Field trucks are essential tools for municipalities and utility companies, enabling maintenance crews and field workers to perform their duties efficiently. However, procurement and upfitting missteps can result in costly, inefficient, or unusable vehicles. Here are seven common mistakes municipalities and utility companies have made, with lessons to help avoid them.
1. Failing to Clearly Define Needs
One of the most common errors in field truck procurement is issuing requests for quotes (RFQs) or proposals (RFPs) with vague or incomplete specifications. This leads to mismatched vehicle capabilities. For example, some municipalities have purchased trucks without sufficient power capacity or even had the wrong type of inverter installed preventing users from using sensitive electronics and forcing expensive post-purchase modifications. Effective needs assessments and detailed RFQs are essential to ensuring trucks meet operational requirements
Lesson: Collaborate with field teams to identify power, storage, and functional requirements, ensuring procurement documents reflect real-world needs.
2. Overlooking Weight and Load Distribution
Ignoring weight limits and load distribution is a critical mistake that can cause premature wear and unsafe operating conditions. For instance, vehicles that exceed their Gross Vehicle Weight Rating (GVWR) can experience brake failure, tire blowouts, and suspension damage. Municipalities have faced increased maintenance costs and downtime due to improperly specified vehicles
Lesson: Work with upfitters to ensure upfits (e.g., toolboxes, cranes) align with the truck’s payload capacity and maintain a balanced load distribution.
3. Prioritizing Low Initial Costs Over Long-Term Value
Focusing solely on the lowest bid often leads to vehicles with subpar components or limited customization. Several municipalities have experienced higher maintenance costs and operational inefficiencies because they prioritized upfront savings over durability. For example, cheaper auxiliary systems have frequently failed under demanding conditions, leading to expensive replacements
Lesson: Use total cost of ownership (TCO) analyses to evaluate vehicle options, considering lifecycle costs, reliability, and suitability for the intended purpose.
4. Fragmenting the Upfitting Process
In an effort to save money, some municipalities have split upfitting tasks across multiple vendors. While this approach might seem cost-effective, it often results in delays, miscommunication, and logistical challenges. Sometimes using a unified work truck power system instead of mix and matching power components can ensure that the power system work and communicate together.
Lesson: Use a single, experienced vendor for all upfitting needs to ensure a cohesive, timely process.
5. Neglecting End-User Input
Another recurring mistake is neglecting to involve field workers and drivers in the specification process. Trucks are often upfitted without considering how tools will be accessed or how power systems will be used. This oversight leads to inefficiencies, as workers struggle with poorly designed layouts.
Lesson: Conduct workshops or surveys with end users to gather feedback on past issues and ideal configurations for new vehicles.
6. Failing to Future-Proof Fleet Investments
Municipalities and utilities sometimes fail to consider emerging technologies or regulatory changes when procuring vehicles. From ePTOs and auxiliary power that can help fleets provide power while complying with changing regulations, there are fleet managers should keep themselves up to date on emerging trends.
Lesson: Plan for fleet electrification, alternative fuel compatibility, and compliance with upcoming regulations when specifying trucks.
7. Skipping Pilot Testing
In some cases, municipalities have adopted new configurations or technologies without proper testing, leading to operational failures. For instance, during Winter Storm Uri in 2021, inadequate preparation for extreme cold weather led to significant failures in equipment used across Texas, exposing weaknesses in cold-weather performance. In some municipalities, the field vehicles designated to restore the grid were also affected due to the lack of heating for the Generators and APUs.
Lesson: Pilot new vehicle designs or technology in limited deployments to ensure functionality and durability before scaling up.
Conclusion
Procurement and upfitting of field trucks are complex processes that require careful planning, clear communication, and collaboration with stakeholders. Avoiding these seven mistakes can save municipalities and utility companies time, money, and frustration, ensuring that field workers have the tools they need to perform their jobs efficiently and safely.
Fleet managers should prioritize total cost of ownership, consult with end users, and engage experienced upfitters to ensure vehicles meet both current and future needs. By learning from past errors, municipalities can build resilient, effective fleets that support essential public services.