Semi Trailer Mover Archives

TrailerCaddy Terminal Tractor Lets You Use Regular Staff to Move Trailers – No CDL Needed!

DJ Products Highlights the TrailerCaddy Terminal Tractor

After nearly two years, the transportation industry continues to grapple with a shortage of available and qualified truck drivers, which is having a ripple effect on the country’s supply chain. Keep your drivers on the road and out of the yard with a TrailerCaddy Terminal Tractor from DJ Products.

Are Your Truck Drivers Actually Driving?

Just how deeply is this problem affecting companies? Ryan Dezurik of DJ Products relates a conversation one of our Sales Engineers recently had during a meeting with one of the top global event agencies.

According to the agency’s representative, “Hundreds of thousands of dollars are being spent annually to keep a CDL licensed driver on site to move trailers in and out of dock doors at their 39 locations across five countries.” This is time and money that would be better spent on actually transporting shipments from one location to another.

Save Time and Money with a TrailerCaddy Terminal Tractor

So what’s the solution? Our TrailerCaddy Terminal Tractor doesn’t require a specialized license for operation. As Dezurik explains, “The process to pull loaded trailers out of dock doors to stage for drivers and bring empty trailers into the docks for loading can be streamlined to help increase efficiency and save money.”

An In-Depth Look at the TrailerCaddy

Let’s take a look at what makes the TrailerCaddy a vital resource for any transportation company.

This streamlined yet powerful yard truck allows a single person to move trailers weighing up to 100,000 pounds.
The 48-volt battery system is eco-friendly and provides long run times.
Forward-facing operation and precise speed control improve safety and make it easier to maneuver trailers around the yard.
Cost is less than 25 percent of a new shunt truck and there’s no expensive maintenance.
No CDL or health card is required, so any employee can operate the TrailerCaddy. Eliminate wasted time waiting for a hostler or other specially qualified staffer.

DJ Products: Your Full-Service Material Handling Solution

Find out how the TrailerCaddy can save money and improve functionality at your company. Call 1-800-686-2651 or contact us online to speak with one of our Sales Engineers.

Watch the Video to See How Easy it Is to Operate

Find out more about the DJ Products trailer dolly line. We have wheeled cart moving solutions for trailers, cargo trailers, RV’s, semi-trailers, and boat trailers.

Reminders About Tire Chains for Safety and Snow Performance

It’s winter again, and like every year it’s time to think about the safest ways for truckers to travel on the road. One of them is chaining, and it’s something that will keep your fleet going through the toughest weather.

At DJ Products, we know you rely on us to provide you with top products like your fleet’s semi trailer mover. But we also want to you know that we’re here to help with all aspects of safety.

How to Know if Chains are Ready to Use

First, you will want to make sure that you’re meeting all of the chain requirements for the states you will traveling through. Once you know you can do that, it’s time to inspect the chains.

You can start by laying them out next to each other. Make sure they’re the same size and in good repair. Make sure to inspect the cams, cross links and connectors. Also, take a look at your bungee cords. You need two cords per chain at a minimum. Make sure that none of them need to be replaced.

Driving With Chains

When you are driving, make sure to follow these guidelines:

– Don’t exceed the speed limit.

– Keep at least one window partially down so you can hear if there are any problems with the chains.

– Maintain extra distance between you and other vehicles to give yourself enough time to stop.

Consider Other Products to Keep Your Drivers Safe

There are so many ways that truck drivers can get hurt during their shifts. As you know, it’s important to keep them safe, and we have a lot of products that can help you with that. Now is a great time to pick up a semi trailer mover! Contact us!

Fleet Manager Tips: Using In-Cab Video to Improve Safe Driving

Are your drivers equipped with the intel they need to navigate the highway battle zone they face daily? It’s a jungle out there, and without the right preparations you could be sending them unprepared into an extremely hazardous situation.

WATCH OUT!!

Drivers face a host of tactical hazards. In a University of Michigan Transportation Research Institute study, the actions of 81% of motorists in investigated collisions were identified as ‘assigned factors’ in accidents. The study found automobiles the ‘encroaching vehicle’ in 89% of head-on collisions, 88% of rear-end crashes, and 88% of opposite-direction side-swipes.

WATCH THIS!

Unlike a motorized semi trailer mover, which requires little-to-no training for accident-free operation, safely operating a semi requires a unique skill set, especially in a world of auto-driving ‘amateurs’. To circumnavigate an on-road ambush, Custom Ecology Inc. fleet safety director Rob Arbeiter is turning to in-cab video training.

