For commercial trucking fleets, break-downs and road calls due to dead or uncharged batteries are a costly issue that can cut into fleets’ profit margins and drivers’ accumulated hours of service.
Purkeys announced it has developed two distinct liftgate charging systems, the DIRECT and the SELECT. Larry Rambeaux, Purkeys’ National Fleet Representative, says that even with a liftgate charging system, a truck’s battery has to be in proper working order to maintain charge.
“The system can’t pull a charge out of thin air,” Rambeaux said. Regular checks of the trailer’s electrical system can diagnose and address issues, like voltage drop, before problems arise in charging the liftgates.
Voltage drop can occur when the current has to run long distances, such as the length of the trailer. With the Handheld Electrical Analyzer or Benchtop Electrical Analyzer, also available from Purkeys, a 10-15 minute preventive maintenance check can test for voltage drop.
