Bringing Maintenance to the Truck

Lights, tires and the air system can all be inspected from a mobile maintenance truck at a customer's location. Photo: Transervice Lease Corp.

Fleets are constantly looking for ways to increase roll time of their trucks and trailers and cut down on CSA violations, says Jerry Bodkins, program manager at TA Truck Service OnSite. Mobile maintenance allows them to do that “without having to go through the logistical nightmare of going back to the shop and staffing technicians, which is not easy for anybody in this industry today,” he says.

There are economic advantages to fleets that have their own mobile maintenance trucks, because they do not have to invest in brick and mortar. Even if a fleet chooses to outsource mobile maintenance, it still can have economic advantages.

“With mobile service, we can reduce customer downtime for normal maintenance and repairs and get their trucks back up and running quickly,” explains Mike Besson, managing vice president, service and customer solutions for mega-dealer Rush Enterprises.

Taki Darakos, assistant vice president – Berkeley Division of Transervice Lease Corp., says transportation is a just-in-time business, and mobile maintenance allows fleets to operate with minimal disruptions or delays in their operations.

Mobile maintenance providers offer a range of services. Rush, for example, has two levels of preventive maintenance inspections: a 57-point one and a more comprehensive 105-point inspection, which includes changing oil and filters.

Transervice offers trailer PM service as well as working on lights, tires, air leaks, small repairs and providing mobile diagnostics. “We walk a fine line between customer service, safety and landlord requirements about what we can do on site. Safety becomes very important when operating in active, busy yards,” Darakos explains.

Jim Reed, vice president of new business and personnel development, TA Truck Service, says they do not currently offer oil changes as part of their ...Read the rest of this story

CRST acquires California-based Gardner Trucking

Commentary: Technician Training Alliance Aims to Improve Repair Process

Denise Rondini

Earlier this year, independent repair garages and fleets were given access to service information for model year 2010 and later trucks and buses over 10,000 pounds sold in the United States and Canada. Manufacturers had to make available — for a fee — as-built information that links to the vehicle's VIN, and they had to make available the specialty tools needed to fix vehicles.

But the memorandum of understanding did not mean that the truck makers had to provide training.

“We were left with a hole in how to deal with this issue,” says Marc Karon, chairman of the Commercial Vehicle Solutions Network. “We now had all this access to technology, but how were we going to be able to use it if nobody was going to teach us?”

So the CVSN formed an alliance with three companies that provide technician training: ProMech Learning Systems, Service Professionals Inc., and WheelTime University.

“We decided this needed to be an industry-wide effort, not just for CVSN members,” Karon says. “The whole industry is suffering from this problem, including dealers in many cases because they are only getting training on their own particular nameplate, yet many dealers are all makes so they don't know how to use software that applies to a truck they are not a franchise of.”

Mike Compisi, vice president of operations for ProMech Learning, explains, “There is a tremendous need for technical training, whether it is related to right to repair, ECM reflashing, etc. If you don't know how to use the tools and complete the repairs, it can be detrimental and ultimately cost the fleet more money.”

Each training company in the alliance offers different options. Training is available on site, regionally and via the internet. The training is modular and includes beginning courses, ASE certification and things like engine repair ...Read the rest of this story

Training military drivers for off-road work

Driving trucks on pavement is very different compared to piloting them across off-road, hard-scrabble, even sandy landscapes while under fire. That's why the U.S. military devotes serious training time to those soldiers and sailors tasked with operating big rigs – and we do mean “big” – in often unforgiving environments all over planet. (Photos courtesy of the U.S. Department of Defense)

Ford’s F-650/F-750 Sales Increase 59%

Photo courtesy of Ford.

Sales of Ford's medium-duty F-650 and F-750 trucks have increased 59% year-over-year through August, the best year-to-date sales through August since 1997, according to Ford.

