International Ships First Trucks With A26 Engines

International's A26 12.4-liter diesel is being shipped in new LT and RH trucks.

International Truck announced it has started customer shipments of its first International LT Series and RH Series trucks with the company's new A26 12.4-liter engines.

The company's internal testing shows these products are delivering up to 9% better fuel economy over the comparable models built only a year ago.

When it unveiled the engine at the Technology & Maintenance Council annual meeting in February, the company said the A26 was developed through an initiative called Project Alpha that brought together a team of trucking industry powertrain engineers. The developers focused on emphasizing simplicity over complexity and using only proven components.

The truck and engine maker listed these as key features of the A26:
• Components engineered to maximize uptime
• Light weight of 2,299 pounds
• The most efficient engine in International's on-highway lineup
• The quietest engine in International's lineup
• Hundreds of thousands of hours of testing
• Millions of real-world test miles

"Delivering our 12.4-liter engine is a significant milestone for Navistar," said Persio Lisboa, Navistar executive vice president and chief operations officer. "We continue to receive great customer feedback on the products we're delivering today. Customers will continue to experience outstanding levels of quality, reliability and uptime with our new family of Class 8 on-highway trucks, now complete with the A26 engine."

Related: Navistar Rising: A26 Engine Signals New Chapter

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SAF Holland Refocuses on Aftermarket Parts

SAF Holland is bringing its electronic catalog up to date and focusing on field sales and timely order fulfilment. Photo: SAF Holland

Twenty years ago, in the wake of an acquisition, newly formed SAF-Holland made a strategic decision to focus on OEM sales. At the time, the move was at odds with the industry's long-standing practice of installing firth wheels at truck dealerships or independent shops.

“As far back as 1985, Holland was a 100% aftermarket company,” said Carl Mesker, vice president, aftermarket, for SAF Holland. “But truck OEMs increasingly began to install fifth wheels at the factory, and the Holland company began to slowly transition to meet this new trend.”

In order to better serve this new market, Holland went on a buying spree, acquiring jack manufacturer Brinkley in 1991 and Fruehauf's axle business in 1997. Neway's air ride suspension business followed in 1999 and landing gear supplier Austin Westran in 2005. The following year, the company merged with SAF, and soon after, the company began to reevaluate its aftermarket strategies.

But after successfully meeting OEM needs, the need to provide better aftermarket support to fleets was obvious, Mesker noted. Today, SAF Holland's primary goal is to make the experience of finding, purchasing and obtaining aftermarket parts so easy for fleets that they request SAF-Holland products on their next purchase.

In order to do that, Mesker says the company is currently rewriting its sales catalogs and maintenance manuals – some of which date back to the 1960s – while bringing its electronic catalog up to date and focusing on field sales and timely order fulfilment. “We are really stressing internet functionality,” Mesker said. “This encompasses objectives like quick and easy information for parts on demand, availability lookup, price checks, and freight rates. We're redesigning our system to make sure fleets and ...Read the rest of this story

Bosch Debuts Class 4-8 Diagnostic Scan Tool

The Bosch HDS 200 Heavy Duty Scan Tool Kit displays and graphs live data from SAE standard MIDS/PIDS along with on-screen definitions of diagnostic trouble codes. Photo: Bosch

Bosch has announced a new HDS 200 heavy duty scan tool, which the company said is designed to be an easy-to-use, cost-effective solution for technicians working on Class 4 - 8 trucks.

The new HDS 200 is a solution for aftermarket repair shops that sometimes service heavy- and medium-duty trucks and can also help heavy-duty shops that need a second triage tool or a mobile diagnostic tool for their repair trucks.

According to Bosch, the HDS 200 is ruggedized and features a color display with clear diagnostic trouble codes. To better assist technicians in diagnosis and repair, the tool displays and graphs live data from SAE standard MIDS/PIDS along with on-screen definitions of diagnostic trouble codes and is HD-OBD compatible. Users have the option of recording data to playback information. The tool offers Global OBD II Quick Test for gasoline and diesel engines. A demonstration mode allows technicians to quickly get up to speed on tool features and funtionality.

The Bosch HDS 200 Heavy Duty Scan Tool kit includes a 9-pin Deutsch cable, 6-pin Deutsch cable, 16-pin HD/OBD II cable, USB cable, quick start guide and carrying case.

For more information visit www.BoschDiagnostics.com.

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The impending telematics takedown

Six months to go for the new ELD (Electronic Logging Device) rule to take effect. Some of you may be able to wait until 2019 to get a fully compliant device, because you've already been using some sort of device.

What can I say that has not already been said? BEWARE! Today, there are the old stalwarts of the industry, the companies that have been pursuing this space for the last few years, and the new startups that see great potential. The latter group may entice you with extremely low costs for standalone devices. BEWARE!

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CVSA names 2017 college scholarship recipients

The Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance (CVSA) awarded three $1,000 scholarships to high school graduates to attend the college of their choice this fall. Caleb Claycamp will attend Iowa Western Community College; Cole Metcalfe will attend Emory University; and Kyle Thomas will attend the University of Virginia.

The scholarship award program is competitive in its selection criteria, uniquely tailored to recognize outstanding high school seniors. Scholarship recipients are selected by weighing a combination of academic performance, volunteer work and extracurricular activities.

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Ram: Heavy van segment sees year-over-year growth

CHELSEA, MI. For the past two years, sales of larger heavy-duty vans experienced double-digit growth even though sales in the small van segment in North America has plateaued, according to David Sowers, head of Ram Commercial Truck.

During an interview with Fleet Owner at FCA's What's New event at the Chelsea Proving Grounds earlier this week, Sowers attributed larger van growth to low fuel prices and fleets' need for better payload capability.

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U.S. Xpress launches new lease-purchase program

U.S. Xpress just introduced a new lease-purchase program designed to make owning their own business more attainable for professional truck drivers.

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