Basic Bus Maintenance Tips
Every type of motorized vehicle will require maintenance at some point in its life, including your bus. Whether your bus is used as a school bus, a church bus or a general transport bus, you’ll want to do everything you can to make sure it’s in good working condition at all times. After all, you don’t want your bus to break down in the middle of the highway and end up in a service bay for days or weeks while expensive repairs are performed.
Fortunately, there are many maintenance tasks you can perform easily in your garage to ensure every bus in your fleet is all fixed up and ready to go. Keep reading to learn more.
Why Is Bus Maintenance Important?
Keeping your bus maintained helps ensure that it doesn’t break down at a moment’s notice, causing a serious accident. Also, a well-maintained bus is likely to be more fuel-efficient and easy to drive, compared to a bus that’s sluggish and making a lot of strange noises. As a responsible bus owner, you need to stay on top of important tasks to lengthen the lifespan of your bus and reduce wear and tear.
Check Your Owner’s Manual
The best resource for how to maintain your bus is the owner’s manual provided by the manufacturer. This guide will tell you what to do and when to do it. You’ll also find recommendations for products and tools to use when repairing your bus.
Keep Tools on Hand
A tool kit full of the tools you might commonly need to repair your bus on the road should be kept somewhere on the bus at all times. You never know when you’ll need to replace a flat tire, tighten screws, replace a bulb or perform some other necessary task to keep you moving.
Daily Maintenance Tasks
Every day, before you start your engine, make sure that you inspect your bus thoroughly to catch any issues before they become a big problem. Here are a few things you’ll want to do:
- Check fluid levels (coolant, oil, transmission and hydraulic fluid).
- Fill up gas tank.
- Check for leakages.
- Tighten hoses and other connections.
- Inspect drive belt tension and condition.
- Test lights and signals.
- Check air pressure in tires and make sure treads are not worn down.
Need some professional assistance with maintaining your bus? Contact the K. Neal Truck and Bus Center service department to schedule an appointment with us to bring in your bus. Our mechanics can take a look at your vehicle and determine what’s wrong so we can have you back on the road as soon as possible. It’s important to have your bus looked at by a professional every 3,000 to 6,000 miles, depending on what’s recommended in the owner’s manual.
Looking to buy a new bus? Stop by one of our four locations throughout Maryland and Virginia to check out our wide stock of new and used buses for sale. K. Neal Truck and Bus Center proudly serves the cities of Hyattsville and Gaithersburg, MD, and Lorton, VA.