Truck Maintenance Tips to Follow for Long-lasting Tires
Finding a company that specializes in truck maintenance in New York is hard. You have to keep in mind many factors that play a role in the life of your truck’s tires. Usually, one of the most important and yet least concerning to truck drivers is the health of their tires. In fact, many fleet managers in NY do not pay the appropriate attention to their fleet’s tires. When in reality the proper truck maintenance will not only enhance safety but also save on expenses. In this article, we will review some of the best truck maintenance tips you can follow for a long-lasting tire. Truck Maintenance Tips to Follow for Long-lasting Tires When fleet managers in NY are looking for a company that specializes in truck maintenance for fleets, they often choose Fast Action Body Repair because of their reputation, turnaround time, and attention to detail. Details like the strength and functional quality of the fleet’s tires. Here are the points to consider when you’re looking to improve your tires. #1 Choosing the right tire The first thing that you need to keep in mind with truck maintenance in NY is choosing the right tire. Part of choosing the right tire, is the brand of the tire. When it comes to driving a truck, you can’t consider cutting corners on the price because it does in fact play a role in the quality. The quality of the tire is the most important thing that you need to keep in mind when you are choosing a tire. Not just the quality, you also need to see the warranty of the tire. It will give you a rough idea of when you will need to send the truck in for the replacement of the tire. Most of the fleet managers in NY keep money in mind which is not good at all. No doubt, you need to see the pricing but you also need to see the quality and the material of the rubber. Of course, that only rings true if you are looking for the truck’s tire to last a long time. It’s actually more expensive to continue to have to purchase tires of lesser quality over time. #2 Proper truck maintenance in NY When you send your commercial vehicles for truck maintenance in NY make sure you also ask the body repair shop to check the tires. They will check your commercial truck’s tires and tell you if you need to replace them soon or not. Also, you need to make sure that there is proper air in them (of course). This small tip will increase the life of your tires. So, do not forget to ask them to not only check the quality of the tires, but also the air capacity! #3 Retreading Retreading is the process of putting in a new thread. You need to retread the tire every once in a while. As these commercial trucks are running long all day to different cities and states, the tires will wear down from the amount of use. In which case, you will have to have them retreaded every once in a while. That’s another thing you need to keep in mind when you are looking for truck repair NY online. Make sure you have the tires retreaded whenever necessary but with a reputable company like Fast Action Body Repair in NY. They’re not only known for the quality of their truck maintenance in NY, but also for the fast turnaround time. Commercial truck drivers never have a whole lot of time to spear to wait on the return of their vehicle. For fleet managers, having the tires retreaded will help save on costs over time. Retreading will help lessen the number of times the tires have to be replaced on the trucks. So, make sure you check if the truck’s tire need retreading when scheduling maintenance for the fleet. Final words To conclude, these are the things that you need to keep in mind to make the truck tires for your fleet run for a long time. Make sure you follow all the tips and don’t forget to check the other trucks in the fleet for needed upkeep when having one of them repaired. That way, you will decrease the overall maintenance cost of the fleet’s trucks. Proper tracking of maintenance dates and follow-up visits will make the process more efficient. Looking for a reputable truck repair, painting, and maintenance company in New York? Fast Action Body Repair is ready to become an extension of your fleet. Contact us today!
