AUTOMOTIVE MECHANICS

HEAVY-DUTY VEHICLES
Importance of heavy-duty truck
preventative maintenance

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 Objective:

truck
Recognize the importance and benefits of heavy-duty
preventative maintenance.

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 Importance of heavy-duty truck
preventative maintenance

General maintenance is what

determines the lifespan of your heavy-
duty truck. However, to keep your
heavy-duty trucks and fleets running on
a day-to-day basis, you also need to
perform routine preventative
maintenance.

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 Helpful preventative maintenance tips:
 Check and change fluid levels regularly
Important fluids to check regularly include:

Coolant or anti-freeze

Engine oil

Brake fluids

Transmission fluids

Power steering, …

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 By performing these simple tasks, you can save your truck from a
possible breakdown that would have resulted from consumption or
leakage problems. Follow the manufacturer guidelines for how and
when to change fluids.

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  Make sure the air filter is clean

Clean air filters help to reduce fuel consumption, especially for heavy-
duty trucks. The cleaner your air filters are, the higher the chance the
truck stands of running smoothly.

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  Check tire quality & tire pressures

Heavy-duty trucks and commercial

vehicles require to check and
maintain the tire pressure and
condition for long time life and
optimum fuel economy.

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 Tires should be at the manufacturer’s recommended inflation levels
and have good tread patterns.

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  Ensure proper electrical system connections

Today’s high-tech commercial vehicles require electrical systems to be

working at peak levels. With numerous onboard computers, collision
avoidance systems, ABS brakes, all requiring top performing electrical
systems.

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 4 Benefits of preventative maintenance

The vehicle will be carrying a sizable load in product or weight. Our task,
however, is to ensure the truck reaches its destination on time and in
perfect conditions.

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 Here are 4 reasons why we should perform regular preventative
maintenance on the heavy-duty truck.

Avoid on-road breakdown

Prevent truck safety issues

Guarantee fuel efficiency

To save cost of replacement

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 1 - Avoid on-road breakdown

On-road breakdowns of heavy-duty trucks can be very disastrous situations.

Not only will the ETA (estimated time of arrival) for the deliveries be delayed,
but it might also be very difficult to rectify the situation at the exact location of
the breakdown and may require towing & recovery.

This could also affect smooth traffic

flow by causing a large backup on
the roadway which could cause
other dangerous situations.

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 2 - Prevent truck safety issues

Regular preventative maintenance helps to guarantee the safety of your

heavy-duty truck. Poor maintenance, on the other hand, could result in an
accident that can put you in danger, cause injuries or deaths to other drivers
on the road, or damage the items being carried on your truck.

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 3 - Guarantee fuel efficiency

There is no doubt that heavy-duty

trucks consume a lot of fuel. If there is
one good reason why you need to carry
out preventive maintenance for your
heavy-duty truck, it’s to guarantee
proper fuel efficiency. Regularly
checking the air filters to be sure they
are clean is a way to save fuel.

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 4 - To save cost of replacement

With heavy-duty trucks, it is always

best to prevent a breakdown than to
bear the cost of an on-road service call
or repair. Repairing and replacing parts
of heavy-duty trucks require a lot of
money. Some parts of the truck may
not be available for sale in your city.

With a comprehensive preventative maintenance plan, you can increase

your vehicle lifespan and lower your cost per mile of your heavy-duty truck.

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 Let’s practice: Which is correct?

1) ETA stands for Estimated Time of Arrival.

a) True 
b) False 

2) Today’s high-tech commercial vehicles do not require electrical systems

to be working at peak levels. 

a) True
b) False  

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 3) General maintenance is what determines the lifespan
of your heavy-duty truck. 

a) True
b) False

4) Tires should not be at the manufacturer’s recommended inflation

levels.
a) True
b) False

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 Fantastic! 

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 Now you can recognize the importance and
benefits of heavy-duty truck preventative
maintenance.

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 Conclusion 

General maintenance is what determines the

lifespan of your heavy-duty truck. However, to
keep your heavy-duty trucks and fleets
running on a day-to-day basis, you also need
to perform routine preventative maintenance.

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