Fleet Maintenance Tools & Shop Equipment Supplement - 4

WELCOME

TOOLS & SHOP EQUIPMENT

The latest in vehicle service
Tools, equipment, and
tool storage to streamline
shop operations.

By David Brierley, editor, Fleet Maintenance

ools and equipment are the lifeblood of any shop; without them,
not much work would get done.
But selecting what products are
right for your operation can be a
challenge. Pneumatic or cordless,
scan tool or code reader, budgetpriced or high-end ... the options
are seemingly endless.
The following pages are designed
to keep you up-to-date by providing a selection of the latest products from a range of top brands.
Sometimes, however, product
descriptions alone aren't enough to
get a feel for how the tool will actually perform, so
we also include
product reviews.
We've gathered
6 Diagnostic Tools
feedback from
18 Power Tools
independent
22 Specialty & Hand Tools
technicians who
use these tools in
26 Shop Equipment
the bay and put it
30 Tool Storage
into an easy-to-digest format, bringing you the most
important details to help decide if
each tool is right for your shop.
We also welcome you to find
more information on the products and full length tool reviews
by entering the URL below each
item in your internet browser.

Co n t e n t s

Diagnostic tools
From code readers to bidirectional
scan tools, the advanced technol-

4 Tools & Shop Equipment | April 2020

ogies on today's vehicles require
equally sophisticated tools to
troubleshoot and find the cause
of a problem.
While emissions issues have been
a major reason to use a scan tool for
the past decade, OEMs are quickly
adding advanced driver assistance
systems (ADAS), such as adaptive
cruise control and lane departure
warning, to their vehicles.
Diagnosing these systems may
require more advanced scan tools,
so it's important to make sure
your shop has the tools it needs to
service the vehicles in your fleet.

take hours with standard hand
tools or minutes with a U-joint
puller. It can be helpful to determine what tasks are slowing down
vehicle service in your shop and
consider whether a specialty tool
could speed up the process.

Power tools

Tool storage

Pneumatic tools have long been
a staple of shops everywhere, but
with new battery technologies
developed in the last few years,
cordless power tools are starting
to share some of the spotlight.
There may not be a one-size-fitsall solution for each shop, however.
Cordless tools might make more
sense for smaller jobs, for example,
while pneumatic tools may offer
lighter and less bulky solutions
for heavy duty impacting.

Tools and equipment are a sizable
investment for technicians and for
fleets, so it's important to take care
of them and keep them in good
working order. It is equally important to keep them safe and well organized so they can be found when
needed without having to search.
This is where tool storage solutions come into play. From wrench
organizers and screwdriver holders
to tool boxes and carts, keeping
tools within easy reach is crucial
when it comes to shop efficiency.

Specialty and hand tools
The forebearer of power tools, hand
tools have been used since the first
humans smashed something with
a rock, and they are just as crucial
today as they were centuries ago.
Over time, hand tools have been
updated for ergonomics and efficiency - a wrench isn't always just
a wrench.
Specialty tools help technicians
perform specific, time consuming
tasks more quickly. Disassembling
a seized U-joint, for instance, could

Shop equipment
Lifts, air hoses, battery chargers,
parts washers, alignment systems
- these are all pieces of shop
equipment critical to most fleet
operations. Consider if updated
equipment could make your shop
more productive.

Conclusion
Vehicle uptime is directly related
to the efficiency of the technicians
providing service, and the tools and
equipment available can help or
hinder that efficiency. These products are constantly being reevaluated, redesigned, and improved, and
vehicle technologies are constantly
advancing. Therefore, it is imperative to remain informed of the latest
tools available in order to maximize
your fleet's uptime.

Cover photo courtesy Duncan Polytech

Fleet Maintenance Tools & Shop Equipment Supplement

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Fleet Maintenance Tools & Shop Equipment Supplement