Thinking of starting a successful freight business? You can’t just buy a truck and call yourself a freighter. All trucks are not created equal. There are things you need to consider before buying the truck you need for the services you offer. Will you be offering your services to food businesses such as seafood and meat wholesalers? Well, you will need a refrigerated truck for that. Will you only be moving dry goods for grocers in nearby towns? A medium-duty truck or box truck type is your best option. Ask your friendly truck mechanic who is an expert in spec’ing the best trucks for your needs.
Spec’ing a new vehicle is a tedious and multistep process. One of the most important things to consider is investing in a liftgate for your truck. A liftgate helps in lifting heavy objects from the ground to the rear door opening of the truck for easier loading of cargo into the truck. Think of a lift gate as a mini elevator for your cargo. Check out box truck liftgate repair for any liftgate concerns.
To become a successful freighter, a lift gate will not only save you time but also make it faster for your crew to load the cargo in the truck without the risk of damaging the items. Learn from fleet truck repair companies who are successful in making sure that all the trucks are in good shape before hauling any cargo.
No matter if you are in for a short or long haul, liftgates are the unsung hero of your fleet. Ensuring that your lift gates are the right one for your truck is crucial.
Here are some of the common mistakes when spec’ing liftgate:
1. Choosing the wrong type of liftgate
Since a liftgate can make or break a truck’s functionality, it is important that you first need to know what liftgate is compatible with your truck and what makes sense for your business. There are three types of liftgates: Tuck-under, Cantilever, and Rail-lift.
Tuck-under lift gates provide a slight tilt that gives a roll-on and off feature which can be ideal for small or medium-sized cargo, they may also be ordered with a level ride option that does not tilt. On the other hand, rail-lifts provide a flat surface on the ground and have a straight up and down movement, and can be easier to load huge and heavy cargo. Depending on what your needs are, be sure to take note first of what kind of cargo you will be hauling before deciding on the liftgate you will purchase to minimize unnecessary box truck liftgate repairs.
2. Overlooking weight capacity requirements
Taking into account and properly weighing all the cargo that will be placed on the platform is important to ensure that the liftgates can handle the load with no risk of it dropping and causing any accidents for both your goods and crew.
Overestimating the load weight is much better than underestimating since you also need to take into account the weight of the driver and even the weight of the pallet jacks that need to be used to push the cargo inside the truck. Ask a trusted truck mechanic about the proper weight measurements and requirements for your truck.
3. Incompatibility of Rear door spec with liftgate type
Liftgates come in different sizes and can be customized depending on several factors. One important aspect is that the rear door should match with the liftgate type. For instance, a rail-lift gate, a type of liftgate, is ideal for loading heavy and bulky items and is mounted on the rear cargo box frame and stowed away but it tends to cover a portion of the rear doorway which can be incompatible with swing-open door type trucks. Check out fleet truck repair for the best advice on spec’ing liftgates that are compatible with the rear door of your trucks.
Truck-n-Trailer in Oklahoma City is a professional truck sales, service, and repair company whose expertise is ensuring that your fleet vehicles are well maintained and safe on the road. Get your fleet on the road worry-free and secure. Call us now!
