Managing a business fleet means you probably have enough on your plate without worrying about the health of your garage doors. But think about it—your fleet’s garage door is used day in and day out, opening and closing for deliveries, services, and storage. Ultimately, keeping them in good shape means a couple of things: avoiding downtime, safety, and saving money in the long run.
At Jolly Goat Garage Doors, we’ve worked with businesses of all sizes, so we know what it takes to keep your commercial garage door functioning as it should. Now, if you’re interested in what a garage door professional team like us has to say, check out our compilation of tips below, including garage door maintenance tips and techniques to keep your garage door ready for just about anything!
Related Article: The Benefits of Weather-Resilient Commercial Garage Doors
The Role of Garage Doors in Fleet Management
Your garage doors aren’t just an entry and exit point—they’re part of the infrastructure that keeps your fleet moving. Broken garage door openers can mean delayed shipments, stalled operations, inefficiency, and even compromised security. When you properly maintain your garage door, you’re taking an active approach that can make all the difference. Whether you’ve got steel doors or wood doors, not skipping garage door maintenance can help you avoid costly repairs and a long list of headaches you’d rather avoid.
Daily Habits That Make a Difference
1. Visual Checks
Take a quick look at your garage doors every day. Is your door opening and closing properly with no complaints? You might need to do a closer checkup if it looks like it’s struggling. Do the tracks and garage door rollers look clear of dirt? Clean your garage door if the answer is no. Are the sensors positioned properly near the bottom of the door frame? Are the torsion springs and cables intact? If this isn’t the case, it’s time to make some adjustments.
Well, you get the point! It’s better to spot issues right away before they can escalate and cause even bigger problems that are harder to fix.
2. Clear the Area
Garage doors are used so often in fleet operations that random clutter can easily build up around them. So, it’s best to make it a habit to keep the area around your door as well as the door’s path clear of things that can get in the way and cause issues. This way, you can prevent accidental damage and make sure that nothing interferes with the door’s operation.
3. Check the Weather Seal or Weatherstripping
Weatherstripping might seem like a minor detail, but it keeps the elements out and helps regulate the temperature inside your garage, which is great for energy efficiency. If you discover that it’s cracked or peeling, trust us, it’s definitely time for a replacement.
Scheduled Maintenance
1. Proper Lubrication
An important part of regular maintenance is properly lubricating your garage door parts. More specifically, apply a silicone-based lubricant to moving parts like garage door rollers, hinges, and tracks every few months. Doing this reduces friction, prevents wear and tear, and keeps things running as quietly as possible.
2. Test Balance
When your garage door’s balance is off, it can put extra strain on the opener and other components of the system. To test whether you’ve got a properly balanced door or not, disconnect the opener and manually open the door. After you open the door manually, leave it halfway open, and if it doesn’t stay in place, then that means you have an unbalanced door. This might require a professional garage door spring service, as it often involves adjusting things like spring tension or replacing the spring itself.
3. Safety Features
Your garage door’s safety features are there to protect your team as well as your fleet. That’s why it’s important to regularly test the auto-reverse feature by placing a small object in the door’s path. Now, your door should reverse direction a few seconds after stopping. If that doesn’t happen, it’s a sign that your photo eye sensors need cleaning or adjusting!
4. Tighten Hardware
Garage doors move a lot, and all that movement can lead to loose nuts and bolts as time goes by. If you don’t tighten hardware like the roller brackets and other components, you might end up needing service for extensive repairs, and in worst cases, it might even lead to accidents. As prevention, we recommend grabbing a wrench and tightening things up every so often to make sure everything stays secure.
Common Problems and Quick Fixes
1. Noisy Doors
Ideally, your garage door should only be making minimal noise when it’s being used. When you hear a rattling or squeaky noise, that means something in your garage door system needs a bit of help. Apply lubricant to the moving parts and check for anything loose. If the noise continues even after you’ve tried lubricating and tightening parts, consider calling pros like Jolly Goat Garage Doors to handle it for you!
2. Stuck Door
If you try to operate your garage door multiple times and it’s just not responding as it should, start by checking the sensors and garage door tracks. A stuck door can point toward a broken spring, which should always be handled by a professional for your own safety.
3. Remote Control Issues
Sometimes, the problem has nothing to do with the door but with the remote or wall button. To solve this issue, try to replace the batteries first. If that doesn’t work, you can also try reprogramming the remote according to your system’s manual. Now, if that still doesn’t do anything, it’s likely an issue with the automatic opener itself.
Train Your Team
Your team interacts with the garage doors daily, so a little training can go a long way. Teach them how to:
- Operate the doors correctly to avoid unnecessary wear.
- Recognize warning signs of problems like unusual noises or slow operation.
- Report issues right away to prevent them from getting worse.
Plan for Emergencies
Even with the best garage door maintenance routine, things can still go wrong unexpectedly. You can’t predict what happens when, but you can definitely be prepared for them! Here’s how you do it:
Keep contact information handy. Have a reliable garage door repair service on speed dial! If you’re in the Oklahoma area, Jolly Goat Garage Doors would be happy to help you out with our emergency garage door services!
Stock spare parts. For minor fixes, you want to have some spare parts like weatherstripping, rollers, and remote batters available and in stock. This way, you can just grab them and use them for whatever quick fix you need for your garage door.
Invest in Quality Garage Doors
While preventative maintenance is great, nothing beats having quality garage doors from the get-go. If your garage doors are old or not suited to the demands of your fleet, upgrading to a newer, more updated version is always a smart move and investment. Modern commercial garage doors are designed to handle whatever your business needs, and their smart technology lets you monitor and control them remotely, which can be incredibly useful depending on your processes.
Partner With a Garage Door Professional You Can Trust
Yes, there’s plenty you can do to maintain your garage door yourself, but some jobs require a professional service technician who’s got the experience, skills, and tools that you may not have. Regular professional inspections can help you catch issues that an untrained eye is bound to miss. Plus, repairs done by experts are generally safer and longer-lasting.
Need Help With Your Fleet’s Garage Doors? It’s Time to Call Jolly Goat Garage Doors!
If your business relies on garage doors, let our Jolly team take some of the load off your shoulders with our commercial garage door services. We’re on standby 24/7, ready to help you keep your fleet moving! Visit our website or call us today at (405) 367-3129 to learn more about our services.
We’ll help you keep those doors rolling and your business running smoothly!
