Truckmount Maintenance Tips for the Summer Heat – Keep it Cool!

With the unusually high temperatures in summer months ahead, remember that your machine needs to stay cool also. The extreme heat may cause you to consider things that might not be an issue in cooler weather.

Here are some quick tips on doing just that –

• Keep all doors side and rear “fully” open – un do the 90 degree stop point  – open them up to 130 degrees if you have barn doors – bungee them open in case of wind gusts. You need cross flow air ventilation throughout the van
• Check your air filters more frequently – as they help your machines engine run cooler – keep them clean and oil up to the full mark on fluids, change oils as recommended in manual.
• Check all liquid cooled engines antifreeze with a Hydrometer to see were protection level is at in regards to overheating. Always change, flush coolant in the system, if warranted by this information.
• Always keep area around the machine free of accessories and clutter. We recommend an 8” to 12” area remain clear around the machine to relieve congestion.
• Clean Those Radiator Fins! – Before it gets too hot is a good time to check the front of your radiator on your liquid cooled engine truckmounts, and be sure the fins are clear and free of any debris. Over time – dirt, insects, leaves, etc. can get pulled into the radiator fins and prevent the proper air flow through the radiator. This can cause your engine to overheat. This external radiator cleaning should be done every year, and more often in very dusty environments.
• Check the mounting on your fuel pump. After working with several customers on slide in machines that were suffering from dying when hot, it was found that many had one similar problem, the mounting of the fuel pump.  They had the fuel pump mounted horizontally, inlet on one side, outlet on the other.  The correct mounting of the fuel pump is vertically, with the inlet on the bottom and the outlet on the top.  If the pump is mounted incorrectly it can overheat and cause the fuel to vaporize and enter the fuel line going to the carburetor and cause the engine to die.  It is also good to remember to mount the fuel pump as close to the fuel tap as possible because the pumps push fuel better than they pull.
• What engine oil is correct for the summer months? As the seasons change and the weather gets hotter, a common question asked is “What oil should I use and how often does it need to be changed?
  • For 16 to 31 HP Air Cooled Vanguard Engines, Briggs and Stratton recommends the oil change intervals at.
    • Break in – New engine 8 hours – with filter
    • After Break-in: every 50 hours – with a filter
    • 5W-30 Synthetic, Mobile 1
    • Recommended oil above 32° = 30 W motor oil
    • Recommended oil below32º = 10-30W motor oil
  • Kubota and Daihatsu 3 Cylinder 700G, 950G Engines (Gas)
    • Break in – New engine 25 hours – with filter
    • After Break-in: every 100 hours – with a filter
    • 5-W-30 Synthetic, Mobile 1
    • Recommended oil above 32 º = 30W motor oil
    • Recommended oil above 32º= 10 -30 W motor oil
  • GM1.6 Vortec 16000
    • 10-30W High quality NON –Synthetic oil
    • Break in – New Engine 25 hours with filter
    • After Break-in: every 100 hours – with a filter