Keeping A Strong Fleet This Winter - Copy

Winter takes a heavy toll on vehicle maintenance, especially for fleets that rack up thousands of miles during the dreary season of slush, snow and heavy rain.

Fleet managers are tasked with the challenge of caring for their vehicles in the brutal weather conditions of winter and it’s not easy. To make the job simpler, we’ve compiled foolproof ways to make fleet maintenance seamless in the coming months.

A Regular Check-up Schedule
It’s critical to stick to a vehicle maintenance schedule during the winter. The most effective way to do this? Keep to the lower end of mileage recommendations: oil replacements, fluid top-offs, changing spark plugs and battery check-ups. 

Preventing The Grind
Scheduling maintenance on equipment parts, such as belts and brake pads, goes a long way in the winter months. Your vehicles will experience more traction and tear as the season becomes rougher so staying proactive about your vehicle’s health report is paramount.  

Gauging Tire Pressure
Tires can be more delicate than you think. Even the slightest shift in temperature can cause significant tire pressure issues. Fleet managers should check their tires once a week, especially considering the impact even the slightest road hazards can have on your fleet’s wheels.

Full Tanks of Gas
Fleet vehicles should never have less than half a tank of gas in the car at all times. An empty tank can lead to an even scarier thing: water vapor. That vapor can slowly gather at the bottom of your gas tank and stall your vehicle’s engine on the road.

Wiper Blades and Lights
Each vehicle’s wiper blades should be exchanged for weather-resistant blades that can cut through thick ice, especially in areas prone to constant snow storms and heavy rain.

How Fleet Director Can Help
Teletrac’s advanced GPS, web-based software, Fleet Director, empowers users to keep their vehicles updated and efficient year-round, especially during the harsh winter months. Fleet Director’s comprehensive reporting—including a thorough fleet analysis and illustrated engine performance overviews on data-filled dashboards—helps managers optimize a vehicle’s life span as well as its productivity while on the road.

With the Vehicle Service Report, fleet managers can stay up-to-date with all-things maintenance, such as a vehicle’s next oil change, tire rotation, tune-up and engine service. Once users enter vehicle data into Fleet Director, the report helps track service due dates and overdue dates. Service costs and a vehicle’s mileage is also noted and itemized for easy review.

The Vehicle Maintenance software feature can be used to enter a vehicle’s past service, including the ability to customize intervals for future services. Other helpful reports include the Vehicle Diagnostics Report which lets users remotely monitor and view all fault codes per vehicle, including odometers readings for specific events.
 

Patrick Montgomery is a senior account executive at Teletrac Inc. based in Detroit, Michigan. He is definitely no stranger to harsh winter weather and therefore has an impressive track record of helping fleets in the greater Detroit area remain efficient every month of the year. Email Patrick Montgomery