Heavy Duty Truck Wheel Alignment – Our Story
We take pride in this machine since we are the co-developer along with RAV engineers. When we began our cooperation with Ravaglioli some 15 years ago they did not offer a state of the art North American HD alignment system. It was a requirement for us as we have been active in this sector since 1985. The owner of the company, an engineer himself, committed to the project and we went back and forth with their engineering team guiding them step by step as to what the machine needs to do, how the wheel clamps must be designed so that they are the finest available, how the software should flow, and the features it should have. We cannot take credit for their great alignment technology as they already had that.
The result is the simplest, fastest, most productive system we believe the world market has to offer. And…..it has been improved upon every year and today’s version is our best ever.
Our participation and guidance in the creation of the system gives us a deep knowledge of the machine and all of its workings.
The Bridgestone Project
When Bridgestone decided to upgrade 75 commercial tire centers, they had been using Hunter for years. They started with 20 of our systems and ran them a little more than a year. After experiencing the performance of not only our machines…but even more importantly the effectiveness of our remote based services. They followed this initial order with orders for 65 more alignment systems and about 90 of our tire changers. We continue to take care of these using our remote services and I am unaware of any issues that we have not taken care of promptly.
What Makes Our System Better……AT ANY PRICE.
- No runout compensation required – No rolling of the truck or trailer is necessary. This is largely due to our technological advantages and because of the integrity and accuracy of our FastClamp adapters. They reference the wheel at the center not out at the rim. The center of ANY circle is its very best reference point.
- Superior Repeatable Accuracy – Our measuring technology is unsurpassed and our wheel clamps are superior.
- Simpler to Use…Easier to teach new personnel—5 color keypad allows you to practically complete the alignment using only the green key.
- Faster Alignment Times – System can be set up and measurements taken in about 4 minutes.
- Complete Versatility – Trucks, Trailers, Buses, Coaches, Light Trucks, Multi-Axles….you can align virtually anything that drives up. Smaller wheels will require the smaller fastclamp set.
- Total Portability—Ability to switch from bay to bay…or even from shop to shop…or to the parking lot…ON THE FLY. Smart Tablet remote control allows you to leave the console parked and range 75 feet or so using only the tablet to control the system.
- Calibration Fixture and Software Included
- Superlight, SuperStrong, and Superthin Alloy turnplates
- FASTCHECK Feature – Allows you to use only the front sensor heads to check and adjust the all-important front toe angle. If you adopt a strategy of using this feature to address front toe at every service interval you will significantly increase your tire life.
- LESS THAN HALF THE COST OF OUR LEADING COMPETITOR – Much lower initial cost which means greater and faster ROI. Depending on your fleet size or your alignment volume, you may recover your investment years faster with the RAV system.
- BETTER OVERALL TECHNICAL AND CUSTOMER SUPPORT PROGRAM (see below)
RAVADVANTAGE REMOTE TECHNICAL SERVICES
Gone are the days where a local service representative is required to service electronic PC based alignment equipment. One of the hallmarks of state-of-the-art electronic devices is their ability to be serviced remotely. This is the modern approach and almost all other top electronic equipment in other industries is supported this way.
Here is how our remote services work and why we have been successful with this method since 2004:
ETechnical Hotline – experts will answer your calls regarding any alignment related issue or question. We answer our phones in the evenings and on the weekends. Our experience and expertise can quickly diagnose your issue or answer your questions. About 80% of our customer requests are resolved this way.
Internet Based Support – If we need deeper information than the phone allows, we can connect to your machine via internet which allows us to operate your system, run diagnostics, address training issues, and a host of other tests. We can also load and update software using this process.
Virtual Technologies – Using broadcast software services like Zoom and Teams we are able to broadcast live training sessions from our training center to your desktop. I Phone FaceTime is also a very powerful tool where training is concerned as it allows us to see and speak to your technicians as they use the equipment.
Video Training – We use video training and will be producing a new series of HD alignment videos soon that are available to our customers. We also use simple videos taken on your phones or on our phones to offer further explanation for a situation.
WHAT HAPPENS IF WE EXPERIENCE AN ACTUAL PART FAILURE OR IF WE DAMAGE THE EQUIPMENT?
System Reliability – Durability and reliability is uncannily strong. Very few actual hard part failures among the 2000 or so systems we have in the field. The equipment is very durable and will survive most drops and impacts.
Calibration Device and Software – You will receive both with your system which will allow you to have total control over your precision accuracy. You will be able to perform the highest quality calibrations in about 20 minutes. A calibration report is generated which can be sent to us for our expert review if you prefer.
Calibration capability – allows you to install any part in your system easily with our expert guidance. Some procedures require a re-calibration and many do not.
REPAIRS IF NEEDED
- Your people can make any repair on this system that we cannot make remotely. With our expert guidance and we will test after the repair.
- PC Issues are diagnosed remotely by our team via internet. Most PC issues are resolved quickly with software updates or reloads. If a PC fails (life expectancy 5-8years usually) the most productive course of action is to replace it. We sell a new replacement ready for plug and play for $1500 which is a fraction of the price of our competitor. If you purchase the RAVAdvantage Plan your PC is covered out to 5 full years.
- Almost all hard part repairs can easily be done by your personnel with our guidance. If there is an exception to this rule, the head can be sent via FedEx to us for repair. We will turn it around usually the next day and return it to you. We do stock spare sensor heads as well if that is your preference.
- SPARE PARTS—We have a complete inventory of spares for the aligners in our facilities in Texas. There is no waiting for aligner spare parts.
