Used Parts Make Sense for Updating Aging Concrete Truck Fleets

Fri September 04, 2009
Truck and Trailer Guide

Tampa Truck Salvage, an LKQ Company, knows that good quality used parts are a better option for ready mix fleets that are trying to keep their aging existing fleets on the road.

It’s no secret that the current economy has about 50 percent of the nation’s concrete trucks currently parked. One of the issues this causes is the temptation to cannibalize parked trucks rather than purchase additional parts to keep the working fleet running. While on the surface, this may seem like the fiscally responsible thing to do, Lex Goldenberg, manager of Tampa Truck Salvage, knows a day of reckoning is right around the corner.

“The construction industry has taken a hit, and no one has felt that more than ready mix producers,” said Goldenberg. “Virtually every ready mix operation we visit has a number of trucks parked, and many of them are now non-operational because parts have been robbed to keep their other trucks running.”

Goldenberg pointed out that while signs of a looming economic turnaround are still somewhere in the distance, little flickers of recovery are evident.

“We’re getting more calls than this time six months ago, and fleet managers are beginning to understand that at some point, their fleets are going to need to be operational. That’s where we come into the picture.”

Tampa Truck Salvage is in the business of providing fleets with quality used truck parts, ranging from large Class 8 cab parts to diesel engines of every make and size, to transmissions and suspensions. At a fraction of the cost of new, used parts provide quick return-on-investment for fleet managers, according to Goldenberg.

“A used Cat C10 or Cummins ISM is a great buy for a manager who needs to keep his current fleet operational and doesn’t want to spend the time and money to pull an engine or transmission from one of his parked mixers. Sooner or later, that parked unit is going to be called back to work, or sold. Without its critical components, the cannibalized mixer is not worth a lot to him — or a buyer.”

Goldenberg recommended that fleet managers should first think about what the long-term goal of each truck is within their fleet. If putting it back to work or selling it outright are the likely options, Tampa Truck Salvage can help to ensure the truck remains a valuable operational unit in their fleet.

“We’ve been in business for 60 years making sure trucks remained on the road,” said Goldenberg. “We believe the economy is in the initial stages of turning and we’re here to help.”

Tampa Truck Salvage is one of the companies under the umbrella of Trucks.com, a multi-faceted business that offers used trucks, used truck parts, rental trucks, and route-ready trucks through many well-known Web-driven store fronts, such as Big Truck Rental, Route-Ready Trucks.com, and LKQ.com, which specializes in used and refurbished diesel engines.

For more information, call 813/247-6801.