Few trucking applications are as abusive and punishing to vehicles as logging. Logging trucks often see both on- and off-highway use, the latter of which can include steep grades and inhospitable terrain.
The loads are also severe, particularly in the Northwest U.S. and Canada where “hard wood” is farmed, as opposed to the softer variety harvested in the Southeast U.S. It makes for heavy, shock loading of product that is susceptible to shifting and settling during transit.
While these harsh conditions are bad for the trucks, they are good for those who support the vehicles in the aftermarket. Logging trucks require more frequent service intervals, repairs and replacement parts.
At Inland Kenworth in Kamloops, British Columbia, Reinhard Wilimek estimates that about 40 percent of the vehicles sold in this market are into the logging industry. They generate substantial aftermarket business.
“We replace many of the same parts that we do in the highway market, but a lot more frequently,” says Wilimek. “The major components on the logging trucks – like the engine, transmission and diffs [differentials] – are probably replaced almost twice as often compared to your typical highway application.”
For instance, he says, while an engine running strictly over the road can go one million or more miles before it needs an overhaul, that same engine in a logging application may only last half that mileage before needing an overhaul.
And it isn’t just the major components that take a beating. The demanding duty cycles take their toll, bumper to bumper.
