christopher Harper, Author at DJ Products

Some Truck Stops Stand Out Above Others – What to Consider

To put an end to the monotonous ‘meh’ feel of truck stops, many centers have lately been striving to up the ante by offering added comforts and conveniences and boasting bright, shiny exteriors to lure you in and gain your business. There’s now a plethora of places for you to pick for a bit of respite on the road. Almost too many.

Tips for Choosing Truck Stops that are Worth Your Time:

Plan Your Stops for Easier Access to Added Services

Terminal tractors can go forever… but you can’t. Preparations for your journey should include your need for food, leg stretches, bathroom breaks, sleep, etc. You should PLAN your stops versus an on-the-fly haul, so you can take advantage of the services of specific truck stop locations. With the influx of freight shipping and drivers, truck stops are offering quite a bit more than they used to. What would you like to do on your trip?

-Laundry?

-Shower?

-Relax and watch TV?

-Address dental or medical needs?

-Renew DOT certifications?

Look for Superior Parking Facilities

Gas and food are a given, but a great parking setup with wide spaces and great lighting are signs of a quality truck stop.

Major Chains May Offer Bigger Advantages

While there are some great independently-owned truck stops, as a general rule major chains tend to offer more services. Major chains also tend to sport cleaner bathrooms, better food, and more reasonably priced gas than independently-owned stops, due to their increased purchasing power and corporate connections.

Hostler dead on his feet? Ensure the help you need, increasing efficiency and lightening the workload with the help of terminal tractors from DJ Products today.

Truck Mirrors – What to Know Before You Buy

Unlike small and easily maneuverable yard trucks, your large and powerful rig requires careful care in operation to keep fellow travelers in smaller highway vehicles safe. Your mirrors are an essential feature in helping you accomplish this, granting you a greater vantage point of the things surrounding you. But as with many products, not all things are created equal.

‘If You Can’t See My Mirrors, I Can’t See You’

Anyone traveling America’s highways knows this phrase. This simple sticker says it all, alerting passenger vehicle drivers that it’s a crucial responsibility to stay in sight of trucker’s mirrors. It’s just as crucial for you, as a truck driver, to carefully choose and maintain these mirrors that are so essential to protecting yourself and fellow motorists.

Truck Mirrors Broken? Avoid these Purchasing Pitfalls:

Be Wary of Non-OEM Replacement Mirrors
Avoid bargain basement stick-on mirrors and the like. If your factory truck mirrors have broken, obtaining an exact replacement from the manufacturer is best. Your truck’s mirrors are precisely sized and curved to allow for the best visual range for its specific size and features. However, that’s not to say there aren’t any good aftermarket replacements, because some of them offer additional features that improve safety.

Upgrade to Heated Mirrors if Driving in Cold Climates
Heated mirrors are a great investment for those driving in areas that commonly experience frost, snow, and ice, ensuring a clear mirror in these already dangerous conditions.

Consider Additional Mirrors to Expand Your View
Installing additional mirrors on the cab of your truck can help you eliminate blind spots and increase your viewing range.

Get a good look at true trucking business efficiency. Learn more about yard trucks from DJ Products today.

Beyond the Dumpster: The Problem with Plastic

Look Closer at Plastic in Our World

Our dumpster mover accommodates loads of up to 5,000 pounds, but how much of that is plastic? Despite an increased focus on recycling, a disturbing amount of plastic continues to end up in the trash.

Plastic poses a wide range of threats resulting in long-term damage to the environment. Scientists continue to grapple with the problem of controlling the massive quantities of plastic waste around the globe.

“Statistic of the Year”

Approximately 9% of plastic produced over the last 60 years has been recycled. This staggering fact is so significant that Great Britain’s Royal Statistical Society named it their Statistic of the Year for 2018.

In quantifiable terms, plastic waste is accumulating at 6.3 billion metric tons per year. Even scientists working on the study were shocked at this almost incomprehensible number. Since plastic takes more than 400 years to decompose, most of it still exists.

