 |
With stricter enforcement on overloading transgressions now ruling out the 'easy' route to maximizing profits, operators are looking at running rigs with the lowest possible tare weight that allow for the greatest possible loading potential within the confines of the law. In this quest, their first port of call is the truck dealer. But how qualified is a truck salesman to advise on the best construction material for that trucker's load body? Paul Collings takes a look at this question.
A dealer principal from a major retail truck dealer group admits to
FleetWatch that truck salesmen - in the main - have not been educated and updated on new truck fabrication materials such as aluminium to adequately advise buyers. "Sure, there are isolated cases where guys are ahead but generally they aren't. You get cases where salesmen are trying to keep abreast with new innovations but then you also have the old traditionalists who are reluctant to change. In this regard, one of my concerns is that there is too close a relationship between certain body builders and certain salesmen, which could serve to prohibit progress.
"There are also many fly-by-night truck body builders - the backyard boys - who are not interested in trying to raise the standards. They utilise old methods of manufacture with old materials and are not moving on. They are inhibitors to progress and the problem is, they sell on price. We may do a quote for a body at R15 000 and these guys come in at R9 500. So not only are we up against a reluctance to change but also against price differentiation."
A new breed of truck dealer
On the other side of the coin, one would assume that when a transport operator looks to purchase a new vehicle, he has a good idea of what he needs the truck for, what its specifications should be and how its lifecycle costs will be offset against the revenue his business generates. According to Jannie Koeggelenberg, national sales manager, Toyota Trucks, this is not always the case.
"There are so many options open to truck buyers these days in terms of new configurations and designs that the operator is hard pressed to keep up with these changes. His job is to transport, not necessarily keep abreast of every new trucking innovation. This is where truck dealers need to step in. They should be consultants to the transport industry, understanding their specific business environment and advising on the best truck and trailer combination available for the job."
Koeggelenberg makes perfect sense but as, stated above, not many truck salesmen are 'up to speed' on the latest trailer design trends and fabrication materials? Paul Brits of SAVABA (South African Vehicle and Body Builders Association) says: "It's the truck salesman who deals with the trailer manufacturer but if he's merely 'giving the customer what he wants' without presenting all the available options, he could be doing the customer a disservice."
Lessons from abroad
Brits confirms Koeggelenberg's view that many transporters are unaware of new technological developments in the truck and trailer building arena. It is just as well then that there are some truck manufacturers who have low tare mass as part of their business philosophy, Freightliner and Tyco Trucks being two such examples.
The cabs of both these brands are largely made up of aluminium and other lightweight materials, used specifically to lower tare mass. Bennie van Rensburg of Freightliner SA believes that buyers of his trucks are already aluminium converts. "They're looking to get as much payload as possible and also save fuel and reduce wear and tear on tyres and brakes. Aluminium helps them achieve this," he says.
This is an interesting point to ponder. Both Freightliners and Internationals are sourced out of the USA where the transport industry is highly competitive and largely made up of owner-drivers. These are people who literally live in a cab! They know everything about what makes a rig profitable. And they swear by aluminium. European truckers are very similar, using aluminium extensively in their rigs. What do they know that we don't?
Building awareness
At the forefront of the drive to educate transporters, dealers and body builders about the advantages of aluminium are AFSA (Aluminium Federation of South Africa), Hulett-Hydro Extrusions and several trailer manufacturers. According to Hulett-Hydro Extrusion's Dr Ivo Reuning, "aluminium weighs one third of steel and when used extensively, reduces tare mass of vehicle components by at least 50%."
AFSA is the advisory body to all aluminium manufacturers and has recently published a book 'Aluminium Designs for the Commercial Vehicle Industry'. According to David Hughes, executive director of AFSA, "only limited technical information about aluminium design has been available in English. The book, translated from the German textbook, identifies the current level of knowledge regarding design and production methods of aluminium bodies and components and gives commercial vehicle manufacturers and vehicle body builders many valuable illustrated suggestions in terms of know-how."
Success story
This is good news indeed. Despite an industry-wide awareness of the need to reduce tare mass, there is widespread skepticism (and dare we say ignorance) of aluminium being used in certain areas of truck design, like chassis and fifth wheels for example. AFSA's technical director, Tony Paterson, describes the issue as one of payload versus robustness.
"This is especially pertinent when designing for off-road applications," he says. "The challenge for builders using aluminium is how to make a configuration robust enough to handle the stresses of these conditions, be they sugar cane fields, forestry reserves or construction sites."
Paterson cites one example of aluminium's long-term success as being that of South Coast Stone Crushers, which is into its third replacement fleet of aluminium tippers. The economic benefits for this tipper operation, apart from increased payload, are numerous he says.
"Aluminium is non-corrosive and that's especially helpful in coastal applications. Also, the load bins are made up of double-skinned extrusions so a dented inner skin can be replaced while the original outer skin remains looking like new."
Anita Collins, market development manager at Hulett-Hydro Extrusions, cites the Ellerines fleet of furniture delivery flatdecks as being another aluminium success story. "We used Fritz Hellberg's (HTM) simulation software to determine the cost advantages of aluminium over steel on their bakkies. The results showed that 0.4 litres of diesel was saved per vehicle, per 100km's, per 100kg of weight saved, When your fleet numbers 4 500 vehicles, that's big money off your operating costs."
Keeping up
It is FleetWatch's suggestion that all transporters, dealers and body builders interested in learning more about the viability of aluminium in trucking, contact specialists in this field. Anita Collins holds regular workshops on the subject and says, somewhat evangelically, "aluminium can be moulded, dyed and designed for 'ready-to-assemble' kits. Steel can't!"
She adds that aluminium nay-sayers might be interested to learn that Hulett-Hydro Extrusions exports 500 tons of extruded aluminium for the UK trucking industry every month.
