Watch: What tires will work best for regional-haul trucks?
All trucks are not created equal – and neither are truck tires. The wrong tire used for the wrong application can easily set you way back, damaging both your productivity and your ROI. Trucks in regional-haul applications, for example, need to be spec’d with the right tires to handle the job. In these tires, durability
Podcast: The role of e-axles and power systems in the electric future
The electric future has arrived, with several major OEMs making battery electric trucks available now, some that will be available soon, and even a growing push toward hydrogen fuel cell power. So what will the role of suppliers be in this electric future? To answer that question, I talked with Jeremy Frenznick, senior director of
Trailer telematics and the ‘smart’ trailer evolution
Trailers are in a unique position. No, I don’t mean behind the tractor (hey-O!). I’m talking about the current phase of the trailer telematics evolution. While trailer telematics has mostly revolved around GPS location tracking (and that’s still important), the amount of data that trailer components are generating—from wheel ends and tires to lighting and
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,”
How electrification will change your service operation
One of the most promising pieces of good news to come out of 2020 was the announcement of the availability of multiple medium- and heavy-duty electric trucks. OEMs like Daimler, Kenworth, Mack, Peterbilt and Volvo all announced battery electric trucks that are either available now or will be in the foreseeable future, and several of
Truck maintenance tips to reduce tire wear
In our high-tech age, it is all too easy to overlook the purely mechanical aspects of a truck that have needed to be maintained ever since some ingenious person mounted a wheel to an axle in order to move a load that was too large to be carried or dragged. Since that great breakthrough, when
Watch: How to maximize a truck’s fuel economy using wheel position
Every fleet wants to maximize efficiency, so here’s a fuel economy tire hack: Maximize the impact of the truck’s wheel position. You see, the trailer wheel position, which carries the most weight, contributes the most to the overall fuel efficiency of a commercial truck at about 43%. This is followed by the drive position at
Podcast: Why tracking the right metrics is key for your truck maintenance operation
What makes tracking the right metrics in a fleet maintenance shop so important? According to Jacob Findlay, founder and CEO of Fullbay, a provider of shop management software, it’s important to evolve from a gut feeling, shoot-from-the-hip style of business to a more precise one where the right metrics are tracked, or your shop risks
How ambient temperature impacts diesel engine oil (and other seasonal service tips)
Do you feel that? The chill in the wind relenting to the warm sunlight. The fresh scent of blooming flowers. The slivers of light that still peek above the horizon well after dinner time. Yes fleet friends, Spring is here. (Or at least it’s close enough after a long winter.) Time to get your trucks
Mack Trucks provides a medium-duty market overview, expands on MD Series launch
Last year’s Work Truck Show, one of the last to be held in-person in 2020, was the coming-out party for the Mack Trucks MD Series after the January 2020 announcement of Mack Trucks’s entry into the Class 6 and 7 markets. A year later, at a virtually held Work Truck Show 2021, Jonathan Randall, Mack
Daimler Truck AG, Volvo Group create fuel-cell joint venture: cellcentric
Daimler Truck AG and the Volvo Group have completed their transaction to form their previously announced fuel-cell joint venture. The Volvo Group has acquired 50% of the partnership interests in the existing Daimler Truck Fuel Cell GmbH & Co. KG. The companies say their goal is in manufacturing fuel cells is to help the world
Watch: Three ways to show trailer suspension maintenance more love
When it comes to good maintenance practices, tractors tend to get more attention than the trailers behind them. And it makes sense – tractors are more often part of a fleet’s preventative maintenance program. While a trailer might be parked in a lot somewhere out there, the indispensable tractor is just naturally inspected more frequently.
