focus on...
BY DEBORAH MCGUFFIE-SCHYHOL
...Onboard scales N
ot using an onboard scale yet? What are you waiting for? There are a variety of truck scale systems available on the market to fit the needs and budgets of all types of fleets ts.. ts “The sm martest fleets are being very deli libe li beera bera rate rat te o on n wher wh w her eree they invest their limited resourcess in n tthi his eccon hi his onom nom omy, y,” sa says says ys Scott McCulloch, director off com ommu ommu uni nica cati tion ons at at Righ ight ht Weigh. “T The dollars that are re bei ein in ngg sp spe pent n aree pri r ma mari rily ly for things that can incr crea ease ease ea se ope perrating ra ngg efffic icienc ienc ncy. cy Fle leet ets are researrching produc uccts ts tha hat provvid de th he fa fasttesst R fast RO OI an nd h vee pro ha r veen ef effi fiici cie ieen n benefits, ncy s like ke onb boa oard d load d scal sccaalllees.” In Maarrch, Righ In ggh h htt We Weigh int od tr oduc ducced an updated interior daash-m ssh h-m mou oun ntted e uni niit at thee M Mid id dAmerica Truc u ki uc king ingg SSho ow. w. Thi h s scal ale of al offers a seevven n-cco ollor lo selection LE ED baack ckligggh ht an nd co c mes in a choic ice of bla lack ck or chrome bezzel. As As witth alll Ri R ght Weigh mo odels lss, it it showss on-the-grrou und un nd w weeig igh gh htt in p pounds d (no ds n t jjust ju u staand ndard PSI)) and calibrattes es ffor orr custo tom miize ized zed accu ze acccu uracyy. Air-Weeiggh aallso o intrro odu duce ced a lo l w-cost s pro rodu duct c las ct a t year called thee Qui u ckkLoad d sca c le le forr dedicat a ed tract cttor or-t -trailerr combinattion ns and ns d tru ucckks, s, alo alo longg wiitth th a ne new scalle fo forr re refuse vehiccles. The Loa oad dMax dM axx xx refu refu re fuse u e tru ruck ck sccaale ale le inc nclu clude lu ude des J1708 and d J19339 daata ta iint ntteerrffaace n accees and an nd an inc n li l no ometeer op o tion for im mprove ved ve ed reepe peattaab bil i iitty. y This ye year a thee com ompa p nyy plans to release a new w sca cale llee for o veh hicle l s with h the he Mack he acck Camelback suspen nsi s on on. “We aree seeing weigh gh ht enfo en nfo forc rcem rc men e t ac acti cttiivi vity vity ty risingg acro accro ross osss the nation n due to the trem em emen men endo do ous u cosst o off rep placi lacciing la ng inf nfra rastructure and the diminish hin ing ro ing road ad d aand nd b nd bri r dge ri dgge re repa pair pa ir b bud ud dgets,” sayss Jim Morton, productt ma m na nage geer, r, Air ir-W -W Weeiigh. gh h “O Onnboard scaales are becoming more com om mmo m np pla lace cee iin n va vari riou ri ous ou us applicatio ons, as fleets are realizing the bene neefi fits ts o ts off ma m xi ximi mizmi ing payloaad before leaving the loading site.” He says a si sing ing ngle le truck equipped i d with i h an onboard b d scale l can help h l reduce d a fleet’s bottom line and will show an ROI. Drivers save valuable HOS time by not having to check axle weights at truckstops or on in-ground scales at shippers. Vulcan On-Board Scales’ new V700 Electronics System makes it possible to view onboard scale information on the Vulcan V320 or V340 displays remotely. The pocketsized remote, Vulcan explains, allows fleets to monitor weight safely away from the immediate loading area. It
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features a large LCD with three backlight settings and can operate over 30 hours on 2 AA batteries, with a battery level le evel indicator and an auto auto-off off function function. Tr Tr TruckWeight’s wireless remote-operated truck scale syyst stem em ems ms en enab nab able le drivers to monitor weights viaa a handheld devi de vice vice ce fro rom m up p to 50 5 0 ft. away. Peter Panagapkko, president of Tru of r ckkWe Weiigght ght ht, sa ht, s yyss fle l ets want the flexibility to easily drop drop dr p aand nd dh hoo o k th thei heir eiir tr t uc ucks k and trailers with hout having to o usee sep e ar ep arat atte sc scal aleess. Th The Sma m rt Scale offerrs that flexib billity ty an a d caan aallso lsso o be in inte t grrat a ed d with onboard d computers and telema an maati m ticcss devices icces to gi give ve ffle lleeett managers information they neeeed to ant th n ic icip ip pat a e issu issu is s ess w wit ith it h ut util til i ization aand complian ncee, wh hich ich iin ic n turn n th hey e can a pas ass aallo on ng to th he customer whil ile le tth he vveehi hicle is in tth he lo oad a iin ng aarreaa, he add ds.
During D Du ring n the past pastt ye yyear, ar, Tr T TruckWeight ruc uckW kW Weigh ght re rreleased leeased two major prod p r ducts. Th T e fi f rs r t is Fle leeettL Liinkk, a tteele leema maatics device that give gi v s fl flee eeet manaagers the hee abiliittyy to el elecctrronicaally capture elec and comm mun unic unic icat a e axxle le-w -wei eigh ght dat gh daata geen d nerateed by Smart Scale. alle. Thee dat ataa can n be be rea ead b ead byy an on onbo board com bo mputer and seent to a ho h me off ffic ice ce vi viaa sa sate telllit ite orr cellular syystems. ite Thee se Th seco ond new w pro odu duct is a Sm mart Scale fo or mechanical su s sp speen ension ensi ns th haatt Tru uckkWe Weig i ht says yield ds a weight calc ca lcul ullattio on th hat at’s’s’s acc c ur urat ate to at ate o within 1% com mpared to a cert ce rtif rt ifie if ied ie d sccal ale. Beccau ale. ause se it uses AA batteries rather than draaw dr win ing el ing elec ecctr tric icit ic iitty fr from om m the tractor, Panagapkko explains, “tthe h sca cale le ccan le an pro odu duce a weight reading on an n untethered trrai a le l r. r. Fleeet managers can deploy their power units where th hey need them and eliminate the time and incconvenience off h hooking ki up a tractor in i order d to use a scale. l ”
FOR MORE INFORMATION, VISIT THESE WEB SITES: AIR-WEIGH www.air-weigh.com
TRUCKWEIGHT www.truckweight.com
RIGHT WEIGH www.rwls.com
VULCAN ON-BOARD SCALES www.vulcanscales.com
American Trucker/ r/May 2009 19