Transporting perishable goods – whether they’re food and beverage related or medical – demand a vehicle that can offer reliability and safety. Not only does the van being used need to be of the highest quality but it needs to be able to preserve transported goods with the necessary level of refrigeration.
Full van servicing, regularly, is essential to ensure your van is not only working correctly but keeping you safe too. If this maintenance isn’t prioritised or considered, you could be looking at hefty fines or even replacement vans needed.
Van servicing can help prevent major issues from occurring. In this post, we’ll cover everything you need to know about van servicing and the knock-on effects that neglecting regular maintenance can have for your business. Plus, a selection of van servicing best practices.
We’ll cover:
The Importance of Regular Van Servicing
Any vehicle used for your business is a valuable asset to your company. With that in mind, why wouldn’t you want to prioritise the maintenance of regular van servicing?
A van that’s reliable, temperature-controlled, and safe will ensure all the produce and products that are contained inside will be delivered safely and will arrive in the same condition they were loaded in.
If your van is poorly refrigerated, this will not only ruin the product inside but it can be a costly mistake. A bigger business expense would include replacing the products inside rather than maintaining the servicing of the van. It’s your choice but it shouldn’t be compromised.
Improved Reliability and Safety
If you invest in regular van servicing, errors or technical issues can be identified promptly and can be resolved with ease. If you look after your vehicle properly, it’ll continue to serve you well.
If repairs aren’t made or hidden errors aren’t discovered, you could break down during a delivery which could result in client loss or even the need to replace your existing van.
More importantly, the safety of all journeys is essential. Whether it’s yourself driving or another member of your team, the vehicle must align with health and safety regulations for road safety. Servicing your van will future proof it and will ensure that you’ll feel confident travelling, delivering and meeting your customers needs.
Overall Business Efficiency
If you continue to service your van and maintain any repairs that need to be made – not only will your van be trustworthy and reliable for the road but it’ll continue to be efficient for your wider business needs too.
An efficient van will help you deliver on time with no unnecessary delays caused by your vehicle. The goods stored inside the van will stay in pristine condition and you’re more likely to recruit new customers with the reputation you uphold.
If you don’t get your van serviced regularly, not only are you looking at delays in transportation, but you may even need to put your business on hold whilst you replace or repair your vans. It’s important to prioritise regular van servicing so you don’t need to make drastic changes to your business’ future.
Increased Return on Investment
Save your money, save your business and prioritise servicing your vans. Keeping your refrigerated van in top shape can extend the lifespan of your van, it’ll continue to refrigerate items to a high-quality standard and you’ll enjoy a greater return on investment in the long run.
Don’t leave it too late – if you have any doubts, get it checked out professionally. You should always be on the lookout for any deviations from standard performance and warning signs of a potential breakdown. If you don’t get them checked out straight away, the issues could accumulate – and so could the repair costs.
Van Servicing Best Practices
Although you can’t prevent every issue, there are measures you can take to cut down on mechanical problems with your refrigerated vehicle. From servicing your van regularly and professionally, to maintaining the inside and outside of your van between services – you’ll be preparing your van and business for true success.
It’s great to service your van regularly but if you’re not maintaining the van in between checks, then you’ll suffer long-term. Servicing isn’t just a tick box process – it involves ongoing maintenance and checks. Ideally, to guarantee optimal performance, before using any van, you should do pre-trip checks yourself.
Bodywork Checks
Conducting inspections on the bodywork of your refrigerator van is essential to ensure any damage or corrosion is identified. If the issues aren’t identified or they’re delayed in being repaired, they can negatively affect the performance of your cooling system and impact the chilled goods that are being transported.
If you do discover any holes, damage or corrosion, if you don’t know how to correct these appropriately using sealants, ensure you seek professional assistance and get them sorted as soon as possible.
Perform Pre-Trip Checks
It sounds like a time-consuming task, but it’s so important to give your vehicle the once-over before every trip you make. You want to ensure that it’ll perform the way it should do and won’t incur any issues.
The last thing you want is to come across an issue with a fully loaded van. Which could’ve been resolved and prevented with correct checks before setting off. Put time aside before the trip to save time long-term.
These routine checks should cover a variety of things including
- Ensure that the inside of the container is clean, to avoid any contamination.
- Carefully examine the insulated area – check for holes or punctures that could affect the temperature control.
- Check all seals and locks on the door.
- Review the temperature and fresh air settings.
- Inspect the drains.
- Check oil and coolant levels.
- Measure tyre pressures.
- Test all lights.
- Check the battery.
Keeping all of these checks in mind will not only prevent any delays occurring but you’re more on track for a smoother ride overall. These are the best preventative measures to take to ensure you can deliver your services to the best standard possible.
Regular Cleaning
Regular cleaning sounds obvious – but it can be overlooked. The inside and outside of the van should be cleaned after every shipment. Due to the sensitive nature of the goods being transported, cross-contamination is highly likely. It’s important to perform a deep clean of all surfaces inside the load space too – particularly important if raw food or meat is involved.
Built-up over time, germs, grime and dirt can even corrode parts of the cooling system. It’s also worth noting that germ and bacteria build-up can be harmful to the driver of the vehicle too. To stop bacteria and germs from multiplying, if you keep on top of the cleaning, it won’t be as time-consuming. After you’ve cleaned, you must allow it time to dry. Otherwise, if the inside of the van remains damp, mould can grow and damage loaded products.
Watch For Warning Signs
Be one step ahead and identify any issues that might arise. During regular use of your refrigerated van, note any changes that occur – deviations from its regular performance. Whether that’s unusual noises, internal equipment and products being damaged or coolant issues. Anything that doesn’t seem ‘normal’ should be inspected or reported to a mechanic as soon as possible.
With the maintenance in between checks and regular cleaning, you’ll be able to keep an eye on any changes that do occur. This process shouldn’t be ignored, it’s important to put your safety first and if something doesn’t feel right – get expert help so you and your business don’t suffer the consequences.
Prevention Is Better Than Cure
Regular vehicle services are a wise investment. Whether you’re purchasing one refrigerated van or a fleet of vans. This requirement is no different and should be part of overall business maintenance. If you want to continue to serve your customers successfully, drive safely and increase your productivity – get organised and ensure routine checks are scheduled.
If you identify the small issues now, you won’t have to deal with the larger issues later.
Prioritising Van Servicing is Vital to Improve Efficiency
After reading this, we hope that you’ve gained an insight into the importance of van servicing. Not only will it increase your overall business success rate but it’ll help you retain new customers in the long run. It’s an investment that’s pivotal to the smooth operation of your business. Of course, if your van is experiencing regular issues and it’s impacting your operations, it might be time to upgrade.
For more information, we’ve put together a visual guide that provides a further insight into the fleet of vans available to you. From vehicle overviews to servicing and maintenance tips, it’s all included in there for you to benefit from. However, it’s not quite ready yet. So in the meantime, if you have any questions or queries – our team is always on hand to help you out.
Be sure to keep your eyes peeled – our comprehensive FREE guide will be available VERY soon.
