 June 2008
FLEET MAINTENANCE
Ahhh Spring….
Spring brings out the best in all of us…the weather is warmer, the flowers are beginning to come up, the snow is gone! Spring is also the time to do fleet maintenance after what the vehicles have been through for the past few months.
A good place to start is with the tires, When you take the winter treads off (and preserve that investment for next year), you need to check the brakes to make sure they’re in good condition from winter damage. If you have a poorly aligned vehicle because of hitting ruts, potholes, big clumps of ice when parking, etc., you must make sure the alignment is done, and the front end suspension direction are all checked and tight.
The all-important brakes…
The brakes need to be checked in order to determine if they are in good working order—clean out any caliper pins, etc., even though a manufacturer might say it’s not necessary until a certain amount of kilometres. A spring and fall caliper lubrication should be done because in different areas of Canada, we have different types of climate. So, to nip it all in the bud, make sure the calipers and guide pins are all free and moving well in order to preserve the brakes.
The correct tire?
Now, how about the tires—which ones are the right ones for the vehicle? Make sure that if it’s necessary to purchase another set of tires that you obtain the ones with the correct speed rating and the correct type of tire for the driving that will be done. If yours is a heavy truck fleet, you should look at a tire that is going to respect spinning on rocks for instance, and not have the tread all chewed up versus someone who uses a truck but doesn’t go off road with it. They would use a different type of tire. When you speak with the tire specialist, that person really needs to know what your specific needs are.
Now, smaller items need to be checked up on as well. A good spring interior cleaning is a must. You need to get the salt off the rug (you need to protect that investment when you return it); you need to get the film off the windows because as the sun becomes brighter, there will be a lot of glare—dangerous for the driver! Ditto for the dashboard; don’t use a high glass product on this, it’s like a mirror for the driver—again dangerous. Take out the winter mats and replace with the ones to be used until the end of fall.
Underhood maintenance
A good underhood checkup should be done as well—take out the winter synthetic oil used for the area you’re in, and replace with a summer oil. Underhood parts should be checked to see that they’re in proper working order. And don’t forget the air and cabin filters. It really is important for the vehicle’s ventilation system in order to ascertain that there is good heat flow and good air. If the filters are blocked, you don’t have proper vehicle air circulation.
Now’s the time to take off the winter wiper blades and replace them with the summer blades. Because of our different climate changes—going from very cold to very wet, then cold and dry—headlights will blow. So it’s necessary that all lights be checked on the vehicle. A couple of small burned out bulbs means lack of visibility to an oncoming car.
It’s always a good time to clean the exterior. A good wax compound will take out all the scratches left by the snowbrush—remember, we’re talking a lease car here that has to go back in good condition. You may
also want to spend a little extra and have the car simonized—have a really good buffing of the paint and a good waxing to protect the finish.
It’s always wise to take care of vehicles—they last longer with good care. | 
