Truck Topics
Lifting your profits - Lift gates and you
A Lift Gate - It can be heavy, troublesome, expensive and a road grime collector.
It can also be one of the best investments in truck equipment that an expediter can make.
From shipments for the major expedited carriers' 'specialized handling' divisions to the occasional bulk hand-load with no dock facilities available, the liftgate can be both standard equipment and a good friend.
Carroll Bean, Jr. is a contractor with FedEx Custom Critical's White Glove Division who has been a contented lift gate customer for seven years. He says that he wouldn't be without one.
"I have a Waltco 'Slimline' model and its of steel and aluminum construction. It's got 4,000 lbs. capacity, which is a little larger than the FedEx Custom Critical requirements for a lift gate."
"We've found that there have been many times that we've gotten a load because a customer has had a requirement for a bigger lift gate. I feel that the larger lift gates are not only a reason that we can get more work, but I feel that they're safer and easier to work on as well."
Ken Drews is the Regional Sales Manager for Leyman Liftgates of Cincinnati, OH. A veteran of 37 years with the company, Ken has witnessed the growth of expediting and its increasing use of lift gate tech.
He's proud of the growth of the specialized handling segment of the industry and how his products have played a role in its growth.
He's also witnessed the lift gate improvements of the past few years that include:
*Upgraded electrical parts that are now standard on many models;
*Corrosion-resistant aluminum construction that
results in substantial weight savings. And, those pounds saved in the design comes right off the very rear of the truck;
*Greaseless bushings that are now standard on many models.
Ken warns that the proper installation of these products is key to their performance: "I believe that a lift gate is best installed by a qualified technician experienced in these products as opposed to a truck stop garage or shop where it's not their primary work."
"Leyman was instrumental in working with the Technology and Maintenance Council in color-coding the wiring on lift gates.
Carroll Bean says that lift gate size does matter: "You don't have to crowd freight on to a lift gate deck that's too small. Also, on a small deck, you wind up with a problem in getting the pallet jack on there with the freight. Smaller lift gates have more of an angle to the deck that can make it very difficult to roll stuff on and off the gate."
Carroll continues, "It's self-leveling and it lays very flat on the ground, making it easy to roll a pallet jack on and off."
"There are a lot of good lift gates out there, Leyman, for one, makes a good product. I just happen to have this one. When I buy the next lift gate, I will buy the largest deck surface I can find and I would not be afraid to put a 5,000 lb. model on this truck (Western Star)".
Carroll says that his 'gate gets more action that one would think. He states that there are times when he and wife Dora use the platform every week or so, to those times when its used on a succession of loads.
"And," he says, "there are those times when a lift gate-equipped truck is ordered and we do the run without ever unfolding the gate."
"There have been a few times when we've had to use the gate when the customer, for whatever reason, had not ordered a truck with this equipment. It definitely saved our backs then."
Carroll is quite satisfied with the performance of the unit - he says that in seven years, he's never had the gate fail him, "except to replace a piston under PM."
Ken Drews says that one of Leyman's most popular models for the expediting market is its 3300 lbs. capacity lift gate. It exceeds the weight requirements of the expedited carriers and it is also available with power up/power down capability.
Jeff Brown is the Manager of Contractor Support and Development for Panther II Transportation. He says that lift gate-equipped trucks with Panther II find increased freight opportunities because of their specialized handling capabilities. "When those customers call in for that equipment, you have to provide them with the truck they require, so the driver with the lift gate will get the call."
"I wouldn't have a truck without one," states Panther II owner-operator Gene Dunlap. "The truck had a lift gate on it when I purchased it around five years ago when I started with Panther II. I've gotten some ridiculously great loads through our Special Services because of that equipment and it does nothing but make me money!"
Gene uses a 3,000 lbs. capacity Maxon lift that he says is a little small - a pallet and pallet jack will just fit. He figures he uses the gate possibly three times a month and points out that he is averaging around $1.62 per loaded mile - a figure that he says is inflated by the increased revenue of the lift gate loads.
"The other day, I received around $600.00 to dead head 143 miles for a liftgate load. All I did was transfer half a trailer-load to my truck with the pallet truck, turn my truck 180 degrees and unload it onto the ground a few feet away. That was an easy load."
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