be able to see if your preventive maintenance is really working for you or not. If not, then there might be a need to tweak it up a bit. However, you shouldn’t decide to stop with your preventive maintenance program. That will definitely be a costly decision, which you may not immediately feel but would eventually catch up to you.
Conclusion
Preventive maintenance plus vehicle inspection before each trip can make the use of your tow trucks safer. Driving vehicles already post risks and by doing preventive maintenance, you could lessen the risk of causing accidents. This does not only safeguard your drivers or other people on the road but it also helps save you money from unexpected expenses.
Whether you are just starting a towing business or if you already own one, a maintenance program should always be present. Consult with your mechanics if you are unsure about the details. It is always best to spend and be safe than endanger the lives of your drivers and other people on the road.
Any towing service worth it weight maintains a number of versatile tow trucks in their fleet. Find out more about our tow truck fleet in Memphis TN…
