FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
October 12, 2023
TOYOTA TAKES VEHICLE-HAULING EFFICIENCY TO NEW HEIGHTS WITH THE HELP OF AIR-WEIGH ON-BOARD SCALES
Vehicle Capacity is Optimized When Weight Information Is Certain During Loading
EUGENE, OR – Every additional car a vehicle manufacturer can fit onto a car-carrier’s load makes the value of the carrier’s run that much greater. But most carrier drivers exercise caution about the number of vehicles to carry in a single load because they don’t want to run the risk of overweight fines.
Toyota was looking for a way to solve this efficiency problem. What if drivers could load an extra vehicle onto a trailer and know with certainty they were within the legal weight limit?
The solution came in the form of Air-Weigh On-Board Scales, QuickWeigh®. The scale’s bright, digital display updates the weight in real time as the trailer is being loaded, without having to bring the truck to an in-ground scale. The real-time weight information allows drivers to make in-process adjustments to remain under the legal limit.
Toyota typically limits vehicle loads to only eight cars per load out of caution against an overweight ticket, underutilizing full carrier capacity. By eliminating the mystery of the trailer weight, Toyota has put itself in a position to optimize every load.
And because the solution has been so effective, Toyota has expanded the use of Air-Weigh on-board scales. Initially, Toyota retrofitted Freightliners with QuickWeigh® on-board scales as a pilot program.
“We’re pretty good at putting the loads together,” said Mike VanderPloeg, Operations Supervisor for Toyota. “But once we get this new equipment, it could make it a game-changer for us. I could give a load to three different drivers and they’ll probably load it pretty similar, but still in different ways. This will give us the opportunity to see what’s best.”
That becomes especially important with the growing prominence of electric vehicles, which VanderPloeg said can add up to 300 pounds per point of electrification for every vehicle.
One optimization Air-Weigh on-board scales have made possible is for drivers to shift vehicles around when loads come in slightly overweight. Being able to see the weight, updated in real time on a highly visible digital gauge, tells drivers when a precise adjustment can keep a load legal.
“We had a driver about a month ago – someone who’s been doing it 25 years – get an overweight ticket by 500 pounds,” VanderPloeg said. “And it was a matter of moving a vehicle 14 inches. That was all he had to do. But he’d never have known that prior to leaving the yard.”
Now that he has an Air-Weigh On-Board Scale, he will.
Air-Weigh will be previewing a new scale model at the American Trucking Associations’ Management Conference & Exhibition from October 14-17 at the Austin Convention Center in Austin, Texas. Trucking companies who want to experience the same benefits are encouraged to attend the show and see for themselves what Air-Weigh has coming next.
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Since its founding in 1987, Air-Weigh has led the industry with patented, electronic on-board weighing technology. Air-Weigh innovative on-board electronic weighing solutions are known for accuracy and toughness. Featuring a comprehensive product line of scales, Air-Weigh provides solutions for both trucks and trailers with mechanical or air suspensions. With expertise in advanced on-board scale communications, the company offers a complete vehicle weighing system that will help reduce costs, improve efficiency, and maximize profitability.