Have you been avoiding spec’ing your vehicles with air disc brakes because you think they are not seeing widespread use or because you have concerns about the cost of maintaining them? Aftermarket Editor Denise Rondini says you may be surprised.
Whether you operate one truck or 1,000, monitoring and managing costs is one of your most important tasks. Fleets have used technology to help them control costs for some time, but the latest third- or fourth-generation systems are capable of generating tremendous amounts of information fleets can put to use.
Back in 1984, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration issued a regulation requiring that truck wheels be stripped of rust and debris before mounting a tire. Easier said than done, the industry moaned at the time. Labor was less costly then, but wire brushes and elbow grease weren’t going to cut it.
The more complex, expensive and harder to replace the component is, the more likely fleets are to purchase the manufacturer’s brand, according to a recent study by MacKay & Co.
What’ll it be, buddy? New or used? Buy or lease? A salesperson could throw those questions at a prospective buyer and get a combination of answers, and none of them would be absolutely wrong. Because like everything in trucking, “it depends.”