New Trends to Follow in New York Truck Maintenance
New York truck maintenance has grown a lot lately. There are several new trends and technology that have entered the scene and are making fleet managers very happy campers. In this article, we will review some of the latest trends and expedient technology that has introduced to the fleet industry. We will be focusing more on the preservation advancements that are being adapted to make trucks run more efficiently. Outsourcing New York truck maintenance parts Today, the cost of the parts is increasing like crazy! Consequently, the best way to decrease the added expense is by outsourcing certain parts. This has become a trend in the fleet industry. Now, many fleet managers are outsourcing half of the needed parts for repairing a truck in New York from different companies. This is to stay within budget and improve cash flow management. Outsourcing will not only cut costs but you will also get a better build quality of the products. Therefore, people are already using the outsourcing trend to make things easier and faster. Location mapping You can call it the latest trend or you can also call it an update. For the past many years, there are GPS trackers and similar gadgets installed in the truck to track the driver’s location. Now, there are a few more cool tech devices that are enhancing the truck driving experience. The location mapping will allow you to where your entire fleet is located on one single screen. Additionally, the New York Fleet Managers would be able to track the trucks faster than ever before. Tracking systems are not a new concept; however, location mapping has been upgraded and has proven to be better than the existing technology that was already being used by most fleets. As industry decision makers began applying what they learned at trade show to their brands, there was a vast improvement in operations across the country. The impact on trucks Being that the New York truck maintenance scene has changed a lot, there is an impact on trucks too. Now, the trucks have been updated a lot. There aren’t many changes in the size of the truck or the overall look but there are many changes done from the inside. For example, now the trucks follow more safety precautions then it used to do before. Every driver wants to drive a safe truck. It makes their work easier. Along with the safety of the truck, there are several other things. The truck drivers no longer need to maintain all the records. Now, they are directly uploaded to the cloud right from the truck. And! Some of the changes in the truck’s technology allow them to perform all the truck’s operation easier. The updated add-ons in the truck will also help fleet managers in New York save on costs. Final words To conclude, we can say there have been numerous changes in New York truck maintenance. Although, most of the changes are easier to adapt there are still some of the changes which take time. Some truck drivers were facing problems in learning about new technology. Which is why it is wise for fleet managers in New York to ensure proper training so that truck drivers know how to use the installed tech tools properly and effectively. Information is the key element of any new thing. So, truck drivers need to be educated to understand the new trends and technology in the fleet industry. Once they’ve been trained, they will find that the added ease to their daily operations was worth every minute of training. If you’re looking for a trusted truck repair company in New York with a fast turnaround time, Fast Action Body Repair is who you should contact today!
4 Tips on Getting the Best Truck Repair in NY
Your truck is your baby and you always want the best truck repair in NY when it’s time to heal your baby. After purchasing a new truck, you can expect it to run quite a few months or even years before it begins giving you trouble. Just like any other vehicle, trucks are made up of mechanical and electrical parts that wear out or malfunction over time. It will be unfair to say your new truck might not give you problems at all. When the time comes, you must have a good truck repair service to counter unexpected repairs. When it comes to adequate truck maintenance, it’s necessary to hire a reliable and reputable commercial truck repair NY shop that gives high-quality service. Selecting the right service provider is not easy, particularly with so many repair service providers competing in the market. Just like other kinds of vehicles, trucks require mechanical and electrical repair services because of malfunction of wearing out of their parts. It is best to get the most reliable truck repair services where you can call for instant help whenever your truck has problems. The truck repair shop you intend to go for should be able to deal with particular problems and provide other reliable services. Selecting the best truck repair in NY services for your routine maintenance can be frustrating due to the various service providers in the market today. But you can consider a couple of things to make the right choice of a truck repair shop. The following are tips for choosing a truck repair service. 4 tips on getting the best truck repair in NY 1. Get Recommendations When you are looking to get the best truck repair in NY, it is vital to get recommendations from family, colleagues, friends, or business associates who may have their truck repaired recently. Apart from the online insights, you need to consider the shared experience from professionals and other referrals. By doing this, you can quickly find a truck repair shop with a good reputation and the best services. Once you prepare a list of recommended truck repair NY shops, you need to narrow down your search by interviewing and monitoring what they can do. Make sure the mechanics in the repair shop have the best skills to handle major truck issues. Once you get a few good truck repair NY companies, search online to see if you can find a business website. Go through the websites and look for reviews and testimonials. Read them to get a better idea regarding whether or not the mechanics are capable and experienced enough to handle all types of repairs on trucks. 