Overdrive Magazine | Trucking Business News & Owner Operator Info
Issue link: https://read.dmtmag.com/i/85415
Favorites on the parts menu Regular maintenance parts, as well as those that can ship without high costs, are the most popularly ordered online by owner-operators. Oil filters, lights, air dryer cartridges and belts, for example, can be ordered and waiting for a trucker when he gets home from a run. Owner-operator Bradley Coddington usually buys engine parts and wheel bearings at the dealer because of the advantage of having expert advice. "You want to make sure you've got the right part for those," he says. He often uses online sources for high-performance and accessory parts. An online order for 6-inch stacks shipped to him free of charge is one of the best deals he's come across, he says. His total cost for them was less than what he paid for 5-inch pipes earlier. In some cases, the benefits of an online purchase of a bulky or heavy item can be outweighed by high shipping costs. "If a part is too big and heavy, the shipping costs can quadruple the overall price," says J.J. Keller's Thomas Bray. medium-duty truck parts with more heavy-duty ones, Sales Director Adam Sadler says. Sadler Power Train started selling parts online two years ago. Users can check prices, view in-stock inventory and customized shipping choices. While most of its 400 online accounts are small repair shops, owner- operators also can use the service. The site's sales grew from $50,000 in 2009 to more than $300,000 in 2011. River City Truck Parts, based in Louisville, Ky., has seen similar success since 2010 selling diesel engines and parts through its website, rctpinc.com, says Daniel McWhorter, advertising director for the supplier of used parts and cores. Small orders are shipped the same day. "We still push everyone to call us, Bradley Coddington says he shops online for high-performance and acces- sory parts, noting that for engine parts he sticks with his Kenworth dealer. the Fremont, Calif.-based heavy- duty truck parts data management firm. "Our main objective is to find a part for your truck right in the neighborhood that the trucker is in." The Part Search tool at partsriver. com lists more than 8 million parts. The site includes listings of alternate parts and lists of sellers near the trucker's location. Subscribers can search the site for free. A $99 fee allows users to access the alternate parts and offers information to aid in filing warranty claims. "There's no question as people become savvy about using the Internet, there'll be more online parts ordering," says Allen Parrott, owner of Tidewater Fleet Supply based in Chesapeake, Va. Last year, the company's 7,700 online orders represented sales of $900,000. Drivetrain America drivetrainamerica.com was launched in March by Cedar Rapids, Iowa- based Sadler Power Train Truck Parts & Service. The online business augments the dealership's light- and but they can see the part numbers online," he says. Customers view the inventory through heavytruckparts.net, a site owned by I-Soft Data Systems that lists River City's inventory and that of other diesel truck part vendors that purchased I-Soft's software. "Having our inventory online allows truckers to answer some of their own questions and see pictures of our inventory," McWhorter says. Not all buyer questions about parts get answered at any given vendor. Because OEMs still do not share proprietary information on all parts installed on a truck or certain repair information, it often takes an owner longer to determine a replacement part when not dealing with a dealer. Most distributors are able to help customers determine the right part. The so-called "right to repair" issue continues to be debated among OEMs and others in the heavy-duty truck industry. Some online parts vendors have a narrow range of offerings. Steve Rowe, co-owner of autohaulersupply. com, started the online strap and chains supply business out of his house seven years ago with little more than a web page, a cell phone and a database of names. JANUARY 2012 OVERDRIVE 23 Courtesy of Brad Coddington