August 28, 2015
First Annual CRA Golf Tournament, Corona, CA, More...


See CRA's Calendar page for more information on our upcoming events.

 

Billy Goat Industries introduces the new Hydro-Drive, Hydro-Tine 30" Reciprocating Aerater (AE1300H). With a combined 30" wide aeration and speed up to 4.3 mph, the AE1300H completes quarter acre aerations in as little as 15 minutes - that's 59% faster than 26" drum units. And with its VAD™, the unit creates two to 10 times more holes that drum models in a single pass, offering the ability to do patch repair and seed bed prep in just one pass.
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When it comes to machine management, you need assurance you’re leveraging every possible opportunity to increase jobsite efficiency and security for your equipment assets. After all, poor machine or attachment productivity directly impacts your bottom line and – depending on your reserves – theft has the potential to shut down your business completely. Taking advantage of innovative skid-steer and compact loader control technologies can give you the ability to monitor accurate data on security and performance rates, and manage several other important operational metrics. "On today’s jobsites, owners and fleet managers want to understand their costs to make better business decisions. Loader technologies can help identify opportunities to improve machine and operator efficiencies and protect their investments," says Bobcat Marketing Manager Chris Knipfer.
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Chicago Pneumatic has launched its largest ever range of portable generators, designed to provide a safe and stable power supply for every type of worksite. The CPPG range comes in two distinct parts, including four product groups. The new Pro Line is more extensive and includes Professional, Advanced and Advanced+ models offering powerful performance for all-day, intensive heavy-duty applications and provides different levels of functionality, depending on the needs of the user. The Standard Line contains a simple, straightforward petrol generator designed for occasional, semi-professional use.
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Doosan Portable Power, beginning with the P185 T4F air compressor, will begin integrating Doosan engines into its product lineup, enhancing machine performance, productivity and lifespan. Development of the Doosan engine-equipped machines is a collaboration between Doosan Portable Power and parent company Doosan, which has 50 years of engine-building experience, developing engines across several industries for construction and industrial equipment, power plants, ships and automobiles. "Doosan Portable Power is the only air compressor manufacturer to include a proprietary engine in its machine design," said Josh Goodman, assistant product marketing manager, Doosan Portable Power. "This allows us to control the overall quality and the design of our products, passing those advantages on to our customers."
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Kubota Tractor Corporation made a highly-anticipated product announcement at the World of Concrete tradeshow in Las Vegas today, unveiling its new SSV-Series skid steer loaders, with two models to meet the needs of customers in the construction, rental and agriculture segments. The SSV-Series includes the 64 gross horsepower SSV65 and the 74 gross horsepower SSV75, both available at Kubota dealerships starting this June. With this introduction, Kubota now offers a full line of compact construction equipment for its dealers and customers.
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Multiquip is pleased to announce the MQ RAMMAX 1575 Articulated Trench Roller is now available with removable drum extensions. "Our customers have told us the MQ Rammax RX1575 offers superior performance and productivity," said Torsten Erbel, the vice president for product management, engineering and support, for Multiquip. "We improved the roller by adding an option for drum extensions in addition to our standard 24" and 33" drum options." The remote controlled RX1575 delivers the compaction performance that contractors expect from MQ Rammax products. The roller has two vibration settings; high, producing 16,860 pounds of centrifugal force, and low, producing 8,430 pounds. This enables the operator to adapt performance to suit the job’s soil and lift conditions.
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Point-of-Rental® Systems, Inc. is pleased to announce that it was recently selected as the Gold Winner in the Rental Equipment Register’s (RER) 2014 Innovative Product Awards. This highly competitive award recognizes excellence in new product development within the rental industry. Competing against products in all categories, Point-of-Rental’s designation as the most innovative product of 2014 is a highly distinguished honor. The overall gold-winning product is the new and innovative Point-of-Rental CLOUD software, which provides reliable inventory and rental management accessible through the Internet. Available by a monthly subscription, CLOUD has a flexible design that runs smoothly with any-sized business and communicates between multiple locations.
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Wacker Neuson SE and the Wirtgen Group have entered a strategic alliance for soil and asphalt compaction rollers. In February 2015, Wacker Neuson began to source rollers from the Hamm factory in Tirschenreuth, Germany, and distribute them via its own sales network. Hamm AG is a member of the Wirtgen Group and has been producing rollers for over 100 hundred years. The factory in Tirschenreuth will be producing models to the technical and design specifications of Wacker Neuson. "This long-term collaboration brings together two strong players in the compaction sector that complement each other perfectly," explains Cem Peksaglam, CEO of Wacker Neuson SE. "It will enable us to close gaps in the Wacker Neuson product portfolio and round off our offering in the soil and asphalt compaction segment with tandem rollers weighing from 1.8 to 4.5 tons, plus compactors weighing up to 7 tons."
