You might use your scrap truck for work or pleasure as well as your scrapping enterprise, or you might have a truck just for scrapping. Either way, you rely on your scrap truck when it’s time to get the job done—whether you’re out collecting scrap or hauling it to the yard.
Taking the time to take care of your scrap truck properly can keep it dependable for years to come. That means less transportation expense for you and an easier time scrapping for the foreseeable future. In addition to general good advice for taking care of any vehicle, there are a few other things you should consider for trucks used for scrap in particular.
Things to Check and Do
There are a few things you should check on every time you use your scrapping truck:
- Be sure you have enough fuel for your trip, and keep extra on hand if necessary.
- Check all of your lights. When you’re carrying a heavy load, it’s important that you can see the road and other drivers can see you!
- Make sure your tailgate and any tie downs are completely secure before driving with a load of scrap. Losing scrap is losing money at best, and at worst can lead to very serious accidents.
In addition, you should be sure to keep up with all your regular vehicular maintenance, such as regular oil changes. However, that’s not where it ends with a scrap truck.
It’s also a good idea to check your tire pressure every time you load the truck. While having properly inflated tires is always important to keep yourself safe and optimize your fuel economy, the difference is even bigger when you’re carrying heavy loads—which means you should check your scrap truck’s tires as often as you can.
Also remember to make sure that you have all the tie downs that you’ll need when you go out on a trip to collect scrap!
Things to Know
In addition to checking that your truck is running properly and that you’re prepared for the trip each and every time you go out, it’s incredibly important to know a few key pieces of information about your truck: its weight and its weight capacity.
Finding the truck’s weight is as easy as driving it over some scales empty, or checking the owner’s manual. You can also find your truck’s weight capacity in the owner’s manual.
Knowing the weight of your truck itself is important so that you can double check that your yard deducts the weight of your truck properly from the overall load when you drive onto the scales. It’s also important if you have to drive through any weight restricted areas on the road to the yard.
The carrying capacity of your truck is maybe the most important bit of knowledge you can have about it, since it determines how much scrap you can safely carry at once. Of course, it’s best not to push the limit on the carrying capacity, either—it’s best to stick to making your truck do about 75% of what it can do in this area.
Something to Keep in Your Scrapping Truck
In addition to the work it does transporting your scrap, your truck is also likely a storage area for some of your essential scrapping tools. While you might not think your more valuable tools are as secure as they could be in your vehicle, there are a few things you should always keep there, such as an extra flashlight and pair of work gloves.
Your scrapping truck is also a great place to keep a first aid kit. While it’s important to take all the proper safety precautions and carry or wear all the right equipment, accidents do happen—and being able to cope with them can make things better for everyone!
What do you keep in your scrap truck, and how do you keep it running great? Let us know in the comments, or bring a load down to Encore so we can see for ourselves!
