Free fleet templates
Truck Maintenance Log Template
A vehicle maintenance log for trucks, tractors and trailers, as an Excel workbook, a printable PDF and a Word document. It holds each vehicle's identification, what is due next and every inspection, repair and service: the records 49 CFR 396.3 asks a carrier to keep.
No signup needed. All three files are free to use and change.
What's in the Excel workbook
- Vehicles. One row per truck, tractor or trailer: unit number, year, make, model, serial number (VIN), plate, who owns it and its last annual inspection. The sheet works out when the next inspection is due and flags it 30 days ahead.
- Maintenance log. One row per inspection, repair or service: date, unit, odometer, type, the work done, who did it, the invoice or work order, cost and any follow-up. There are 500 rows ready, and the unit column offers the numbers from your Vehicles sheet.
- Maintenance due. A truck maintenance schedule: each service a vehicle needs, how often, when it was last done and when it is next due by date and by odometer.
- PM checklist. A printable preventive maintenance checklist for the shop.
Each sheet has one example row in yellow to type over. Grey cells are worked out from your dates.
What's in the PDF and the Word document
Three US Letter pages for a fleet that keeps paper. Page one is a vehicle maintenance record: the vehicle's details, a table of inspections and maintenance due, and the first lines of its service log. Page two is an extra log sheet to print as often as a vehicle needs. Page three is the preventive maintenance checklist. The Word document has the same three pages, for adding your company name or changing the checklist before you print.
What the rules ask you to keep
For each vehicle a carrier controls for 30 consecutive days or more, §396.3(b) asks for three things, and the template has a place for each:
- An identification of the vehicle: company number if it is marked with one, make, serial number and year, plus the name of whoever furnished it if it isn't yours.
- A means to indicate the nature and due date of the inspection and maintenance operations to be performed.
- A record of inspection, repairs and maintenance showing their date and nature.
Buses also need a record of pushout window, emergency door and marking light tests.
A truck maintenance checklist for the shop
The preventive maintenance checklist lists 26 items in seven groups: engine, driveline, brakes, steering and suspension, wheels and tires, electrical, and cab, body and coupling. Each has an OK box, a Needs work box and a notes line, with space at the foot for work still needed. It suits a semi truck and trailer; add or strike items to match your equipment, and take the service intervals from the manufacturer's schedule.
An example entry
On September 12 a shop changes the oil and filter on T-101 at 412,380 miles, greases the chassis and measures brake stroke. The log row reads: the date, T-101, 412,380, Preventive maintenance, the work, the shop's name and work order WO-1042. The follow-up column notes that the left steer tire is wearing on the outer edge. When the alignment has been checked, that date goes in the last column and the follow-up is closed.
Use the same unit number every time
Choose the identifier your fleet already uses and keep it the same on invoices, inspection reports and the log. Enter the real service date and the odometer reading when you have it; leave an unknown reading blank instead of entering zero. Describe the work clearly enough that someone else can tell a repair from an inspection or a routine service.
Annual inspections are a separate record
Each vehicle needs a periodic inspection at least once every twelve months under §396.17, with its own inspection report. Log the annual inspection like any other service and keep the report itself for 14 months (§396.21(b)). Tractors, trailers and dollies each have their own annual inspection, which is why each gets its own row on the Vehicles sheet.
Questions
Does the maintenance log open in Google Sheets?
Yes. Upload the .xlsx file to Google Drive and open it with Sheets, or open it in Excel. The due-date columns work in both.
Can I use it for trailers as well as trucks?
Yes. Give each truck, tractor, trailer and dolly its own row on the Vehicles sheet and its own printed record. Each one needs its own annual inspection under 49 CFR 396.17.
How long do we keep maintenance records?
For one year where the vehicle is housed or maintained, and for six months after the vehicle leaves your control (49 CFR 396.3(c)). Annual inspection reports are kept for 14 months (396.21(b)).
Does the template set service intervals for me?
Only one: the annual inspection, at 12 months. Every other interval is blank for you to fill in from the manufacturer's schedule for that vehicle.
Related
Read the DOT record retention guide →
See truck maintenance records in Ledger Road →