Trucks & Components

MCNEILUS TRUCK McNeilus Companies, Oshkosh Truck Corp. and London Machinery Inc. are offering the Eagle Eye obstacle-detection system exclusively for

MCNEILUS TRUCK

McNeilus Companies, Oshkosh Truck Corp. and London Machinery Inc. are offering the Eagle Eye obstacle-detection system exclusively for rear-discharge and front-discharge mixer trucks.

Developed by Transportation Safety Technologies, the Eagle Eye system provides drivers location and distance information regarding potential hazards hidden in vehicle blind spots. The system alerts drivers to hazards during lane changes, turns, or tight maneuvers at job sites. Sensors located on the trucks act like sonar, sending ultrasonic waves to detect obstacles and provide both audio and visual warnings.

McNeilus and London rear-discharge mixers will be available with up to six sensors. Two are located on the rear corners of the tag axle, two more on the corners of the rear bumper, one at the middle right (passenger side) of the vehicle, and one at the front right (passenger side) bumper.

Oshkosh S-Series front-discharge models will be available with either four or five sensors: two at the corners of the rear bumper, and two more on either side of the vehicle’s midpoint. An optional fifth sensor is located on the catwalk above the cab to detect overhead obstacles.
Circle 201 on Reader Card

OSHKOSH TRUCK

Company’s Glider Kit can upgrade a fleet and boost productivity while dealing with problem trucks that are increasingly costly to maintain. The kit enables salvaging and recycling components that can be reused, which maximizes return on investment in drive components already on hand.

The conversion process begins when a customer supplies a donor truck Û typically the tandem rear axles, engine, transfer case, transmission and front-drive steer axle. Then, work begins based on the customer’s needs Û refurbishing, restoring, and rebuilding until a virtually new vehicle is created.

The vehicle is re-created using new components that are identical to those found on the latest generation S-Series trucks. The glider chassis is factory engineered and assembled on Oshkosh’s moving assembly line along with S-Series production.

Gliders are available as a material kit or completely assembled for turnkey operation. Assistance is provided where necessary to obtain rebuilt drive components. Available options include reconditioned engine and/or transmission, transfer case, axles, and tires and wheels. When delivered, even the VIN number is new, since the vehicle is virtually brand new. The gliders are available in various configurations to meet regional weight regulations.
Circle 202 on Reader Card

MACK TRUCKS

After a late-2005 preview of the technology, the company has officially announced a first-of-its-kind stability system for mixer trucks. Designed to reduce incident potential, the full electronic Mack Road Stability Advantage (RSA) by Bendix is available for mixer applications on the company’s Granite model.

Mack RSA uses the existing ABS wheel speed sensors Û along with steering yaw and lateral acceleration inputs Û to deactivate the throttle and selectively apply the brakes in sharp curves, sudden lane changes or obstacle-avoidance maneuvers, reducing the potential of a rollover.
Circle 203 on Reader Card

AUDIOVOX SPECIALIZED APPLICATIONS

The Voyager AOM70 7-in. heavy-duty, color LCD, flat-panel observation monitor and up to three heavy-duty cameras allow customers to increase driver safety and eliminate hazardous blind spots. The AOM703 delivers a high-resolution color picture to assist drivers in backing up, changing lanes, and maneuvering a vehicle. The monitor comes standard with three camera inputs that enable viewing of images from both rear and side body cameras. The D.C. triggers allow the monitor to be tied to 12V impulses, which facilitates monitor hook-up to locations such as the left and right blinkers and reverse gear, thus activating full screen views of areas around the vehicle that need increased visibility.

The monitor’s flexible mounting capabilities and sealed weather-resistant housing especially suit heavy-duty applications prone to vibrations, electrostatic discharge, and humidity.
Circle 204 on Reader Card

AUTOMATED SYSTEM RELIEVES GROWING PAINS FOR OHIO’S OSBORNE COS.

Originally a single-truck coal hauler, Mentor, Ohio-based Osborne Companies has expanded to a major construction materials source. The company’s 19 locations serve the construction materials needs of seven counties in northeast Ohio, supplying ready mixed concrete, asphalt, aggregates, and masonry products for residential, industrial, and commercial markets.

Since 1991, daily business activities of the multi-company enterprise have been managed by GivenHansco’s CompuCrete Accounting program. Covering multiple functions, including invoicing, accounts receivable, accounts payable, inventory, general ledger, and cash management, it requires one administrator and four staff to handle all accounting transactions.

To run its operations, Osborne uses CompuCrete Aggregate and point-of-sales, as well as Dispatch One. A majority of the 90-truck Osborne mixer fleet is owner operated. As fleet utilization is critical to optimum load distribution and timely delivery, the company installed Dispatch One in March 2005, running it along with CompuCrete on one server. Seamlessly integrated for single point of entry for data, the programs use standard Microsoft communication tools to tie several remote sites together, enabling users at various locations to share common accounting and operations data. Plant dispatchers can schedule their trucks, while managers view the whole fleet.

