If you have never owned a pickup truck before, but you are thinking about getting one, you probably already have some idea of how to take care of it. For the most part, maintaining a pickup truck is not overly different from doing the same thing with a car. However, there are a few differences of which you should probably be aware.
Before you purchase something like a Silverado 1500, you should know about what it takes to keep it running smoothly all year long. We’ll talk about that in detail in the following article.
Regular Maintenance
It should come as no surprise that you will need to care for a pickup truck by giving it regular maintenance. In that respect, it is no different from a car.
You should look at the manual for the particular truck model you get. It will tell you how often you should get it serviced.
You will probably want a skilled mechanic to give the vehicle a close inspection at least once per year. However, if you drive the pickup truck often and you are putting a lot of miles on it, you may increase this maintenance schedule to once every six months.
During these appointments with the mechanic, you might ask them to look at the vehicle inside and out. The interior of the vehicle and its exterior are just as important to keep an eye on, especially as the vehicle gets older and starts to accumulate some wear and tear.
Clean the Battery
Once you look at the vehicle’s manual, you should have an idea of not only what maintenance a mechanic should be doing for you, but also what you can do on your own. For instance, you will want to clean the pickup truck’s battery regularly.
This will involve wiping the battery terminals off with a clean, dry rag. You can carefully check for any signs of corrosion while you do that. If the terminals are discolored, this is often a sign that the battery must be replaced.
Inspect the Cooling System
You will also want to look at the pickup truck’s cooling system periodically. When you do, you can look for clogs and leaks that are negatively impacting the performance of the radiator.
You can also check the level of coolant in the vehicle. If it’s too low, top it off. You can keep some coolant in your basement or garage, alongside a funnel to make the refilling process easier.
The Brakes
When you take the vehicle to a mechanic so they can look it over, make sure that they look at your brakes. These are perhaps the most crucial part of the pickup truck, so you must make absolutely sure they are working well at all times.
The mechanic will want to look at not only the brake pads, but also the brake fluid levels and rotors. If the fluid level is low, they can add more. If the rotors or brake pads are worn out, then they can tell you so that you can give the thumbs up on a replacement.
You can often tell if the brakes are having issues even before you take the pickup truck to a mechanic. Feel how responsive they are when you press down on them, and listen for any grinding or squealing noises as well.
Proper Tire Care
You will also want to know the proper air pressure you are meant to have in your pickup truck’s tires. The manual should tell you. If you don’t have the physical manual because you bought the truck used, you can often find it online with little difficulty.
If your tire pressure drops too low, you can fill them back up. You will also want to get your tires rotated at least once per year, or possibly more than that if you drive the vehicle a lot for work or pleasure.
Rotating your tires makes it less likely that one of them will puncture, as the wear on them will be more even.
Regular Fluid Checks
We’ve mentioned checking the brake fluid and coolant regularly, but these are not the only fluid levels you should keep an eye on. You will also want to be mindful of the level of your power steering fluid, transmission fluid, and windshield wiper fluid.
You can often top off most of these on your own with very little difficulty. The manual should tell you exactly how you can do that, but if you’re not comfortable handling it on your own, you can also watch some helpful videos on YouTube before you try it. Failing that, you can let your mechanic do it.
Oil Changes
We’ve mentioned keeping an eye on your fluids, but perhaps no aspect of your pickup truck’s maintenance is more necessary than changing the oil regularly. Though most synthetic oils don’t need to be changed as often these days as was the case in the past, you still need to do it on average every 5,000 to 7,500 miles or so.
Much like the other chores on this list, you can either do it yourself or entrust the job to your mechanic. Oil changes are not as complicated as they may seem at first, so this is something you may want to pursue if you enjoy DIY projects and like saving some money.
Wash the Truck Regularly
There’s one additional way you can look after your pickup truck that we should mention. You should make sure that you wash it regularly, especially in the winter.
Some truck owners seem to think that this sort of thing is just for the aesthetics, but that’s not so. You need to keep salt off of the underside of the vehicle if you live in a part of the country that sees some punishing winters. This will keep the rust at bay.
It’s also necessary to wash the car during the warmer months, though, since bird droppings and other debris can damage the paint job.