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How to Keep Your Refrigerated Van in Tip-top Shape
Whether you’re carrying flowers, blood or other perishable items, your refrigerated van is a crucial part of your business. Mechanical breakdowns can have serious consequences, not just for your client but also for you. To ensure that your goods remain cool all through the journey, follow these essential maintenance pointers to keep your refrigerated vehicle in excellent condition:
1. Schedule consistent professional inspections.
Scheduling regular routine “checkups” for your refrigerated vehicle is a critical part of preventative maintenance. Newer models can generally go about 100,000 miles in between inspections, but if you’re driving in remarkably harsh conditions, you may want to change this to every 25,000 miles. Professional mechanics have expert eyes and ears for trivial problems that can escalate if left unattended, and play an important part in keeping your van running well.
2. Conduct consistent tune-ups.
Another key maintenance activity is ensuring your oil is clean, and your oil and coolant levels are at within acceptable limits. For optimal performance, oil has to be changed about every 3000 miles. Refrigerated trucks are specifically sensitive to water, dust and dirt, which can impact their ability to remain at a stable temperature. During tune-ups, ensure that no contaminants end up in the refrigeration unit. Bear in mind that any maintenance that requires the refrigeration unit components of to be disassembled must be performed by a skilled pro.
3. Perform pre-trip inspections.
Prior to each trip, perform a quick check of your refrigerated vehicle to make sure that everything is well and good. A loaded vehicle on the road is way more expensive and tougher to repair compared to an one sitting in your garage, so you’ll actually save money and time if you do an inspection prior to cargo loading.
Before each trip, make it a point to clean the inside of the vehicle and look for any cracks on the insulated walls. Also, you’d like to check:
> lock and seals on the door;
> temperature as well as fresh air settings;
> drains; and
> oil and coolant levels.
4. Observe for warning signs.
Professional refrigerated van operators know that having watchful eyes and ears when it comes to changes with their vehicles, is their best line of defense against mechanical problems. Whatever deviation is observed must be taken note of. For example, if the refrigeration unit takes a lot longer to cool down than usual, or if it’s making weird noises, visit your mechanic immediately.
Keeping your vehicle in good condition is, indeed, critical; if you are unable to do so, your goods can perish prematurely, leading to frustration for your customer and a loss of profit and integrity for you. As the business owner, it is your responsibility to avoid these two scenarios.