Mimicking the infamous movie, Arbeiter’s ‘Top Gun’ style training is highly-effective. Using DriveCam-captured in-cab video clips to showcase hard-braking and other incidents, pre and post ‘flight briefings’ are administered to enhance driver skills, protecting drivers, reducing accidents, and saving money.

Show-and-Tell

The in-cab videos often exonerate drivers, such as those involved in accidents where other autos run stop signs or worse: Purposefully ramming into tractor-trailers falsely claiming driver negligence for a payout. Here, a simple ‘I’ve got it on video’ eliminates shenanigans. Videos can likewise help correct driver habits, such as when a driver isn’t at-fault, but could’ve prevented an accident with more frequent mirror checks, helping sharpen skills and ultimately protecting the livelihood of drivers.

Emerge victorious in the battle zone at your loading dock. Eliminate accidents, protect workers and speed the process with a semi trailer mover from DJ Products. Learn more today.

Albertsons Makes a Ten Electric Tesla Semi-Truck Purchase

Say Hello to Tesla’s Newest Fleet Additions. Add to Your Fleet Today!

Southern California grocery giant Albertsons will soon be facilitating the delivery of goods via Tesla’s latest all-electric semi truck technology. Ten trucks will grace the ranks of the food and drug retailer’s semi-trailer fleet under the Albertsons, Vons, and Pavilions names. Will your business’ semi trailer mover and fleet soon be juicing-up side-by-side?

Meeting Supply Chain Efficiency & Sustainability Goals

The purchase of the vehicles is part of Albertson’s commitment to safety, sustainability, and social responsibility. A supporting partner of the EPA’s SmartWay program, Albertson’s fleet of 1,400 trucks are all SmartWay certified, as are 93% of its third-party carriers.

The truck purchases will aid the company in reducing their carbon footprint, upholding their commitment as a positive community partner and steward of the environment. Helping Albertson’s ensure a brighter future, the base and extended-range models of the electric semis, priced at $150,000-$180,000, provide a 300-mile to 500-mile range on a single charge, respectively, using less than 2-kW of energy per mile even with a fully-loaded trailer.

Forget the Noise

The purchases come as a surprise to some, given ongoing negative news surrounding the company including a number of executive departures, speculation of possible financial troubles ,and issues regarding the Tesla Model 3, which left the viability of the company’s semi line in question.

Volvo And Daimler electric models will start delivery as early as next year. NFI Industries, a third-party logistics provider which also ordered 10 Tesla semis, expects delivery some time in 2020, while the production and timing of the delivery of the Albertson’s purchase remains unknown.

Looking for new ways to reduce your carbon footprint and improve your business’ supply chain safety and efficiency? Learn more about the advantages of a semi trailer mover from DJ Products today.

Fuel Gelling – What to Know When Cold Weather Arrives

When rigs stop running in frigid weather, bringing your semi trailer mover to a screeching halt, fuel gelling is often the first thing blamed. Typically, however, it has to be -15 degrees before fuel begins to gel, so what gives?

Is it Really Gelling?

With gelling, ice crystals form from condensation, followed by paraffin wax dropping out of fuel. Only after that does gelling occur. This often starts in fuel filters, when trucks haven’t run long enough to warm fuel. Though many are quick to blame poor fuel and failure to have the right additives, it’s ultimately the result of poor planning.

With the Right Tactics, You Can Avoid the Gelling ‘Blame Game’

Plan ahead.
People driving in the northern states/Canada don’t have issues with gelling because they manage the predictable. Don’t rely on ‘winter blends.’ Know what you’re getting. With frigid temperatures YOU WILL need water-absorbers and kerosene/jet fuel, since additives only work down to 5-degrees. Take control: watch 10-day weather forecasts and TELL fuel suppliers the percentage of kerosene you want:

10 degrees: 10% blend

0 degrees: 20% blend

-5 to -10 degrees: 30% blend

-15 degrees: 40% blend

-20 degrees: 50% blend

Tanks on location?
Keep 80% kerosene on hand for upcoming temperature dips to mix with current tank gallons on-hand.

On-the-road purchases?
ASK for kerosene percentages.

Maintain en-route
Vacuum or drain the condensation buildup (water) from the tanks every night.

Crank-up the heat
Consider the addition of an in-tank fuel heater plumbed via heater core or an electric/coolant-fueled heater.

