Why don't more companies buy gliders

You would be surprised. Schneider runs gliders as do quite a few outfits. The reason Gliders are not as popular is that the price break is not there. These carriers don't pay sticker, they get sizable discounts, discounts that glider manufacturers cannot offer.

 

Because you can't run a company into the future and long term with yesterday's technology

 

That too, unless you want to remain profitable.

 

They do run them. What makes you think they don't?

 

When i left roehl in 2012 they had just bought a bunch of columbia gliders. I still see them going down the road (unless they are owner ops, but I don’t think so).

I like the idea of gliders. I drove an older columbia at roehl and i liked that truck, would have been cool to have a “new” one.

 

How do you explain all the many carriers who maintain 3-4 year new replacement cycles involving 100's of thousands of these trucks? And making money? Lots of corrections and improvements have been made the last 3 years and as long as a proper maintenance schedule is followed, they're not a real problem.

I'm not promoting this CARB and EPA crap? but to say you can't still be successful and profitable with it is an indication maybe you're not doing it right.

 

My company doesn't because our trucks are spec'd beyond what a glider from Fitzgerald is built. A glider spec like we would need would be upwards of 200k each. Maybe more. 70ton fifth wheels, double walled frames, beefier suspensions, traditional 6x2 and quad axles, they only replace 5 trucks a year, and if the 20 or so owner ops we have, only one has an actual glider and he doesn't haul much of our heavy stuff