Truck Trends

If clothes make the man, does the sign at the jobsite also create a customer's indelible first impression — a visual calling card, so to speak? Quite possibly. In a sense, trucks personify the skilled signmakers who drive them — they must be rugged and durable, yet professional in appearance.

Shop owners and truck manufacturers alike note that purchases should reflect current needs, as well as future aspirations, rather than an attempt to save a few short-term dollars. Whether you're a one-man show who just needs a knock-around pickup truck to install small, commercial graphics, or a behemoth enterprise with 100,000 sq. ft. of production space that serves nationwide clients and uses a full fleet of state-of-the-art, heavy-duty trucks, here are some points to ponder as new regulations may increase the cost of doing business.

The crane makers

When Elliott Equipment Co. (Omaha, NE) first entered the sign market in 1991, the company had been producing aerial-work-platform lifts that were commonly used for Dept. of Transportation road-sign maintenance.

Jim Glazer, Elliott's president, said the company's primary offerings for the sign industry include the HiReach™ and SkyWalk™ product lines. The HiReach features telescoping work platforms and maximum vertical reaches that span to 158 ft., and SkyWalk implements a 16-ft.-long, 900-lb.-capacity work platform, among other features. Glazer said reliability and ROI should be key considerations.

"A smart shop owner will consider how his equipment correlates with his work," he said. "For instance, a shop that procures a state-of-the-art crane with a jib winch can preclude needing a second truck and additional ladders and crew, as well as save on recabling costs. And, finally, it's important to consider the truck's resale value."

Darrell Wilkerson Jr. serves as executive vice president of Wilkie Mfg. Co. (Oklahoma City), which has manufactured crane trucks and boom lifts for 35 years. He notes significant crane improvements, such as hydraulic cylinders, which enable smoother lift operation, and safety features that include pressure-relief valves that shut off automatically if the safe operational range is exceeded. The company's newer-model cranes, the XRB Series, feature fewer moving parts and hydraulic power, which helps prevent equipment overload and mitigate operator errors.

However, forthcoming regulatory changes will impact all sign companies. In October, federal-government rules will require sulfur reduction in all diesel fuels used for on-road vehicles. Thus, the reformulated blend will significantly boost already staggering pump prices. And, effective January 1, trucks rated for one-ton payload and larger will be required to produce cleaner-burning emissions.

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Ruggles Sign Co.

In business for 60 years, Lexington, KY-based Ruggles Sign Co. completes installations within an approximately 200-mile radius. Tim Cambron, a 20-year employee and now Ruggles' owner, said the shop learned the hard way about the importance of a well-maintained fleet.

"I've experienced the embarrassment of a truck failing to start or breaking down en route to a job," he said. "As a general rule, I trade in my trucks every three to five years to make sure I maintain a fresh fleet, and I don't skimp on oil changes, brake-pad replacements and other routine maintenance. And, a clean truck says a lot about who you are and the type of business you operate."

Cambron keeps three crane trucks — one 100-ft. Skyhook and two Elliotts (one 55-ft. and one 85-ft. model) — a Baker Aichi truck with a 35-ft. reach (which he noted is ideal for accessing signs that aren't highly placed but may be obstructed by landscaping or other low-slung impediments) and six pickup trucks for assorted service calls and smaller installations.

Cambron stressed parking the truck on dry, solid ground — setting up a truck for an installation on muddy ground or soft fill dirt invites the truck to overturn when the outriggers are set.

He appreciates many safety features that trucks now implement, such as non-conductive, fiberglass steps that reduce the risk of electrocution during installation, and more portable control systems that allow better and more immediate control of an installation. However, he said contemporary crane and ladder trucks still pose challenges.

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"Regulations dictate that trucks that weigh more than 26,000 lbs. require CDL drivers," Cambron explained. "Some manufacturers are building service trucks that are within the weight restriction, but they may exceed the safe weight limit once they're loaded with the sign and necessary equipment. For example, we had a service truck that needed three brake replacements before 50,000 miles of service. We finally determined that we'd been overloading the truck, which caused the brake-system failure."