A Global Approach to Plastic Recycling

For the past two years, scientists have been conducting their first-ever global analysis of plastic production and disposal. With 79% of plastic waste taking up space in landfills or across the environment as litter, projections show there will be 12 billion metric tons of plastic waste by 2050.

Most plastic waste ultimately finds its way into the ocean, where it causes significant harm to fish, birds and marine wildlife. Previous studies found that 8 million metric tons of plastic end up in oceans annually.

According to researchers, production of plastic has accelerated beyond the capacity to handle the waste. Scientists urge re-evaluation of manufacturing, design and usage to develop more eco-friendly strategies.

Dumpster Mover: A Practical Solution to Easier Trash Removal

Reduce costly workplace injuries with a dumpster mover from DJ Products. Call 800.686.2651 for more information.

Beyond the Distribution Center: Tips to Prevent Shipment Damage

How much loss can you absorb from shipping damage? Getting to zero might be an impossible task, but it’s worth making every effort to reduce the risks. Air bags and strong tape help, but everyone along the supply chain needs the right warehouse equipment and plenty of knowledge for how to prevent product loss.

Reduce Freight Claims, Boost Profit

By using powered warehouse carts from DJ Products, your staff can better manage inventory and load shipments onto trucks and trailers. From a motorized cart pusher to more specialized warehouse equipment like the PartsCaddy or CarpetCaddy, there’s a tool for every job.

Logistics experts recommend taking even more action to prevent shipment damage:

– Test shipment methods before rolling out a new product

– Cube stacks of boxes to prevent damage during transit

– Train workers on proper use of box-cutters

– Apply shock and tilt indicators to fragile packages

– Make customer return supplies easy to use

Focus on What You Can Control

Whichever leg of the supply chain your company handles, there are many factors out of your control. From the factory to the last-mile delivery service, many hands touch each package. To prevent damage from shipping, focus on your own warehouse equipment and identify the places and situations that can cause damage.

Crushed box corners and shattered products are signs that employees might be overwhelmed at the warehouse. Does your team have the right material handling equipment for the weight, size, and volume of packages they handle?

DJ Products offers powered cart pushers and tugs for loads ranging from 1,500 pounds to 50,000 pounds. For every application, we have warehouse equipment that can save time, prevent worker injury, and make it easier to deliver the goods intact. Contact us for more info.

Beyond the Dumpster: Landfills – a Growing Community Problem

Landfills are a necessary evil that can have a lesser impact if people are careful about what goes inside of them. Gas emissions and poisoned water supplies are the real problems with landfills, far more than just the space they take up.

If responsible waste management were easier, wouldn’t you and your staff be more on board with it? When facilities managers have the proper dumpster moving equipment to make short work of trash day, it’s much easier to recycle and prevent toxic garbage from going to landfills.

Why Are Landfills a Problem?

Sometimes people should argue about where landfills should go, whether waste should cross state lines, and other matters for the bureaucracy. As far as human impact and environmental impact, there are really two reasons why landfills are so bad.

– Greenhouse gas emissions: decomposing materials release methane and carbon dioxide, hurting local air quality and the climate.

– Groundwater contamination: Heavy metals and chemical substances leach toxic compounds into the water supply and bodies of water.

To reduce the gas emissions, add composting bins near existing trash facilities and encourage participation.

To protect waterways from landfill contamination, everyone should avoid throwing away items like electronics, scrap metals, or chemical containers. Recycle them instead, or take them to a special drop-off site.

Dumpster Moving Equipment for Easier Management

Motorized dumpster moving equipment makes garbage duty less time-consuming and physically demanding.

Maintenance staff and building owners alike benefit from the DJ Products WasteCaddy. Easier trash hauling means fewer injuries, lower premiums for workers comp, and less time spent moving dumpsters.

With the right tools, it’s much easier to incorporate a recycling and composting system into your facilities so you can tout your green efforts. Contact DJ Products for a demonstration.

