Saturday, January 14, 2017

GET MORE OUT OF YOUR EXISTING FLEET - Switch-N-Go®


ARE YOU LOOKING FOR A WAY TO ARE YOU LOOKING FOR A WAY TO GET MORE OUT OF YOUR EXISTING FLEET? DO YOU HAVE CONCERNS THAT YOU WILL NOT BE ABLE TO COMPLETE ALL OF YOUR WORK WITH LIMITED STAFFING?

Switch-N-Go® can be a solution to these issues no matter what government entity you work for. As a proven transportation solution, Switch-N-Go® can help you accomplish your tasks with fewer trucks and people.

Instead of letting your trucks sit dormant in the off seasons up fit them with Switch-N-Go® systems and use your trucks through out the entire year.

More at: http://www.switchngo.com/? DO YOU HAVE CONCERNS THAT YOU WILL NOT BE ABLE TO COMPLETE ALL OF YOUR WORK WITH LIMITED STAFFING?

Switch-N-Go® can be a solution to these issues no matter what government entity you work for. As a proven transportation solution, Switch-N-Go® can help you accomplish your tasks with fewer trucks and people.
Instead of letting your trucks sit dormant in the off seasons up fit them with Switch-N-Go® systems and use your trucks through out the entire year.

More at: http://www.switchngo.com/

Thursday, January 12, 2017

CURT's culture is built on change - CURT Towing Products


"CURT's culture is built on change. Our motto is: the only constant is change. This allows for continuous innovation and continuous improvement in our products and services. That's what makes this company different."

Tuesday, January 10, 2017

GM Wind Tunnel Enhances Fuel-Saving Designs


General Motors recently opened up a new 35,000 square foot Reduced Scale Wind Tunnel to assist in developing more aerodynamic and fuel efficient vehicle designs. On November 10, 2015 G.M. invited members of the media to the Warren, Michigan facility for an introductory tour. Eco Auto journalist Eric Novak was there and prepared this video recap of the event and the facility.

Sunday, January 8, 2017

Friday, January 6, 2017

Highway Products - Veterinarian Service Body


Driving unimproved dirt roads and field work involves the twisting and turning which fiberglass can't handle. Expensive repairs and downtime are not things you want. Aluminum Virtually lasts forever - meaning your first Vet Box™ could be be your last. We've got tool boxes with over 2 million miles and counting! Our customers move these boxes from truck to truck and keep on using them. Our Vet Box™ is built with the same locks, 1/8th inch thick marine grade aluminum, stainless (overkill) hinges, and fasteners we use on our semi truck boxes.Veterinarian Service Body Features include:


Vet Body Drawers

Drawers - One of the biggest time savers in a service body. The best way to keep organized. We make lots of them. We can add dividers or lift-out trays. Lift-out trays with dividers. Center divider has a double bend giving you a handle to carry this versatile little tray. Our standard pickup Vet Box can have as many as 8 carry trays.

Rainmaster Doors

Highway Products developed this unique Rainmaster style of internal rain gutter in 1984 for our semi and heavy truck tool boxes. It was so successful we carried it over to our truck body products. You can see the simplicity of this design makes sense and is very weatherproof. Notice the rugged rain-gutter design surrounds the box opening and actually channels water away before it makes contact with the Trim-lok automotive style weather stripping. Hence the name Rainmaster.

Vet Body Bed Slide

We've got options like this Truckslide™ slide out bed to speed you up and save your back. Use this as a table to work on smaller animals. Add lumber racks, headache racks, hatch-backs, or lights. Make this unit versatile to your liking.


More at: https://www.highwayproducts.com/veterinarian-service-body

Wednesday, January 4, 2017

Work truck wheels require care for extended life


Aluminum and steel wheels are practically bullet proof and a daily glimpse for cracks and rust is probably sufficient as long as you take the steps necessary to maintain them.

“If you have good maintenance practices the wheel should last the life of the vehicle, if not longer,” says Brandon Uzarek, product design engineer at Accuride.

If you’re running steel or aluminum wheels, Uzarek says it’s critical to be sure all mounts and surfaces are clean and flat.

Dave Walters, Alcoa field service manager, agrees, adding the most important part of wheel maintenance is making sure the studs, drum and mounting faces are all clean before installation ever takes place.

“Sometimes, excess or foreign material can work its way into the joints and you’ll lose clamping force,” Uzarek says.

Uzarek recommends cleaning the studs when the wheels are mounted and on hub pilot wheels, studs need to be oiled while also oiling the gap between the flange.

To account for any shifting that takes places when the truck finally hits the road, Uzarek advises wheels be re-torqued between five and 100 miles after the initial mount and again every 10,000 miles.

“A lot of fleets do not do re-torques because it’s an inconvenience,” he says.

Walters says fleets can mitigate much of that inconvenience and still reap the benefits of proper torque by taking a 5 to 10 mile test drive after the wheel is initially mounted to settle the joint, then checking the torque.

“If you cleaned them and did everything properly, you shouldn’t have to re-torque them again unless the wheel is removed,” he says, adding this method was included in the Technology Maintenance Council (TMC) Recommended Practice (RP) 237.

Re-torquing practices can vary and Chris Putz, Maxion Wheels principal engineer for commercial vehicle wheels, says that’s fine so long as it’s application specific.

“The fleets know best their operations and vehicle duty cycles,” he says. “We would just recommend they have some established program for checking torque.”

Keeping wheels clean can also help prolong their life. A simple soap and water bath is sufficient for aluminum, while a wire brush is an effective tool in removing corrosion from steel.

“The faster we take care of any rust,” Uzarek says, “the longer the wheel should last.”

“If you maintain the appearance of your wheels, that prolongs the life of that wheel,” adds Walters. “The hidden corrosion is what’s going to get you. If you wash the truck and keep it clean, that’s key to keep corrosion from working down into the hidden places.”

Putz says keeping wheels clean is important to also ensure the longevity of the wheel against harsh salts and corrosives used to de-ice roads that can also eat through the wheel’s finish.

Wheel makers have developed advanced propriety anti-corrosive surface treatment coatings for their wheels that won’t flake, which Walters says offer advantages over many paints.

Wheel re-finishing is an option to make worn wheels look like new, but Uzarek cautions that a coat of paint won’t fix structural issues. When wheels begin to lose material, they need to be removed from service.

And the process of re-finishing can also be tricky. Uzarek says paint applied too thick can cause a loss in clamping force as can paint that has not cured properly.

Putz says each wheel should be thoroughly re-inspected after the refinishing processes is complete and, Walters adds, habitual wheel refinishing can remove enough wheel material to make it unsafe to operate.

“One thing we hear a lot of is burning off the paint in an oven and we have not approved that process,” he says. “Depending upon time and temperature, it could change the mechanical properties or the microstructure of the steel.”

When refinishing, you also must be aware that you could be eroding the roll stamp on the wheel, the visibility of which is mandatory for its use on the highway.

“Once the roll stamp is gone, you’ve basically got junk,” Walters says. “Once you cannot read the DOT stamp, you’re done.”

- See more at: http://www.hardworkingtrucks.com/steel-aluminum-work-truck-wheels/#sthash.Qca0f8LU.dpuf

Monday, January 2, 2017