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5/30/17

Meritor 13X axle can now be spec’d on International Trucks

Meritor's 13X axle can now be spec'd for International Trucks
Meritor announced this week that its 13X single-drive axle can be spec’d by fleets purchasing medium-duty trucks from International Trucks. It will become standard equipment on DuraStar models in July.
“The 13X axle brings Meritor’s legendary durability and efficiency to a wide range of applications in the medium-duty market,” said Ken Hogan, vice president of rear drivetrain for Meritor.


“International Trucks’ medium-duty customers spec’ing the 13X will be equipping their fleets with an axle system that is lighter, more efficient and tailored to their needs. It’s a smart choice for this market.”
Built on Meritor’s proven 14X platform and optimized for medium-duty, the 13X is 59 pounds lighter and .5 percent more efficient than the company’s previous offering. Available in a variety of ratios from 3.90 to 6.50 and with gross axle weight ratings (GAWR) between 17,000 and 21,000 pounds, the 13X is engineered for multiple medium-duty applications, including pick-up and delivery, beverage, utility, school bus, construction and ambulance.
The power-dense 13X is ideal for applications with standard differentials. For limited application options that the 13X will not address, including ratios or driver-controlled differential lock, the 14X single-axle platform will continue to be available. The 13X can be configured with hydraulic disc brakes or drum brakes.
OnTrac and DriveForce, Meritor’s North American sales and service organization, are available to assist customers with solutions before, during and after the sale.
- See more at: http://www.hardworkingtrucks.com/meritor-13x-axle-can-now-be-specd-on-international-trucks/#sthash.KIuKLfwQ.dpuf



5/27/17

Optimizing Truck and Van Specs

Photo courtesy of Ford.

by Mike Antich 

Vehicle specifications should be defined by the fleet application and mission requirements. It is important to design a truck or van that will accommodate your operational requirements rather than trying to make your operation conform to the vehicle. Without fully understanding the fleet application requirements and operating parameters, it is impossible to spec the best chassis, powertrain, and body necessary to optimize productivity.

A common mistake made by inexperienced fleet managers is that they do not know a vehicle's operating parameters and payload requirements. You need to talk with the people in the field to understand what type of service the vehicle is expected to perform and how it will be used. The key objective of your discussions with drivers or technicians is to match the truck or van with the fleet application. When meeting with end-users, ask questions about their current vehicles. For example, is the powertrain right for their application? Similarly, investigate whether the gross vehicle weight (GVW) is adequate for the payload carried, or, is the gross combination weight rating (GCWR) high enough if the vehicle will be towing a trailer?

When talking with employees who are actually using trucks or vans, you may discover they have problems unknown to you. It is common to discover problems with loading height, cab access, lack of bins, limited visibility when backing, or insufficient tool storage. This is your opportunity to ask a lot of questions to determine vehicle or upfit deficiencies. For instance, ask employees about passenger requirements, how the payload is distributed, whether the vehicle will be fully loaded or operating with a diminishing load, and how they load and off-load cargo.

Look at the existing vehicle and investigate the maintenance records. What type of problems has this vehicle had, if any? This will help you determine if the current vehicle is under-spec’d. If it is, then take the necessary steps to correct it. Usually, the majority of trucks or vans that have unscheduled maintenance problems are under-powered and overloaded, which, in addition to increased shop time, results in increased driver downtime. Your maintenance records will reveal that most of the vehicles that experience repeated mechanical failures are under-spec’d.

When you’re building a medium-duty truck, there are a number of key factors that must be spec’d correctly, or you’ll make an expensive mistake. The foremost consideration when building a truck is payload. The weight of the payload determines the engine, transmission, size of tire, frame, and just about everything else.

It is also important to understand how a vehicle will be loaded and unloaded to determine whether a liftgate or pull-out ramp should be chosen for the truck body. Ask how employees will load the payload. Do they use pallet jacks or forklifts? What are the dimensions of the payload? It is important to know the height requirements of the truck. For instance, if payload will be loaded and off-loaded at a dock, what is the dock height? If a forklift is utilized in the loading or unloading payload, it is essential to have the forklift reinforcement option included in the body specifications.