Clear Your Dock with a Battery-Powered Trailer Mover

At loading docks, efficiency is crucial to maintaining productivity and profitability. Until now, warehouse managers had to depend on unreliable trailer shunters. The solution is a battery-powered trailer mover designed for maximum efficiency at the loading dock.

How a Battery-Powered Trailer Mover Can Help

The TrailerCaddy Terminal Tractor is a trailer moving tug powered by long-life batteries. It’s a reliable way to move anything from small boats and utility trailers to semi-trailers, heavy equipment, and ocean shipping containers. The TrailerCaddy increases efficiency because:

It’s always available to move trailers at a moments notice.
It’s maneuverable around tight spaces and busy yards, saving time and reducing accidents.
It does not require a CDL to operate, so any employee can use it with a minimal amount of training.
It eliminates the need for a professional shunting service.

Increased Maneuverability, Accessibility, and Efficiency

The TrailerCaddy is highly maneuverable. Requiring no special training to operate, the motorized trailer mover includes a high-tech speed controller and variable speed twist grip for simple operation. Maneuverability in tight spaces limits the potential for damage to equipment, parts, and cargo. It also features neutral throttle braking and adjustable acceleration and braking. An operator can drive it at up to three miles per hour; combined with precise steering control, this increases the efficiency of the battery power trailer dolly in numerous warehouse activities.

Control and safety are also improved with forward-facing control. Some models come with an optional air compressor and glad hand connector, which releases air brakes on trailers equipped with them. All models are highly maneuverable compared to a yard truck, so drivers can operate them safely in tight loading docks and yards.

Cost Savings

The TrailerCaddy requires little maintenance, further reducing costs on top of not requiring a shunt truck driver. It’s also a quarter the cost of a new shunt truck. Efficiency improvements alone mean instant cost savings, as it can be used at a moment’s notice in any warehouse or distribution center. You don’t have to staff a certified driver, nor do you have to pay for annual training, certification, and licensing for drivers—and you don’t need to rely on an outside shunting service; all loading and transport operations are managed in-house.

To learn more about boosting efficiency and saving money with a TrailerCaddy battery-powered trailer mover, call us at 800-686-2651 or request more information online.

Inbound Drivers Help Reduce Dock Efficiency

When it comes to efficiency on the loading dock, self-sufficiency goes a long way. Still, many logistics companies and businesses rely on inbound drivers or a shunting service to move trailers. A trailer mover such as the TrailerCaddy from DJ Products eliminates efficiency problems caused dependence upon inbound drivers and trailer moving service providers.

Dramatically improve your dock efficiency. Using a shunting service of an inbound driver may seem like a practical solution for your business, but efficiency on the dock can be significantly reduced due to:

The need for a properly accredited worker to show up and move the trailer.
Long wait times while drivers are en-route to your location.
Higher risk of damage, due to a lack of training or familiarity with your facility.
Drivers who don’t follow the same safety and training protocols as your company.

By being properly equipped with a powered trailer mover, your onsite employees can manage the workflow without relying on outside help.

The TrailerCaddy and Warehouse Efficiency

A TrailerCaddy power dolly mover can move anything on wheels, including empty and loaded semi-trailers. Our TC 6k 48v Power Trailer Mover, TC15k 48v Trailer Dolly, and TrailerCaddy Terminal Tractor are powerful enough to move anything, from large boats and campers to highway equipment and modular homes, to semi-trailers and shipping containers on chassis.

The smallest Motorized Trailer Puller can move small boats, campers, RVs, utility trailers, and equipment up to 10,000 pounds. Our heavy-duty units feature airbrake release gladhand connections to release brakes on trailers. The TrailerCaddy Terminal Tractor—The Electric Yard Dog—has forward-facing operation and precise speed control. Like our other motorized dollies, it does not require special licensing or certification to operate.

