Truck comforts seen as powerful recruiting tool

ATLANTA, Ga. – Some fleets look at a truck’s creature comforts as an added cost, but it might be time to see such spec’s as an investment in driver recruiting and retention. Like any investment, though, some will deliver a bigger return than others.

FA-4 oils are proven, but uptake remains slow

ATLANTA, Ga. – Doug Kading, vice-president of maintenance for C.R. England, would love to use FA-4 engine oils across his entire fleet of 4,000 tractors. Instead, the FA-4 factory…

How to perform an effective tire test

Running an accurate tire test isn’t a matter of simply throwing on new rubber and tracking fuel receipts. A true test requires at least 30 wheel positions to remain at…

Aperia brings machine learning to tires

ATLANTA, Ga. – Aperia Technologies’ new Halo Connect is using the power of machine learning to help fleets “virtually eliminate” unplanned tire-related downtime. The system builds on the company’s…

Volvo Trucks expands over-the-air offerings

ATLANTA, Ga. – Volvo has taken the next step in its over-the-air programming capabilities, unveiling the new Parameter Plus subscription package that allows up to 50 parameter updates per…

International to factory install FlowBelow tech

ATLANTA, Ga. – FlowBelow’s Tractor AeroKit system will be a factory-installed option on the International LT Series MPG Fuel Efficiency Package, available this spring. It also becomes a factory-installed…

Donaldson using telematics to monitor filters

ATLANTA, Ga. – Donaldson Company has released its new Filter Minder to monitor engine air filters by tapping into existing telematics systems. It means filter changes can be based…

PIT Group and TMC to validate fuel economy, electromechanical braking

ATLANTA, Ga. – Quebec-based PIT Group and the American Trucking Associations’ Technology and Maintenance Council (TMC) are pushing forward with joint research into fuel-saving and emerging braking technologies. PIT Group…

Searching for the right wheel bearing adjustments

TORONTO, Ont. -- The tolerable end play for truck wheel bearings lies somewhere between the thickness of a human hair and a sheet of paper. In other words, it's perfectly acceptable to adjust wheel bearings so that they are just a little bit loose, but not too loose. How do you set your end play?

UPS looks to paint brown trucks green

INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. -- Carleton Rose of UPS says electric trucks are the "way of the future". But they aren't perfect. Not yet.

NACFE explores electric truck charging needs

TORONTO, Ont. – Buying an electric truck involves more than adding batteries and electric motors to a powertrain. The vehicles will also require access to charging infrastructure that is…

OOIDA opposes size and weight increases

GRAIN VALLEY, Mo. – The Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association (OOIDA), along with a coalition of other organizations, has penned a letter to U.S. Congress opposing increases to commercial vehicle sizes…

This Way Up: How to choose the best lift for your shop

Lift choices are dictated by everything from the vehicles being serviced to the nature of work being conducted. (Stertil-Koni photo) TORONTO, Ont. — Nothing reinforces the need for well-chosen shop…

Alex Kis embraces rare role as a female truck technician

“I liked learning how things work, taking things apart. And something inside of me clicked,” Alex Kis says of her training to become a technician. MISSISSAUGA, Ont. — Like many…

Get Behind the Wheel: Truck wheel maintenance practices that make a difference

MONTREAL, Que. – There are plenty of benefits to well-maintained wheels. They’re safer, to be sure, less likely to escape their bonds and go skipping across a highway. Something as simple as a clean appearance can help to make a lasting impression on customers as well.