The Fleet Business Authority
Issue link: http://heavydutytrucking.epubxp.com/i/221397
Tires&Wheels; More wheels means more exposure to tire problems, and greater potential for savings. what their costs are, I leave and go find a fleet that can." Roeth called that anecdote a real eye-opener. "That supplier recognized that there was no point trying to sell a cost-saving system to a fleet that isn't aware of its costs." Maybe "a lack of credible informa- ATIS & TPMS Suppliers Aperia Technologies Advantage PressurePro Bendix SmarTire Continental Doran Daimler Trucks NA Hendrickson PSI by Meritor Stemco TireStamp TireStat Wabco IVTM 60 HDT • DECEMBER 2013 tion on payback" means, "we don't know how much this device will save us so we're not going to buy it." Cover-alls or pin stripes NACFE's report details many reasons that came out in follow-up discussions that offer some insight into the spec'ing decision. Maintenance managers, while excited about the prospect of reducing the human and capital costs of tire maintenance, were afraid the devices would add another layer of maintenance to their overburdened shoulders. The finance people were concerned more with acquisition costs rather than life-cycle costs. "On an order of 5,000 trailers, our system would add about $3.5 million. That's a lot of money to find in the budget," Sonzala says. "That's why we're now talking with the financial officers as well as the maintenance people. The numbers are out there. The savings we have documented speak for themselves. When we have the chance to explain it to the financial people, they can make sense of the equation." One fleet owner from Iowa, who was used to changing out all his trailer tires at least once every 16 months, told Sonzala that after 24 months of using the Meritor Tire Inflation System from PSI, those tires were still in service and would probably run a few more months. "He gained at least six months wear from the tires, which translated into a saving of $576,000 for a 1,100-trailer fleet," Sonzala says. "And that doesn't include savings on road calls or fuel." The fleet owner also reported a total elimination of tire attention from the DOT. "They see the hoses on the wheels and just move on," Sonzala says. "The barriers are coming down," Sonzala admits, "but it's taken a www.truckinginfo.com