To ensure a quick and smooth vehicle registration process, it is crucial for truck owners to proactively and thoroughly inspect all components. This not only saves time and repair costs but also ensures the safety of the vehicle and its users. Experience from many long-time truck owners shows that preparing, inspecting, and maintaining trucks before registration is an indispensable step.
1. General Truck Inspection: Initial Checklist
In the general inspection phase, vehicle owners should pay attention to some basic but often overlooked items:
- Tires (tyres): Ensure the tires are the correct size as stated in the vehicle registration certificate. Tires must not be worn beyond the permissible limit, indicated by the manufacturer’s wear indicators. Using worn tires not only affects safety but may also fail the registration standards.
- Headlights: The headlight system, including both high and low beams on both sides of the vehicle, must be fully functional and effective. For a quick headlight check, park the vehicle about 10 meters from a wall, turn on the headlights, and observe the light area on the wall. The focused light area should not be too high or too low according to regulations.
- Signal lights: Signal lights such as turn signals, brake lights, marker lights, and reverse lights must illuminate clearly when the switch is activated. Ensure the signals are recognizable from a minimum distance of 20 meters. Carefully inspect the lens covers, avoiding cracks that may reduce brightness or cause short circuits.
- Cargo box (for dump trucks and tipper trucks): For dump trucks and tipper trucks, the cargo box dimensions must comply with the specifications in the vehicle registration certificate. Absolutely do not arbitrarily modify or raise the cargo box to carry overload, as this is a common mistake and easily leads to registration rejection.
2. Truck Upper Body Inspection Checklist: Cabin and Steering System
During use, if you notice any issues with the clutch, gear lever, steering wheel, or steering, take the vehicle to a garage for maintenance and repair immediately. These systems are directly related to the safety of the occupants and the vehicle’s lifespan. Below is a detailed checklist for the truck’s upper body before registration:
- Windshield: Carefully inspect the windshield, ensuring there are no cracks or breaks that obstruct visibility or fail safety standards.
- Wipers and windshield washer: The wiper and windshield washer system must operate normally, ensuring good visibility in all weather conditions. Check if the wiper blades are worn or torn, and if the water pump is working effectively.
- Steering wheel and steering column: Sit in the driver’s seat, hold the steering wheel with both hands, and shake it vertically and horizontally to check for play. If excessive vertical or horizontal play is detected, the vehicle needs to be inspected and repaired immediately. Next, gently turn the steering wheel left and right (for vehicles with power steering, the engine needs to be running during inspection), while observing the left front wheel. If you have to turn the steering wheel a large angle before the front wheel moves, the steering mechanism (steering box), steering wheel rim, and steering tie rods need to be checked and adjusted.
3. Truck Brake System Inspection on Test Lane: Self-Inspection Guide
During vehicle registration, the brake system is one of the most thoroughly inspected components on the test lane. Common faults that cause vehicles to fail standards include excessive side slip of the steering axle, low main brake (foot brake) efficiency, excessive brake force deviation between the two wheels on the same axle, and poor parking brake efficiency. Although registration inspectors will use specialized equipment to check, owners can still self-inspect some items beforehand:
- Side slip of the steering axle: To check for side slip, use two front tires of the same tread pattern and uniform tread depth. Choose a straight, flat, and traffic-free road. While the vehicle is moving straight, lightly hold the steering wheel and drive at a slow speed of about 5 km/h. If the vehicle continues to go straight without steering input, the side slip is relatively acceptable. If the vehicle veers significantly to the left or right, the front suspension system (for cars) or wheel alignment and steering knuckle play (kingpin, for trucks) needs to be checked and adjusted.
- Main brake (foot brake): Drive the vehicle at 30 km/h on a flat, traffic-free road with asphalt or concrete surface. Disengage the clutch and firmly depress the brake pedal, then measure the distance from when the brake is applied until the vehicle comes to a complete stop. If the braking distance is greater than 7.2 meters for cars, over 9.5 meters for small trucks, and over 11 meters for large trucks, the main brake efficiency is not up to standard. Note that during braking, the vehicle body should not deviate too much to the left or right. If the vehicle is traveling in the middle of a 3.5-meter wide lane and veers out of this lane when braking, there is a brake problem (uneven brake force between the left and right wheels on the same axle). Vehicle veering to the left is usually due to the right wheel brake being weak, and vice versa. Additionally, you can ask someone else to observe the brake marks on the road. If a wheel has no brake mark or a faint brake mark, that wheel’s brake is weak or ineffective.
- Parking brake: Drive the vehicle at 15 km/h, apply the parking brake, and measure the braking distance. If the braking distance is greater than 6 meters, it is not up to standard and needs to be checked and repaired. Another way to check the parking brake is to park the vehicle on a 20% slope. If the vehicle remains stationary on this slope without rolling, the parking brake is satisfactory.
4. Truck Emission and Noise Inspection Checklist: Ensuring Environmental Standards
Emission and noise inspection is an important part of the vehicle registration process, especially in the context of increasingly stringent environmental regulations. Below is a checklist of items to inspect related to emissions and noise:
- Electric horn: Trucks are required to have a functioning electric horn. Air horns are not allowed, unless the air horn is original equipment from the manufacturer and its volume is within permissible limits.
- Gasoline engine emissions: For trucks using gasoline engines, if there is a problem with the ignition system, the vehicle will certainly fail emission standards. Incomplete combustion will increase the concentration of pollutants such as CO and HC in the exhaust. Experience shows that gasoline vehicles need to run smoothly at idle (ga-răng-ti), with no smell of raw fuel from the exhaust and smooth acceleration to likely pass emission standards.
- Diesel engine smoke: For diesel engines, registration inspectors will check the smoke opacity at maximum engine speed (according to regulations, it can be up to 4200 rpm). Therefore, owners need to carefully check the cooling fan, water pump belt, and radiator before registration. In many cases, vehicles suffer broken fan blades, damaged radiators, or broken oil filters due to not being thoroughly checked before registration. In addition, pay attention to whether the vehicle emits excessive smoke when accelerating hard. If there is excessive smoke, the air filter and oil filter should be checked for clogging. Lightly tap the exhaust pipe with a stick and rev the engine to remove carbon deposits inside. If the above components have been checked and the vehicle still produces excessive smoke, the injection pump (fuel pump) and injectors (nozzles) need to be adjusted.
5. Truck Chassis Inspection Checklist: Key Components
The truck chassis inspection stage is often overlooked but is very important. Below is a checklist of key components to inspect:
- Steering tie rods: For vehicles with power steering, start the engine to activate the power steering system. Have someone else摇 the steering wheel back and forth and observe the steering tie rods to detect any play that requires repair or replacement.
- Leaf springs: Check the leaf springs to see if any leaves are broken or misaligned. Damaged leaf springs not only affect load-bearing capacity but also cause safety hazards during operation.
- Universal joints (cardan shafts): Manually shake the universal joints to detect if the support bearing or universal joint couplings are loose. Loose universal joints can cause unpleasant noises and affect the vehicle’s drivetrain.
For new vehicles (under 7 years old), chassis inspection may not be too complicated. Experience shows that if you drive the vehicle on the road and do not detect strange noises when the vehicle is bumpy, a visual inspection at home is sufficient. However, if you feel any abnormalities, take the vehicle to a garage for a more thorough inspection.
Conclusion: Thorough Preparation for Truck Registration
Proactively performing a truck inspection checklist before registration is a smart and necessary preparation step. By self-inspecting and fixing minor faults early, owners can ensure a smooth vehicle registration process, save costs and time, and improve the safety and longevity of their trucks.
