The greatest asset of a hardworking landscaper is a sturdy, reliable, and versatile truck that can accommodate a wide array of tasks throughout the year and through changing seasons. You need landscaper trucks that can take you from seamless salt spreading and snow removal to branch removal and mulch dumping. To ensure that you have such a reliable truck, you need to prepare your vehicle for each season. You need to take care of its maintenance and upkeep.
Otherwise, you might have to face avoidable consequences in terms of costly repairs and maintenance needs, which will affect your work. After all, even if you are excellent at your job, you can’t do much if your truck breaks down unexpectedly. With the spring season upon us, you must remember to keep your vehicle in optimal shape for the various landscaping jobs that might come your way.
Let’s take a look at a useful checklist of tips that you must remember to keep your trucks in mint condition for the spring season!
Tips to Keep Landscaper Trucks in Top shape for the Spring Season
Here are some handy tips that you should remember to keep your landscaper trucks in mint condition for the spring season:
Rotate and Align Your Truck Tires
After an enduring and wear-inducing season of winter driving, your truck tires will need your attention. Make sure you take out the time to align and rotate them. This way, you can rest assured that your tires are wearing equally. It will also allow you to prolong their life and promote your safety while out on the road.
Take this time to also monitor the tread on your tires. Make sure that there is no major wear or balding on them and that they are prepared for the spring and summer months ahead. If your tires have suffered significant wear and tear during the winter months, you should ideally replace them before spring. You can replace your winter tires with summer or all-season tires to promote a smoother, safer ride.
Check Your Battery
If you use your landscaper truck continually throughout the winter season, your battery might have been worked to the max. It makes it more likely to degrade and get damaged. If there is even a slight chance that your battery life is low, make sure to check out the installation date. If it’s older than four years, you should get it professionally inspected and, depending on the verdict think, about investing in a new one.
Inspect and Clean Your Truck’s Undercarriage
The winter seasons’ snow, slush, sand, salt, and other road treatments can take a significant toll on the underside of your work truck. Even though landscaper trucks are paramount in keeping the roads safe during the winters, they can certainly face some long-term damage due to the condition of the roads.
It’s why you must take out the time to get your undercarriage power washed right before the spring and summer seasons. Removing and dislodging any salt and debris from your truck’s undercarriage will make it less susceptible to rust and corrosion. Hence, it will save you from costly repairs down the line.
Prepare for the Rainy Season
As an all-season landscaper, you will need certain features in your truck throughout the year. These features include windshield wipers, which you will need during winter and even during the rainy season in spring.
Even though they help to keep you safe from potential road accidents, wipers are often the most overlooked part of a truck. However, as an all-season landscaper, you will need your wipers more than the average driver. It’s also why they will need to be replaced more often.
The rubber on the wipers will erode over time, negatively impacting their effectiveness. It’s why you must look into replacing them before the new season. New windshield wipers will enhance your visibility and lessen the chances of you meeting an accident due to visibility impairment.
Wash Your Landscaper Truck
Did you know that spring cleaning applies to landscaper trucks as well? After an intense winter season, you must take out the time to wash and clean your vehicle thoroughly. For internal cleaning, clean and vacuum all floors and seats to get rid of any salt, debris, or slush from winters.
Replace your floor mats if they have become threadbare. Remove any winter-only tools from your vehicle and replace them with summer landscaping tools. Then, clean the exterior of your vehicle thoroughly to start the new season on the right foot.
Test Your Truck’s Brakes
You likely had to use your truck a lot over the course of the winter. If you had to travel on roads covered in snow and ice or up and down from high elevations, you must have had to use your truck’s brakes frequently. It’s why you must check your brakes before the spring season to make sure that they are in excellent condition. If they grind, squeak, or show any other signs of wear and tear, look into replacing them before the new season to ensure your safety.
Inspect, Replace, and Top Off Your Fluids
Toward the end of the winter season, you should check all your fluids to see what needs to be topped off or replaced for the upcoming summer and spring landscaping season. Here are some fluids that you must check:
- Brake fluid
- Motor oil
- Coolant
- Transmission Fluid
- Windshield Wiper Fluid
Replacing and topping off these fluids will ensure that your truck remains in top shape and you don’t have to face any costly repairs that could have been avoided with timely intervention and diligence.
The Bottom Line
As a landscaper, you need a reliable, versatile, and handy truck to support you on your job. You need a vehicle strong enough to shovel bark, rock, and dirt into and out of the body with ease. You also need landscaper trucks to load skid products, pallets, and more.
The best way to ensure the longevity of your vehicle and to prevent yourself from spending money on new trucks season after season is to maintain your truck and service it before each season. Take a thorough look at anything that needs to be replaced, topped off, repaired, aligned, or cleaned in your truck and do it before starting the next season. This way, you can ensure your truck will remain in optimal condition for a long time!