Also, know where and how your drivers are securing the load. Take into consideration the height and bulk of your product to ensure the truck or van has the proper cargo restraint system.

Clean Sheet Approach to Spec’ing
When spec’ing vehicles, past history is important but one negative outcome to using last model-year specs is repeating past inefficiencies. Fleet managers need to adopt a “clean sheet” approach to how they spec their truck or van fleets.

Building a truck or van is a complicated process. Specifying the right vehicle requires hundreds of decisions and choices — and each choice potentially impacts another. When spec’ing a medium-duty truck, there are a number of key factors that must be spec’d correctly. If not, you’ll end up making an expensive mistake.

Where it gets tricky is finding the balance to avoid over-spec’ing or under-spec’ing a truck, each with its own unique set of consequences. Over-spec’ing a truck or van increases the capitalized cost of the vehicle, while under-spec’ing increases maintenance cost.

Another consequence to an under-spec’d truck or van is that it may require multiple trips due to limited payload capacity. Also, when spec’ing a smaller GVWR truck than required, the tendency is to overload the vehicle. Besides accelerating replacement of wear items, such as brakes, an overloaded vehicle also increases the company’s liability exposure if it is involved in a preventable accident.

Overextending a truck or van's payload capacity beyond the chassis’ weight specifications is a good way to shorten the vehicle's service life. Overloaded trucks will cause premature tire wear, decreased fuel economy, and downtime due to engine or transmission repair. In addition, overloading results in fines and possible impoundment of the vehicle by the authorities.

Interconnectivity Between Specs
It can’t be emphasized enough: To properly spec a truck or van you need to talk with the people in the field to understand what type of service the vehicle is expected to perform and how it will be used. You should solicit input from field personnel to ensure that local issues affecting the vehicle’s operation are taken into account.

When consulting with end-users, there are three components to determining payload requirement. The first is payload weight. How much weight will the vehicle need to carry in its daily workload? You need to determine the maximum need, not an average. The vehicle must be able to do the job every day with the maximum load at any given time. Payload weight will also help determine if the cargo can be loaded and unloaded by hand, or whether you will need a power liftgate or some other type of assist to get it up in the body or bed.

Another determinant is in the volume or size of the payload. The vehicle needs to be large enough to handle the volume. And, you need to know how the payload will be loaded. Is it stackable? Can you stack it right to the ceiling? Or, can only the floor space be used? How do you secure the product? Getting any of these factors wrong can mean the truck or van will be spec’d incorrectly.

The third component is the type of payload. Are you hauling loose gravel, pallets, or boxes of merchandise? This will determine the type of truck or van and body combination you need to choose.

The best way to determine actual payload is to take a normally loaded truck and weigh it on a highway scale. Another practical tip is to weigh the front and rear axle. This will tell you if you are overloading the whole vehicle or just one of the axles.

In addition, you need to make sure that the vehicle can carry not only the payload but also any additional equipment you put on it. The fleet manager needs to add the body and equipment weight to that of any tools or other material that could be stored or transported by the chassis.

To determine the correct vehicle size for the intended payload often requires a judgment call as to how much over-capacity to build into the payload capacity of the vehicle when spec’ing its requirements. Spec’ing the vehicle to the minimum necessary payload rating (by basing it on an average load or looking at only today’s business needs instead of trying to anticipate future needs) means that the vehicle will be operating at peak capacity most of the time, which may compromise safety and the length of its service life. Conversely, too much payload capacity is wasted capacity.

Application is King
Specifications should be defined by the application and mission requirements. Trucks must be equipped to handle very specific fleet applications, which require specifying a multitude of components such as the right drivetrain, suspension, and body. By understanding day-to-day fleet applications, you will be able to build a truck that meets the users’ daily needs. Without fully understanding the fleet application requirements and operating parameters, it is impossible to spec the best chassis, powertrain, and body necessary to optimize productivity. The same holds true with vans.

