Two vehicle maintenance tips for new ice-cream truck owners

If you recently bought an ice-cream truck, you might find these vehicle maintenance tips quite helpful.

Have your ice-cream truck's brakes inspected very regularly

Whilst all vehicle owners should ensure their brakes are kept in tip-top shape, it is particularly important for those who own ice-cream trucks to be vigilant when it comes to monitoring the condition of their truck's braking systems and to have an auto servicing specialist inspect them very regularly. The reason for this is as follows; the speed with which brakes wear out depends largely on how often (and how aggressively) they are used.

As an ice-cream truck owner, you will use your brakes a lot more often than the average driver, as you will need to bring your truck to a stop at least once or twice on every street on which you sell your ice-cream (the number of stops you make on each street will depend on how long the street is and how many potential customers are in this area). Because of this, your truck's brakes may wear out far more quickly than the brakes of, for example, the car that you use for personal excursions.

Furthermore, the chances of the truck's brakes causing an accident if they fail will also be very high, as each time your vehicle arrives on a busy street, groups of people will immediately approach and begin milling around it. If the brakes are not very responsive when you engage them, your truck might hit one of these people as you're trying to bring it to a stop. As such, you must ensure that a mechanic inspects the truck's brake system very regularly so that any problems with its components can be addressed promptly.

Do not wait to have the truck's faults repaired if they occur during your peak season

If your ice-cream truck starts to develop problems during your peak season (which will probably be spring or summer, when the warm weather tends to make people want ice-cream), then you must not put off having any truck repairs done. Instead, you should take the truck to an auto servicing specialist immediately, even if this means that you miss out on a day or two of selling ice-cream.

The reason for this is as follows; many types of vehicle faults that are not addressed quickly can lead to lasting damage that can make a vehicle unusable. Things like unresolved engine oil or radiator leaks can, for example, destroy an engine if they cause it to overheat. As such, if you put off having your truck repaired because, for example, you don't want to miss out on selling ice-cream for a couple of days, you could, during peak season (i.e. the period when you are supposed to be generating most of your profit), end up stuck with a vehicle that is so damaged that it is no longer fit for purpose

Additionally, if you wait too long to get your truck's faults repaired, these faults could scare off customers. For example, if the truck's exhaust pipe starts to expel thick clouds of black smoke, some of this smoke may coat and spoil the ice-creams that your customers buy from you and try to eat near your truck.

For more tips and information on getting truck repairs, reach out to a local auto shop.