Education Center

Diesel fuel is definitely the life’s blood of any utility fleet. It is what keeps your trucks going. Without it, you would be out of business.

Commercial carriers consume over 38 billion gallons of diesel fuel annually. If you’ve been paying attention to the rising cost of diesel fuel, you can probably imagine just how many dollars that translates to. Diesel fuel is one of the biggest expenses of any company that operates heavy trucks. In fact, fuel expenses can account for as much as 25 percent of a company’s operating costs. Fuel is expensive, but it is necessary.

The cost we pay at the fuel pump is largely out of our control. Consumers have watched fuel prices rise and fall like a wild roller coaster ride over the past several years. There is nothing we can do to influence the price of a gallon of diesel fuel.

There is something we can control, however. [...]

There is nothing more important to the productivity and safety of your work fleet than the wheels on your work vehicles. They are literally “where the rubber meets the road,” and since replacing them can be an expensive endeavor, anything you can do to extend the life of your wheels keeps hard-earned money in your pocket.

The good news is, when you have good maintenance practices, your wheels should last the life of your work truck, if not longer.

Follow these tips, as well as any recommendations from your wheel manufacturer, to optimize the life and efficiency of your work truck’s wheels.

• Always perform a daily inspection of your vehicle’s wheels, especially before you head off to complete a job. Look for cracks, rust, or any other evidence of wheel damage. Early detection of such damage makes it possible to take quick action to correct [...]

Bucket trucks are an essential piece of utility equipment. They aren’t just for construction sites, either. Bucket trucks are used in many industries for everything from film making to fruit picking.

There is an amount of inherent danger when it comes to using a bucket truck. Anytime you use a hydraulic boom to raise a worker to an elevated, inaccessible area, there are going to be some risks. You can never be too careful. Safe operation of these vehicles hinges on adherence to federal OSHA safety regulations and some common sense rules.

To protect your bucket truck from damage as well as ensuring your operator’s safety, it is crucial to follow all safety standards and guidelines. Remember you are working with complex machinery that requires special operator training.

Before using a bucket truck, the operator should perform a safety check of the vehicle to identify any damage [...]

For children, seeing a dump truck is exciting.. Watching these big behemoths of the truck world haul heavy loads down highways and around job sites, just to dump them in another location, is one of the most thrilling experiences a kid can have.

However, most people don’t buy a dump truck to achieve fame and glory. They buy a dump truck for one simple reason – to make money. In order to do that, you don’t want to waste money on features or extra performance that you don’t need. However, you also don’t want to skimp on the important details that allow you to work effectively and efficiently for your required operations.

Whether you are planning to purchase a brand new dump truck or you [...]

For most of us, bucket trucks are everywhere. Of course, that’s probably because the majority of us work with them every day. Still, society as we know it wouldn’t function without them. They’re essential for our electricity linemen, our first responders, some of our produce, construction, theatrical productions and much more. But aside from those of us who work with these unique vehicles daily, they often go unnoticed. They very much function behind the scenes. And they rarely make the news.

That said, the bucket truck industry has gained its 15 minutes in the spotlight now and then…. and for some fairly interesting reasons. We’re not sure which one is our favorite, but why don’t you just go ahead and decide for yourself?

This wasn’t [...]

Outdoor jobs have many benefits. They’re hands-on, exposed to fresh air, and during the spring and summer can be a frequent source of Vitamin D.

But outdoor careers have their hazards as well. And in the PA area, we can often miss or forget some of these.

Let’s take a look at three common safety hazards of outdoor work and how to respond to them. You may have heard some of these tips before, but do you know what actually makes them worthwhile?

Sunlight
While we all can appreciate some natural vitamin D and a nice tan, it’s important to approach interaction with sunlight, directly and indirectly, with caution.

Tips:

-Apply sunscreen before your shift during the spring, summer, and maybe even fall. Most importantly, do not neglect the sunscreen if it’s cloudy, you can still a [...]

When you own a small business, a vehicle purchase can be a serious and daunting investment. You want to get quality that’s affordable, but you also don’t want to get ripped off. The best way to ensure your financial , and even physical, safety in this process,is to know what to look for in a vehicle ahead of time. Below are a few areas to consider when searching for a new truck. While not comprehensive, these areas are a good springboard for further purchase research:

KNOW HOW MUCH YOU’RE WILLING TO SPEND

As with personal vehicle purchases, it’s wise to enter a dealership or even sales conversation with an idea of the range of money you’re willing to spend. Sales professionals are experts in convincing. While we pride ourselves in our sales people’s knowledge [...]

For most of us, our jobs aren’t exactly glamorous.That’s not to say with a little bit of creativity they couldn’t be. Usually, bucket trucks are purchased for construction and repair industries, as the aerial component is invaluable. But bucket trucks can have far more uses than your own industry. Often, photo and film artists employ bucket trucks to get the perfect angle or movement shot. But you don’t have to be a Hollywood star or Sundance Film Festival producer in order to give your bucket truck a creative twist.

Here’s a few ideas you can do on your own.

1) How-To Videos

Whether for training purposes or to engage followers on social media, videos are essential in today’s society. Have one member of your crew film while the other works [...]

As addictive as Fruit Ninja and Angry Birds may be, getting caught with your eyes glued to your phone may not go over so well on the job.

That said, if you run your own business, you may actually want to consider requiring smart device use at work.

Some apps provide far more than mere entertainment. Effective use of the growing number of resources available on your mobile devices can actually increase the efficiency and safety of your employees, especially for those in the fleet utility vehicle industry.

Check out a few examples of how:

INVENTORY

Apps like TracerPlus allow employees to scan barcodes for materials via their mobile devices.Most of these apps are user friendly and will require little explanation with staff. Companies can also  use these bar codes [...]

Small cars with futuristic sounding engines-That’s what most people envision when they hear the word hybrid. In reality, hybrid applies to a vastly greater population of vehicles. In fact, today, even large, diesel burning bucket trucks are offered in hybrid form.

A partnership between two units of power, an electric motor and an internal combustion engine, the trucks use a mix of battery power and biodiesel.

While still in the new technology category, the concept of hybrid bucket trucks is not new. Talk of the truck variation first hit news markets as early as 2008. Unfortunately, much like the entrance of many new products, high costs and lack of long-term research, left the number of hybrid bucket trucks purchased and used in industry minimal.

In 2017, it appears hybrid bucket trucks are getting a second chance to [...]