Fleet managers must understand how company vehicles are intended to be used in the field; however, it is important to be aware that intended usage often does not match real-world usage. The most important first step to correctly spec’ing a truck or van is to meet and talk with the drivers or technicians who will be using the vehicle. This understanding will influence all truck specifications. It can’t be stressed enough that vehicle specifications must be defined by the fleet application and mission requirements.

One way to increase truck or van productivity is to modify specs to increase mpg.

The drivetrain, tires, engine, and aerodynamics of the vehicle must be properly matched to maximize fuel efficiency.

Selecting vehicles with aerodynamic features can prove cost-effective. The rule of thumb is that for each 10% reduction in air resistance, mpg increases by 5%. Examples of aerodynamic modifications include specifying aerodynamic mirrors, moving air filters under the hood, and eliminating fender-mounted mirrors.

Ergonomic Considerations
Under OSHA regulations, an employer must provide a workplace (which includes upfitted work vehicles) free from recognized hazards. Across a variety of vocational segments, today’s fleet managers are devoting increased consideration to ensuring upfits will be ergonomically safe for the driver over the service life of the vehicles.

More fleets are requesting upfits with additional safety equipment, such as a rear-view camera, reverse sensing, back-up alarm, remote start, grab handles, convex spot mirrors, and drop-down ladder racks to reduce workers’ comp claims and to improve operator efficiency.

To create an ergonomically safe work environment, make sure the vehicle is properly engineered upfront for the job it is required to do. For instance, if applications require crane installation on service bodies, the chassis GVWR should be sufficient for the application. Under-engineering can lead to unnecessary safety risks to drivers. When spec’ing auxiliary equipment, be cognizant of component weights. Extra weight not only increases fuel consumption but also reduces payload capacity.

When selecting upfit equipment, review vehicle requests from the field and ask follow-up questions of drivers to verify the equipment is suitable for the job. Thoroughly train all employees handling the equipment in its operation and safe use. Develop written guidelines covering vehicle and equipment usage. Follow manufacturer guidelines to avoid unnecessary accidents.

Field managers should regularly inspect equipment to ensure it is in safe working condition and that equipment is only used for its intended purpose. Often, decisions are made in the field to modify vehicles without the fleet manager being informed. The home office is often not aware of the modification until there is an issue, such as when someone complains about an ergonomics-related health issue.

Spec to Maximize Future Resale
Trucks and vans are ultimately tools of a trade and the chassis merely provide mobility and power to operate equipment. When these vehicles are built to perform at their optimal performance, specifically in the areas of reliability, fuel economy, and driving experience, there will always be a demand and a market to resell these vehicles. While resale is a very important lifecycle consideration, the most important part of a lifecycle calculation for any type of truck, especially medium-duty applications, or van is building the right vehicle for the intended job function.

How you spec a truck or van has a direct bearing on its future resale. Nowadays you don’t want to spec a manual transmission. There are fewer qualified drivers today capable of driving a manual transmission than in the past. Automatic transmissions are required by most companies when selecting a vehicle, which makes automatics more desirable from a resale perspective. In addition to resale value, an automatic transmission assists in driver acquisition, retention, lower maintenance costs, and more uptime.

In addition, for trucks, always specify the power take-off (PTO) provision. Even if there’s no need for a PTO for the truck’s initial use, the availability of the PTO provision will make the truck more attractive to buyers in the secondary market because it saves the future owner from having to pay to add the provision.

Ultimately, mileage and general condition will likely play the greatest role in determining desirability and resale value.

Source: http://www.worktruckonline.com/channel/operations/article/story/2017/05/understanding-the-variables-to-optimize-truck-van-specs.aspx


5/24/17

Road to driverless trucks clogged with unanswered questions

Driver training, safety, and cybersecurity among the topics discussed during FMCSA listening session.




With nearly daily media reports detailing new breakthroughs of highly automated commercial vehicles (HACVs), it may seem they are almost ready for large-scale use.

Yet a public listening session sponsored by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) illustrated just how many questions remain to be answered before the technology can become a reality on the nation’s highways.

