Keeping your truck transport costs down
Have a quick chat to any transport operator at the moment and things will quickly revert to the costs associated with keeping a fleet of vehicles on the road. Recent legislation has been hard on operators. Vtn tests are now yearly, drivers have limitations on their driving hours and many vehicles now need tachographs and speed limiters fitted. All these factors combine to push up the cost to operators. Larger fleet owners tend to have an easier time in keeping up with legislation and budgeting for eventualities. However in Ireland fleet sizes tend to be quite small, the majority of commercial vehicles are owned and operated by small businesses and sole traders.
For this group costs can be quite unexpected and unplanned for in budgeting. The purpose of this article is to break down cost saving measures for this group of operators in the current economic climate.
We are currently seeing a change in how our customers are approaching servicing. Some operators are finding that they no longer have the business to keep their units consistently on the road. Other have fond that increased competition has shrunk their margins and they need to keep their trucks and vans running overtime to turn a profit.
Both these customer types have specific and differing requirements. The low mileage customer has found that his vehicle no longer does the mileage it once did and hence requires less comprehensive service work carried out.
The high mileage customer has found that his servicing requirements have increased and the risk of downtime due to mechanical failure is a worry. This is especially true of single vehicle customers.
At Murphy’s Truck Centre service department we offer 2 types of service to cater for both these customer types. A type “B” service is essentially a fluid service, complete with oil and filter change and general check over and tune up. The type “A” service is a major service, all component are inspected, air, fuel and oil filters are replaced and all fluids replenished.
We maintain a large fleet ourselves and are familiar with many of the problem areas of specific commercial vehicles. We also maintain a large spare parts department with all major service items in stock for popular commercial vans and trucks.
We commonly see our customers go through avoidable expense, typically through ignoring servicing schedules or warning signs.
Some quick tips for minimising costs.
Tyres - rotate your tyres from front to rear regularly. This is especially truck of smaller truck as uneven wear of front tyres often results in premature replacement. Ensure that tyre pressures are keep up at manufacturer specification, this will minimise side wear and decrease fuel consumption due to lower fuel consumption.
Engine - instruct drivers on the various warning lights and gauges associated with the vehicle. The most common reason for premature engine failure is overheating and running low on oil. Most modern diesel engine have aluminium cylinder heads which can warp from overheating, rendering traditional methods such as a head skim useless. It is often advisable to keep a supply of anti-freeze and the correct grade of oil at hand to perform a weekly check and top up. If this procedure is followed it will certainly reduce the risk of costly repairs and also instils good practice in the operator.
Braking System - Typically the higher mileage covered by a vehicle the greater the requirement for maintenance of the braking system. These cost can be minimised substantially by a bit of common sense. Firstly, don’t overload the vehicle, it will seriously reduce the life and performance of the braking components. Secondly, pay attention to pad levels, on most commercial vehicles these can be check visually at the front and via an inspection hole on the rear hub. We commonly see vehicles arrive for service with pads down to the metal. This result usually in the disks having to be replaced also. Also most vans and trucks have brake sensors fitted to the front calliper. If the pads go too low this sensor triggers resulting in a light on the dash. If this occurs the sensors need to be replaced also. Driver behaviour also accounts for brake life, there are training guides for drivers on minimising brake usage, aside from saving on replacement parts the vehicle will use less diesel.
I hope that you find some of these tips useful and please feel free to contact us if you have any queries relating to your own commercial, we will be more than happy to help.
