For most, a truck has only so long it can go. This is due in large part to the fact that most don’t know the best way to do it, or how often they should do it. Truck parts and truck accessories often need to be repaired or replaced, and some need to be dealt with sooner than others. In order to help you, we have provided some helpful tips to keep your truck parts and truck accessories looking and behaving like new.
Take care of your tires
Tires are among your most important truck accessories; as such, you need to take great care to keep them working properly. For one, make sure you rotate your tires on a regular basis. This should be done approximately every 7,500 miles and helps ensure that your tires wear their tread down at an even rate. Aligning your wheels is another important step, which also helps keep them from wearing down unusually quickly or unevenly.
Tire pressure is another hurdle many truck drivers have to deal with. Keep a tire pressure gauge in your vehicle at all times, and check all your tires’ pressure frequently. If the tire pressure is low, make sure that you inflate them until they are properly filled.
Tires in poor condition can not only affect the level of maintenance of your vehicle but also make it more dangerous to drive. Even a small issue with your tire can result in you having reduced control of your vehicle, thereby putting you and others on the road at risk. Before you go on a lengthy trip, for instance, make sure that your tires are up to snuff. This reduces the risk of getting in trouble at a terribly inopportune moment.
Clean the exterior
Your exterior can get plenty filthy, and depending on the color of your truck, you may find it more difficult than usual to keep that concealed for longer. For example, a white truck is generally not the best to use for dirty jobs (unless you find the dirt prestigious, of course). Cleaning the exterior involves multiple things; for example, washing and scrubbing the body to get all the dirt off, cleaning your headlights and taillights, making sure no debris is blocking your license plates, etc. You should also clean your windshield and windows regularly, and make sure that your tires do not have too much build-up. For instance, snow and salt that builds up in snowy areas can make it even more dangerous to drive in those conditions.
Clean the interior
This is one part of the vehicle that most will never see, but that does not mean it isn’t important to keep up with it. The first thing you should do is get a trash can. Even a small one is a great boon for many drivers, as they tend to have a bad habit of letting their junk just fall wherever it lies. Make sure you bring the miniature trash can in with you to dump out the trash and bring it back out. Otherwise, this can will fall into disuse rather quickly.
Next, remove your floor mats and clean them. Shake them out thoroughly, and use a brush to scrub them clean with soap and hot water. Ensure that they are properly air dried before you put them back in your vehicle. While they are out, break out the vacuum, and put it to work on the floor and seats. Trucks can get pretty dirty, so make sure you don’t let them go for too long without being cleaned.
There are some parts of your truck’s interior that your vacuum will struggle to clean. This is where cleaning wipes come in, as they let you get into those nooks and crannies. Further, you can give your steering wheel and other parts a good once-over to make it as clean as when you first got it. Another important part to clean is the inside of your windows, which often gets overlooked in the window washing process.
Get an inspection
There are certainly some things that a person can, and indeed should learn about truck maintenance. However, unless you are a professional, you should not assume that you definitely did it the right way. Even a professional may have moments where they get something wrong or are unable to fix a problem. If you are one such professional at truck part and truck accessories maintenance, and you are in this situation, you shouldn’t be shy about having someone else take a look at it. It is an understandable concern, however, that the people you may go to for help are not exactly the most trustworthy people.
Look up reviews of any repair or service place that you are considering, and make sure that you read the details the reviewers say instead of just the average score on Yelp, as some companies fake reviews of their business.