A one-server, one-provider approach facilitates effective, efficient, and economical operations, notes Osborne Vice President of Operations Scott Mackey. With the enormous number of daily transactions our complex business generates, it is to the system’s credit that handling is simple and trouble-free. We are doing the work of many with very few, he adds.
Circle 205 on Reader Card

LINK MFG.

Dubbed Light-Weight Champ by the manufacturer, DuraLift II 8K Self-Steer Liftable Suspension weighs 646 lb. with wheel-end hardware. The suspension’s proprietary design features interchangeable and adjustable frame brackets; one unit that fits all standard truck chassis (four ride height kits available); trailer mounts for 18- to 22.5-in. ride heights; compact, 22.5-in. mounting envelope; and, optional integrated air system.
Circle 206 on Reader Card

SHELL LUBRICANTS

Donax TX is a heavy-duty, semi-synthetic, automatic transmission fluid, designed for use in Allison heavy-duty automatic transmissions and those of other manufacturers. The lubricant offer what product engineers note is a high-performance-optimized additive package that allows for extended drain intervals.

Donax TX fluid has a drain period of 100,000 miles in regular service. Field trials of equipment fitted with Allison HD automatic transmissions have shown a drain period of 50,000 miles in severe service to be appropriate. If operators wish to extend the drain period beyond 50,000 miles in severe service, used oil analysis is required. The fluid does not have formal Allison TES-295 approval; however, it suits and will not harm Allison transmissions. The manufacturer guarantees Donax TX performance when the lubricant has been recommended by Shell for a specific application, and the lubricant is selected and maintained in accordance with stated requirements under normal operating conditions in mechanically sound equipment.
Circle 207 on Reader Card

VEHICLE INSPECTION SERVICE

Company has introduced a high-performance nitrogen tire inflation system called VIS-Nitro that can help fleet operators reduce maintenance costs and improve tire life.

An inflation controller on VIS-Nitro automates tire top-ups, eliminates the need for handheld pressure gauges, improves inflation accuracy and can fill four commercial tires simultaneously. All the technician has to do is clip the four chucks on, set the pressure and walk away. The machine beeps when it’s done and has an automated purge cycle that vents air from within an inflated tire and replaces it with high purity nitrogen produced by VIS-Nitro.

Studies show that tires filled with nitrogen retain pressure better than those filled with air, the manufacturer notes. When tires are filled with compressed air, it migrates through the rubber of the tire. Depending on the quality of the tire brand, tires can lose more than 2 psi per month as a result of air passing through the sidewalls. Oxygen and water vapor in compressed air can also corrode aluminum and steel wheels, rust the tire’s steel cords, and react to the tire components, making the tire more susceptible to even greater pressure loss. Nitrogen, with its larger molecules, permeates through rubber more slowly and is less corrosive than compressed air. It maintains tire pressure longer, reduces the risk of blowouts by overheating and lengthens tread life and retreadability by preventing rubber oxidation.

Nitrogen suits the tires of mixer and dump trucks, the manufacturer contends, as operators are challenged to keep inflation to spec in the face of vehicles’ many starts, stops and turns, and improves inflation accuracy and subsequent retreading.
Û www.visnitro.com, 800/219-6256

Mack, Allison align

Mack Trucks has partnered with Allison Transmission in the EDGE Program, establishing Allison as the exclusive automatic transmission for Mack Granite and highway series models. The program provides customers with a broader range of automatic transmission options, Mack representatives note, at more competitive prices.

Adds Allison’s Jim Wanaselja, director, North American marketing sales and service and global business activities, As our partner in the EDGE Program, Mack will have the right transmission with the right coverage for the particular needs of its customers.

DUNLOP EXPANDS COMMERCIAL LINE

Announcing new Dunlop tires to fill out its commercial line, Goodyear Tire & Rubber is rolling out additional sizes and product in the mixed-service category, which can be used on- and off-road and feature severe-service tread compounds and improved belt packages for improved resistance to cutting, chipping and tearing. The tire’s open-lug design provides numerous tread edges for grip; yet, company representatives note, advanced tire technology delivers a comfortable and quiet ride on pavement.

Two new mixed-service commercial tires Û the Dunlop SP831 and SP931 Û and two new sizes for the SP581 mixed-service tire line follow one of the most comprehensive series of consumer tire launches in the company’s history, officials report. Last year, the company added commercial tire capacity at its plant in Buffalo, N.Y., to enable the Dunlop expansion.
Circle 208 on Reader Card