“There is a gigantic void between what is reality and what is the Hollywood version of what is going on. We are a long, long way from a truly driverless truck, and I think everyone in this room knows that,” said Tom Balzer, president of the Ohio Trucking Association.

Source: http://fleetowner.com/regulations/road-driverless-trucks-clogged-unanswered-questions




5/21/17

Volvo pioneers autonomous, self-driving refuse truck in the urban environment


Volvo Group, together with Swedish waste and recycling specialists Renova, is testing a pioneering autonomous refuse truck that has the potential to be used across the urban environment. 
The project explores how automation can contribute to enhanced traffic safety, improved working conditions and lower environmental impact.

5/18/17

TRACTOR TRAILER SEMI SCALE SYSTEM ALL AIR SUSPENSION




The Vulcan all-digital air scale system for tractor / trailer combinations provides an accurate way to obtain axle and/or payload weights. Corrosion resistant, stainless steel air sensors provide a rugged and reliable solution well suited to meet the requirements of on-board trucking applications. Air sensors are altitude and temperature compensated to enhance performance and accuracy. Vulcan VSL electronics allow unlimited mixing of tractors and trailers without any adjustments.

Learn more at: http://www.vulcanscales.com/index.php/general-trucking/tractor-trailer-semi/


5/15/17

“Managing” can minimize downtime: Why trucks experience unscheduled downtime and addressing remedies

Unexpected out-of-service events, especially when they happen on the road, are always expensive—too expensive to be dismissed as being inevitable. Yet many fleets, in their busy day-to-day operations, too often fail to address how the road breakdowns that they do experience might be avoided in the future.

Dick Hyatt, president of Decisiv Inc., a provider of service relationship management software that can help minimize unscheduled downtime, said, “The traditional costs of commercial vehicle maintenance are measured in hard dollars, but while the trucking industry focuses on cost pressures and other challenges, many completely out of their control, fleets still ignore the fundamental business impacts associated with days out-of-service for service and repair events. This fundamental flaw misses the impact that this has on revenue, customer and driver retention and net profit.”


Ryder System Inc. is one fleet that has not fallen victim to neglecting the financial problems associated with unscheduled downtime. While it’s a call no one ever wants to get, Ryder’s management knows if it happens, getting a disabled truck back on the road as quickly and safely as possible is vital. The company also understands it’s important to determine exactly what caused the problem so procedures can be developed to minimize or eliminate such problems in the future.

According to Ryder, heavy-duty trucks often experience at least one emergency breakdown annually. Not only are such events disruptive, compromising delivery schedules, customer commitments and product safety; they also can be dangerous. Idle vehicles and their drivers waiting for assistance are exposed to the dangers of drivers who are distracted or traveling at high speeds.

Prevention via PMs

Based on experience with its more than 2,000 assets, Ryder found that the most frequent reasons for road breakdowns are tires, electrical system problems, brake issues and running out of fuel. It also found that regularly scheduled, thorough preventive maintenance (PM) routines can help pre-empt many such problems before they cause emergency situations.


Melvin Kirk, vice president of maintenance and quality operations at Ryder, said, “Traditionally, when a vehicle came in, we would execute the activities that were mandated by federal or state regulations or by our customer’s requirements. We now have intensified our focus around what we have started calling the perfect PM. This is essentially taking advantage of the opportunity, during each preventive maintenance routine, to execute all of the maintenance activities that might be required at that time.

“The objective of such activity is to ensure that the vehicle will run from that event to the next scheduled PM without any break in service. That means we execute everything from existing campaigns to any necessary repairs—doing more of a diagnostic evaluation of the vehicle at the time of the scheduled PM in order to prevent any unscheduled event midstream.”

Efficiency is important

Ryder looks upon a PM as an opportunity to improve the overall health of a vehicle. During time studies done in its shops, the company found that a maintenance technician, left only with his experience and a PM sheet, could walk as much as 4 mi. while working on a single vehicle.


