The new year has begun and what a vital year it’s going to be. Transport authority figures from truck manufacturers to fleet owners, acknowledge that everyone has been running without a breather since Covid, so 2026 will be a year of reshaping, with better use of technology.
There may be more time to focus on emissions reduction and improved driver welfare, and proactive maintenance rather than reactive repairs to reduce downtime and tighten cost control. Infrastructure investment is exciting. Queensland’s pipeline investment is reaching a record $127 billion, along with 2032 Olympic preparations and Western Australia rolling out a $38 billion program, and substantial investment in health and regional development throughout the country.
At Atlas Balance Company, we are well placed to serve the industry, with leading edge balance technology working for our customers for nearly 10 years. We know the savings in tyres and diesel contribute to a smaller carbon footprint, and reducing the fatigue and wellness for drivers operating balanced vehicles is well documented.
Savings on ‘BLACK’ products, make for GREEN credentials
It’s not rocket science to understand that with all wheels balanced together and running in harmony, no matter how rough or smooth the highway, road or paddock; there is less friction in the driveline components, less wear and tear on the chassis, not to mention the driver sitting up front controlling the action.
Less tyre wear, less component wear, less diesel needed to pull the rig, means less rubber wasted on the road, and less black smoke trailing behind, and a proven greener result.
Large Fleets like SRV Road Freight have been able to apply for more contracts based on their greener credentials. SRV has now fitted out hundreds of Atlas Balance rings over the years, and are now fitting out drives and trailer axles.
CEO Errol Cosgrove reported tyres that had been averaging a life of 120,000km, are now achieving 250,000km on the steers, running Bridgestone steer tyres. That’s an easy 50 per cent saving on tyres. One of their K200s actually reached 500,000km on one set of drive tyres!
Most Australian roads are unsealed
Australia’s vast road network has more country and local roads than major highways, over 800,000km in total, including hundreds of thousands of kilometres of unsealed dirt/gravel roads compared to the smaller, sealed national highways and arterial routes such as the world’s longest national highway, Highway 1, at around 14,500km.
Even running on good highways, tyres and fuel are the industry’s biggest cost centres. Smart operators like Marty Murphy have made significant cost savings, even though like most Australian drivers, he drives very rough roads. In his case, the beaten tracks of Central Queensland. He drives the Bowen basin; from Dingo to Nebo via the Fitzroy Developmental Road, usually referred to as the “Beef Road”.
It is a critical inland freight route in Central Queensland, roughly spanning 250km. Due to its importance to the mining and cattle industries, it is generally open, but conditions can change rapidly due to weather. Marty’s operators drive rigs one way full, and the other way empty – but they still get 400,000km on his tipper tyres – not surprisingly every single axle is fitted with Atlas Balance Rings!
Same driver benefits, versus hot seat operators
Fleet operators notice significant savings on tyres and maintenance when they have the same driver and not a hot seat driver. There’s more pride, the rig is cleaner, inside and out – the repairs are smaller, mostly oil and filter changes only. We find unbalanced tyres are worn or scuffed on the same side every time. However, just one balancing exercise is required, and with Atlas Balance Rings fitted, the careful driver, plus the fully balanced rig win the savings every time.
Our customers tell the story best
Nothing makes us happier than an unsolicited five star review. Muhammad Hamza Amir said, “I placed my order on Sunday, and the balance rings were delivered by Tuesday. They were installed immediately on the steer axles of my Mack tipper, and the results have been phenomenal. From the first drive, the steering felt noticeably smoother than before, with all steering wheel vibrations completely eliminated. At highway speed (100 km/h), I briefly released the steering wheel to assess the effectiveness of the rings, and the truck tracked perfectly straight with no vibration whatsoever. The improvement in ride quality is significant – the truck now drives so smoothly that I can place a coffee in the cup holder without it spilling. Based on my experience, I highly recommend Atlas Balance Rings to every owner-operator and mud carter looking to improve ride comfort, steering stability, and overall driving performance.”
To learn more, please visit atlasbalance.com.au or call 1300 228 527.
Those balance rings sound like a good idea but the very bad cracked and broken M1 from morriset to gosford would test any produce we have had drivers off for months recovering from back injury so until the M1 is repaired we just use old prime movers down the M1