School Bus Fleet, February 2021

29 FEBRUARY 2021 SCHOOL BUS FLEET prise maintenance expenses in the future While many technicians use jack stands and sledgehammers to do the job a heavy duty tire changer can help improve safety reduce technician fatigue and injury minimize tire damage and increase productivity When deciding on a tire changer it is important to consider factors such as the type of wheels typically serviced the frequency and speed desired to change tires and the physical shop space available as the physical size of tire changers varies greatly The more options the easier and more eficient your technicians task will be translating to more dollars per day and a quicker return on investment ROI Individual tire balancers have varying ranges of tires sizes and weights they will accommodate Look for a balancer that is easy to use and quick to operate In any maintenance shop time is money so a machine that is difficult to set up or operate translates to lost revenue Tire wear or replacement is directly related to tire balancing so look for a balancer that can handle the entire fleet from the small sedan to the 225 or 245 wheel rim size typically found on school buses and one that comes standard with a wheel lift This can help increase efficiency and potentially reduce back injuries ALIGNMENT EQUIPMENT Wheel service equipment is normally thought of as tire changing and balancing however the ability to perform wheel alignments is a vital part of any maintenance facility To fully service todays high tech fleet maintenance facilities need the ability to perform all three services since many repairs now require alignments for procedures as simple as windshield replacement Adding alignment equipment and regularly performing alignments on the fleet can help lower fuel costs improve tire life and keep fleets out of the shop By bringing alignment in house fleet owners can prevent tire wear This can pay big dividends in a fleets tire and fuel usage However some shops are unsure of the ROI for adding alignment or other wheel service equipment To determine whether it makes sense to bring alignment work in house figure out the average number of miles driven per bus per year the average miles currently on the steer tires the average miles per gallon and the price of diesel per gallon Then plug those numbers into a ROI calculator like Rotary Lifts Alignment ROI calculator With the increasing complexity of todays fleets investing in the right equipment now can mean not having to invest significantly more down the road Then should a need for a repair come up the facility will be prepared to get the bus safely back on the road Doug Spiller is heavy duty product manager for Rotary Lift which is owned by Vehicle Service Group Doug Spiller is heavyduty product manager for Rotary Lift which is owned by Vehicle Service Group Photo courtesy Rotary Lift