Top 5 Ways to Prepare Your Fleet for Winter - We are in the thick of winter here in the Northeast and there’s no escaping the snow, cold, sleet and ice. Winter poses many challenges and dangers on our roadways, and when you own or manage a fleet of trucks, it’s your responsibility to keep them and everyone else around them safe. Frigid temperatures can be tough on any vehicle, particularly large fleet vehicles that are driven up to 12 hours a day. Routine maintenance will prevent emergency repairs and expensive downtime. Here are some ways to prepare your fleet for winter. 1.      Add Winterized Fuel The top complaints among fleet drivers include low fuel economy and vehicles that won’t start up when temps get below zero. To combat this, use winterized fuel so your trucks can operate seamlessly in temps as low as -30 degrees Fahrenheit. You can also opt for an additive package to boost fuel economy and horsepower by 5%. This will ensure your fleet stays on the road for longer while cutting back on fuel costs. 2.      Drain the Water Separator/Replace Filters When water is present in the fuel system, this can be very damaging [...]

Truck Fleet Management Strategy: Minimizing Downtime is the Tip of the Iceberg - When determining a strong truck fleet management strategy, your first thought may go directly to minimizing downtime. This is an easy go-to strategy, which is certainly valid, but it’s only the tip of the iceberg. There are many other components of a good strategy that can help you save money, time and stress. It’s no secret that truck fleet management presents several challenges, including: Minimize vehicle downtime Avoid unnecessary expenses Stay on top of ever-changing compliance requirements But perhaps the biggest challenge of all is lacking the expertise necessary to adequately manage all aspects of your fleet, including sourcing the proper equipment with the proper specifications for the proper application. Attempting to solve these problems through the use of multiple vendors and systems only serves to make matters worse. Now you have too many balls up in the air, and you may lose one. In order to manage your truck fleet in the most efficient way, you have to implement a comprehensive strategy that encompasses the unique needs of your fleet on top of your company’s objectives. In essence, you need a wide breadth of skills that [...]

Winter is Around the Corner: Prepare the Fleet - Frigid temperatures and harsh winter conditions can be very unforgiving on fleet vehicles that must operate up to 12 hours a day. But by engaging in routine maintenance, you as a fleet manager can avoid emergency repairs and expensive downtime during the coldest months of the year.Before the snow falls and temperatures dip, take these steps to prepare your vehicles for the season:Utilize winterized fuel: The two most common cold-weather complaints among fleet owners? A decrease in fuel economy and vehicles that don’t start up when temperatures go below zero. Seasonally-enhanced fuels can help you stay productive even in negative 30° Fahrenheit temps, with a cold filter plugging point (CFPP) of negative 55° Fahrenheit. By adding additives, you can also boost your horsepower and fuel economy by five percent.Drain the water separator and replace filters: Water in your fuel system is never good, as it can damage fuel pumps and injectors in below-zero temperatures. As a result, this can lead to cold engine startup issues that many people assume is “fuel gelling.” However, what’s probably happening is that water is turning to ice within the fuel storage tanks and filtration systems, plugging [...]

Top Fleet Tips for Driver Retention - Fleet owners are increasingly finding themselves facing an ever-increasing shortage of new drivers. That means if they want to attract the best and most talented drivers in the industry, they will have to come up with a more attractive and appealing work environment. But with the trucking industry coming up short 51,000 drivers in terms of its recruitment needs last year alone, this is becoming a challenge. The American Trucking Association says this is the highest shortage on record, growing even more recently due in part to a boost in freight volumes and the retirement of older, more seasoned drivers who are leaving the workforce in droves. Thus, it’s no secret that fleets are taking a second look at their human resources strategies to see what changes they can adopt. The results were documented in the 2018 Best Fleets to Drive For program, produced by CarriersEdge in partnership with Truckload Carriers Association. This is the only annual program that identifies the best workplaces in the North American trucking industry. Fleets are evaluated according to many different performance criteria in order to come up with the companies that boast the greatest success in driver [...]