All our models move at up to three miles per hour and are highly maneuverable. Each power dolly trailer mover increases accessibility on the trailer lot and the warehouse. They improve efficiency because:

A motorized trailer dolly is always available and ready for use.
Trailers can be moved down assembly lines to storage lots and on/off showroom floors.
Only a single worker is needed to operate a TrailerCaddy.
An electric trailer dolly eliminates the need to maintain a diesel truck.
Trailers can be easily maneuvered in confined areas.
The dolly is compact, so storage and retrieval are simple.
It is affordable and safe compared to using a forklift, and no licensing is required.
Each unit is battery-powered and rechargeable and always ready for use.

Our trailer movers can be used to move OTR and generator trailers, window/glass/door carts, and linen/supply carts, as well as buses, trailers, and cars. Cart pullers from DJ Products can be used on assembly lines and manufacturing cells, or to pull heavy dumpsters. With the AircraftCaddy Aircraft Tug, you can even move aircraft to or from the runway or hangar.

For more information on these and other power dolly trailer moving systems, or to ask about our latest TrailerCaddy products, call 800-686-2651 or email DJ Products at info@djproducts.com.

Fire Your Trailer Shunting Service: Get a TrailerCaddy!

Warehouse management and logistics require the proper equipment and organization. As a warehouse manager or logistics professional, you know there are no shortcuts. To be efficient, your warehouse requires accessibility. Enter a specialized power dolly—the TrailerCaddy from DJ Products.

What Is the TrailerCaddy?

The TrailerCaddy Terminal Tractor is a motorized trailer dolly that can tow truck trailers with ease. With this power dolly, trailer movement is simplified, and your warehouse can keep up with demand. It is powered by a long-life battery and, when it needs to be recharged, just plug it into a standard 110v outlet.

Able to move semi-trailers in and around loading docks, the power dolly trailer mover will not require much training. In fact, any dock employee can use it, and a CDL is not required. The system is also available at a moment’s notice to your full workforce and can be commissioned whenever shipments come in, whether they are on time or unexpected delays change your workflow.

The TrailerCaddy Eliminates Shunting Services

Trailer shunting service providers are notorious for not being on time. If your service provider is late, all of your loading activities cease, and no goods can be loaded onto your dock. Now, you don’t have to wait for anyone to move truck trailers into position. The TrailerCaddy is highly maneuverable, so it’s suited for facilities with limited space, and it offers tight controls to help minimize accidents and damage to trailers and docks. It even has a parking brake that engages when the driver releases the throttle.

Speed is controlled by a variable speed thumb twist pad accelerator. The operator can, therefore, adjust speed using gentle motions. A Safety Stop Switch is easily accessible and acts as a kill switch should there be an obstruction or operator in the way. In addition to a hydraulic lift limit, there is a hydraulic lift manual release that kicks in if the unit loses power. The lift can be lowered manually and the unit moved by disengaging the motor brake, which allows for manual movement to a charging location.

A TrailerCaddy Saves You Money

For starters, the machine costs one-quarter the price of a traditional terminal tractor or spotter truck. It also eliminates trailer shunting service costs. That includes the lost revenue associated with delays in moving and offloading trailers, equipment breakdowns, and lost productivity.

We offer a full range of TrailerCaddy models. Product options range from a motorized trailer puller rated for 10,000 pounds able to haul small boats, RVs, and utility trailers to models that can move empty and loaded semi-trailers and ocean shipping containers. We also stock 20,000- and 50,000-pound-rated units suited to a variety of applications. To see how a TrailerCaddy power dolly mover can enhance your warehouse operation, schedule a free on-site demo, request more information online, or call us at 800-686-2651.

