The Affects of Snow & Ice Buildup On Trucks
With Winter here and snowy conditions following soon behind, many Fleet Managers are starting to think about preventative maintenance. Fine tuning your fleet now, can help make sure you minimize downtime in the cold of winter. Basic things include inspecting the battery, making sure there’s plenty of coolant as well as checking and maintaining engine heaters. But there’s one things that’s often forgotten which can really affect performance…
Heavy Snow & Ice On Trucks
Heavy snow and ice buildup on trucks and trailers can really hurt fuel economy. Further, it can damage equipment and create safety hazards for your trucks as well as other vehicles around them. This can lead to a literal slow down and create additional costs to deal with at the worst times. To help reduce these risks, trucking companies are using a variety of specialized snow-removal systems to clear the tops of their vehicles.
“Everyone has seen that sheet of ice blow off of a trailer and hang on there. It is an issue that the trucking industry needs to address,”said Michael Riley, president emeritus of the Motor Transport Association of Connecticut. Several suppliers offer equipment that can help drivers clear the tops of their rigs safely and efficiently. Scraper Systems, based in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, offers a system that removes snow as a truck passes underneath a plow-like scraper. “The driver drives his tractor and trailer through the machine,” A. Duie Pyle’s Carrano said. “It has a scraper-blade system that is lowered onto the roof of the trailer, and as he drives through it, it plows the snow and ice off of the top.”
Reducing Time & Improving Efficiency
The scraper blade system is a huge time saver vs. the traditional methods which in many cases meant having the driver remove it with a shovel. A truck and trailer can now be cleared in around 1 minute! This means a reduction in labor costs as well as less idle time for the trucks. In other words, more time spent making money.
Learn More
Find out more about how carriers are using this specialized equipment to remove snow and ice in this article on TransportTopics.com.
