The long haul transports conducting interstate freight trucking duties on the roads and streets of the United States are mechanical devices and like all mechanical devices they require you keep all parts of the transport vehicle in question in operating order. Having one part of your heavy haul transport out of alignment or not in proper working condition can often cause problems in other parts of the transport vehicle, if they aren’t taken care of immediately, and this can cost you money and time down the road. You want to make sure to have a regular maintenance routine that covers every working part of your freight shipping vehicle, before you head out on the road to conduct roro or ltl freight shipping duties, or you could regret it. You also want to make sure to stick to your regular maintenance routine and don’t become complacent about being a truck maintenance guru dedicated to making sure their transport vehicle is the best in the fleet.
One aspect of freight truck maintenance that professional drivers need to pay attention to is the suspension of their transport vehicle, which if it isn’t working properly is going to work against you and cause problems, like tires that wear quicker, springs that break during transport, and reduced fuel economy. This can occur when the components of a truck suspension work become loose after hours of continual use, so regular maintenance intervals based on total road hours is often a good way to go. Making sure you have the suspension of your heavy haul transport vehicle checked regularly is therefore going to make sure the suspension stays tight during transport and possibly save you time and money.
Long haul drivers should do visual inspections every three to six months and retorques at least once a year, but doing this more often sure isn’t going to hurt and it could prevent problems that are going to be expensive and possibly time consuming to fix. You can’t always tell when a fasterner is coming loose, so watch for trails of rust running down from the fastener, or for gaps and breaks in the paint around the fastener.