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RTS
With truck drivers away from home for longer periods, accessories that make life on the road more bearable become increasingly important. This week Steve McQueen reports on some of the new products that add comfort to the cab.
TI it: consumer's accessory of today is the manufacturer's original equipment of tomorrow, or so the old saying goes. However, there are plenty of companies which are doing nicely from selling truck drivers those little (but not so cheap) luxuries which make the daily grind a bit more bearable. The opportunities which exist for suppliers is a phenomenon recognised at the highest level.
Ernie Thompson, chief executive of the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders, says: "Just as people want to personalise their cars, so they want to personalise their commercial vehicles. To many people in this country, the commercial vehicle is the car as far as they are concerned. It is a market that should not be overlooked."
Accessories are sold in many shapes and sizes and perform many different functions inside and outside the cab. They provide varying levels of satisfaction for drivers and sometimes the operators as well. A driver who is happy sleeping inside his cab is a driver who is on "watch" around the clock. If waking the driver up is a problem buy a Blue Meanie 120 decibel alarm—and stand back.
At the top of the accessory scale are the incab entertainment items, from CD players to TVs and videos. These represent the long
term investment items Somewhere in the middle accessory ground are the act practical, look smart, and feel-good purchases such as sun visors and air horns.
At the lower end of the scale is the impulse buy. Last month it might have been the England football team air freshener for under .£2. Look out for the Baywatch suntan lotion during August.
Microwaves
At this level, products for truckers and car drivers are broadly similar. The main difference at the top end of the scale can be summed up in the words "24 volts".
"You can't go into Curry's and buy a 24-volt TV for your cab," says Paul Carrington, regional manager for BP Truckstops. But these days you can drive into a truckstop. These have become the accessory supermarkets for the truck driver. Their ranges—culled from the huge US truck accessory market— are becoming vast.
"At BP Truckstops we sell as much in £500 single purchases as we do in the small stuff. We do microwaves, CDs and (7ool boxes and we are looking closely at the fridge market now," says Carrington.
Pelstar Refrigeration makes and designs fridges. Managing director Christopher Roads
could be seen demonstrating the company's products at Commercial Motor Truckfest in May. He recently modified the design of the Pelstar Microfridge to accommodate driver expectation. "It is designed as a fridge and not as a picnic box," says Roads It will be priced at £285, but this is by no means high for an inalb fridge.
Over at CDC Truck Accessories-20 years in the business with over 3,000 lines—managing director David Fairweather has discovered a strong and growing demand for in-cab fridges. "I think we are seeing a general move towards them and away from cool boxes." he says. "At the end of the day, a cool box is not up to the job. If people want a fridge that works properly they have to be looking towards a compressor-driven model which could be in the region of £500."
A good idea in principle, but do drivers have that kind of money to spend?
-1 took a gamble in April and brought in
about 20 fridges from Italy worth around £600 a time. We sold the remaining two last week," says Fairweather.
If you need a new hi-fl, see a truck dealer first for the recommended sets which match the connectors and the right-sized speaker grills. However, while it might not work for TVs, you can buy a voltage dropper and get the hi-fl you want from Comet, Dixons or a specialist system dealer.
They can be expensive, but ler :ace it, you need the local traffic informatior to get anywhere on time these days. For example, buy the new Alpine 5004 now and save £100 on the £699 list price. RDS radio tuner (absolutely) multi-disc control (you bet), scannable music search cassette. subwoofers and everything.
Video players
Drivers who have everything already have incab video players, because the long evenings away are unthinkable without taped versions of favourite TV programmes. However, having spent your hard-earned cash on an expensive sound system, get the best of all worlds with a talking book X-File adventure from Harper Collins.
With a fridge full of food and a good sound system, how about dinner? Well, don't forget to dress for it first and why not choose an outfit in tune with your cab trim? Unique has just introduced its "Essentials" range. This includes everything from personalised luxury truck floor mats and headrest covers, to clothing which complements your interior trim.
Phoning out for a take-away? Reach for your mobile phone—or better still, let a Harlequin mobile phone holder extend towards you. If the pizza needs reheating, a quick zap in the T-ax microwave £399 will do the trick. Fittings outside the cab can help improve the environment, particularly in the summer. While additional exterior mirrors or air horns will generate various looks from motorists, a sun visor will keep the driver relatively glare free and a little cooler besides.
Kuda UK specialises in truck aerodynamics and its latest innovation is a design to suit the Renault AE Magnum. Made from high-quality, acrylic smoked-coloured glass, it is easy to fit and can be complemented with a push-fit window deflector. The pair costs £375 However, for many of the 400,000 drivers which CDC has identified as the size of the target market, keeping cool means buying ever popular in-cab fans.
Alternatives, if you are too late with your fan mail-order, could be a visit to one of the 112 Dana-owned Brown Brothers outlets to buy one of the latest Intertruck roller-blinds These depict different scenes. The Dana accessory business is being extended, so a trip could be worthwhile for more practical applications such as marker boards, airlines and reflectors.
Despite this brief look at some of the higherpriced accessories, sales in general appear to be in a bit of a stall this year. Kuda's managing director Glen Whatling puts this down to the fact that many vehicle manufacturers are upgrading models. "We are all waiting to see what they are going to do before developing the new ranges," he Tays.
Arthur Chudley runs AP Accessories—four years and over 100 product lines—which sells directly to drivers and to other suppliers.
We are doing a lot of cool boxes, kettles and air horns, but sales overall are down," he says. The really big seller for APA this summer is headlight guards. They protect the glass and help save money, too. If you drive a ..Scania 4 series, you are in luck. headlight guard for your truck has just become available.
Tim Christy, managing director of Alexander Engineering, a motor accessory specialist at the impulse end of the market, has no doubt vehicle manufacturers have had a hand in the downturn because they are good at spotting accessory trends and quickly incorporating them as OE. If that's true, it's bad news for future sales of wheel trim accessories.
Wheel trims
Fairweather says he is selling increasing sets for unit and trai ers to large food distribution operators who are keen to enhance their image. At £150 for a set of four, it's a significant revenue earner, sure to be noticed by the vehicle manufacturers. Christy has another theory with which many drivers will identify: "Don't tell Me that the
removal of a-6bn of spending mtmey into
the lottery during the past 20 months has not affected some aftermarket salesby a few per cent."
Commercial vehicle seats get more than their fair share of hard wear and tear, especially if they're in a tipper or a big fleet truck. UK Covers of Fringford, Bicester recently exhibited its universal scat covers at the Site Equipment Demonstration show (CM 23-29 May). The washable covers are water repellant and stain resistant. They have a two-year guarantee and can be easily fitted. UK Covers' Steve Williams is keen to develop his truck customer portfolio. "We can do them in a choice of colours and with a company logo if the order is big enough." Price is 09.95 a pair (inc-VAT). v: by Steve McQueen