“To correct this,” Kirk said, “we establish the most efficient flow around the vehicle to minimize all of that walk time. We now also have the parts readily available that will be needed for the scheduled routine based on historical PM data. For example, any filters that will be needed will be right at hand. As a result, our technicians can more efficiently execute a PM from a quality and a speed standpoint. That is one of the most significant advances we’ve made over the last two or three years in our maintenance routines. We’ve taken time and distance out of the exercise and improved the quality of it.”

As indicated above, Ryder data indicate that tire problems are the most frequent cause of on-the-road breakdowns. This is particularly true during the summer months. Kirk said, “We find tires represent a very important part for maintenance uptime; so in our PM routine we stress an evaluation of the health of tires.”

The fleet’s maintenance technicians will do everything from rotating to changing out tires during preventive maintenance events to minimize the chance of having any issues before the next scheduled PM from the tires or wheels. The entire wheel system is evaluated every time they see a vehicle. They record the wear on each individual tire on the vehicle and have protocols in place requiring the position of the tires be changed if there is an excessive variance between two side-by-side tires. They also look at the wear patterns of the tires all around, which could result in changing a tire or rotating it across the vehicle. Kirk said, “In our preventive maintenance routine, we also do laser measurements to ensure we have correct wheel alignment.”

Ryder Heavy Duty Truck Fleet program
Ryder is good, but no one is perfect, so if a vehicle fails on the road the fleet has established breakdown analysis teams in each one of its shops with specified roles in each one of our shops that are responsible for determining exactly what led to the problem.
Service island activity

Once a truck crosses the threshold of a Ryder facility, the first place it’s going to go is to a service island. At that island there will be a service attendant who will initiate the fueling of the vehicle. He or she will also do a prescribed inspection around the vehicle that will include lights, tires, windshield along with a visual inspection of the undercarriage etc. Kirk said, “We maintain a 12- to 17-point inspection depending on the vehicle type that comes into the service island. Every time you cross the threshold of a Ryder facility, we are going to inspect that vehicle as if we were evaluating it from the DOT standpoint, as well as a maintenance health standpoint.”

Although drivers are required to do pre- and post-trip inspections of their vehicles, Ryder does not make the assumption that either of those has been done as completely as possible nor does the company make the assumption that when a vehicle enters a Ryder facility that there hasn’t been some issue develop since its last inspection. Kirk said, “Such a policy allows us to catch many issues, for example, small fuel leakage or a light that might be out, which could draw attention during a DOT inspection standpoint or, more importantly, from a maintenance standpoint.”

Breakdown analysis and warranty

Ryder is good, but no one is perfect, so if a vehicle fails on the road the fleet has established breakdown analysis teams in each one of its shops with specified roles in each one of our shops that are responsible for determining exactly what led to the problem. Such a program has proved to be an effective method of improving the fleet’s PM and fueling station inspection programs.

Although it was not established to be so, the breakdown analysis program has also been an important contributor to effective warranty management for the fleet. Kirk said, “It forces the team to go back through the information about the event and make a forensic analysis of what happened. Was the failure related to activities we did or should have done during our PM or was it the result of a premature failure of a part? Was it possibly an engineering related issue of the vehicle itself? Once they do that, we have a fairly robust understanding of the cause of the event and if it was related to the failure of a component, which would allow us to make a warranty claim. We also share that analysis with the rest of our team members to help shorten the time required to analyze a future event.

Technology can help

Many of its customers use telematics to provide management data related to hours of service and operational safety. Ryder has taken a further step and is accessing information from the engine’s ECM via telematics on the condition of the engine itself. Kirk said, “Using this information we can alert the customer to any impending problems with the vehicle. We plan on building up, over time, more and more data that will help us better understand the on-road health of our vehicles.”

Another technology that offers fleets the possibility of addressing the causes of vehicle down time is offered by the use of service relationship management (SRM) software to measure and manage the causes, both internal and external, of service and repair events to improve vehicle uptime and availability. Decisiv Inc., a supplier of such software, has found that formal attention of vehicle’s days out of service can significantly influence a fleet’s bottom line.

