There’s something to be said about knowing how to fix up your own truck. Whether you’ve owned a truck for years or you recently purchased a new vehicle, it’s always a good idea to pick up some essential maintenance tips. This can help keep your truck in peak condition, ward off costly repairs, and even prevent breakdowns.
Of course, if you don’t know about trucks or you’re starting to learn, you might be wondering where to start. From routine oil changes to fork replacement on lift trucks, here are a few things that you should know about truck maintenance.
Regularly change your truck’s engine oil and oil filter.
To lubricate your truck’s engine and keep everything working as smoothly as possible, you need clean oil in your system. The difficulty is that oil is a sticky trap for debris, dust, dirt, and other unhelpful contaminants. Whether it’s from your truck’s engine or it’s from your environment, debris can muck up your system to the point that your engine can’t do its job properly. Truly, it doesn’t matter if you’re driving a forklift, a lift truck, a scooter, or a semi if you don’t regularly check and change your oil.
With your truck, you’ll need to check your owner’s manual to see how often the manufacturer recommends that you get an oil change. You can also visit your local mechanic and ask how frequently they think your car needs maintenance. You can easily bundle oil changes with other services, like lift truck fork replacement services or truck bed maintenance. Your maintenance technician can change your oil, make any repairs, and check for signs of excessive wear to make appropriate recommendations.
Know some common mistakes to avoid.
Though it’s always important to know about a few helpful maintenance tips, it’s also important to know a few mistakes you should avoid when working on your vehicle. For instance, consider the old fix that you can pour spring water or other water on a car’s engine if you’re overheating. Although you can cool down an engine, you want to be very careful about what liquids you’re using under the hood of your truck. While there are plenty of reasons to choose distilled water delivery, it’s not something that you’ll want to have around your car’s engine.
Also, many truck owners forget to check their other fluid levels. While your truck’s engine oil is important, you should take the time to look at your fluid levels (this includes your brakes), see if you need to buy a gallon of anything at the convenience store, and test system performance. Luckily, many mechanics will gladly check your truck’s fluid levels during a routine inspection and even include fluid top-offs in general service packages. Plus, fluid top-offs can help you spot leaks, surface cracks, and other issues that can cause a hassle.
Rotate your tires.
Even on a forklift, a lift truck, or a delivery service pickup truck, it’s important that you regularly get your tires rotated. Rotating your tires is essential if you want to maintain the same tread wear on your tires. In addition, regular rotations help extend your tires’ lifespan and can even positively impact your gas mileage which should provide you with a bit of extra peace of mind. Again, if you don’t know how to rotate your truck’s tires by yourself, many auto body shops include rotations for a nominal fee and work with trucks in a variety of sizes.
Whether you’re looking to maintain your truck’s fork hook, or you want to know when you need to get the brakes looked at, it’s helpful to have some common maintenance tips in your back pocket.
