Rokbak haulers are known and loved for their low total cost of ownership. Here, the company’s senior product manager, Scott Pollock, shares his unique insights into how to save money when choosing equipment and achieve a good return on investment.
Work out how much it costs to operate your equipment per hour
When looking at return on investment (ROI), the key metric to focus on is how much the product costs to operate per hour. The operational cost per hour takes into consideration the purchase cost and the depreciation value, as well as the repair and maintenance costs over a given period. From this, you can measure the physical availability of the machine and together with looking at the productivity, you can analyse how much it costs to move each tonne of material. Combining all of this will give you an indication of ROI and how much money you can make.
Low fuel consumption is essential for profitability
Fuel consumption can add a lot to your day-to-day running costs, so it’s important to choose equipment that delivers low fuel consumption. At Rokbak, our fuel consumption is one of the lowest in the market, so the operational cost of running Rokbak trucks is low – which is a huge benefit for our customers. You can see this for yourself with a product demonstration and get benchmarking data, which shows evidence of the productivity and fuel consumption comparisons for your application and job site.
Reliability and durability are critical
If your equipment has low availability, you won’t be able to achieve a good return on investment. At Rokbak, reliability is at the centre of everything we do and as such, our trucks have high physical availability. Our current RA30 and RA40 articulated haulers are consistently returning very low levels of warranty claims, which tells us that the products are robust and reliable, working with minimal faults.
Maintenance is essential
It’s essential to properly maintain equipment to get the best productivity and results. Not only does correct maintenance ensure productive operation, it also maintains safe operation and minimises any unscheduled downtime. By keeping fluids replenished, ensuring components are properly greased and making sure filters are clean, you will prolong component life. If equipment isn’t maintained, it could lead to a catastrophic failure and significant downtime.
At Rokbak, we’ve utilised more modern fluids and filtration systems to extend the time between essential maintenance periods and increase truck uptime. For example, the RA30 and RA40 both adopt modern hydraulic fluids that maximise time between maintenance periods to 4,000 hours. The RA40’s transmission has high-performance fluid and up to 6,000 hours between service intervals, while the RA30’s long-life transmission fluid supports 4,000 hours between oil maintenance intervals.
It’s not just about the metal work
Aftersales support is vital. From dealer support to product trainings and a reliable genuine spare parts infrastructure, good quality OEM support mechanisms need to be in place to maximise machine uptime. The product needs to perform, but when it comes to things like servicing and maintenance, it’s about acting fast and responsibly to address any customer requirements and maximise uptime.
At Rokbak, we have a strong, global aftermarket network, and we support our dealer partners so they can support customers in the best way. We’re a close group, and as we only manufacture haulers, we are extremely focused on being the experts in our field. We stay down-to-earth and form close bonds with customers and dealers – it’s a partnership – and this approach is appreciated by everyone we work with.
