Summer is no joke. After more than two decades selling, servicing, and supporting roll-offs, front loaders, side loaders, and rear loaders across six locations, I can tell you the trucks that finish the season strong are the ones that got ready before the heat showed up.

Here's the playbook we share with our fleet customers to keep your equipment running and your people safe through the hottest months.

1. Start With the Cooling System

Whether you're running a roll-off hauling 30-yard boxes, a front loader knocking out 1,000 commercial stops, a side loader on a residential route, or a rear loader grinding through alleys, the cooling system is your first line of defense.¹ Before the heat peaks, do this on every chassis:

• Pressure-test the radiator cap and check for weeping at the neck.
• Inspect all coolant hoses for cracks, soft spots, swelling, or chafing.
• Pull a coolant sample and check the freeze point and the nitrite/SCA level — nitrites protect against cavitation and corrosion, and they get used up fast in hot-running refuse applications.
• Clean the radiator, charge air cooler, transmission cooler, power steering cooler, and A/C condenser. Trash dust packs these fins solid — back-flush with low-pressure water and a fin comb.
• Verify the engine fan clutch is engaging properly.

2. Hydraulics: The Heart of Every Refuse Body

This is where summer separates the well-maintained trucks from the broken ones. Your hydraulic system — a front loader fork cycle, a side loader grabber, a roll-off hoist — generates serious heat, and ambient temps stack on top of that.

• Pull an oil analysis sample. You're not looking for wear metals like in engine oil — you're looking for water and dirt contamination, which spike in humid climates.²
• Verify viscosity grade. Petroleum-based hydraulic oils often need a seasonal change for hot weather; synthetics can usually run year-round thanks to a higher viscosity index.
• Inspect every hose for chafing. Hose failures are commonly caused by branches, light poles on tight turns, and stress from lifting frozen or overloaded containers.
• Check and replace tank breathers. A clogged or wrong-type breather pulls humid air straight into your reservoir.
• Don't overfill or underfill the reservoir. Both cause heat problems.
• Tighten the tank cap. Sounds basic — costs fleets thousands every summer.
• Grease pins and bushings on schedule. On a front loader's fork pivots or a rear loader's packer, dry pins under heat load wear out fast.
• Be careful pressure washing. Water forced past ram seals or through a loose cap contaminates your whole system.

Adjust those intervals based on duty cycle and what your oil analysis tells you.

3. Body-Specific Tips

4. The Rest of the Truck

• Tires: Hot pavement plus heavy loads equals blowouts. Check pressures cold, every morning, and look for cracks, bulges, and uneven wear.¹
• Belts and rubber: Heat hardens and cracks belts and hoses faster than anything. Replace anything questionable now, not in August.
• Brakes: Inspect pads, drums, slack adjusters, and S-cams. Stop-and-go refuse work plus heat fades brakes fast.
• Batteries: Heat kills batteries even faster than cold. Load-test every battery in the fleet at the start of summer.
• A/C system: Charge it, check the compressor, replace cabin air filters, and confirm vent temps are pulling 40°F or below.⁴

5. Don't Forget the Driver — They're Part of the Fleet

A truck that's ready for summer is only half the battle. Your drivers are out there in full sun, climbing in and out of the cab, lifting, pulling carts, and breathing hot exhaust air.

What every refuse operation should do before summer:

• Train every driver and helper on heat-illness symptoms — heat rash, heat cramps, heat exhaustion, and heat stroke. Refresh that training every June.⁴
• Acclimatize new hires gradually. OSHA and NIOSH recommend ramping new workers up — roughly 20% exposure on day one, increasing 20% each day. Same goes for any driver returning from more than two weeks off.⁵⁶
• Hydration, hydration, hydration. Issue every driver a quality insulated bottle (40 oz minimum). Keep ice, water, and electrolyte drinks in the yard fridge. Encourage small sips — about a cup every 20 minutes — rather than chugging at lunch.⁵
• Build in rest breaks. OSHA's proposed heat standard calls for a 15-minute break every two hours once temps cross the threshold. Even where it isn't yet law, it's good practice.⁶
• Start earlier. Push start times earlier in the morning where routing allows, so the hottest hours aren't spent on the heaviest stops.
• Stock the trucks. Cooling towels, electrolyte packets, sunscreen, and a small first-aid kit with instant cold packs belong in every cab.
• Check in on your people. On extreme-heat days, dispatch should radio drivers periodically — a quick "how you doing out there?" can catch heat exhaustion before it becomes heat stroke.⁶
• Know the signs of heat stroke — confusion, hot dry skin, no sweating, rapid pulse. That's a 911 call: get them in shade, cool them with water on the skin and air movement, and don't wait.⁵

Take care of the shop, too. A maintenance bay running 105°F is dangerous for your techs. Evaporative coolers (like the Portacool units fleets such as D&O Garbage use) can drop bay temps 10–15 degrees and keep your wrench-turners safe and productive.⁴