We know it’s not easy to keep up with everything that happens in the world of trucking. So here are the biggest stories from October focused on the latest truck trends, all in one place.
5. Electric trucks could change service shop operations
Electric trucks are coming and reduced maintenance is potentially coming along with them, but that doesn’t mean that truck service is going to change overnight. There will be differences, but electric trucks offer an opportunity, not a threat, to truck service operations.
While there are plenty of conversations to be had about service needs and even charging infrastructure, for truck service locations the first conversation should be about safety. Shops branching into electric truck repair should have at least one designated bay for electric vehicle repair. This bay doesn’t need to be exclusively used for electric truck work—just make it so that when an electric truck comes in for repair, that bay is always where it goes. Shops will also want to gear up technicians with personal protective equipment for shock and arc flash protection.
For more on how electric trucks could change the truck service shop’s environment and operations, watch the video below, which includes thoughts from Talon Thomas, product management, technical engineer at Noregon.
4. Are pusher axles positioned for a lift in spec’ing popularity?
When we caught up with Joel Morrow, senior driver and vice president of equipment procurement at Ploger Transportation, for a deep-dive into 6×2 axle configurations and downspeeding, he made a surprising axle comment that stood out when it came to address the stigma 6×2 axle configurations face when it comes time for truck resale.
“Resale price takes a hit on 6×2 right now,” he said, “but I would suspect that’s going to change as we get more into the pusher arrangements, and we start to get away from tags; the OEMs start to understand the suspension requirements.”
3. Inside the magic of automatic VMRS Encoding
The magic of VMRS is that it organizes your truck service events into uniform data that can be analyzed and used to bring down repair costs. The catch is that it’s complicated. Enter Decisiv’s VMRS Encoding wizardry.
For more on how VMRS Encoding works and where fleet managers can see and leverage that service information, I stopped by the Decisiv booth at the TMC Fall Meeting, cameras in hand. Watch the video below for more details.
2. Dealing with truck driver difficulties: Three takeaways from ATA MCE 2021
The American Transportation Research Institute (ATRI) set the tone for ATA MCE’s 2021 show when it announced that driver issues, including recruitment, retention and compensation, topped its annual survey of trucking industry issues for the fifth straight year. While that likely comes as no surprise, there was a feeling of restlessness around truck driver challenges as the topic permeated through the show’s announcements and booth conversations. OEMs, suppliers and technology providers alike took to talking about solutions—from increased transparency in driver training to the impact of electrification and even the continued development of automated driving technology.
Here are three unique driver-related equipment angles Editor Jason Morgan gleaned from conversations across the show.
1. FE’s On the Road gets October-ified
Fine, maybe that isn’t a word, but you can’t deny that a haunting batch of truck spirits visited the On the Road studio this month.
Horrified, we bore witness to the Tale of the Inefficient Engine Oil; the Tale of the Zero Emission Zeitgeist; and the Tale of the Trashy Truck Chassis. Luckily, all three of these terrifying tales had solutions hidden amongst the horrors, and you can watch all of them to find out what those were.
