Preventive Maintenance Top 10 Checklist for Vehicles & Equipment

Rather than thinking of preventive maintenance as an expense, think of it as an investment in your business’s future. It saves you money by reducing costly breakdowns, extending the life of your equipment, and ensuring your tools and vehicles are ready to go when you need them. Yet, most small and medium-sized field service companies do a poor job of tracking preventive maintenance tasks, completing them, or both. It only makes sense that if you’ve put a lot of money into your equipment—you want to make sure you get the most out of it! 

What exactly is preventive maintenance anyway? Sure, everyone knows about filter and oil changes, rotating tires, and consumables like brakes and wipers. But what about the other things that often go overlooked? Here is a checklist of the Top 10 Preventive Maintenance Best Practices for Vehicles and Equipment.

Think of preventive maintenance as an investment in your business, rather than an expense. Studies reveal that consistent upkeep can extend a vehicle’s lifespan by 20-30%, translating to tens of thousands of extra miles for your trucks and fewer costly replacements. Ultimately, that’s real money staying in your pocket.

On the flip side, neglecting regular maintenance often results in breakdowns that cost way more than just the repair bills. Downtime means missed jobs, lost revenue, and unhappy customers. Fixing that frayed belt costs way less than a tow truck and the aggravation of trying to shuffle jobs around to make up for the out-of-commission truck.

It’s not just your vehicles that need preventive maintenance—your tools and light equipment need attention, too. Everyone, from manufacturers to pros in the field, emphasizes the importance of properly caring for your equipment. For example, keeping the blades sharp on a mower and blowing out sawdust from a saw can extend the life of that tool by up to 50%. Think of someone who is really good at their job. Without a doubt, their tools are really well cared for.

Every time one of your vehicles or tools breaks down, it costs you more than you think. It’s not just the repair costs—it’s the downtime that hurts the most. Freight Waves estimates that the average income per truck for fleets is between $2,800 and $4,800 per week. Having a truck or van in the repair shop means lost productivity (and revenue). Add in potential penalties for missing deadlines, unhappy customers who stop doing business with you, and the hit to your bottom line multiplies fast.