2. What does their shop look like? After getting the top recommendations of the best truck repair companies, you need to pay a visit to the garage site to have a look at what the mechanics are doing. When in the repair shop, consider some things that will make you trust their services. For example, you need to check the response of the staff and the organization of the mechanics to determine their level of commitment. You also need to check the quality of work done in the workplace. Compare more than one garage to find the best that suits your needs. It is best to work with professionals that have high qualifications and best personalities. Don’t consider garages that lack clean facilities or a good organization. They cannot guarantee the professional quality of work if they are unable to keep their workplace neat and presentable. Rather, look for a professional that has a clean, organized garage. The place has to be comfortable and neat for waiting, while the professionals work on repairing your damaged truck. 3. How expensive are they? As you consider the price of the truck repair services, you may be tempted to go to the cheapest mechanic. You also need to have a particular budget that does not limit you to the substandard facilities. Make sure you select a truck repair shop that has a competitive price that you can afford. Compare the prices of various service centers to know the best that meets your needs and budget. Repair shops that offer to get the work done for less may not repair your truck fully, which means you might have to visit them several times before actually getting the truck fixed. At the same time, don’t go for a mechanic that charges too high. Instead, go for one that is fair on the pricing. It is also advisable to compare the pricing of various service centers to get one that best suits your requirements and budget. 4. Consider their experience Experience in commercial truck repair is the most important criteria. Inexperienced providers could lead to delays and mistakes that could cost more in the long run. You should look for a service provider that has experience with various manufacturers and has experience with additional accessory improvements that could benefit your fleet business. While looking for truck repair in NY, you should check for proper credentials. You need to ensure your prospective repair shop has prior knowledge and skills to fix the problem. In the same way, the certification documents will give you an idea of whether the mechanics offer acceptable repair services. Additional credentials to look at include the license, insurance cover, and other legal documents that give the credibility of the truck repair shop. A licensed service provider knows and works in compliance with the rules and regulations of the car industry. Why you need to hire a professional When you have a problem, it is advisable to call an expert. There are a lot of things that you can fix on your own, but your repair work will not be as good as that of a professional. This is particularly true when it comes to truck repair NY work. You should always hire a semi-truck repair specialist when you need your truck repaired. Not only will you get the best
6 Tips to Improve Fleet Management in New York
Fleet Management in New York can be hard to handle. There are costs to control, trucks to repair and paint, and employees to keep safe and on-task. This creates little room for error. For fleet managers to remain on budget and keep their operation rolling they need to make their fleet more efficient. Regularly addressing maintenance problems, managing costs of tire and fuel, lowering paperwork, and making use of new technology can help make fleet management in New York more effective. Fleet maintenance schedule ensures that your services are in accordance with federal, state, and local laws. The roles and challenges of an operations manager seem endless, and a fleet management system can surely help make those tasks easier. Even though having a fleet management solution doesn’t ensure that your daily operations will suddenly take less time than before, choosing the most effective fleet management system that is also the right fit for your business is more important. Whether you handle a delivery business, or work in the industry of field service, managing your fleet is important for success to ensure you are keeping up with the needs and desires of your clients. Technology, information, and connectivity are coming together to create a belief in people that they can have what they want, when, where, and how they want it. 6 Tips to Improve Fleet Management in New York To continue keeping up with the high demands of your customers, you need to have proper fleet management in New York. It demands business owners to plan and optimize routes taken by their vehicles, make changes at quick notice, track your vehicles and drivers, all while maintaining customer satisfaction. Below are tips to help fleet managers increase effectiveness and increase customer satisfaction while saving both time and money. 1. Have better route planning Route optimization software can show you daily processes. It gets rid of the need to manually plan routes and can provide quick ROI for a business (greater than 30 percent). In addition to better planning your routes, it has additional benefits such as: Automated data reporting that gives details about the performance of a fleet, making it possible for you to make better decisions based on those metrics. Extended lifetime of your trucks and cheaper fuel costs by implementing better routes and lowering idling time. It saves office time because you will have the chance to plan in a short time, rather than in hours, and focus on other tasks. To better comprehend the significance of investing in routing technology, it is important to understand just how much manual planning is costing fleet management in New York. Take time to consider the following projects that are wasting valuable time that could be invested elsewhere: Dealing with lengthy paperwork and files that could contain a lot of human error, such as, filling out paperwork manually, creating vital reports, typing addresses into a navigation system, or answering calls from the office Inability to properly manage requests or change routes in real-time (such as when there’s traffic, road closures, or on-demand requests) Lack of visibility into the location of your driver, making it hard to manage your day and nearly impossible to give customers dependable updates 2. Embrace Telematics Fleet operations are benefiting from technology. Advances in telematics and GPS tracking provide more insight into the exact locations of your fleet, behavior of drivers, and general vehicle performance. Telematics can also assist managers identify bad driving behaviors such as speeding, quick accelerating or braking, and idling. It also helps business owners identify road or traffic conditions to make it possible for drivers to be rerouted. This can help you not only improve driver safety and at the same time, cut down on fuel expenses. This technology can also send alerts to fleet managers and drivers regarding potential issues with the vehicle. The technology can detect urgent issues, or identify problems that should be fixed during the next scheduled preventative maintenance service. 