So far this year, Ford has sold 10,160 F-650 and F-750s, including Regular Cab, SuperCab and Crew Cab body styles as well as straight-frame, kick-up frame Pro Loader and a new dedicated tractor model for heavy-towing applications.

“We're seeing growing interest in the new tractor from beverage and hauling fleets,” said Kevin Koester, Ford medium-duty truck and Super Duty fleet marketing manager. “Giving our customers the choice of two exclusive powertrains, available across all body styles and designed specifically for the unique needs of the vocational truck market, has really helped drive sales of our new trucks.”

Ford offers a gasoline engine option for both the F-650 and F-750 with its 6.8-liter V-10 with 320 horsepower and 460 lb.-ft. of torque, a unique offering in the medium-duty truck segment according to Ford. The engine can be factory-prepped for converting to compressed natural gas or liquid propane gas alternative fuels.

Ford also offers a 6.7-liter Power Stroke V-8 turbo diesel engine with 270 horsepower and 675 lb.-ft. of torque with available higher output options. The engines are paired with the company's TorqShift six-speed automatic transmission.

“Towing and rental customers have embraced the gas engine, and others are looking at this powertrain for more severe service applications,” Koester says. “Our diesel customers are praising the quietness of the 6.7-liter Power Stroke diesel engine.”

Related: Ford's New F-650 Looks, Feels Familiar

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Average Diesel Prices Drop by 1 Cent

Source: EIA

The price of diesel fuel fell by a small amount for the fourth straight week, maintaining a downward trending, but nearly-flat pattern for the past month, according to the Energy Department.

The national average price of on-highway diesel fuel fell by 1 cent last week, settling at 2.389 per gallon at the pump. The price is a little more than 10 cents cheaper than it was in the same week in 2015.

Prices were down in all major regions with the largest price drops coming to the West Coast and Gulf Coast at 1.4 cents. The smallest drop in prices was in New England where diesel prices dropped by 0.5 cents.

Average prices for regular gasoline increased this week, jumping 2.3 cents to a per gallon price of 2.225 at the pump. Despite the increase, the price is still 10.2 cents cheaper than it was in the same week a year ago.

The largest price increase was in the Lower Atlantic region at 7.7 cents per gallon. The largest decrease in prices was in the Rocky Mountain region at 0.9 cents per gallon.

The rumored deal to freeze oil production between oil producing countries continues to affect the crude oil market with a slight increase in prices on Sept. 19, according to a MarketWatch report.

Venezuela recently indicated that a deal was likely to happen between oil producing nations, both in and out of OPEC that could have the effect of stabilizing the oil market. Venezuela has been hit hard by low crude oil prices in the past year. There are also conflicting reports that a firm deal was unlikely to happen soon. Prices were also affected by fighting in Libya which is delaying an expected increase in oil production for that country.

Related: Alternative Fuels in the Age of ...Read the rest of this story

Daimler Trucks Taps NorthStar for Pure Lead AGM Batteries

Daimler Trucks North America has chosen the Swedish-American energy storage manufacturer NorthStar Battery Company as the supplier of Ultra High Performance Pure Lead AGM batteries on its next generation Cascadia truck.

NorthStar underwent Daimler's comprehensive audit and testing process in competition with other well-known brands to gain approval, according to DTNA. NorthStar puts its own batteries through rigorous testing to ensure a consistent product.

In addition to its inclusion in new Cascadia models, the NorthStar battery is also available as an extended life option on the majority of DTNA platforms.

“Effective today, NorthStar is available as a replacement battery through the DTNA dealer network across North America,” said John Semeniuk, president, Transportation Products, NorthStar Battery Group. “NorthStar is also the primary supplier of batteries on the ParkSmart truck platform, and can be ordered as a factory option upgrade on most other models, providing DTNA customers the most powerful performance today.”

For more information on NorthStar, click here.

Related: Next-Gen Cascadia Emphasizes Fuel Economy, Connectivity, Drivers

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