Customer Magazine Articles
Lead paragraphs of customer profile articles written
by Richard Stewart for Ford Truck SalesPro magazine.Ford LN-8000 Oil Tankers Keep
New England Home Fires Lit
The Dead River Company, based in Bangor, Maine, buys home
heating oil by the boat-load, literally — nine million gallons at a
time. Ocean-going barges bring the fuel from Venezuela to
Bucksport, a deep-water terminal near Bangor. From there the
company delivers the oil to customers from its 20 branches
throughout Maine and New Hampshire. The workhorse of the
200-unit, mostly-Ford, delivery fleet is the Ford LN-8000 tank
truck.
The company has standardized on most specs, but each
branch manager is allowed a certain amount of flexibility in
selection of components to suit the local terrain, maintenance
capabilities, and driver preferences, according to Paul Hoyt, fleet
administrator. Spec'ing flexibility extends to choice of
transmissions, wheels, tires, location of fuel tank, and optional
traction-lock rear axles...
Tractors Become Dump Trucks
When Summer WanesRobert Hannah of Waterford, N.Y., got the idea for his Fill A Pool
water transport service 25 years ago, when he couldn't get anyone
to haul water for a swimming pool he'd built. A truck mechanic, he
bought an old tanker for $200, fixed it up, and started a sideline
business for himself. Today the job is full-time, and Bob's fleet
totals six units, three of which are new LTL-9000s that do double
duty — as tractors and dump trucks!
In the summer, the tractors, equipped with lift axles, pull
aluminum, tri-axle, tank trailers full of water, about 8,200 gallons,
in the 100,000-lb. GCW, permitted application. When the
Northeast's swimming pool season is over, Bob pulls the fifth
wheel from the 222" WB chassis, and converts the tractors into
dump trucks. He buys them without fifth wheels from Orange
Motor Company in Albany, N.Y., and mounts his own long sliders...
Non-Ford Linehaul Fleet
Likes Ford Offerings for P&DHerman-Miles Trucking, Inc., an El Paso-based LTL carrier that
specializes in expedited linehaul service, needed speedier, more
responsive local pickup and delivery in its hub city than contract
fleets could provide. So six months ago, the company started its
own midrange pickup and delivery fleet, choosing 10 new Fords,
a mix of CF-7000 vans and CF-8000 and LN-8000 tractors. Half
a dozen competitive makes vied for the business.
"The more we got to know about the Ford equipment and
Ford's ability to spec to our needs and help out in the total package,
including warranty and financing, the more we were hooked on
Ford," says Joe Wardy, VP/GM. The trucks were ordered through
Southwest Ford Truck Sales, Inc. in El Paso...
Heavily Laden 'Trains'
Keep Stoneyard StockedRichard Lessard is sold on Fords. And so is his family. That includes
all five of his sons, who work alongside him at R. Lessard Trucking,
Ltd. of Windsor, Ontario, one of the largest distributors of aggregate
and stone in the province. His daughter and daughter-in-law, who
work in the office at the 40-acre yard, drive Fords, too.
"I enjoy driving into Richard's yard. There's nothing but Fords
parked there — from the new LTLS-9000 tractor we just delivered,
to his wife's Lincoln," says John Chisolm, dealer at Rose City Ford
Truck Sales in Windsor, where the Lessards have...
'Boxy' Vans Depict Firm's ProductNo, that's not a cardboard box on wheels! It's a Ford Cargo delivery
van, one of a dozen in the fleet of Papermart, Inc., a Southern
California distributor of packaging supplies. The unique truck graphics,
designed to resemble a wrapped carton ready for mailing, was the
brainchild of President Marianna Seward. Corregated cartons and
other packaging materials in the company's product line are delivered
to industrial and commercial customers from San Diego to Santa
Barbara from the Papermart facility in City of Commerce...
Lone Hardrunner Looks Good in KW FleetThere's only one Ford heavy in the linehaul fleet of Robbie D. Wood,
Inc., a Birmingham, Alabama-based, hazardous waste hauler. It's a
Hardrunner AeroMax 120, the pride and joy of Kenneth Gunter, Sr.,
a company driver with nearly 20 years of service. Most of that time
Ken has driven Fords in the predominantly Kenworth fleet.
Previously the company provided him with an LTL-9000 that he
ran 400,000 miles — without a minute's trouble, says Robbie D.
Wood, Sr., who founded the firm in 1965.
The company treats its 42 drivers well, spec'ing with their comfort
in mind. Last year Ken was eligible to get a new Kenworth T-600
"with all the bells and whistles," recalls Robbie. "He drove it for three
months, then told me he'd really rather have a Ford. So we ordered
a Hardrunner for him, and he just loves it."...
Ford Redi-mix Fleet Lays Solid FoundationAn army of 62 cement mixers carries the name of Winter Brothers
Concrete Company in and around St. Louis, Missouri. Along with
two sister companies, Winter Brothers Materials and General Material
Company, it operates four concrete plants, a sand and gravel operation,
and related ventures. Most of the trucks are Fords, LT-9000s with
11-yard mixer bodies.
This equipment operates in a very dusty environment, and
Maintenance Manager Ken Lamprecht knows that frequent oil and
filter changes keep the fleet running at peak efficiency. The shortest
change intervals, every 3,500 miles, are scheduled for a special group
of LTL-9000 tractors that pull dry-cement trailers. The exhaust
system on these tractors is used in a unique unloading operation...
New AeroMax Flagship Carries
Food Distributor's Name AfarTony's Fine Foods, a 60-year-old California distributor of deli
products, took delivery of a pair of AeroMax 120 tractors in early
summer. The modern, good looks of the long-nosed Fords
appealed to John Galenti, director of operations. After a month,
their on-road performance convinced him that the AeroMax
should be the new flagship of the company's Class-8 fleet.
The company ordered five more AeroMax 120 models, plus
five LA-9000 single-axle tractors, all loaded with chrome and
polished aluminum. "Image is very important to us, and we
couldn't be more pleased with the AeroMaxes," says John.
"We put our new logos on, and they look great. We've gotten
a ton of phone calls from people who have seen them on the
road and want to comment on how nice they look."...
Short, Light LT-8000 Dumpers Pave the WayThe Barnhill Contracting Company, one of North Carolina's
largest asphalt paving ompanies and a major commercial builder,
was looking for a new midrange dump truck. The objective,
according to Executive VP Lee Cooper, was to spec a truck
with an automatic transmission that was as short as possible,
as light as possible, and could haul about 20 tons of payload,
while closely observing the letter of the bridge laws.
The solution was a 222-inch-wheelbase, quad-axle Ford
LT-8000 with a 16 1/2 foot aluminum dump body, aluminum
wheels all around, even on the two Hendrickson steerable lift
axles, aluminum beam on the Hendrickson RTA-380 rear
suspension, and a single, aluminum fuel tank. With a 275-hp
FD-1460 diesel and an electronic Allison MD-3560T-WR,
six-speed automatic transmission, the truck weighs in at
22,600 lbs, reports Craig Thomas, a truck sales professional
at Piedmont Ford Truck Sales in Greensboro, N.C., who
was closely involved in the spec'ing...
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