Green industry contractors refer to trucks as anything from the lifeblood of their company to the cornerstone of their entire operation. The importance of the role trucks serve in contractors’ businesses is undeniable – if not for the trucks, how else would the crews and equipment ever get to a job site?
But how does a company make sure it is running the right trucks? What are the differences between the hundred of choices available to them? Lawn & Landscape asked two companies to talk about their truck fleets, why they’re set up the way they are and what they think the keys are for other contractors to consider.
| Dealing With The Dealer | |
| Jim Reed, president, Reed’s Truck Sales, Peekskill, N.Y., is one of the leading truck dealers in the New York metropolitan area.
As a result, Reed comes into contact with a number of lawn care and landscape contractors each year. Despite the number of trucks contractors purchase and the varied uses they have for them, Reed continues to be surprised by how unprepared contractors are when they walk through his doors. His advice to this group is pretty simple: “Make sure you’re buying from a dealer who knows what he or she is talking about when it comes to commercial trucks.” The criteria involved in selecting the appropriate truck to purchase are generally pretty simple. “What type of work the contractor does, how the truck will be used and where it will be used,” are Reed’s key questions he asks of contractors. “There are so many different facets to this industry and the type of truck the contractors use can really vary from a GVW of 12,000 pounds to 32,900 pounds and any of about 40 different models with a number of different body options for each model,” Reed observed. Tony Bass, president, Bass Custom Landscapes, Bonaire, Ga., has come to realize the importance of working with a good dealer. “Working with a dealership that specializes in servicing the fleet dealer is a huge help because that type of dealer understands that contractors can’t make a living without their trucks,” Bass noted, adding that he even selected a dealer located within one of his service crew’s routes to make it easier to drop off and pick up equipment. - Bob West |
INSIDE THE BOX. It’s a fairly common bit of advice – “You need to think outside of the box.” – and it’s intended to get people to think about things in new or unique ways that differ from the obvious approach most people will take. For Tony Bass, president, Bass Custom Landscapes, Bonaire, Ga., thinking outside of the box meant putting his equipment inside the box.
In the early 1990s, Bass had definite plans to grow his company, and he decided one key to the company’s success would be its ability to standardize the equipment it used. “Every truck I buy and every truck I build is made to be as close to a mirror image of the last one as possible,” Bass shared. “I used to search for the best price I could find with little concern for make or model, but that’s not the case today. Our trucks have a very specific mission, and that mission is to save labor.”
Today, Bass Custom Landscapes runs six maintenance trucks, four installation trucks and four miscellaneous vehicles.
Through research and experience, he also decided what type of trucks he didn’t want. “It was my goal to eliminate pickup trucks from our fleet,” Bass recalled, explaining that the trucks he has gone to have a larger carrying capacity and don’t require as much time for loading and unloading. “I talked to nine different dealers about different trucks’ prices, operating costs, availability and payload capacities for research.”
In addition, he decided against landscape trailers. As a result, he turned to a system that features a van-type body on top of a cab and chassis so that all of a crew’s equipment can be transported inside the truck.
“This system improves security and eliminates our need for warehouse space,” Bass said.
As an added benefit, Bass can use the sides of the truck body as mobile billboards that advertise his company wherever they go.
When it comes to financing a new truck addition, Bass’ strategy changes based on the situation. “I tend to buy used trucks and lease new ones, but it really depends on each person’s preference,” he stated. “I think it costs a little more money in the long run to lease vehicles, but doing so will improve cash flow by taking less money out of your pocket. So the decision has to match a company’s cash flow capabilities more than anything else.”
LOOKING AHEAD. For Tom O’Donnell, fleet and safety manager for Scott Byron & Co., Lake Bluff, Ill., and its 75 vehicles, the key to successful truck purchasing is knowing what the business is going to need. Identifying exactly what types of vehicles will need to be added for the coming season allows him to get the right vehicle at the best possible price.
“By the fall of each year, we’ve already looked at our needs for the coming year in order to determine what vehicles or crews we’ll need to add for each division,” O’Donnell said, adding that they’ve learned to identify certain revenue levels or growth amounts that necessitate a new crew each year. “Then we’ll have the manufacturers bid out and specify the vehicle in the fall for a late March or early April delivery.”
When it’s time to identify the specifics of a new vehicle to order, O’Donnell said technician safety and comfort are at the top of the list. “Safety related options, such as airbags, are very important to us,” he explained. “In addition, it’s our philosophy to get away from the single cab pickup trucks as much as possible. Once one of those vehicles is retired, it will be replaced with a four-door unit so we don’t have to worry about guys sitting in the back of the truck.”
Diesel engines are another popular feature among O’Donnell’s orders. “History has shown us that diesel engines offer more power, do a better job holding a load, offer better pulling capabilities and they tend to hold up longer than gasoline engines,” he explained. “Yes, we’ll end up paying an extra $1,500 up front for a diesel unit, but we’ll get those dollars back in long-run savings.”
O’Donnell also has high expectations in terms of the length of a truck’s life. “We’ll run a vehicle for seven years or 150,000 miles, whichever comes first,” he remarked. “But if a truck is becoming costly to maintain, we’ll keep a closer eye on it and we may retire it sooner.
The author is Editor of Lawn & Landscape magazine.
Explore the October 1998 Issue
Check out more from this issue and find your next story to read.