Wausau Signs

Wausau Signs (Wausau, WI) has fabricated and installed signage ranging from truck graphics to lightboxes since 1966. Also, the company completes installations for larger, multi-branch companies such as the Pattison Group, Federal Heath and YESCO. Andy Budnick, the company's current owner, said the company uses 2001- and 2004-vintage SkyWalks with 50- and 55-ft.-maximum reaches.

When Budnick and his staff began shopping for trucks at the ISA Sign Expo and other industry events, they scoped the inner compartments of the trucks and displays, and decided to go the DIY route and fashion their own shelving and parts compartments out of aluminum. To facilitate continuous power welding, Budnick installed a generator on the lift.

On the jobsite, Budnick said basic safety principles, such as placing safety cones in conspicuous spots and ensuring installers are wearing their safety harnesses, are among the most simple, but often overlooked, ways to ensure a safe jobsite.

Dimensional Innovations

Dimensional Innovations (Overland Park, KS), which was established in 1995, quickly developed into a national, then international, signmaking operation. Because the company plies most of its trade outside the Kansas City area, the company opts to rent crane and lift trucks in the job site's local area.

Therefore, the most important vehicle in their fleet is the shop's 25-ft.-long box truck that's used to transport its signs. Trent Zagorsky, the company's shop supervisor and installation manager, said the truck and its two, companion service vehicles are outfitted with installation tools and hardware, such as screw guns, hammer drills and related parts.

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In contrast to other shops, whose vehicles are portable signshops, the company believes less is more in terms of equipment. Zagorsky said the company ships only tools necessary for a specific site, and, if an installation requires heavy-duty tools or equipment, they'll rent them from a local vendor and hire crews to do the job.

"The primary function of our truck is a means of transport for the finished product," he said.

Much of the company's work comprises interior, architectural signage. To keep such installations at a manageable weight, and to make them more easily portable, Dimensional Innovations prefers to use relatively lightweight materials — aluminum rather than steel, HDU instead of wood.

Despite this strategy, the scope of many signs poses a challenge for a 1,000-mile trip. Transporting 2,000-lb. architectural pieces for installation at Kona Grill restaurants (a trendy-casual chain with locations in seven Midwestern and Southwestern states) posed quite a challenge. According to Zagorsky, their shape resembled the Klingon "bird of prey" of Star Trek fame. A 1,300-mile trip ended at Kona's Phoenix location.

To secure the pieces, Dimensional Innovations constructed an unusual frame that conformed to the unusual, geometric protrusions. A custom substructure secured it on the flatbed truck. To hoist it into place, the shop used its custom, vertical lift. For many difficult jobs, Zagorsky also hires dedicated truck fleets to transport pieces, and he flies his installation crew to the jobsite.

The company has transformed one of its box trucks into a valuable marketing tool. Using Adobe's Illustrator® and Photoshop®, Dimensional Innovations' designers formatted a collage of its most visual projects. It output the project on 3M Industrial Adhesives & Tapes Div.™'s Controltac™ opaque and reflective films, which it printed on its Océ Arizona 180 solvent printer.

Holthaus Sign Co.

Cincinnati-based Holthaus Sign Co., which has existed for 70 years, owns an 85-ft. Skyhook crane truck affixed to a Freight-liner F70 chassis, and an 85-ft. boom truck installed on a Ford F550 body. Because it's a full-service company, the company's equipment repertoire on board each vehicle ranges from masonry drill bits to neon ballasts. The company purchases its vehicles from a crane-truck store in northern Ohio.

Kerry Holthaus, the company's production manager, cites failure to use safety harnesses or hard hats as the cardinal sin of installation with a crane or ladder truck. When OSHA inspectors are passing by a jobsite and witness workers not using the legally required harness or hard hat, he said they'll pull over and conduct a thorough spot inspection.

"They take fall-protection regulations very seriously," he said. "A fine of $40,000 or more isn't unheard of. OSHA isn't trying to put people out of business, but they go to great lengths to ensure a safe workplace. Our policy simply is, if the boom is out of the cradle, you're wearing a hard hat."Elliott Equipment Co.3M Industrial Adhesives & Tapes Div.