Trucks at Work Blog

“These guys make us who we are.” –W.M. “Rusty” Rush, president and CEO, Rush Enterprises

I first met Michael Willoughby (seen at right in the red shirt next to W.M. “Rusty” Rush, president and CEO of Rush Enterprises), a well-seasoned Rush Truck Centers (RTC) technician back in 2007, which was the first time I ever attended RTC’s Technician Skills Rodeo – an annual competition that just notched its sixth year.

Willoughby (often called “Wills” by his friends) won a slot at each of RTC’s rodeos, but had only finished “in the money” (so to speak) just once.

To be honest, I’ve pulled for Willoughby to win the whole smash in the medium-duty division where he competes every year because, frankly, he just seems to epitomize the modern-day truck technician; someone who’ll balance out any gaps in his knowledge concerning the ever-more complicated world of truck technology with humor, patience, and a work ethic second to none.

Thus it came as a pleasant surprise to see him win “the whole smash,” as I call it, this year — taking home the grand champion cup in the medium-duty division, along with $7,500 in cash, $4,500 worth of prizes, a $1 per hour boost in pay, and a vacation package for him and his second wife, whom he married after his first wife died several years ago after a long battle against cancer. more

“It relates to that old saying: if you give a man a fish, he has one meal. But if you teach a man to fish, he can feed himself for a lifetime.” –Steve Bertrand, Midwest district service manager for Peterbilt Motors Co. and one of the judges at the Rush Trucks Centers 2011 Technician Skills Rodeo

Every year that I’ve attended Rush Trucks Centers’ annual Technician Skills Rodeo, I make a special effort to grab Steve Bertrand – one of the judges and creator of many of the insidious challenges the techs must solve – for a few minutes to discuss some of the trends affecting the parts and service corner of the trucking business.

The biggest issue hanging over everyone in this space, of course, remains the ever growing shortage of technicians of all stripes – a bad omen for fleets and dealerships alike, which both rely on keeping trucks up and running to make a living.

Obviously, the industry is hard at work trying to solve the shortage – especially by forging partnerships with vocational schools around the country, while simultaneously encouraging more high school kids to take a stab at a vocational career (with similar efforts being concocted to counter the growing shortage of trucks drivers as well). more

“The optimal city bus must be inviting and safe to ride in, it should be convenient to board and exit, and the journey should be quick. These are the main areas on which we have focused with the new bus we are currently testing in regular service.” –Peter Danielsson, project manager, Volvo Buses

Ah, the ubiquitous city bus – a vehicle considered by many to be the “Rodney Dangerfield” of the trucking world, as they just get no respect for the job they do.

I’ll wager that motorists of all stripes (truckers included) have ground their teeth in frustration more than once in the driving lifetimes when penned in behind a slow-moving bus wending its ponderous way along traffic-choked streets. Even those commuters that use public transportation tend to disrespect the bus, favoring instead the sleek feel of light rail systems (something that the Portland Tribune discovered in a story posted back in 2007).

Yet buses remain the simplest (and often cheapest) form of public transportation available to our ever more heavily congested cities. For that reason, the folks at Volvo Buses are rolling out a new redesigned model (at left) aimed at making this stalwart vehicle a more attractive option to the public, fellow motorists, and bus drivers alike. more

“Increased DoD [Department of Defense] renewable fuel use helps advance U.S. strategic energy security interests, achieve the [armed forces] goals, and gains some limited military utility, such as lower freeze points, cleaner combustion, and potential for designer fuels. At present, these [alternative] fuels command a price premium, but it is anticipated to decline significantly as the market develops over the next decade. Despite this reduced premium, the military’s renewable fuel goals could still impose $2.2 billion in additional estimated annual fuel costs by 2020.” –from a new DoD study regarding renewable fuel use by the U.S. military’s aviation, maritime and ground transportation fleets

So, if you can slog your way through a new 248-page review of renewable fuel opportunities for the U.S. military, you’ll find that the conclusions don’t differ all that much from the trucking industry’s experience: namely that, while there are a range of benefits to be had, the exorbitant costs of renewable fuels in comparison to gasoline and diesel still makes them a very tough sell, especially in these tight fiscal times.

Published by the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) under the singularly unwieldy title of Opportunities for DoD Use of Alternative and Renewable Fuels: FY10 NDAA Section 334 Congressional Study, with research and analysis provided by the energy and environment group within consulting firm LMI, the report takes a very blunt (if overly wordy) look at the possible benefits and current pitfalls offered by renewable fuels such as ethanol and biodiesel.

First, on the positive side, there’s much wider availability of such fuels than ever before. The supply of ethanol in the U.S. increased from less than a billion gallons consumed in the early 1980s to more than 10 billion gallons in 2009. Similarly, consumption of biodiesel in the early part of this decade was approximately 10 million gallons and has increased thirty-fold to more than 330 million gallons by 2009, the DoD noted. more

“Keeping your fleet equipment clean is a very important part of a company’s maintenance program – both for longevity of the equipment and brand image.” –Jim Hill, president of JIM Mfg., Inc., a manufacturer of mobile brush wash systems

Fall has officially arrived, which means winter is not far off. And with winter, as we all know, comes snow, and thus snow-removal chemicals, which end up upon trucks and trailers large and small.

[And that nice photo at right is courtesy of the Virginia Department of Transportation, which knows a thing or two about snow removal!]

For that reason, giving your equipment a regular cleaning becomes more than just keeping a sharp image out on the highways, where everyday motorists and freight customers alike watch your trucks and trailers roll up and down the roads. For removing those harsh, corrosive chemicals (liquid calcium chloride being the meanest of the bunch) is part and parcel of fleet efforts to lengthen the service life of their trucks and trailers.