No shortcuts
Do NOT change micron ratings on fuel filters.

Don’t let downed rigs gum up the works. Keep things moving with proper planning and the help of a semi trailer mover from DJ Products today.

Global Trade Impacts Cause a Lack of Focus on Ethics and Sustainability

America is Lagging Behind in Global Trade. We Need to Step on the Accelerator and Catch Up!

In the midst of the U.S. trade war with China and U.K.’s impending ‘Brexit,’ on-site factory audits show a waning interest in ethics and sustainability. Are your semi trailer movers toting products from ‘red light’ districts?

Not Keeping Pace

Although overall ethical scores recorded in factory audits in the second quarter are higher than average 2017 values, manufacturers are falling behind on the previous quarter’s improvement pace. On the commonly used ‘traffic light’ ranking system, more than one-third of factories are falling into the ‘amber light’ category. (‘Red light’ indicates critical non-compliance issues such as child/forced labor.)

How Bad is It?

‘Ethical compliance’ remains a fairly broad term. Ensuring safe working conditions remains a major struggle. Though progress in this arena has slowed overall, second-quarter 2018 showcases fewer factories with immediate critical risks (threats to worker life/safety). Yet the number of fully-compliant ‘green light’ factories stands at a two-year low. Less than 20% of factories get the ‘green light,’ requiring significant improvement in the mid-to-long-term, especially in monsoon-ravaged Asia.

From Green to Brown

In the environmental arena, despite China’s 2017 efforts, the country continues to lag behind its Asian neighbors in terms of environmental compliance. In the first half of this year, manufacturers scored 21% lower than their Asian counterparts, with smaller factories (less than 100 workers) accounting for two-thirds of issues.

Presenting unprecedented challenges for the global supply chain, the drive to fight pollution and climate change (not to mention tariff repercussions) could send companies searching for new suppliers to surmount sustainability challenges.

How are you protecting worker safety? DJ Products semi trailer movers deliver. Learn more about ways to lighten your workload, prevent injuries, and save time with DJ Products today.

Changes in Store for Calculation of Carrier Safety Scoring

Changes Are In Store for Carrier Safety Scoring

Transportation industry stakeholders are constantly searching for ways to improve safety. Our battery-powered yard trucks are ergonomically designed to reduce risk of injury when shunting trailers, while the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) is focused on safe conditions for drivers.

In 2015 President Obama signed the FAST Act, a five-year transportation funding bill. Last August, in accordance with one of the requirements contained in the bill, the FMCSA filed a report with Congress about proposed changes to the Compliance, Safety, Accountability carrier safety rating program.

Prioritizing Safety in Transportation

The FAST Act included the following mandates for the FMCSA:

– CSA’s public SMS percentile rankings were to be pulled immediately from public view.

– The FMCSA was to contract the National Academies of Science (NAS) to study CSA and offer recommendations to improve its fairness and accuracy.

– Finally, the NAS findings were to be incorporated in a corrective action plan that the FMCSA would then submit to Congress.

Opening the Channels of Communication

In addition, the FMCSA planned a public meeting in late August to get feedback from industry stakeholders about the best methods to incorporate the corrective action plan. Prospective reforms in their 10-page report include:

– Changing the methods of calculating scores using improved data.

– Making the scores more user-friendly for carriers to interpret and calculate.

– Instituting an absolute scoring program that provides a universal standard rather than relying on relative scores.

Testing of the new system was scheduled to begin in September.

Promote Workplace Safety with Yard Trucks from DJ Products

Did you know that most injuries and property damage originate in the yard? Visit our website to learn how our Electric Yard Dog can make workers more productive with a lower risk of accidents and injuries.

Tesla’s Smart Self-Driving Semis Boon or Safety Hazard?

Self-Driving Semis, Boon or Safety Hazard?

Do your terminal tractors need to stay out of the way of Tesla semis? Tesla’s new self-driving semis have a reputation for faster acceleration, even uphill. But how does this translate into on-the-road safety?

A New Breed of Semi

The Tesla company has reported many advantages of using its autonomous vehicles. They won’t jackknife; they go faster uphill – but will they have problems slowing down? The typical 18-wheeler is known for its propensity to runaway downhill. It reaches speeds that defy engine braking, experiences decreased braking force from air brake pressure loss (though this is less likely on modern haulers), and experiences drum fade with prolonged braking.

However, the Tesla semi is a different animal, with no gears/gearbox, and electric motors on drive axles for producing regenerative braking power.

