EQUIPMENT & MAINTENANCE
Basic Vehicle
Maintenance
by Ara Klujian
T
32
he vehicles used in day to day operations of a carpet company
are some of the most valuable and expensive assets a carpet
company possesses. The single most important factor in keeping these
assets reliable is to sustain a proper maintenance schedule. Without
a proper maintenance schedule, the business may be compromising
the reliability of the vehicle and suffer from increased loss of revenue
and downtime. Simple inspection procedures, combined with a
maintenance checklist will greatly protect against wear and deposits
that may otherwise harm the vehicles. The main focal points that need
to be addressed for proper maintenance is tires, engine oil, engine
coolant / anti-freeze, air filter, spark plugs, spark plug wires, PCV valve
and transmission fluid.
Every person or company is different in respect to how much of
these maintenance points can be monitored and replaced realistically.
In cases where certain points are never addressed, it is wise to inform a
service center of these unaddressed points. Every make and model may
have different service maintenance intervals and maintenance service
points. Refer to the owner’s manual that came with the vehicle or
obtain one online for the specific make and model of the vehicle.
It is recommended that a visual tire inspection be done on a daily
basis. Walk around the vehicle and check to see if a tire looks lower
than the others. If a tire does look under-inflated use a tire gauge to
check the pressure and fill it with air as needed. When filling tires with