Some conclusions, based on a recent survey of nine fleets attending the company’s maintenance summit, are of particular interest. These fleets averaged:

• 277 tractors;

• 9,538 revenue miles per truck per month;

• $20,695 in revenue per month ($2.17 per mile);

• 1.51 service events per month; and

• 3.19 days out of service (DOS) per month.

Using average industry financial data, Decisiv calculated that, were these fleets able to reduce days out of service by just 25%, they would achieve a monthly increase of $1,123 in revenue per tractor, a 5.5% increase in asset utilization, an increase of $685 in variable operating expense (due to increased truck utilization) and an increase of $438, or 45%, in net profit per truck. Note these are monthly figures! According to Decisiv, the use of its service relationship management software can achieve these improvements.

Unscheduled downtime can significantly deteriorate a fleet’s profits. Attention to the reasons why trucks experience time out of service and subsequent attention to eliminating those reasons can help increase a fleet’s bottom line.

Source: http://www.fleetequipmentmag.com/verizon-telematics-eld-ready-bundles/


5/12/17

The #1 and #2 Causes of Truck Breakdowns

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5/09/17

How to get the most out of your fleet’s maintenance programs


“Normally, I am not a predictive maintenance guy, but these days I believe it can be a key factor especially in regards to maintenance of aftertreatment and emission systems,” begins Darry Stuart, president and chief executive officer of DWS Fleet Management Services. “As for preventive maintenance, I contend that ‘prevention’ is only from PM to PM. For example, tires and brakes: If it appears they cannot make it to the next PM, then they need to be replaced because. There should not be an interruption of operation for repairs between PMs.

“Don’t deceive yourself into thinking you can get a few more miles on the brakes or tires. That doesn’t work. I always remind fleet managers that we are not in the maintenance business, we are in the asset management business, which comes down to all trucks on the road all day, every day.”

Stuart adds that scheduling is a function of need. “You need to take into consideration driver schedules for delivery, customer service and hours of service, which can be more important than the shop setting up appointments,” he says. “Planned maintenance is not how fast you get vehicles in and out of the shop, but how good the PM is at keeping them out of the shop.

“Today’s sophisticated software provides information about the PM schedules and/or required work,” he continues, “but shops also need to be prepared to service vehicles when they around and when the driver shows up by conscience. The better the PM the better the repairs will take the burden off of both the drive and shop. While there are many great outside suppliers to handle unscheduled maintenance, it is important to remember they are only as good as you manage them and directly incorporate them into your own PM program.”


Don’t wait for failures

According to Kirk Altrichter, vice president of fleet services with the Kenan Advantage Group, the key to preventive maintenance is anticipating what might fail and replacing it before it does. He points out that today’s maintenance management software provides the data need for analysis, but adds that “this isn’t a crystal ball—it is an analytical look at the statistics over time and making decisions based on your interpretation of the information provided.

“We follow the OEM and supplier recommendations for service intervals maintenance, such as oil, coolant and filter changes,” Altrichter continues. “While we have 140 shops to handle maintenance in the U.S and Canada, we still need service on the road from time to time to resolve unexpected maintenance issues like a blown tire. Kenan Advantage Group is a transporter and logistics provider, delivering fuel, chemicals, industrial gases, and food-grade products.”


Stop the breakdowns

When asked what the key advantages of predictive and/or preventive maintenance are, Dan Vander Pol, director of maintenance at Oak Harbor Freight Lines Inc., replies, “Stopping breakdowns on the road is obviously the number one advantage. It also increases the longevity of components that need to get greased or cleaned.

“All the maintenance scheduling at our shops revolves around the PM schedule,” he says. “When we bring a vehicle in for a PM, then we have an A service of the basics, a B service and so on, so we can service all components in a timely manner. This is constantly changing as we get more experience with new components like all the emissions stuff.

