A massive influx of Chinese tires, some costing $100 or less, has flooded the U.S. EPA's list of SmartWay verified tire in the past year. What does this mean for tire retailers and retreaders, fleets and even the enforcement community?
August 24, 2015
Drive axle inflation systems might not be the Holy Grail of truck maintenance, but they are in a position to cure a vexing problem. Tire pressure maintenance is time-consuming and costly, but there's no debating the savings from properly inflated tires. At least four manufacturers have systems in development. At least one is already available.
January 27, 2015
While most of the early problems have been engineered out of the exhaust gas recirculation systems on today’s clean diesel engines, corroded coolers, stuck valves and other problems still plague owners of older equipment.
February 11, 2014
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.
February 6, 2014
Beware the lead tire weight cops. They are out there and working in six states, with several more states looking at banning lead weights. Here's a look at the alternatives to lead in weights -- and alternatives to weights themselves.
November 11, 2013
The Performance Innovation Transport Group recently tested trailer side skirts and undercarriage air deflectors.
November 8, 2013
There’s no mystery to why wheels come off trucks. The National Transportation Safety Board in 1992, and Ontario’s Ministry of Transportation in the late 1990s, both concluded after exhaustive studies that inadequate maintenance was the root cause of a series of fatal wheel separation incidents.
October 15, 2013
Wide-base tires aren’t cheap. Not that duals are cheaper, but in a single wide-base tire you have an investment approaching the cost of a pair of standard tires. Minimizing the life-cycle cost of those big wide tires almost demands that they be retreaded.
October 4, 2013
Wheel-ends function as a system: the spindle, hub, and rim (or wheel), as well as the bearings and the fasteners, all work in concert to keep the wheels in place and the tires running straight and true. If one part of the system is out of whack, the results will be seen and felt elsewhere in the system - usually at the tires themselves.
July 2, 2013
For years, some fleets have turned to synthetic engine oils for easier starts in cold-weather climates and to help them extend oil drain intervals. But if that's the only selling point you're using for synthetic lubes, it may be time for some consumer education
January 8, 2013
Your customers are going to be seeing a lot more of that ubiquitous yellow engine-shaped icon on their dashboard with the latest model trucks.
December 20, 2012
SAN ANTONIO -- Almost 100 truck technicians from across the Rush Truck Centers dealer chain are gathered in San Antonio, Texas, this week to test their skill levels against their peers
December 10, 2012
A few three-martini lunches and a hunting trip won't hurt your chances of keeping a good customer, but it will take more than a few perks to keep today's fleets coming back
September 16, 2012
With 514,000 carriers running 9 million trucks and buses to contend with, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration has had to develop a more effective way of tracking safety violations. It's called CSA, short for "Compliance, Safety, Accountability.
June 1, 2012
The recession has been good for some aftermarket parts and service providers, but others took a bit of a thrashing between 2008 and 2011. Many cash-strapped fleets decided to keep trucks in service longer, which meant an increase in parts sales and service opportunities
May 31, 2012