Watch: Your go-to heavy-duty truck grease guide
“All greases are the same” couldn’t be farther from the truth. Greases come in different grades, and use different thickeners and different base oils. Some are intended to put up with extreme pressure and some have better tolerance for high temperatures. Some offer lighter base oils, while others can be difficult to pump. The thing
Watch: What is freight-ton efficiency, and what does it have to do with your trucks?
Freight ton efficiency is considered the most effective in measuring the amount of energy required to transport a load of goods from Point A to Point B. In the transport industry, carrying increased weight is a more efficient way to transport goods and minimize CO2 emissions, and we know this because of freight-ton efficiency, which
Watch: Truck air line selection/inspection tips
Air line replacement is not only for the winter months; it can apply all year round. While not always necessary, it’s just good practice to replace air lines and air line accessories annually to ensure proper working order. The thing is, there are a number of issues that, if found during routine PMs or during
Watch: Is lightweighting a smart idea for light- & medium-duty trucks?
The North American Council for Freight Efficiency, or NACFE, says it’s difficult to determine how much additional revenue or lower operating costs will be guaranteed by lightweighting. However, reducing vehicle weight provides manufacturers with opportunities to keep enhancing operational efficiencies, and can have a direct influence on operations, drivers, maintenance and vehicle life cycles. Click
Watch: Are low rolling resistance tires right for your trucks?
Finding the right tire for your truck is wholly mysterious and inexplicable, and yet so rare, that the finest poets have never succeeded in fully expressing its joy. You see, choosing the right tire is no simple task, because tire companies today are manufacturing tires to fit very specific, niche applications. The fact that manufacturers
Watch: Prepare your trucks for the 3G sunset
Cellular providers like AT&T, Verizon, T-Mobile and Sprint have all already begun to launch 5G networks, and while that means faster and more reliable service, it also means 3G networks need to get out of the way to meet increasing cellular bandwidth demands. Now is the time to take stock of what telematics devices will
Watch: 6×4 or 6×2 – What’s the right axle configuration for your truck?
For a long time, the standard was a 6×4 configuration in which both rear tandem axles receive power. Trucks came with 6×4 regardless of the jobs they were designed to do. However, some fleets and drivers have lately been switching to 6×2 configurations in which only one of the rear axles receives power. The other
Watch: Understanding the truck tire compounding process
Developing tire compounds is like baking bread. It takes just a few basic ingredients mixed together to make the basic recipe. Flour, water, yeast and sugar in the right amount and order will give you basic white bread. But it’s up to the chef to add in the extras, like sweeteners, seeds and butter, to
Watch: An electric truck charging infrastructure for your fleet’s needs
So, you’re ready to find a utility partner to establish your own electric truck charging infrastructure. You’ve already figured out your power needs and you start making calls, but there’s a problem – you quickly discover that heavy-duty charging infrastructure is basically the wild west. Kilowatt charging speed and capacity options are all on the
Watch: What’s next for heavy-duty truck engine oil technology?
In December 2016, two new oil categories were introduced by the American Petroleum Institute: CK-4 and FA-4. Today, these products have proven to be a boon to the industry. But what can we find on the horizon of engine oil technology? According to oil marketers, these new CK-4 and FA-4 oil categories are just the
Watch: Let your trucks’ engines hear what the OEMs have to say with over-the-air updates
It wasn’t so long ago that fleets could essentially only use their trucks’ data as a one-way transmission—streaming off of your trucks and into your telematics dashboard. Today, we can use that data as a full-blown, two-way heavy-duty dialogue thanks to over-the-air engine reprogramming. By taking advantage of cellular networks, OEMs can use over-the-air engine
Watch: How new trucking engine oils are tested
When developing and testing new engine oils, companies must strike a balance between fuel economy and product durability. Once the company has a formula that they feel is a winner, that’s when engine oil development lab testing can begin. And getting the formula just right requires more work in the lab than you might expect.