“Our shop managers communicate very well with each other if there is a premature failure everyone is informed,” he continues. “We have monthly conference calls with different OEMs to keep us, and them, in the loop regarding problems we have seen, and then we find the best ways to prevent problems. In addition, we usually do use outside vendors for road calls. We have an extensive list in our system of people that we have accounts with in different areas. We have shop managers that choose which vendors are our preferred vendors in an area. If at all possible, we try to get trucks to our shops or to a dealer if there is a problem. Trying to fix a truck on the side of the road is very rarely successful.”



Predictive/preventive

“The key advantages of predictive and/or preventive maintenance is when you can predict a part or item to fail so you replace it before it fails using an average failure report,” says Peter Nativo, director of maintenance for Oakley Transport. “We do predictive maintenance on several items one is our brake chambers on the trailers. We replace them every six years along with the airlines to prevent failures and avoid DOT write-ups for chaffing lines or air leaks.

“The advantage is to keep the wheels turning without breakdown and avoid raising your CSA scores with the DOT for chaffing or airlines leaking during a roadside inspection,” Nativo says. “Preventive maintenance also helps to keep the wheels turning and maintains your vehicle to manufactures recommended specifications for warranty and safe driving.”

As for scheduling work, Nativo says that “drivers complete vehicle condition reports [VCR] and turn them in to our service writer so the repairs can be completed. Our shop manager schedules the work to be completed with our technicians.”

One of the best ways for Oakley Transport to keep everyone informed regarding scheduling and repairs is through its maintenance system Innovative RX, which is inaugurated with its operations department. Oakley Transport uses this system to place units in shop status or available status to keep everyone informed. It also has a scheduling system to inform everyone as equipment comes due for PM or repairs.

“We do use some outside suppliers to handle unscheduled maintenance, like road calls,” Nativo says. “We have an in-house breakdown department and we have national accounts with several suppliers to handle unscheduled repairs and maintenance. We use all Volvo dealers, Ryder, T/A, Petro and Love’s. Our breakdown department has a number of approved vendors that they use, and our computer system lists them in our service provider screens.”

Key advantages

“The key advantages of predictive and/or preventive maintenance include reducing unscheduled downtime, overall operating cost and CSA scores, which means you have happier drivers, operations staff and customers,” says David Foster, vice president of maintenance for Premier Transportation. “Like most fleets, we have an in house software system that tracks miles and times between PMs. Also, if you can be proactive and keep equipment out of dealerships you can typically repair the unit more cost effectively.”

Premier Transportation managers pull these reports regularly, and its drivers also communicate via satellite with pre- and post-trip inspection items that require maintenance. Premier Transportation has an associate that follows up to make sure the vehicles/drivers have been routed to the appropriated maintenance facility and that the maintenance has been completed.

Foster notes that the fleet measures PM compliance and recognizes those facilities that are on top predictive and preventive maintenance. “We have an in-house breakdown department that takes care of all unscheduled maintenance needs that arise on the road,” he adds. “These associates have preferred vendors on file, with whom we have worked over the years, and they are contacted to perform the maintenance for us.”

Premier Transportation is an Irregular Route Common and Contract Carrier, which specializes in providing integrated transportation and logistics solutions to the retail and consumer products industries nationwide.


CAROL BIRKLAND, EDITOR-AT-LARGE, FLEET EQUIPMENT MAGAZINE

LEARM MORE AT  http://www.fleetequipmentmag.com/truck-fleet-maintenance-programs/?eid=341566122&bid=1737827


5/06/17

5 Benefits of Having a Truck Optimized GPS on Your Phone


If you are a trucker working hard day and night, it is essential to choose a truck optimized GPS as your navigation tool while getting behind on wheels. The fastest routes navigated by the standard GPS may cause you ending with more time and money unpredictably.

Here is the list of benefits to get a GPS navigation tool that are specially designed for truckers.

  • · To Avoid Low Clearance Or Truck-Restriction Routes
  • By using the GPS tool that is intended and designed only for truckers, it certainly helps you to avoid the non-friendly truck routes, low clearance or low bridges that could crash your truck trailer.
  • · Save Money On Fuel
  • NO more feeling headaches of searching for the best deal on fuel. There are bundle of GPS navigation tool provides you the up-to-date and accurate diesel price of nearby fuel stations.
  • · Delivery Freights on Time.

