Trucks, by their hard-working nature, require more maintenance than other vehicles. However, there are simple things you can do to cut down on the time spent maintaining one. Here are 6 ways to make your truck low-maintenance. 

7 Ways to Make Your Toyota Truck Low-Maintenance

Looking to keep your truck’s maintenance costs low. Here are some tips.

Nano-Glass Ceramic Coating

One of the most time-consuming maintenance items on a truck is keeping it looking good. You can spend hours washing, waxing, and polishing the truck to keep it looking new. Or you can spend a few dollars on a nano-glass ceramic coating.

A nano-glass ceramic coating is a paint coating that creates a hard, clear surface that is resistant to UV damage, acid rain and can also protect the paint from scratches. It is usually pretty easy to apply with a small bottle of solution and a cloth.

There are a few manufactures of this product like Detailer’s Paint Coating and Duragloss.

Replace Your Air Filter

One quick investment on a K&N or are reusable and long-lasting air filter will save you money for many miles to come. Unlike the factory or other paper air filters, the reusable air filters are simply washed out after use and can be reused. K&N says their air filter can be reused up to 150,000 miles which is around 10 times more than a stock air filter.

Pay Attention To Maintenance Intervals

Don’t overdue maintenance. A lot of things have changed in terms of maintenance requirements, and newer trucks don’t typically require the same level of work that older trucks require. If you consult your factory maintenance guide, you may find (for example) that you don’t need to change your oil more than once every 10k miles, that you don’t need to worry about transmission flushes, that there’s no suggested interval for coolant or brake flushes, etc.

Simply stated, newer vehicles need less maintenance, but a lot of truck owners don’t know it. Take the time to consult the maintenance guide and you’ll save time (and money).

Drive Like A Little Old Lady

If you truly want to reduce wear and tear on tires, brake pads, shocks, and other “wearables,” drive like a little old lady. Driving this way will not only lengthen the lifetime of those parts, but it will also save you gas.

Tire Pressure Matters

It may seem like a trivial item, but checking your tire pressure is really important for the life of your tires. Low tire pressure accelerates tire wear AND wastes fuel.

While you’re down there, you might check to make sure the tires are wearing evenly, as that will help you spot problems with alignment or suspension before they ruin a set of tires.

Carry Cleaners With You

Keep some baby wipes, detail spray, and a chamois in your vehicle at all times so that you can quickly clean up interior spills and gunk on the paint before they can get set. A little time spent cleaning immediately after an incident occurs saves hours of work later.

In the end, the key to a low-maintenance truck is prevention. The more you stay on top of it, protect it and invest in it, the longer your truck will last and the fewer problems you will have.