An old-school concrete supplier in the heart of the Midwest — that is how Liberty Ready Mix describes itself. Since 2004, the company has delivered ready mix concrete for construction projects through the Des Moines, Iowa, metro area, along with colored, crushed, and recycled concrete. It has four ready mix concrete plants (with a fifth in the works) and two recycled concrete yards supported by the expertise of its drivers and dispatchers.
“I feel like the quality of our concrete and the quality of our service is just top notch. Obviously, we expect the best out of our equipment, and our trucks, and our employees,” said Chase Soat, Field Service Mechanic, Liberty Ready Mix. “I think people see that within Liberty Ready Mix, and it's why we have a lot of repeat customers. We pride ourselves on that.”
“With the concrete industry right now, everything is getting much faster paced,” Soat said. “Everybody wants their materials quicker, and even though downtime can’t be prevented, if we can minimize it — that's the goal.”
To stay on schedule with deliveries and production, Liberty Ready Mix must keep its heavy equipment, concrete mixers, and service trucks in top shape. That requires regular preventive maintenance. As a company with many moving assets with different preventive maintenance requirements, it struggled with the best way to streamline that service and make it more mobile/flexible.
Originally, Soat looked at lube handling solutions such as a lube truck and a lube skid, along with 55-gallon drums with pumps that could be transported in the back of a truck. After further research and discussion with his dealer rep at Contractor Solutions, he found an option that he was confident would work better.
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“We wanted the largest fluid capacity that we could have on hand, on site. We decided on a Thunder Creek SLT [Service and Lube Trailer] due to the accessibility of the fluids and the reels and just how simple it is to operate,” Soat explained. “I did a lot of research and really there's no other company that does it like Thunder Creek.”
The mobile Thunder Creek Service and Lube Trailer (model SLT 690) has expedited service while bringing cost savings to Liberty Ready Mix.
“The SLT has made servicing trucks during the busy season a lot easier. We can go to them on site instead of them coming to us, and when I’m towing the trailer, I can’t even tell it's there most of the time,” Soat said. “That mobility is the most important for me. We can't afford to have downtime. If our loaders aren't running, our plants don't run. That means we don't get our concrete to our customers.”
Prior to purchasing the SLT 690, Soat was using 5-gallon pails of service fluids transported by truck to service the company’s equipment — a process that was time consuming for 500-, 1,000-, and 5,000-hour services. Adding to that is the amount of equipment requiring attention, which ranges from one or two pieces a day to as many as 10 to 15.
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With the SLT 690, Soat now has access to up to 690 gallons of various service fluids, including two 115-gallon tanks for reclaim oil.
"The reclaim system and the ease of releasing the used oil from the trailer is great. I can pull the trailer up, and I can have the oil dumped out in a minute versus toting those 5-gallon pails out of the bed of the truck and having to wash them,” he said. “It's much easier, much cleaner, and much more efficient.”
The SLT 690 has the capacity to carry up to 11 fluids total. It is fully customizable according to a company’s needs. In addition to oil reclaim, Liberty Ready Mix chose to equip its Thunder Creek trailer with hydraulic and transmission fluid, plus equipment and truck engine oil.
“Now we have bulk containers in our shop that we fill the trailer out of,” Soat said. “So, we've saved money not only in time, but also in the cost of materials. After filling the trailer up, our fluids will last about a week.”
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Adding to that cost savings is the lower price point the SLT 690 has compared to a full-sized service or lube truck, plus the speed at which Soat can conduct preventive maintenance.
“Now I can show up to a plant and I can have a loader down for 30 minutes instead of almost half a day just to do a simple engine service,” he said. “I can do it in between loads. I can do it on the crews’ lunch breaks. I can make it fit into our schedule. It’s cut our time of servicing down by an exponential amount, and with that is cost savings. My time is worth something to the company.”
Behind the ease of fluid handling and dispensing is the SLT 690’s reel and pump systems. Both take the guesswork out of filling the equipment, putting Soat in control of the quantity of fluids and the flow speed.
“The reel system is mechanical, so there’s no electronics, which is nice out in the field. I know the quarts that our machines take, so I set it, wait for it to click, and at that point, I know I’m done,” he explained. “With the pumping system, I can adjust the pressure by a dial anywhere, at any time, so I can control how fast the flow is. As much as we need, we can have it. It’s very handy.”
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Because the fluids on the SLT 690 are in separate tanks — each smaller than 119 gallons — drivers pulling the trailer do not require a HAZMAT endorsement. Often, they do not need to have a CDL either. Soat can send any driver to a job if he is not available. With current workforce constraints, this allows the company to better leverage their team.
In addition to its selected service fluids, Liberty Ready Mix opted to add a grease system to the trailer. It is another favorite feature of Soat’s, because he and the operators no longer have to tow around grease pails, guns, and tubes.
“We’ve got the 120-pound grease keg in there with a 75-foot reel, so I can get anywhere on the machines from pretty much anywhere. It's got good pressure. It's got good clamping force, so if I feel like I have a stuck greaser, it's going to get it out,” Soat said. “Obviously, bulk grease is also cheaper, so it's nice to have that as well.”
The grease system has a 1/4-inch hose on an auto-retracting reel and includes a grease gun with a swivel.
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Liberty Ready Mix, like any company with an equipment fleet, recognizes that preventive maintenance is key to keeping equipment for a long time and gaining time and cost savings. Having the Thunder Creek SLT 690 is helping make that happen, and the company is open to investing in more to accommodate potential future growth.
“It’s hard to put a price on it. Some days it's exponentially more than others, but it’s a valuable asset to have,” Soat said. “Plus, the quality is unmatched. I’ve never seen a trailer built as heavy as this. I've had zero problems with it, and we've put a lot of hours on it so far. The Thunder Creek has been the best thing ever.”
