WHOSE OIL IS IT ANYWAY?
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Do you know what oil is in your trucks? If you’re carrying out your own maintenance, then clearly the answer must be yes, but if you’re not...
“To be honest, I wouldn’t have a clue what oil goes in my trucks – everything is dealer-maintained,” admits Kibble.
The other operators round the table are the opposite to him; for example, Davis says: “Because we run a mixed fleet, I look for oils that allow me to have the fewest number of grades; that’s my focus rather than price per litre. We try to find a happy medium that will suit as much of the fleet as possible.” Pullman’s Gilbert notes: “If you went by the manufacturers’ spec, you’d have a whole workshop full of different oils [for different marques]; the truth is, you get a good oil and it will work in all of them.” Jordan reveals: “Our drivers are still responsible for checking their oil and water levels, and to make sure the driver is putting the right type of oil in the right vehicle [given such a wide spread of engines – Euro-3 to Euro-5] is a nightmare. We’re looking at educating drivers at the moment. Clearly it’s easier in the workshop to ensure this is done correctly: oil A goes into coach B.” Exxon Mobil’s Crawley highlights the mismatch between an operator’s criteria for an oil and a workshop’s: “In all fairness, in many cases franchised dealers and independent workshops aren’t focused on their customers’ fuel economy – they are focused on their own costs. The challenge we are faced with is trying to clearly convey the message to fleet operators that they need to put pressure on the workshops to have them put in a fuel-efficient, fully synthetic engine oil.”