3. Move towards paperless modules Why should you have more paperwork than needed? Filling out paper forms takes time and it creates room for mistakes. What happens if a technician incorrectly records his or her hours? What if a document gets missing? Going paperless and rather gaining access to data through a software solution will help improve the efficiency of the operation of your business. Fleet management in New York can allow technicians to automatically allocate time to particular projects and have access to vital information regarding vehicles and equipment. Instead of looking for paperwork that has warranty information or vehicle history, a manager can access it through the software. The technician can record all details from the services carried out in real-time, making sure he or she does not forget to enter vital information later. 4. Analyze information to improve fleet performance The best method of improving the performance of your fleet is to analyze data and detect where you are succeeding and where there is room for improvement. Using routing software with a large analytics dashboard will give you an idea of important metrics and allow you to make better decisions that will greatly improve the performance of your fleet. You’ll also be able to know which members of your team are not abiding by the plan, missing time-windows, or might require additional coaching and training: Use of the current resources of your fleet including average daily vehicles, vehicle usage by the load, planned distances, and unplanned time window violations Make changes to the execution of your routes and get a detailed look at time spent at other locations, route deviations, unplanned idle time, and delays Carefully monitor seasonality by looking back at how your fleet did during weekends or holidays to know if you were understaffed, if certain aspects resulted in problems, or if you need to adjust your plans 5. Take your fleet management systems mobile Whether you are in your office or on the go, making use of routing software with a mobile app
4 Truck Painting in NY Tips That Will Ease the Process
Truck Painting in NY is one of the most time-consuming and costly projects to undertake on your vehicle. By the end of this article you’ll know if you can paint it yourself or you should have it painted by a professional. Paint and bodywork have long been seen as an art more than a mechanical undertaking. A good truck painting in NY job is surely the result of many hours spent welding, sanding, and preparing the body for paint. Rather than the popular misconception that a paint job is a single step process, painting a vehicle is a process that involves various steps that lead to the real painting of the truck. Being a good painter needs a lot of patience and some amount of perfectionism because that new, glossy paint job will show the slightest blemish underneath. When it comes to truck painting in NY, any automotive professional will tell you the same thing: it all goes down to the preparation. Whether you’re repairing a chip or re-spraying the entire truck, preparing the paintwork is just as important as applying the paint, and plays an important part in the quality of the final result. To help you prepare like a professional, we’ll guide you through some vital ideas on cutting, sanding, priming, and picking the right paint for your truck, with insider ideas to give your truck a truly professional finish. 4 Truck Painting in NY Tips That Will Ease the Process Step 1: Remove the rust The first thing to do to get a great looking paint job that will last for a long time is to have a solid, rust-free foundation to work from. Rust is a popular term for the process of steel oxidizing and is usually caused by unprotected metal being exposed to liquid or liquid-vapor. Adding salt to the process, as in salty roads in the beach or winter driving in the summer, only extends the process and can quickly turn sheet metal into an ugly, flaking, rusty mess. The worst problem of rust is that once the oxidation process has begun it is very difficult to stop. Even taking away the source of the moisture won’t stop the metal from rusting in a self-destructive way, so, the only decision is to completely get rid of the rust or to stop the process of oxidation chemically. Either way, the rust has to be completely removed or treated or it will return under the paint, leading to unsightly bubbling. The best method to make sure that rust won’t return is to get rid of it from the truck. This can be accomplished by removing the metal just in the rusty area and welding in areas, but extreme cases may need you to replace the whole panel. While doors and fenders are easily replaced by bolting on the new parts, quarter panels and door skins are harder and need special tools like a welder, clamps, spot weld cutter, grinder, and cut-off wheels. Whether getting rid of the metal because of a collision or due to rust, the methods are the same. Cut out the destroyed part, fabricate or buy a patch panel, fit the panel, and weld it in together. The welding process can be a trick in itself because the heat made in thin, sheet metal panels can result in distortion, causing more time spent to straighten the welded-in panels. Coating the panel with a heat-absorbing compound and stitch welding (welding short segments gradually) the panel are two ways to keep the panel from warping while being welded together. More concern about welding is that moisture can be trapped inside any area of porosity, causing more rust issues. Priming the metal in a weld-through primer and sandblasting the area after being welded are two ways to making sure the area won’t rust in the future. Most places of light surface rust don’t need metal replacement and can be chemically treated with a liquid rust inhibitor. Rust inhibitors are found in gel form, such as naval jelly. No matter the brand, all rust inhibitors function in the same manner. Their main ingredient is phosphoric acid, which converts iron oxide (active rust) into