How to do truck pre-trip inspections

When it comes to performing a truck pre-trip inspection, making sure that everything is working properly is an extremely important step for driving safely. As required, a pre-trip inspection is meant to be done before every trip to prevent accidents from happening!

For most drivers, the idea of performing a truck pre-trip inspection can be an overwhelming task to think about. However, there are plenty of ways for drivers to split up their truck inspection into sections to make a pre-trip inspection more manageable!

First, take a look under the hood!

Make sure to take a look at your engine, springs, nozzles, pumps, wiring, hoses, belts, filters, valves and other important internal and external items to make sure these items aren’t damaged or pinned down in anyway. As one of the most crucial parts of your truck, a driver needs to take extra care when checking all parts are working accordingly.

The next part of this step is to check all fluids in your truck are filled up and good to go, such as, your windshield wiper fluid or engine oil.

Second, inspect the inside of your cab!

Now, it’s time to check your signals, buttons and switches for errors! Some items you’ll want to look for are burned out bulbs, buttons that are functioning properly and that your mirrors are placed in the right position.

Third, assess the outside of your truck!

While on the outside of your truck, you should be able to look at all areas including the rear of the cab, front of trailer, entrance to the cab for debris and problems of any kind.

Don’t forget about these other items when stating your truck pre-trip inspection: airlines, electrical cord, suspension, exhaust, lights and chain box are all in working order.

Fourth, check around your trailer!

Take the time to get up close and personal with your trailer! By this we mean crawling underneath to inspect the coupling of wheel mounts or kingpins, checking tire pressure and making sure brake pads are ready for the trip!

Finally, perform the air brake test!

To perform an air brake test properly, you need to make sure that there are no leaks or tire pressure loss before getting out on the road. If there are leaks or pressure lose, then you should be altered by the warning lights and buzzer in your truck.

Overall, you can never be too careful when it comes to your safety and others on the road. By doing a truck pre-trip inspection you will have the peace of mind that your truck is not only working safely, but efficiently as well.

For all drivers, please remember to always be thorough while checking all parts of your truck and follow your basic skills before your next trip!

TransWood is committed to protecting the health, safety and security of our employees and independent contractors while minimizing the impact of our operations on the public and the environment where we operate. Please, contact TransWood so we can start serving your hauling freight needs.