Sound truck service shop advice for safety, productivity
Truck service best practices and the latest tools evolve just as quickly as truck equipment. Over-the-air updates, remote diagnostics, even shop safety procedures (thanks COVID), bring more opportunity and more complexity to the truck service process. To stay on top of it, Jake Schell, associate product manager for Mitchell 1’s Commercial Vehicle Group, pens a
How long should you be running your trucks?
New truck demand continues to boom as production challenges continue to loom. The evolution of truck technology is the constant—improved safety systems and improved efficiency all add up to savings. Pre-pandemic, a four- to five-year new truck lifecycle was common among carriers, but that’s starting to change as fleets take a long, hard look at
The impact of electric trucks, technology on service
Electric trucks might grab all the attention, but the question of how the truck service process is evolving reaches beyond battery electric equipment. There will be changes as electric trucks enter the market, to be sure, but change has already taken hold of the truck service process—from increasingly advanced remote diagnostics to complex logistics systems
Navistar answers the big service, support questions
Welcome to the first part in our two-part video interview series with Navistar’s aftersales leadership. Uptime has long been a tent-pole market strategy for Navistar that has been backed up by big investments over the past several years. Now as we (hopefully) enter the post-pandemic world, we can turn our attention to pressing service challenges
How technology impacts diesel engine filtration
This time, I don’t just mean digital technology. The continued adoption of API FA-4 (as well as the switch to CK-4) engine oil is also a prime diesel engine technology change, in liquid form. We’ve also seen increasingly computer-driven engine operation that increased an engine’s flexibility within applications. As diesel engine technology has evolved, so
How truck technology impacts service, and what fleets can do about it
It’s one thing when new truck technology hits the road and fleet managers have to parse through the ROI and training. It’s a whole new ballgame when that technology rolls into the shop. From ADAS calibrations to engine firmware to electric trucks, the heavy-duty shop landscape is going to shift. For fleets that run their
Building trust in truck data solutions
We’re at a tipping point now in data-driven trucking solutions where the true challenge is not so much finding the right solution—it’s in using that solution. Data has a knack for contradicting assumptions, and no one likes to be wrong. So how are solutions providers helping to build trust in new data-rich offerings? In talking
Talking new aftertreatment systems, electric trucks and vocational demand
The Western Star 49X was the first glimpse of Daimler Trucks North America’s (DTNA) renewed focus on vocational workhorses, and now DTNA’s newly appointed Chief Engineer, Chassis and Vocational Engineering, Tracy Mack-Askew is ready to lead the charge into the next generation of vocational truck development, but there’s no shortage of challenges for vocational truck
Brush up on brake drum spec’ing, maintenance basics
With all the talk of new truck technology, it’s easy to lose sight of equipment spec’ing basics. Yet, these are the daily choices that are impacting your business right now. Consider drum brakes, the foundation of many fleets’ safety system. Your brake drum selection can impact everything from brake fade to tire wear, both safety
In-cab truck camera technology that protects the driver
You’d think that at this point we would have talked about everything there is to talk about when it comes to truck video telematics with Trimble’s Vice President of Data Science, Chris Orban, but the last time we caught up, Orban turned the often-cited challenge of driver acceptance of video telematics on its head, referencing
Hands on: The Peterbilt medium-duty truck lineup
I’ve never seen anyone beat up a truck as much as Phil Hall. The Peterbilt medium-duty segment manager pounds on the grill, punches the kick plate, stands on the cupholder and slams the door—all to prove a point. The newly unveiled Peterbilt medium-duty lineup is tough, and the new Class 7/8 Model 537 and Model
Starting sustainability efforts with diesel engines
Nearly every time I talk with people about sustainability, I ask: Is this time different? Years ago we saw the growth of “going green,” which carried a hefty price tag for environmentally conscious decisions. The difference this time around isn’t just the improvement in electrification technology—it’s the attention sustainability is receiving throughout society. Transportation operations