iron phosphate, chemically preventing the oxidation process. Parts can be dipped in rust inhibitor, but the more common method is to spray liquid inhibitor on the part from a spray bottle. Depending on the severity of the rust, it can take from two to twelve hours for the phosphoric acid to convert the rust to iron phosphate, which is black. Have it in mind that this process is only effective in areas of surface rust that are not flaking or rusted through. Those areas should be cut out and replaced. It is not until all the rust of the car has either been cleaned and replaced with new metal or treated with a rust inhibitor, that we can call the first step in the painting process complete. Now we have a solid foundation to build on, we can start straightening and filling warped panels and correcting other imperfections. Step 2: Straighten the panels Getting the panels straight is probably the most time-consuming process of automotive bodywork. Most cars have all new metal with no filler, which is why it’s so straight. But nearly all panels need some filler to be made straight. Although some panels may be straightened with a hammer and dolly, others need filler to be perfect. It takes many hours of spreading body filler, sanding, and repeating the process to make sure a panel’s straightness, and, again, some specialty products and tools are needed. First, it is necessary to make use of quality body filler. Cheap body filler may fill the voids and imperfections of the panels of the car, but it will not last as long as quality fillers. Another advantage of quality filler is that it is normally easier to sand than its cheaper counterpart, needing less time to carry out the truck painting in NY job. Step
3 Tips for Fleets in New York to Successfully Navigate the Evolution of Technology
Technology has changed many things for business owners and Fleets in New York over the past few decades. Whether we talk about fleet management tasks such as how accounting is handled, or we’re talking about the look and feel of trucks. The new fleet trucks in New York come with the latest technology that were installed to increase the performance and the efficiency of the trucks. This article is all about providing you with tips to successfully navigate the evolution of technology for fleet trucks. Like we stated, technology in fleet trucks have increased a lot. Now they are designed with location tracking, mapping, and many more similar features. It becomes harder to navigate but provide a more effective solution for fleet management and deliveries. So let’s dive into some of the tips that will serve to be useful as your fleet transitions its brand to being technologically advanced. 3 Tips for Fleets in New York to Successfully Navigate the Evolution of Technology #1 Fleets in New York are adapting to the change Now it is no secret; technology is evolving very fast and that’s not only in fleets in New York but in a very single thing. New accounting systems are being used which allow you to easily accept payments and you can also save customers data on a cloud-based system or locally using software. The first thing you need to do is learn to adapt to these changes. It’s all for the good of your business growth as you tighten up your fleet’s operational practice. The technological features that are out on the market for trucks contain so many add-ons that can be installed in your fleet’s trucks. For example: Camera systems Driver Scorecards Dynamic Routing Collision Mitigation Trailer Tracking Electronic Logging Devices Record Keeping Each one of the above-mentioned features are items that have helped better manage in-office tasks and monitoring drivers are on their routes. That means, it’s time for everyone to get with the program! #2 Learn the technology As technology advances, the systems get a little more complex every time. Consequently, you need to feed your brain with information about technology to then train your team later on. It is not hard to learn the new systems. It also takes very little time to learn fleet technology. Most brands offer free training for their systems because they want to make it an easy transition for you. Make sure you are trained in using all the settings and configurations. Even if you are not planning to use it right away, it is always a better option to learn as much as you can so that you know how to use each feature when the need for it arises. There are always guides and videos online to help you out too. #3 The back office No doubt, there are many things that you need to learn about fleet trucks technology but do not forget about the back office. Along with the trucks, there are many new technological options and updates that you should know about to improve how the back office runs. That includes new payment methods to collect payments, digital communication with drivers, business texting services to manage and archive the conversation history with clients, drivers, and staff, making the entire process paperless, etc. Now, you can save everything on cloud-based systems and manage all of your customer’s data in a matter of clicks. It’s imperative that fleet managers learn about all the latest technology and stay updated. It is going to save you a lot of time! Writing everything on paper is a thing of the past and takes a lot of time to keep organized. Cloud-based systems will make all tasks easier while also saving you time, storage space, and expenses. Final words To conclude, this was all about improving operations through the latest technology for Fleets in New York. Make sure you follow all the provided tips to successfully navigate the evolution of technology for Fleet Trucks. As technology continues progressing, the day-to-day work will get simpler and revenue will increase by a lot because of it. So, make sure you adapt to the technological world we are living in to deliver better performance and a more structured brand.
3 Safety Tips for Fleet Managers in New York to Follow After COVID-19
Covid-19 has put many jobs and businesses in danger along with the lives of the people. The fleet industry in New York is also facing some major issues that need a safe and efficient solution.
5 Reasons Video Systems Help Reduce Costs for Fleet Managers
Fleet managers are regularly looking for solutions to optimize their fleet operations and productivity. To remotely track, monitor, and control the movement the fleet, video systems, and video analytics hold the key for improving the operational efficiency of fleet companies.