may2022 - 10

that keep most maintenance in-house average 10%
longer trade cycles and pay about 7% more per
mile for equipment and maintenance.
The biggest business case for outsourcing is
being able to conduct business, said Eric Daniels,
vice president of truck care for Love's.
" Uptime is the No. 1 reason we see fleets using
outsourced maintenance, " Daniels said. " Out-ofroute
miles and driver downtime cost money and
put a strain on already tight schedules, and these
issues can be avoided by using outsourced maintenance
providers. "
More than 400 Love's Truck Care locations
offer preventative maintenance and emergency
roadside assistance, along with light mechanical
services such as repairs for wheel-ends, HVAC,
starting and charging systems, electrical and air
systems, and trailers.
Daniels said another major benefit of outsourcing
" is having a consistent maintenance offering
regardless of what part of the country a driver is
in, whether it's roadside or at a terminal. "
Each fleet will have a different reason on how
and why they approach maintenance outsourcing.
Fleet Maintenance collected several industry
insights to help fleets understand and make the
right business decision for themselves.
The growing fleet
After his fleet doubled in size to ten trucks over
the past year, Hell Bent Xpress owner Jamie Hagen
began doing the math. " At this growth rate, it's
time to consider if we should be performing maintenance
in-house, " he said. " That's a discussion
that we need to have, but there are a lot of moving
pieces, so the equation gets complicated. "
10 Fleet Maintenance | May 2022
» Almost half of the private fleets surveyed by
NPTC outsourced all of their maintenance.
Photo: Penske
Running out of Aberdeen, South Dakota, Hell
" We believe it will be
less expensive and
more convenient to
perform maintenance
in-house, and we have a
mechanic in mind if we
go in that direction. "
Jamie Hagen, Hell Bent Xpress owner
Bent Xpress got its start in 2010. It was then that
Hagen, a former company driver for a bulk tank
hauler of food grade liquid products, began leasing
his services to the carrier and adding tractors
to his fleet. Today, Hell Bent hauls tankers and
dry vans across the U.S. and Canada with Mack
Anthem tractors.
Focused on making sure that his company's
tractors are well-maintained, Hagen handles lubrication,
tire work, and some light repairs himself.
For anything more complicated, he relies on local
Mack Trucks and Utility Trailer dealers.
" We believe it will be less expensive and more
convenient to perform maintenance in-house,
and we have a mechanic in mind if we go in that
direction, " Hagen said. " The question is whether
we can justify the expense or if we need to reach
20 or 30 trucks to be able to afford it. "
Hagen is also asking himself if his own time
is better spent growing the business rather than
managing maintenance and handling some of the
work. " What else could I be doing? At what point
am I more valuable doing other things? " he asked
himself. " That's not something you necessarily
think about when you're scaling up rapidly, but
now is the right time to ask so we know the answer
when it's time to take the leap. "
Balancing both in-house and
» Small fleet owner Jamie Hagen may hire
an in-house technician to free up time for
more planning.
Photo: Hell Bent Xpress
outsourced maintenance
" We're outsourcing maintenance where we don't
have the equipment density or where it doesn't
make sense to have our own shop, " said Gerry
Mead, executive vice president, maintenance and
may2022

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of may2022