Replace Your Diesel Yard Dog with An Electric Dolly

Yard dogs can be effective at moving trailers around your docking facility. However, battery powered tuggers from DJ products are just as effective yet more efficient and easier to maintain. Using diesel fuel has its advantages. However, going electric is a trend and rightfully so, because of the benefits of an electric power dolly, which include:

Eliminating the costs associated with maintaining a diesel truck
Battery Powered = virtually no maintenance
Greater efficiency in any operating environment
Emission free operation, permitting indoor operation
No licensing requirements to necessary to operate

Using a diesel semi-tractor to move trailers, you’ll always have the expenses of diesel fuel and the hassle of either keeping fuel on site, or having to leave the yard to “fill up”. Then there are the costs of maintaining diesel equipment, ranging from blocked filters to changing oil and coolant, to servicing the radiator and hiring or finding trained service personnel to maintain the system. Diesel powered vehicles are expensive to operate and maintain.

Electric Dolly vs. Diesel

The TrailerCaddy line from DJ Products eliminates the costs and downtime associated with diesel-powered dollies. Depending on the model, standard batteries range from 36 volts to 48 volts and all you need is an electrical connection to charge up the dolly. With a battery upgrade, some of our higher end models can be updated from the standard four-battery system to a 16-battery system, yielding more hours of performance before a recharge is needed.

And all that is needed for charging is a standard 110v/220v outlet.

An Electric Trailer Handling System Is Powerful

Our Motorized Trailer Puller can tug 10,000 pounds, which is suited for RV’s, utility trailers, and small boats, but it only goes up from there. We also offer the 20,000-pound TrailerCaddy 2.5k, two 50,000-pound rated models, and a few “heavy-duty” systems built to move heavy generators, equipment, and semi-trailers.

Switch to an Electric Yard Dog

The benefits of an electric dolly vs. a diesel truck extend far beyond cost, efficiency, and maintenance. As convenient as these next benefits are, they contribute to the above as well. For one, you don’t need to bring in an extra crew to operate and maintain an electric dolly. Our powered tuggers don’t require licensing to drive and are ready at a moment’s notice. You don’t have to wait for drivers to arrive at your dock or warehouse to get started unloading or moving equipment.

A TrailerCaddy is always accessible. It does not require much room to store and can be maneuvered around tight spaces. Once charged, it is ready to go at any time. View our product line on the web to see which model best suits your application, and feel free to request a free onsite demo or more information; you can also call DJ Products directly at 800-686-2651.

In an Unusual Move, Delaware Changes Truck Weight Rules for Road for Local Residents

Truck Weight Rules Changes in Delaware Locality

The term “yard trucks” may have taken on new meaning for residents near Delaware’s Port of Wilmington. For years they have complained about commercial vehicle traffic on their two-lane road, citing an obscure rule from Delaware Department of Transportation (DelDOT).

Late last year, DelDOT had an official response to the complaints. Unfortunately for local residents, it’s not what any of them anticipated.

Truck Traffic in Residential Area

Pyles Lane is a road frequently used by trucks entering and leaving the facilities of Port-to-Port International Corp., which is in the business of shipping used and wrecked vehicles to Central America. People living on Pyles Lane have complained about incessant noise, vibrations and emissions from the constant traffic.

DelDOT instituted a rule in 1971 saying trucks over 5,000 pounds were forbidden to travel Pyles Land from Del. 9 to approximately 200 feet from Port-to-Port’s entrance. The only exception made was for local vehicles making local deliveries.

Are Truckers Breaking the Law?

The rule made it virtually illegal for trucks to access Port-to-Port’s facility. Residents of Pyles Lane have been insisting that DelDOT enforce their law and forbid commercial vehicles to travel the road.

In a surprise move, DelDOT affirmed that trucks going to and from Port-to-Port qualify as “local vehicles making local deliveries” and are thereby exempt from the rule. They also moved the restricted line another 200 feet, freeing up access to Port-to-Port’s entrance.

C.R. McLeod, spokesperson for DelDOT, explained that banning commercial vehicles on Pyles Lane would effectively put Port-to-Port out of business, something the agency was not prepared to do.

Improve Turnaround Time with Yard Trucks from DJ Products

Call 800.686.2651 to learn more about the features and benefits of our best-selling Electric Yard Dog.

Author: christopher Harper