Used Heavy Duty Trucks For Sale Blog

How Trailers Aid Truck Use

The trailer posses so many advantages as an auxiliary vehicle that it is coming into use rapidly, particularly in the central and far western states, where industry and commerce are less conservative than in the east. Those who have adopted equipment trailers find that they double their hauling capacity of their trucks, greatly reduce waiting time of trucks and drivers, and increase the earnings or cur down the ton-mile operating cost materially.

As an industry, the manufacture of trailers dates back only half a dozen years, but it has grown rapidly until today there are seventy-five or more trailer manufacturers in the country, and several are exporting to foreign countries.

Trailers are made in a wide variety of types and capacities for all sorts of purposes, ranging from the little pneumatic tired two-wheel trailer of 500 pounds capacity, to be attached behind runabouts and touring cars, to ten-ton and fifteen-ton trailers and semi-trailers, hauled by powerful tractors and motor trucks. These include car haulers, dump trailers, utility trailers, equipment trailers, gooseneck trailer etc. Size is one of the main considerations while looking for a trailer. The maximum towing capacity and maximum tongue weight of your tow vehicle are limiting factors.

By used trailers and car haulers, many hauling jobs can be done that would be impossible with trucks alone, as for example – the handling object too heavy, too big or too long to be loaded on the truck. Weights of ten to twenty tons and more are divided between truck and trailer so that neither is overloaded and the weight is distributed over six or eight wheels instead of being concentrated on four.

Tow trucks are expensive, especially if the distance is great. A utility trailer is a great way to haul vehicles and a good investment if you need to do so regularly. Packing equipment and loading it into a pickup truck bed can get old very quickly. A utility trailer will allow you to drive your equipment right up onto the trailer without the aid of ramps or two strong men. Utility trailers are great for hauling appliances, live stock and recreational vehicles.

Open utility trailers are well suited for many applications including small landscaping businesses that are just starting out and need a way to haul their landscape equipment. As their business grows and they decide to move up to an enclosed trailer, the open utility trailer will still be incredibly useful for hauling all sorts of material such as mulch, rock and plants.

The use of dump trailers has been gaining in popularity as one of the most cost effective means for handling tear-off removal. Licensing fees, insurance costs and maintenance expenses associated with a dump truck are astronomical in most parts of the country. The use of dump trailers is a more cost effective and more versatile method for handling tear-off debris.

Dump trailers can be utilized for other practical purposes as well. Use it to haul equipment and material to and from various job sites. Their crews bring job site debris back to the yard at the end of each day. When the trailer is full, they just hook it up to their truck and take it to the dump.

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Mercedes Benz Ranks Highest in Heavy-Duty truck

Mercedes Benz, which supplies engines for Daimler Trucks of North America, ranks highest in customer satisfaction among vocational trucks with heavy-duty engines, receiving an index score of 760 on a 1,000-point scale. The manufacturer performs particularly well in the performance, cost of ownership and warranty factors. Cummins (733) and Mack (727) engines, respectively, follow Mercedes Benz in the rankings.

The study finds that sales personnel for heavy-duty truck dealers need to have a better understanding of their customers’ engine needs. Forty percent of heavy-duty truck owners either relied solely on the salesperson to choose their engine for them, or purchased their truck “as is” off of the lot. The average overall satisfaction score is 712 points at two years of ownership when owners let the dealer choose their engine, or purchased their vehicle “as is,” which is significantly lower than when owners choose their engines without the salesperson’s help (745).

Additionally, only 29 percent of owners who purchased their truck “as is” or relied on the dealer to choose their engine report they “definitely would” repurchase the same engine brand. Conversely, 45 percent of owners who were actively involved in the engine decision process say they would repurchase the same engine brand.

“Owners are increasingly taking a passive role when it comes to choosing an engine, so salespeople need to understand which engine is best suited for each application and pick the most appropriate product for the customer—even when the customer is buying a truck off the lot,” said Brian Etchells, senior manager of the commercial vehicle group at J.D. Power and Associates. “Owners who were not involved in the engine selection are more likely to report dissatisfaction with the engine’s horsepower, torque and fuel economy as primary reasons that they will not repurchase the same engine. Issues with the horsepower, torque and fuel economy are often indicative of the engine not matching the truck’s application.”

The study also finds that 43 percent of owners who report they “definitely/probably” will not repurchase the same engine also indicate that they will not repurchase the same truck brand.

“Failing to select the right engine to meet the customer’s needs can not only result in the owner choosing a different engine brand the next time they are in the market to purchase or lease a truck, but it can also cost the dealership a customer as they switch to another truck brand,”

The 2008 Heavy-Duty Truck Engine/Transmission Study is based on the responses of 2,692 primary maintainers of two-year-used heavy-duty trucks (Class 8). The study was fielded February through May 2008.  The vocational segment includes trucks that are used in rugged job applications, such as dump trucks, concrete mixers Truck, and garbage/refuse/recycling trucks.

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