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Skyjack is supplying around 200 aerial work platforms to complete the new Minnesota Vikings stadium in Minneapolis. "Construction on the stadium is just starting so we do not have all units on site yet, but we anticipate having well over 200 by fall 2015," said Don Beaupre, owner of Beaupre Aerial, the rental company working with subcontractors on the new Viking Stadium project. Subcontractors Harris Mechanical, Parsons Electric and Gephart Electric are using more than a dozen Skyjack vertical mast lifts, 38 DC electric scissor lifts and two rough terrain scissor lifts to help install the plumbing, HVAC and electric components at the new stadium. "Our customers expect to rent Skyjacks because Skyjack equipment has made up the majority of our fleet since we started Beaupre Aerials. They, like us, appreciate the straight forward design and reliability of the equipment," Beaupre said.
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The California Chamber of Commerce and a large coalition of businesses and trade associations are urging the state Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment (OEHHA) to "vigorously defend itself" against a recently filed lawsuit that bypassed agency protocol and went straight to the courts. The lawsuit filed against OEHHA by Mateel Environmental Justice Foundation asks the court to order OEHHA to rescind the current safe harbor level for lead. Under Proposition 65, a business need not provide a warning if exposure to lead occurs at or below the safe harbor level. Mateel argues that the warning threshold for lead should be declared illegal and inoperative despite having been published as a final rule by the agency nearly 25 years ago. The CalChamber and coalition warn in a February 4 letter that the economic and legal impact of declaring the current lead safe harbor illegal and inoperative cannot be understated and may have broader long-term repercussions that could go far beyond the lead safe harbor issue.
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The latest winter survey finding a "scant snowpack" and subsequent prediction that California’s drought will continue for the fourth consecutive year underline the state’s need for water storage and conveyance facilities. Storage allows California to capture water in wet years to convey it where needed during dry times. In addition, storage enables the state to control water flow and temperature to maintain adequate fresh water in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta for farmlands and the benefit of fish species. A dry January, normally the wettest month, plus warmer-than-average temperatures resulted in a snowpack of just 25% of the historic average for this time of year on January 29, according to the state Department of Water Resources (DWR). Near Echo Summit, about 90 miles east of Sacramento, the snow water equivalent was just 2.3 inches—12% of the long-term average at that location.
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In the February Short-Term Energy Outlook (STEO), the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) forecasts motor gasoline consumption in 2015 to increase by 80,000 barrels/day (bbl/d), or 0.9%. Forecast growth in highway travel, which is attributable to increases in population, employment, and disposable income, and retail gasoline prices substantially below those in 2014, more than offset improvements in the fuel economy of the vehicle fleet. All other things equal, lower gasoline prices increase gasoline demand. Although the impact of gasoline price changes on demand grows over time as fuel prices affect consumers' vehicle purchase decisions and where they choose to live, which affects commuting distances, the short-term impact of prices on gasoline demand is quite modest. EIA's STEO uses a short-term price elasticity of -0.033—for every 10% decrease in the price of gasoline there is a corresponding short-term 0.33% increase in gasoline consumption. With average gasoline prices forecast to be 31% lower in 2015 than in 2014, this elasticity suggests that lower prices alone will increase short-term gasoline demand by about 1%.
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A recent article on foxandhoundsdaily by Catherine Reheis-Boyd, president of the Western States Petroleum Association, stated that the association is strongly opposed to legislative or regulatory mandates designed to force a 50 percent reduction in gasoline and diesel use in California by 2030. She stated, "Mandates to force reductions in gasoline use are not climate change policies. They are attacks on an important industry in California designed to create conflict and controversy." The position of the association is that a mandate to reduce petroleum consumption by 50 percent is an impossibly unrealistic goal.
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Q: I heard that there is a new extension available that delays compliance until 2018, is this true?
A: No. However, the Board approved an option that, in specific situations, could delay compliance for up to three trucks until January 1, 2017 for owners that can demonstrate they are financially unable to comply. This option is called the Economic Hardship Extension. The Economic Hardship Extension is a last resort for fleets that were out of compliance for 2014 and have exhausted all of their compliance options. Fleet owners will need to prove they are financially unable to comply with rule requirements.
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The regulation requires diesel trucks and buses that operate in California to be upgraded to reduce emissions. Lighter and older, heavier trucks must be replaced starting January 1, 2015. By January 1, 2023, nearly all trucks and buses will need to have 2010 model year engines or equivalent. The regulation applies to nearly all privately and federally owned diesel-fueled trucks and buses and to privately and publicly owned school buses with a gross vehicle weight rating (GVWR) greater than 14,000 pounds.

