Anyone who depends on a vehicle for their livelihood knows it’s all about taking the time for a thorough check of the vehicle and all its systems, prioritizing needs and scheduling the work, then making sure it all gets done.

But the maintenance routine — springtime or any time — varies from one pumping business to another. Some contractors prefer to have a mechanic on staff and do as many repairs as possible close to home. Others believe the best route is to hire a highly skilled outside mechanic to keep a constant watch on the service vehicles.

A few seasoned pumping contractors reflected on their preferences for keeping trucks maintained properly and ready for a full workload.

Truninger Brothers owner Bill Truninger doesn’t think the secret to happy trucks is a seasonal springtime maintenance routine, but rather a year-round dedication to the basics. He advocates a regular schedule of oil and filter changes, and checking fluids daily.

“For instance, with brakes,” he begins. “You check your brakes every day before you go out. Chances are the brakes aren’t going to wear out, but you want to check those fluids every morning because you don’t want to be going down the road and have the brakes go out because your fluid got low. We check the fluids, tires, everything before we leave.”

Truninger says having an in-house mechanic makes it easy to ensure this close, regular care. “Whether it’s spring, summer or whenever, our guy takes care of all our main service work,” he explains. “We have to have DOT inspections once a year, and you need to keep everything in good shape or you’re not going to pass those inspections.”

Truninger says heavy engine, brake and compressor work goes to a regular shop that’s got the space and is well equipped to handle major overhauls.

Tenney & Sons has several divisions, and Danny Tenney heads up the septic pumping part of the business. He says his company contracts out all vehicle maintenance to a local shop. “Generally, when they do a service, they go over the whole truck. The little things they find, they’ll let go. But the big things get fixed.”

He likes to feel confident about the stopping system on his heavy rigs. But the one thing he’s most concerned with, like Truninger, is fluids.

“The other day, I checked the oil in my front wheel bearings, and they were a little bit low. I’d been told (by the mechanic) I was supposed to watch them and … I didn’t do that.” He knows the wheels could have seized because of a small oversight. “But I did manage to get some oil in them so they’d be all right.”

It’s this kind of attention to detail and clear communication that keep him going back to his outside mechanic. He says that over 30 years, they’ve built a rapport that gives him confidence that he’s rolling safe and can concentrate on the pumping business.

“Our trucks get done, bumper-to-bumper, so nothing’s missed,” says driver Scott Colville. And it’s no wonder. With a mainly rural territory, Wilton Sanitation depends on its trucks not just for duty, but for safety. Being stranded on the road far from town is something no one wants to endure, and having it happen during a Canadian winter can be deadly.

Colville says the company does very little in-house maintenance, due to limits on available staff time, resources and ability to handle the work. With a full schedule of septic pumping, portable rentals, roll-off and municipal trash service, it’s understandable that vehicle maintenance would be just too much to handle in this busy shop. Wilton instead jobs out all but the smallest repairs to a local garage that keeps the service trucks on the road and doing what they do best. n