Issue link: http://read.dmtmag.com/i/553565
20 l FIRST CLASSCLASS Meeting customer needs To be clear, Braun already has some conventional straight-truck-mounted 12-bay delivery trucks with the unique- ly beverage-oriented body designed to service "on-premise" customers, such as restaurants or bars. The body style is a favorite for Braun given its ease of side- walk unloading (vs. street unloading) that reduces driver fatigue and improves safety, and the fact that lift gates and pallet jacks are unnecessary. "In any inner-city delivery environ- ment, you want a 12-bay over a box truck," he says. He also has 16 new Model 220s, the Peterbilt Class 7 cabover that is winning praise from his drivers for its outstanding maneuverability, comfortable ergonomic cab environment and excellent visibility. What he envisions is merging the popu- lar operating features and robust design characteristics of the Model 220 with the 12-bay body he prefers. It's not necessarily a simple design directive. Various components that usu- ally occupy space on the frame rails and the back of the cab will have to be repositioned to accommodate the 12-bay body, a solution that will help be achieved by the Model 220's optional clear frame rail package. But he's confi- dent that he has the right manufacturer working on a potential Model 220 design that will receive a 12-bay body. "We started chewing on it last year, and they started working on it," he says. "They listen. That's the main thing." Resale expectations While Braun expects to enjoy a seven-to-10-year ownership cycle with the Model 220s he already owns, he's counting on a resale market similar to that which he's enjoyed on other Peterbilt products. "We just sold some of our older over-the-road equipment," he says. "Let's just say we got considerably more than we would've out of Brand X. I would expect that to occur with our Model 220s as well." And a Class 7 cabover can show off some of the pride and class for which Peterbilt is renowned. "I call it 'the shiny bumper syn- drome,'" he says. "Give a driver a shiny bumper and he feels good and we look good. Image is very important to us — particularly with the rolling billboards we operate. "We like to be number one in how we look and what we do." FC The Peterbilt Model 337 is also a key component of the Columbia Distributing fleet.