Waste & refuse
Waste fleet maintenance software that keeps every route running
Refuse and collection trucks live in stop-and-go, heavy-load, high-idle duty cycles that punish brakes, hydraulics, and packers. Fleetpal keeps them serviced on engine-hour PM, turns driver defects into work orders, and tracks cost per truck — so every route runs and every dollar is accounted for.
The stakes
Brutal duty cycles, routes that can't slip
A refuse truck does in a day what a highway truck does in a week of wear — and when one goes down, a route doesn't run. Maintenance data is how waste fleets stay ahead of failures and control the cost of their most expensive trucks.
The worst fuel economy of any commercial vehicle on the road, with trucks idling roughly half the day — so every idle hour and empty mile is pure cost.
Industry estimates
Stops per shift for a residential refuse truck under heavy load — stop-and-go wear that ages brakes, hydraulics, and packers far faster than highway mileage suggests.
Industry estimates
Shorter brake-lining life than over-the-road trucks at comparable miles — which is why refuse PM has to follow engine hours, not the odometer.
Industry estimates
Figures are industry estimates and vary by route, configuration, and duty cycle.
Uptime
Keep every truck route-ready
Engine-hour PM, not odometer PM
Refuse trucks rack up hours far faster than miles. Schedule preventive maintenance by mileage, engine hours, or APU hours so service lands before failures.
See downtime before it costs a route
Track downtime by repair class and catch the emergency and non-scheduled creep that pulls trucks off their routes.
Hydraulics and packers on a schedule
Set recurring inspections for lift arms, cylinders, and compactor blades — the components that wear fastest under daily load.
Live in-service status across the yard
Know at a glance which trucks are ready and which are down, before dispatch builds the day.
Built for refuse and collection fleets
Engine-hour & mileage PM
Schedule by miles, engine hours, or APU hours.
DVIR to work order
Turn a driver's reported defect into a work order in one click.
Hydraulic & packer inspections
Recurring checks for lift arms, cylinders, and blades.
Brake & tire tracking
Stay ahead of the fastest-wearing components on the truck.
Parts inventory
Tie parts to work orders and reorder before a route is at risk.
Cost-per-mile reporting
VMRS component costs broken out per unit.
Expiration & compliance alerts
Registrations, inspections, and certifications before they lapse.
Vendor management
Track outsourced repairs alongside in-house work.
Cost control
Control repair spend on the most expensive trucks you run
Every job, fully costed
Parts, labor, services, fees, and tax on one work order — so you see the true cost of every repair.
Cost per unit and per mile
VMRS-coded cost reporting per truck to spot the units quietly draining the budget.
In-house and vendor work in one place
Track shop and outsourced repairs against the same record.
Approvals before money is spent
Estimate to approval to PO workflow, so a big refuse-truck repair never surprises the budget.
Schedule. Service. Run.
Schedule
Engine-hour PM keeps refuse trucks serviced before the duty cycle breaks them.
Service
Defects and work orders move trucks through the shop fast, with parts and costs tracked.
Run
Uptime and cost data keep every route covered and every dollar accounted for.
Explore more of the platform
Waste fleet software FAQ
What is waste management fleet software?
Waste management fleet software schedules preventive maintenance, manages work orders, tracks parts and costs, and keeps refuse trucks compliant and on route. Fleetpal does this with engine-hour PM, one-click DVIR-to-work-order, and per-truck cost reporting built for collection fleets.
How does Fleetpal handle the heavy wear on refuse trucks?
By scheduling PM on engine or APU hours rather than miles, and setting recurring inspections for the brakes, hydraulics, and packer components that wear fastest in stop-and-go collection duty.
Can it schedule maintenance by engine hours instead of miles?
Yes. Preventive maintenance can be scheduled by mileage, engine hours, or APU hours — so service is driven by how hard each truck actually works.
Does it help with DOT and CSA compliance?
Yes. Driver DVIR defects flow into work orders, and the Expirations tracker flags registrations, inspections, and certifications before they lapse — so documentation is ready for an audit.
Can I track repair costs per truck?
Yes. Every work order is fully costed across parts, labor, services, fees, and tax, and cost-per-mile and VMRS component reporting break spend out per unit.
Does it support in-house and outsourced repairs?
Yes. Fleetpal tracks both in-house and vendor work orders, with an estimate to approval to purchase order workflow for larger jobs.
Trusted by fleets that run on Fleetpal
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Keep every route running
See how Fleetpal keeps refuse and waste fleets maintained, compliant, and on the road.