The truck specified GPS tool helps you to prevent the traffic congestions. You can plan the route to an unfamiliar destination in advance according to the live weather and traffic conditions provided.

· Save Time
No doubt, you can save your precious time in searching for the nearby Truck POI locations with the truck optimize GPS. Knowing in advance where to pull over your truck, it is definitely beneficial for you.

· Convenience
Within the GPS system, you can easily find the nearby Walmart stores with truck parking, scales, truck washes, hotels and restaurants nearby. It is the most convenience way to find places to fill your stomach and take a nap or relax your mind.

The Truckbubba app is the best companion app for truck drivers in North America. This app is integrated with several different mobile app assistants such as Truck Weigh Station App, Diesel Fuel Locator App, Truck Route Planner, Speedometer, Weather Forecast, etc.

Speedometer feature is a speed limit alert that allows you to adjust the speed limit for highways and cities respectively with no speeding violation.It will automatically warn you with vivid yellow or red value if your truck is over speeding.

Truckbubba app — Truck optimized GPS with speed limit alert is the best matching solution to ensure the safety of the truckers on the road.

Learn more at: www.truckbubba.com


5/03/17

Motorhome Servicing at North Bay Truck Center


North Bay Truck Center is becoming the go-to place for motor home chassis work. That is because if you take the shell off of a motor home--take the body off of it--let’s say, for example, a diesel pusher. It’s really a bus chassis. It’s really built by the truck and bus chassis manufacturers. Many that built the motor home chassis also built big trucks, and Freightliner is an example. For us, if we’re under the motor home or we’re looking into the engine compartment, we’re really looking at the same picture as we are if we’re looking on a Class 6, 7 or 8 truck.

We are well versed on the platforms of engines that they use. Primarily, they use Cummins or Caterpillar engines on some of the older ones. For the diesel pushers, we’re very well versed on those engines. We have the computer software to plug into them. We’re familiar with the Allison transmissions that are most all of them use. The braking systems on a lot of them are air brakes, similar to that of a Class 6 through 8 truck. They also have suspension components that are shared. They use air ride suspension on the front axle a lot of times, which is found on the newest class 6 through 8 trucks. We’re very familiar with the chassis of the diesel pushers.

North Bay is also going to be able to look up maintenance schedules on those as well. Motor homes generally will come with all manuals in a big binder referring to your refrigerator, your heating system, air conditioning. If your vehicle is new, you should have the Cummins manual for the engine and in the case of the Freightliner chassis, a Freightliner chassis manual with maintenance intervals for that chassis as well as the engine. Again, we can help look those things up if you don’t have the manuals available.

On the diesel pushers, we have a facility large enough to bring the biggest unit into the shop. Even a 45-foot 3-axle diesel pusher can fit inside our shop and be kept under cover. If it does require to be outside for a time, we have surveillance cameras outside our shop and you can rest assured that our facility is locked down and that the cameras are working 24/7.

We're also very familiar with the smaller coaches that are built on a gasoline or light-duty diesel chassis such as Ford or Chevrolet or GMC, or even the Sprinter chassis. Again, these are truck chassis or cutaway van chassis that we work on every day.

We service almost anything related to the truck chassis part of the motor home, including, axle bearings, tires, the rear differential, transmission, steering components, including the air conditioning on the chassis. We do not work on the roof mounted air, but we can help direct you to who can help with that, and other internal aspects of the motor home. Everything to do with what makes it go down the road and stop, we can take care of for you. 

Tires on motor homes can easily develop flat spots from sitting too long, and the air and UV rays deteriorate tires over time whether they are being used or not. We can help with tires because we sell tires for all trucks and buses and can balance and install them so that your coach rides smooth again and is perfectly safe in your travels.

North Bay recently purchased six Mohawk pedestal lifts that will allow us to lift the largest diesel pusher up in the air outside of our facility to facilitate faster and more efficient repairs.

Our goal is to get you back on the road on your travels very quickly, and insure that the repairs are done right. You can count on us with your motor home.