Carol Birkland, Author at Fleet Equipment Magazine - Page 2 of 25
~
How to maintain good electrical connections in your trucks

When it comes to tractor-trailer electrical connections, there is no such thing as “plug and play.” In other words, all electrical connections need to be secure and properly maintained. “Testing in the proper sequence is critically important to not only perform the correct test, but also in the correct sequence and repair as you go,”

Catching up with equipment buying trends

A few weeks back, a Fleet Equipment Advisory Board member asked me if I had any recent information on fleet buying trends. While I didn’t have those figures, I knew who to ask: Chris Kemmer, owner of CK Marketing and Communications. The tool she used in doing this research for us is the Fleet Sentiment

generic-road-3
Optimizing onboard data-driven systems to mitigate downtime

Onboard intelligence gives fleet managers all the details needed to manage maintenance effectively when vehicles are on the road or in the shop. Everything you need to know, and then some, is available as a reference for service and troubleshooting. Predictive maintenance practices Minneapolis-based Koch Trucking is an over-the-road carrier with 900 power units, mostly

Advanced fleet management and proactively addressing maintenance

In a recent conversation with Dan Deppeler, vice president of maintenance for Green Bay, Wis.-based fleet Paper Transport, Inc., he explained why his fleet uses Detroit Connect Virtual Technician for advanced fleet management, including using the information provided to proactively address maintenance. “We look at fault codes and use that information do preventive maintenance,” Deppeler

The sluggish economy and you

Shippers and logistics providers are currently attempting to make sense of conflicting signals related to sluggish economic growth. The International Monetary Fund predicted 3.5% worldwide growth in 2017. However, in the first quarter of this year the U.S. GDP rose only 1.2%. While this is ahead of last year’s 0.8% growth, it is only the

money-generic-2
Fleets offer reman engine insights

Dan Vander Pol, director of maintenance for Oak Harbor Freight Lines Inc.: “We have purchased reman engines on our city trucks [Class 7], but most of the time on our linehaul trucks [Class 8], we would be able to rebuild the engine and if we can’t rebuild we purchase new engines. We have put reman

Mack-REMACK-Basic-Engine
The evolution and benefits of reman engines

These days, there are even more advantages to purchasing reconditioned/remanufactured engines than there have been in the past. According to Stanford Siy, heavy-duty and high horsepower ReCon engine product manager for Cummins, “A genuine Cummins engine for used equipment gives owners a way to increase their return on investment on their tools for trade. For

cummins-reman-process
Improving operational efficiencies

  Fleet efficiencies are intertwined with operational needs. To be effective, fleet managers need to know how to measure operational needs. According to Christopher Lyon, director of fleet relations for NTEA, there are several approaches that help quantify necessary functional requirements while filtering out end-user operator demands, often communicated as needs. “In the end, fleet

Hino
How fuel additives are enhancing engine performance

You don’t need to tell maintenance managers that contamination of even very small amounts of precipitated wax in diesel fuel can cause serious problems. Properly blended diesel fuel—with the right additives—keeps fuel clean and engines running properly. The blending of additives is an exact science, which continues to be perfected. Designed for performance Diesel engines

Cenex
An update on FA-4 oils

Market acceptance of FA-4 oils has been slow. “Less than 1% of the current overall heavy-duty engine oil market is using FA-4 oils at this time,” says Mark Betner, product manager of heavy-duty lubrication for Citgo. “In addition, one major engine manufacturer factory-fills with API FA-4 engine oil. The use of FA-4 engine oils is

Citgo
Volvo talks new trucks, market strategies

Recently, Volvo Trucks North America held a press conference in Winston-Salem, N.C., to demonstrate its new VNR regional haul tractors and to talk about product advancements—loading efficiencies, passive and active safety systems and integrated connectivity— the market and its strategies. North American launch The VNR regional haul line was initially launched in April at ExpoCam

volvo-vnr-family-line-up
The importance of wheel maintenance

“Maintaining your wheels is important to extending the wheel life and for safety,” says Denny Weisend, Maxion’s director of sales for commercial vehicle wheels in North America. “The best way to stay up to date on recommended maintenance of your wheels, is to follow the recommended engineering and maintenance practices established by the American Trucking

Maxion-Wheels-Truck-Wheel-Maintenance