“As they travel the North American roads, trucks, trailers, and other commercial vehicles are under continuous assault from acids, bird droppings, insect and animal remains, miscellaneous gunk, road salts and other contaminants,” noted Jim Hill, president of JIM Mfg. in a recent missive.

“In the road war against corrosion, grime and muck, the best strategy to combat the assault is keeping a clean fleet,” he explained. more

“We use this tractor-trailer to engage our fleet and owner-operator customers in a discussion about the importance of lubricants and coolants to their operations.” –Jim Gambill, direct marketing specialist, Chevron Lubricants

Like many of its fellow suppliers (and not a few OEMs as well), Chevron uses a special mobile exhibit pulled by a Class 8 tractor to help it talk with customers about how its products impact their business on a daily basis. And frankly, mobile exhibits like these offer an interesting opportunity to view any number of products – from motor oils to entire truck engines – in a new light.

In Chevron’s case, though, the use of mobile exhibits isn’t new – in fact, Jim Gambill, direct marketing specialist for Chevron Lubricants, explained during a special tour of the new rig at the Great American Trucking Show that the company has been using these specialized tractor-trailers since 1999.

A brand new 2011 model Kenworth T700, featuring a 267-inch wheelbase and powered by a 455 horsepower Paccar MX 12.9 liter engine, hauls Chevron’s mobile display, craftily fitted into a 48-foot long trailer.

In “exhibit mode,” the trailer’s side slide out to create a 22-foot wide display area featuring 19 different “learning stations” designed to highlight a number of issues, from how diesel engine piston engine size and shape has changed over the years to how Chevron’s “Delo” motor oil got its name. more

“There’s a misconception that fleets must purchase their trucks in order to take advantage of the tax savings available from the federal legislation passed late last year. But that’s not the case.” –Olen Hunter, national sales director, Paccar Leasing

One of the drivers behind the big spike in truck orders and sales we’ve been witnessing in 2011 stems from a “bonus depreciation” addendum in the Tax Relief, Unemployment Insurance Reauthorization and Job Creation Act of 2010.

That rule extended a 100% bonus depreciation provision from Sept. 8, 2010, through the end of 2011, according to the U.S. Internal Revenue Service. However, once we reach 2012, “bonus depreciation” reverts back to 50% for all qualifying assets placed into service through Dec. 31, 2012.

In short, truckers that need wheels realized they could reap some pretty significant tax savings if they bought equipment and placed it into service by the end of 2011. Indeed, a lot of businesses benefited from this provision, as well, if they needed to buy physical assets for their operation. more

Heat is a tell-tale sign of bad things happening when it comes to trucks – particularly in the case of tires, exhaust systems, and brakes. (The term “smoking the brakes” didn’t get created by happenstance, after all.)

For those reasons, many motor carrier enforcement agencies are now using infrared inspection systems or “IRIS” for short to help them quickly identify trucks with under-inflated, flat, or over-inflated tires, leaky exhaust systems, and most importantly overheated brakes.

The biggest advantage of such technology is that it can quickly identify trucks with problems in all of these areas – usually in seconds – thereby helping law enforcement officers quickly determine who’s operating good, safe equipment … and who isn’t.

During Roadcheck 2011, the annual 72-hour safety inspection “blitz” conducted across North America under the auspices of the Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance (CVSA), I got a chance to take a closer look at a mobile IRIS vehicle operated by the Virginia State Police – one of four such trucks in its fleet.

This one, piloted by IRIS Technician Dorothy “Dottie” Ritenour, sports the latest version of this technology, including a digital video recorder (DVR) system, which has replaced the videocassettes used with earlier models. more

“It is the financial issues that most often resonate with consumers, whether it is the higher price of the vehicle itself, the cost to fuel or charge the vehicle, or the fear of higher maintenance costs. The bottom line is that most consumers want to be green, but not if there is a significant personal cost to them.” –Mike VanNieuwkuyk, executive director of global vehicle research, J.D. Power and Associates

Here’s a shocker: when push comes to shove, cost outweighs environmental worries in the minds of most consumers when it comes time to buy a vehicle. That means most consumers will pick a vehicle with a gasoline-powered internal combustion engine over a hybrid electric, all-electric, or even diesel-powered model solely because the sticker price for the gasoline-powered option is the lowest.

The end result of these cost-concerns, according to the 2011 U.S. Green Automotive Study from J.D. Power and Associates, is that the share of hybrid and all-electric vehicles is expected to remain below 10% of the U.S. market through 2016.

The study – based on a poll of 4,000 consumers that were in the market for a new vehicle this past February – nicely sums up the conundrum facing vehicle manufacturers when it comes to selling more so-called “green” vehicles: While consumers often cite saving money on fuel as the primary benefit of owning an alternative powertrain vehicle, the reality for many is that the initial cost of these vehicles is too high – even as fuel prices in the U.S. approach record levels. more

Truckers know well the value of retreading their tires – and you can visit the Retread Tire Association to get more facts about the inherent savings offered by retreading than I can print here.

But what happens when tires reach the end of their usable life? Unofficially, in my conversations with fleets and various tire experts, the average truck tire can be at most retreaded twice – three times if you take really great care of them. So then what?

In the past, most tires ended up in landfills – to the tune of some 242 million per year, which includes truck, car, and equipment models. But now there’s a growing list of alternatives to the dump – some of which have been around for a while and some that are brand new. more