Tips for maintaining moving trucks

Renting moving trucks is not always easy, as you need to need to place trust in the people who rent them. If maintained properly, moving trucks will last longer. Luckily maintaining moving trucks is pretty simple after you get to know how it works. The most important thing is to educate the people who rent the moving trucks on how to load and unload their belongings. Allow yourself plenty of time to organize everything.

When you fix all the issues as soon as they arise, there will be no unforeseen events and non-functional moving trucks. Stress is your number one enemy. So take your time and go step by step. Sometimes it is better to rent your truck to reliable movers, instead of renting them to customers who want to organize the move on their own.

Maintaining moving trucks – have the best moving trucks in the first place

Before you even have a chance at maintaining moving trucks, it is vital that the renting part goes well. Here are a few things you should pay attention to:

• Have the best moving trucks – Obtain the best moving trucks, so that people are always satisfied with what they rented.  Maintaining moving trucks is a lot easier if they do not break down in the middle of the road.
• Help customers choose the right-sized moving truck – It will be much easier for them to handle a moving truck if they pick the right size. Normally, if someone is moving one to two bedrooms they will need a 12-foot moving truck, for example. Advise the customers exactly what size they should choose. This will prevent any damage to the moving truck. Luckily, local movers are efficient and experienced, so you should not have any issues explaining this to them.

Safely load and unload the moving truck

A lot of damage can occur during this phase of moving truck handling. If handled incorrectly, your moving truck can get damaged by improper loading and unloading the items. Educate your customers on how to do this properly and avoid any further damage:

• Get help – Invite a few reliable friends over to help them load and unload the furniture and other bulky items. Or advise them to hire senior movers who can help them load and unload your items easily. Otherwise, they just might get some moving injury or damage the interior or exterior of the moving truck.
• Load the heaviest items first – One person should be inside the truck to decide where you are going to position the items. Load the heaviest items first and make sure that the weight is evenly distributed in the moving truck.
• Secure the smaller items from damaging – If the items fall down or get broken they may as well damage the moving truck. Maintaining moving trucks is all about balancing the weight of the load. Place the smaller items in a way they will not fall down, or so that nothing can fall and smash them as well.

Protect your moving truck from getting stolen

If you have a couple of moving trucks that are currently not in use, beware of thieves. This is something like an invitation to thieves, so handling moving trucks correctly is really important. Here is what you can do to avoid having your moving truck stolen:

• Before you head off check the locks – Make sure that all the locks are working properly, as well as the doors and windows.
• Park in a well-lit area – Find parking that is well-lit as this is maybe the best defense from burglars. Or hire a guard to protect the parking at all times.
• Do not forget to take insurance – Tell your customers that having moving insurance for the moving truck is great. You can prevent accidents, but in the end, you can never be sure. Also, you as a rental company should have insurance for every moving truck you own.

Advise your customers to drive carefully

Driving a moving truck is quite different than driving cars, and there are many tips for truck driving that you should know. When someone rents it, invite them to try driving it for a while to get the feeling of how it works. The controls are pretty much the same. But it is well-known that it takes longer for a moving truck to brake safely. When on the road, tell your customers to pay attention to the following things:

• Keep a larger distance from other vehicles – When driving a moving truck, you should follow the 4 seconds rule for distancing from other vehicles.
• Follow the moving truck signs – You may be so accustomed to driving a car, that you may actually forget that there are different rules for moving trucks.
• Drive more slowly – Moving on to the speed, since the moving truck is full of household items, you should drive at least 10 mph slower.
• Do not pass other vehicles – Unless they are moving really slow. Instead, try to avoid passing other vehicles while you are heavily loaded.

Test the moving trucks often

It is better to be safe than sorry. Guaranteed safety is the best thing you can do for your customers. Before each moving truck is rented, have it tested and investigated thoroughly. The breaks, the engine, the air-conditioning, door, and locks all must function perfectly. When you test them regularly, in case of any issue you will be able to react in a timely manner and prevent any bigger damage.

Maintaining moving trucks is not really that hard as we have seen. As long as you are careful, have the necessary documentation, insurance, and follow the rules for moving trucks, you are good to go. Good luck!