Engines and transmissions: Making the right choices for vocational applications
Every jobsite, application or body demands something a little different from vocational vehicles, notes Len Copeland, product marketing manager at Detroit Products. “There can be power and frame space needs, demands for light weight and a shorter wheelbase for maneuverability,” he adds, “and environmental considerations in extended idle applications or at remote worksites.” “The first
Truck wheel technology for weight savings, corrosion resistance, connectivity
Every fleet has unique preferences for wheel specifications, notes Mike Palladino, director of wheels product management at Accuride. Manufacturers should ask what’s important to their customers, he relates. For example, is it light-weighting equipment, financial impact, aesthetics or driver preference? They also need to be ready to meet all of the requirements for any vocation.
How the right vocational truck suspension spec can improve driver comfort
Given the amount of time drivers of vocational trucks spend in their vehicles, ride quality is critical to keeping them comfortable, notes Bryan Redeker, power suspensions product manager at SAF-Holland. “Some vocational trucks spend the majority of their operating time traversing uneven and rough roads, so poor ride quality can lead to discomfort, back issues
How to get maximum fuel efficiency from your truck engine and transmission
Integrated powertrains can offer multiple advantages to fleets compared to a traditional manual and legacy automated transmission-based systems, noted Kristopher Ptasznik, powertrain total cost of ownership and consultancy leader at Cummins. “Traditionally, drivers can account for up to a 30% difference in a fleet’s fuel economy,” Ptasznik said. “By making it easier to operate the
What’s in it for fleets spec’ing the latest in driver comfort options?
How can fleets measure the value of driver comfort options? According to truck manufacturers, it starts by listening to your drivers and measuring the impact of your choices on recruitment efforts and retention success. “Quantitatively, fleets can measure the impact of comfort and convenience items through metrics like driver retention, driver health and recruiting efforts,”
The coming of the e-axle age
As a highly efficient power source for propelling electric vehicles, truck e-axles must be designed to go beyond providing torque and power to also balance performance, durability and reliability with maximum time on the road per charge. That’s according to Steve Slesinski, director of global product planning for Dana. “E-axles have continued to advance in
Answering the top truck service technology questions
As fleets increasingly employ telematics and remote diagnostics to drive down maintenance costs and limit downtime, Senior Contributing Editor Seth Skydel discusses the subject with Alec Johnson, product manager at Noregon, and Andy Turnbull, vice president of customer solutions at Decisiv. How do telematics capabilities benefit fleets and their maintenance operations? Johnson: Fleets are using
Werner Enterprises reduces downtime with its Breakdown Management solution
In March of 2020, Werner Enterprises Inc. launched Breakdown Management, a cloud-based solution that the carrier says simplifies repair processes and reduces downtime. Breakdown Management was developed by Werner EDGE, the innovation arm of Werner Enterprises, to advance the fleet’s performance. The in-cab, tablet-based solutions leverage on-board telematics for to support operations, safety and maintenance.
Fleet Profile: TCI Trucking’s recipe for success
“It takes a forward-thinking philosophy to build success,” says Jeff Louis, president of TCI Trucking and Warehousing. “If we focus on what we do best we can address inefficiencies and create opportunities. That’s how we’ve grown our business from an intermodal company with one driver and one truck into a full service logistics provider with
Fleet Profile: Fresh Freight
It’s hard to say whether Matt Heroux chose a career in trucking, or it chose him. In one sense, trucking is in his DNA. Hailing from a family that’s been in the freight transportation industry for the past 100 years, he’s been surrounded by trucking for his entire life. Some of his earliest childhood memories,
Fleet profile: Beck Trucking is growing and enjoying ongoing success
It was a good problem to have. With a rapidly growing trucking company, Nick Beck, owner of Beck Trucking, knew he had to streamline communication with drivers and customers. “We were steadily adding trucks, so checking in with drivers by phone was no longer efficient,” he says. “At times we were spending hours just waiting
Fleet profile: Newman Carriers is focused on dependability
For Newman Carriers, safety of equipment and well-trained drivers are among the keys to ongoing success.
