Well..... I always set aside one day a month to go over my "fleet".... That would include= fluid levels, charging systems, air pressures,lighting, cleaning,and overall maintenance if needed. Also includes my ot's. Just got in the habit years ago to set aside a day to make sure everything is jiving correctly. You'de be surprised at the little things that can add up to big things. Ya- gotta miss some events/things on the calendar, but ,well worth it. Anyone do the same? Winging it is not an option anymore, as it's called homework.... Do it at home, and not on the road..... Thoughts?
i wish anyone who drives any car would do this , or at least keep a better eye on things most people don't know they have a light out until a cop tells them , and no one EVER buys wiper blades on a sunny day...they wait until it's raining like a cow pissing on a flat rock
Which reminds me I need to buy wiper blades for two rigs this week. My mom's long time companion was a truck driver for Pacific Power and Light for a lot of years and even on his personal rigs he did a walk around and fluid check before taking off in one of them before firing it up in the morning. I need to get better at doing walk arounds and fluid checks myself and the check the whole fleet all at once thing sounds like something that can be done.
I think it's a GREAT idea! As a former caretaker of a rather large metropolitan fleet of vehicles and equipment, you'd think I'd be in this habit. Since losing my job to health issues I haven't, I need to break the lazy bad habits I've fallen into! THANKS FOR THE KICK IN THE PANTS! Joe
I used to do it every 2 weeks, on my old T Bucket. Never hurts to keep the ride or rides in good, working condition.
My wife takes my OT truck to the dealer for service . Does that count ? I have free maintenance on my motorcycle for another year. When I finish my race car it will get over serviced. Seriously I check my tires every 2 weeks , rotate them every twice a year.check my oil and other fluids once a month. My truck does go to the dealer for an oil change because I can't do it for 19 bucks and dispose of the oil. Get a free safety inspection also. Too busy building other peoples cars to spend time servicing a new truck.
one of those things that often gets pushed off to do tomorrow - get back from a road trip, a distant show, etc and get home and put ride in the garage - then get side tracked doing other stuff
I got me an old chalkboard, a column for each car & cycle, where I write faults or modifications to be done. Once every couple of weeks, I will start with the cars we use the most, check tyres, fluids, etc, then I will go down the list of vehicles in order of amount of use. I write the last oil change mileage on the oil filter, so I have a look at that too. Some don't have oil filters, so I kinda guess when the last oil change was (it helps if your odometer is working, if you have one!) -Who was the Prime Minister at the last oil change?
It's a good idea. Seems like every weekend I'm doing some sort of maintenance on one of our cars. Each time I fill up with gas, while the fuel is pumping I take a lap of the car and check the tires, turn signals, etc. It's a dead 2 minutes that I can get something done.
The Jalopy Journal
