Matt Bemer, Author at Fleet Equipment Magazine
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Goodyear puts its Fuel Max tires through their paces, focuses on efficiency

Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co. invited customers and media to its San Angelo, Texas, proving grounds to demonstrate the fuel-efficiency benefits of its Fuel Max product line and a new tool to expedite roadside service calls. Goodyear introduced the first tire in its Fuel Max line in October 2014. The Fuel Max LHD G505D is

Goodyear-FuelMax-Steer
Leveraging analytics helps Leonard’s Express reduce maintenance costs

To get the most out of its trucks, Leonard’s Express, a family-owned asset-based transportation provider headquartered in Farmington, N.Y., invests heavily in predictive analysis. The fleet is continuously working to stay one step ahead of the curve, working to keep its trucks running productively each day. As Leonard’s Express Chief Information Officer Kyle Johnson puts

Leonards-Express-Tractor-Trailer
Mountain River Trucking makes every mile count

From its single location in Mt. Airy, N.C., Mountain River Trucking hauls truckload (TL) to less-than-truckload (LTL) general freight and high-value loads, primarily food and pharmaceuticals, coast-to-coast to Oregon, Washington and California, hauling 250,000 miles annually. It’s the combination of these high-value loads and long, cross-nation drives that has Mountain River focusing on two things

Mountain-River-Pete-Smith
Volvo’s view of uptime: Bringing service, support under one roof

Built on the campus of its North American headquarters, Volvo Trucks’ new 123,000-sq.-ft. North American Uptime Center physically pulls together the personnel and service, which had already been working together to keep Volvo trucks productive, under one roof. The Uptime Center is a Volvo Group North America facility that Mack Trucks and Volvo Trucks share.

Volvo-Action-Service-agent
Mack Truck’s new Uptime Center demonstrates commitment to service, support

Printed on a wall inside Mack Trucks’ new 123,000-sq.-ft. Uptime Center in Greensboro, N.C., is a quote that reads, “When a truck is down our customer’s business stops.” For that reason, Mack Trucks put its technology and personnel together in an environment designed to increase its customers’ uptime. The Uptime Center is a Volvo Group

Maintain trailer suspensions to last

Trailer suspension maintenance varies by suspension type and manufacturer. For that reason, fleets should establish best practices and perform routine checkups as recommended by manufacturers and fleet managers. According to Jim Rushe, product line manager at Hendrickson on-highway trailer products, the manufacturer designs its suspensions to not require periodic adjustments. “For our products, the best

Trailer Suspension Maintenance
Trailer suspensions built to perform

Trailer suspensions are comprised of springs, dampers, shock absorbers, axles and other components that link the trailer to its wheels allowing the driver to have complete control of the trailer. In addition, they dampen harmful inputs from the road (vibrations, bumps, noise), giving drivers a smoother ride while protecting the trailer and its cargo. However,

Hendrickson Trailer Suspensions and TPMS
Reman programs give second life to ECUs

Taking advantage of remanufactured component programs is nothing new to fleet managers. As the life expectancy of vehicles increases and fleets strive to maximize that life, remanufactured components will always offer value to the fleet’s bottom line. The remanufacturing process recovers components and is able to restore them to original or better condition without the

Detroit Remanufactured ECU
Eaton introduces Procision dual clutch transmission

Power management company Eaton introduced Procision last week to media at the company’s proving grounds in Marshall, Mich. Procision is the first dual clutch transmission for Class 6-7 in North America and delivers 8-10% better fuel economy than a similarly equipped vehicle with a torque converter automatic, according to Eaton. “The medium-duty market is made

Eaton-Procision
Peterbilt Model 220 now in full production

Peterbilt‘s medium-duty cabover Model 220, which was introduced earlier this year during the Mid-America Trucking Show, is now in full production. The Class 6 and 7 truck is being assembled at the company’s manufacturing facility in Mexicali, Mexico. “The new Model 220 brings customers greater levels of productivity,” said Robert Woodall, Peterbilt director of sales

Peterbilt-Model-220
Digging into diagnostics: Sifting through onboard data to put fleet analytics to work

With more vehicles “plugging in,” fleets stand to gain uptime by leveraging data from onboard computers. Telematics software collects sophisticated diagnostic information related to vehicle performance and automatically sends data related to fault codes to dealers and fleet managers. Some providers have integrated telematics software and maintenance management systems, while others take a more “a

Digging into fleet truck diagnostics
Peterbilt expands natural gas options for Class 8, vocational vehicles

Peterbilt Motors Co., in its 75th year, announced new powertrain options for several of its natural gas vehicles that provides customers with an automated transmission and 100% natural gas engine that can be powered by either compressed natural gas (CNG) or liquid natural gas (LNG). The Eaton UltraShift PLUS and Cummins Westport ISX12 G are