Are ‘Regenerative’ Capabilities Enough?

Regenerative braking provides braking forces to 8-of-18 wheels, but doesn’t eliminate air pressure loss or brake drum fade. On an 80,000-pound, fully-loaded semi, will regenerative braking prove sufficient? Eight-million-pound diesel-electric freight trains utilize a similar stopping process with their dynamic braking systems, and store the friction-generated power in a battery. And as with Tesla’s autonomous semi’s, when used in conjunction with air brakes, it provides reliable speed control, which is relied upon in areas with heavy grades.

There’s No Replacement for Safe Driving

Though it remains unknown how Tesla semis in Autosteer will fare with steep downhills, due to their ability to accelerate faster, this will land the semis into more situations where speed is carried into the downhill leg. While in total, it’s likely there will be fewer runaway Tesla self-driving semis, there may be some.

Are you toting trailers safely? Reduce the possibilities of injuries and damage with terminal tractors from DJ Products today.

Amazon’s New Logistics Model Focuses on Contracted Small Fleet Delivery Agents

Amazon’s New Logistics Model Focuses on Small Fleet Contracts

Will your terminal tractors soon be toting goods for Amazon shipping entrepreneurs? Amazon is instituting a new division, Delivery Service Partners, formed to help hundreds of entrepreneurs across the U.S. create their own Amazon shipping businesses.

Prime Opportunity

A fair percentage of Amazon deliveries are already made by independent contractors who participate in the company’s Uber-like ‘Flex’ program. However, instead of unmarked uniforms and varied and unrecognizable vehicles, with the Delivery Service Partners model soon to begin, small fleets of employees from contracted carriers will now fly Amazon-branded uniforms and ‘Prime’-bannered Sprinter trucks.

Prime Benefits

Amazon plans to keep startup costs as low as $10,000, and has set aside $1-million in financial assistance to encourage military veterans to take up the challenge, a segment the company sees as an ideal match: Those with a cultural, leadership mindset who enjoy being out in the community around people. Amazon plans to keep each company small, with 20-40 vehicles, allowing for a more manageable owner/operator setup. The ‘Zon will provide the goods for delivery, back-end infrastructure and management assistance, help with taxes and payroll, and discounts on truck leasing, fuel, and insurance.

Prime Pay

Amazon estimates the potential for $300,000 profit annually, based on delivery volume. Those involved in the Delivery Service Partners beta test have already expressed happiness with the opportunity for a great, steady income with benefits and paid-time-off, unlike the Flex setup’s absent benefits and competition for customers and sales.

Prime Ultimatum

As Amazon’s shipping services expand, the possibility of it taking on FedEx, UPS, and USPS seems inevitable.

Looking to get in on something new? Shave time off product shipments and take a load off labor with the help of terminal tractors from DJ Products today.

A Focus on Pre and Post Trip Review Keeps Semi Trucks on Schedule

Excellence and Professionalism are Ideal Qualities for a Semi-Truck Driver.

In the trucking industry, where time is money, dock and yard congestion can create a major slowdown. Terminal tractors from DJ Products keep operations moving at a brisk pace with less risk of workplace injuries.

If your trucks end up out of commission due to violations, it’s almost impossible to make up the loss. Keep your trucks on the road with accurate and efficient pre- and post-trip inspections.

Classroom Training vs. Hands-On Experience

While the importance of pre- and post-trip inspections is universally accepted, trucking companies vary widely as far as the best methods of training drivers. Here’s a look at how transportation companies around the country handle inspection training.

– Maverick Transportation out of Little Rock, AR favors an experience-based system. New hires with previous driving experience use online tutorials, while student drivers receive formal field training with their onboarding program.

– A hybrid version of training is employed by WTI Transport in Alabama. Once drivers complete a classroom curriculum, they must undergo a test in which they conduct an actual inspection accompanied by a safety inspector.

– At Waller Trucking in Excelsior Spring, MO, all new hires must have a minimum of two years of highway driving experience so they can be expected to have a knowledge of inspections. A vehicle walk-around with a company technician is performed as part of employee orientation.

Follow Up with Feedback

Regardless of training, it’s essential to run full inspections when a truck returns to the yard. Findings can be reviewed with drivers to reinforce positive results and focus on areas of improvement.

Electric Terminal Tractors Benefit Workers and the Environment

Use of our Electric Yard Dog demonstrates your commitment to workplace safety and a cleaner environment. Visit our website for more information.

Tag: Semi Trailer Mover