Tips & Tricks Archives

121 Ways to Save Fuel: In The Shop

From the equipment you spec and maintain, to the fuel you buy, to driver training and incentives, you’ll find tips for nearly any type of fleet. There’s hardly a fleet out there that wouldn’t like to save money on fuel costs. Maybe you’re not sure where to start. Maybe you feel like you’ve picked all… Continue reading 121 Ways to Save Fuel: In The Shop

How to Evaluate Performance of Improved Tire Designs

For commercial truck tires, just because a particular tire make/model runs well on one model tractor or trailer does not guarantee that the same tire performs equally as well on another make model vehicle. Tire companies continue to make improvements to existing products on an ongoing basis. New materials in combination with new and improved… Continue reading How to Evaluate Performance of Improved Tire Designs

Choosing the Right Filler Metal is Esstential When Welding

THE toughest part of selecting the right filler metal for any application is that, often, there is more than one right answer. In aluminum trailer and truck body manufacturing, the task is much simpler because the list of choices that can be used in this application is significantly reduced. The most common base materials used… Continue reading Choosing the Right Filler Metal is Esstential When Welding

Keep Your Rubber Tracks in Top Shape with These Handy Tips

It can be easy to get a little protective of your rubber-tracked equipment. You’ve seen what can happen. Operators run over surfaces they shouldn’t, and the rubber cracks or chunks off — or worse. Be proactive. Take steps to prepare the machine for adverse treatment ahead of time, and then educate workers about operating tracked… Continue reading Keep Your Rubber Tracks in Top Shape with These Handy Tips

Welding in the Field – The Power of Handtools

Equipment repair eats at the bottom line. Every minute a machine is down is a minute of lost time, and minutes turn into hours. While downtime is sometimes unavoidable, workers can minimize it by having the knowledge and the right equipment on-hand to cut, prep and weld damaged and worn sections of steel quickly. Source:… Continue reading Welding in the Field – The Power of Handtools

On-And-Off Engine Patterns Can Be Hard on Oil

Fleets that do city deliveries are increasingly turning vehicles off during deliveries rather than letting them idle. While this saves fuel and cuts emissions, and in many cases conforms with local regulations, Chevron warns that it could be affecting your engine oil. Chevron representatives say they have been seeing an increase in severe-duty operations due… Continue reading On-And-Off Engine Patterns Can Be Hard on Oil

How to Find a Service Provider

Finding and training technicians, purchasing tools and equipment, maintaining a parts inventory, dealing with OSHA and the EPA. These are just a few of the headaches fleets that maintain their own trucks face, according to Kurt Jorgensen, vice president of JX Enterprises, a Peterbilt, Hino and Volvo dealer with 16 locations in Illinois, Indiana, Michigan… Continue reading How to Find a Service Provider

What to Do About Fifth Wheel Grease

At some point in your life you’ve likely seen the column “Hints from Heloise.” These “lifestyle” hints (now being penned by a second generation) are still one of the most widely syndicated newspaper columns. But I wonder if Heloise ever answered this question, posted recently on the Women in Trucking Facebook group: How do you… Continue reading What to Do About Fifth Wheel Grease

A Systems Approach to Start/Charge System Maintenance

We have to stop thinking of our start/charge systems as simply a handful of separate components, and start viewing them as a system. From alternators to batteries and starters, cables and regulators, and even add-on components like low-voltage cut-off switches and DC/AV inverters, each can impact the component next to it. In electrical systems, weak… Continue reading A Systems Approach to Start/Charge System Maintenance

Frequent Inspections Save Tires

You can’t tell much about a tire simply by kicking it. Drivers would disagree, but you can’t even tell with any degree of certainty how much air is in the tire. It seems the best you can expect from many drivers is a quick visual check that the tire is where it should be. Whether… Continue reading Frequent Inspections Save Tires