P T Hire brake testing in-house with Totalkare equipment

A Derbyshire heavy duty vehicle rental firm has boosted fleet availability while achieving significant long term cost savings after investing in a brake testing solution from UK experts Totalkare.

Swadlincote-based P T Hire is a leading provider of flexible truck rental, HGV contract hire and repair and maintenance solutions, operating a fleet of 400 trucks and over 80 trailers.

Having previously outsourced its brake testing for the fleet, the company realised the savings to be made by testing in-house.  As well as immediately saving the time, fuel and wear & tear involved in driving each vehicle between their premises and the test centre, offsetting the cost of the tests themselves will see the capital investment repaid.

suitable for indoor and outdoor testing

Totalkare has installed a mobile brake tester with bi-directional rollers and extended on ramps.  Capable of testing up to 16,000kg per axle, the mobile brake tester can be set up in minutes and is galvanised, making it suitable for indoor and outdoor testing, even on uneven ground. It comes supplied with a PC, monitor, cabinet and handheld tablet unit as standard, with brake tests conducted with ease from the driver’s seat of the vehicle being tested.

The brake tester will be supported by a service contract from Totalkare which includes two routine field engineer visits each year and brake tester calibration.

The decision to invest in brake testing equipment comes 18 months after Totalkare first installed a set of its market-leading T8DC cable-free mobile column lifts.  Configurable in sets of four, six or eight, the T8DC has adjustable forks to suit a range of wheel diameters and can lift up to 7,500kg per column.

substantial savings by testing in-house

“For a fleet the size of ours, the savings to be made by bringing brake testing in -house are substantial, but we didn’t realise just how substantial until we used the online brake test savings calculator on Totalkare’s website,” said Tim Pearson, Workshop Manager at P T Hire, “Having been impressed with the quality of service provided by Totalkare on our mobile column lifts, this gave us confidence when selecting a supplier for the brake testing equipment.”

George Georgiou, Area Sales Manager for Totalkare, commented “More and more operators are recognising the huge savings to be made by bringing their brake testing in-house.  Our brake test savings calculator is a great tool for getting a reasonable approximation of what you could stand to save, and with our flexible finance options – including lease hire, lease purchase, low start and zero deposit finance – it’s never been easier to make the transition from outsourcing to in-house testing.”