There’s nothing more frustrating than having your whole day disrupted due to an unexpected vehicle malfunction. Whether it’s big or small, it can leave a major dent in your bottom line. When you need roadside trailer repairs, it’s not uncommon to feel completely blindsided. You can prevent yourself from panicking by avoiding these common roadside maintenance mistakes.
Ignoring Regular Maintenance
The longer you work as a driver, the more likely you’ll need roadside trailer repair. But that doesn’t mean you can’t prevent a majority of the cases of mid-trip breakdowns. The best way to keep your truck and trailer operating smoothly on the road? Preventative maintenance.
There’s no excuse for a poorly maintained vehicle. Your truck travels many miles each year and your trailer experiences wear-and-tear from heavy use. It’s guaranteed that you’ll need maintenance. Be proactive!
A malfunction on the road is more than an inconvenience. It can completely disrupt your schedule and cost you more than just the repair bill. Even small issues can be a massive safety risk if left unchecked.
Take your rig in for regular maintenance and be quick to have minor issues serviced. An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. By taking care of problems before you even need roadside trailer repair, you can save hundreds or thousands.
Semi Service specializes in trailer repairs, so contact us now before you need breakdown service!
Not Having a Breakdown Service Before a Breakdown
What’s worse than having a roadside breakdown? Trying to find a repair service for your truck or fleet when you’re already stressed out on the shoulder of a highway! If you operate a fleet or are an owner-operator of your own semi-trailer, start building a relationship with a breakdown service before you need it.
Primarily, you need to know that you have a partner when something goes wrong. Trying to find emergency service when you need it can steal precious hours from your schedule. Negotiating services and costs isn’t always quick, which means you don’t want to do it while you or one of your drivers are stranded.
Additionally, the earlier you seek out a roadside repair provider, the more time you have to decide on the best offer. Any repair can be costly, but roadside trailer repair is often more expensive than regular maintenance. If you want to keep operational expenses low, you’ll want to take your time to find the right service well before you need it.
Certain types of trailers, like reefers, aren’t well-suited for significant disruptions. Losing your cargo to spoilage from a surprise breakdown because you were stuck on the phone finding a repair service won’t do you any favors.
Focusing on Price Over Quality
Speaking of price, don’t forget that a roadside breakdown can have repercussions that extend well past the downtime of a disabled vehicle. The cheapest service available isn’t always the best. High-quality repairs can last for a long time, instead of a quick fix that only gets your vehicle to another repair shop.
If you go with the cheapest offer, you might end up paying more in the long-run for repeat repairs. An inexperienced technician will likely charge less, but could cost you more in time spent diagnosing and repairing the problem.
This ties into planning. When you’re sorting through your available options, consider one with the best reviews and a history of quality work. You’ll always be better off with proper in-shop maintenance, but when a situation requires you to call for roadside repairs, you’ll want service you can rely on.
Not Tracking Breakdown Details
It doesn’t matter if you manage a fleet or simply operate your own vehicle, you should track every time you need service. Over time, you might start to notice recurring issues with your truck or trailer. Chances are, based on your runs, your vehicle experiences repeat wear-and-tear on specific parts.
If you don’t keep track of these repairs, you’ll be left in the dark. However, clear tracking will give you the opportunity to preemptively spot issues or notify your truck service company so that they can pay extra attention to problem spots. In some cases, you can prepare by investing in replacement trailer parts that you’re sure to need in the future, saving you time and money.
Giving Vague Information to Your Breakdown Service
No service can help you if they can’t find you or understand the problem. When you call for help, make sure to be clear and give as many details as you can:
- Where you are
- What problem you’re experiencing
- Any issues you’ve identified with your vehicle
Since you likely know your truck well, you may be able to give a good guess of what you think the problem is. Even if you’re not sure, pointing a technician in the right direction can help save precious minutes diagnosing the breakdown. Once you know what’s wrong with your vehicle, they can give you an estimate and you can start planning your return to the road.
Tips for Dealing with Roadside Trailer Repair
Because it’s inevitable that you’ll have a roadside breakdown, make sure you’re prepared:
#1. Move to a Safe Place
If you can, get your rig as far from active traffic as you can. If you can’t get off the road, get on the shoulder. If you can’t get on the shoulder, get to the right-most lane. The less you obstruct traffic, the lower your chances for causing a serious accident.
#2. Be Visible
Do you have emergency visibility equipment? Reflectors, road flares and your hazards can all help you stay visible. Without them, you increase the risk of an accident – which will be far more expensive than a few roadside repairs. Especially at night, take care to ensure visibility. It will also help your repair service know where to find you.
#3. Inspect Your Vehicle
Before the technician arrives, look over your vehicle quickly. If you can find the source of the problem, you can dramatically speed up your repairs by telling the technician. While they should still do their own inspection, it will help them narrow down the problem and start thinking of a solution immediately instead of after 20 minutes of diagnostics.
Contact Semi Service for Trailer Maintenance & Repair
Semi Service specializes in all types of trailer repairs, maintenance and sales. If you have questions or need a new or used semi-trailer, we can help!
Contact us online or give us a call at (801) 895-4419 to get started today!