What's New: The Truck and Bus Reporting System Updated for 2015 Compliance Options (December 18, 2014): The Truck and Bus regulation reporting system and the Online Reporting Guide have been updated to include 2015 compliance requirements and options.
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The small off-road engine (SORE) category consists of off-road, spark-ignition engines below 25 horsepower, including small utility equipment, lawn mowers and weed trimmers. This category does not include compression-ignition engines, watercraft or recreational vehicles. The following includes general information regarding small off-road engines and ARB's SORE program: Small Off-Road Engines Fact Sheet and Certification Guidelines – online access to relevant certification documents for manufacturers.
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The Truck and Bus Regulation will reduce diesel-exhaust emissions from privately owned and federal government diesel trucks and buses. Privately and publicly owned school buses have different requirements and do not need to be reported. This CARB site has the Truck Regulations Upload and Compliance Reporting System (TRUCRS).

The reporting period for 2015 compliance closed January 31, 2015. Vehicle owners that already reported will need to update their vehicle and owner information as it changes. If you bought or sold vehicles from your fleet, installed filters or upgraded engines on any of your vehicles you must report that information within 30 days of the change. If you reported for a mileage-based extensions such as the low-mileage construction truck extension, the agricultural vehicle extension or the low-use exemption, you must report your vehicle's January 1 odometer reading by January 31 each year. Also, if you sell a vehicle that was using the extension, then you must report the ending odometer reading.
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Owners or operators of portable engines and certain other types of equipment can register their units under the Air Resources Board's (ARB) Statewide Portable Equipment Registration Program (PERP) in order to operate their equipment throughout California without having to obtain individual permits from local air districts.

Portable Diesel Engine Airborne Toxic Control Measure
On January 1, 2013, the Portable Engine Airborne Toxic Control Measure (ATCM) fleet emission standards went into effect. The ATCM required owners of portable engines to submit a Fleet Compliance Report to the Air Resources Board by March 1, 2013. The next Fleet Compliance Report will be due March 1, 2017.

CRITICAL ENGINE REGISTRATION REQUIREMENTS
June 30, 2015: This will be the last day ARB will accept initial registration applications for Interim Tier 4 engines rated 75 bhp and above.

Effective July 1, 2015: For initial registration into PERP, all diesel engines must meet the Final Tier 4 certification tier level or be a Flex engine certified under the flexibility provisions of Federal 40 CFR 1039.625, or CFR 89.102, or California Code of Regulations section 2423 (d). The PERP eligibility requirements take effect six months after the federal and CARB non-road engine emission standards for engine manufacturers change.
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On July 26, 2007, the Air Resources Board (ARB) adopted a regulation to reduce diesel particulate matter (PM) and oxides of nitrogen (NOx) emissions from in-use (existing), off-road, heavy-duty diesel vehicles in California.

Posted December 8, 2014: Fleet Average Calculator for Small Fleets has been made available for public use. The Small Fleet Average Calculator is for small-sized off-road fleets (2,500 or less total horsepower), and covers all compliance years. The calculator is available here. Fleet owners utilizing the calculator are advised to first read the User Guide in order to familiarize themselves with the calculator.
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In December 2011 major amendments to the Off-Road Diesel Vehicle Regulation, which include delaying the first compliance date to no earlier than January 1, 2014, became effective. The changes to the regulation are reflected in the fact sheets, advisories and answers to frequently asked questions available on the Knowledge Center for the Off-Road Diesel Vehicle Regulation Web page.
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The ARB's Heavy-Duty Vehicle Inspection Program and Periodic Smoke Inspection Program were adopted into law in 1988 to control excessive smoke emissions and tampering from heavy-duty diesel trucks and buses. The regulations Title 13 CCR, sections 2180-2189 for HDVIP and Title 13 CCR, sections 2190-2194 for PSIP, which govern these programs, were last amended in 2013.

The HDVIP program requires heavy-duty trucks and buses to be inspected for excessive smoke and tampering and for engine certification label compliance. Any heavy-duty vehicle traveling in California, including vehicles registered in other states and foreign countries, may be tested. Tests are performed by ARB inspection teams at border crossings, CHP weigh stations, fleet facilities and randomly selected roadside locations. Owners of trucks and buses found in violation are subject to minimum penalties starting at $300 per violation.
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This area of the Off-Road Mobile Sources website pertains to off-road, large spark-ignition (LSI) equipment greater than 25 horsepower, including farm, construction and industrial equipment, powered by gasoline and liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) and other alternate fuels. Typical applications that use LSI engines include forklifts, specialty vehicles, airport service vehicles, large turf-care equipment, portable generators and a wide array of other agricultural, construction and general industrial equipment. The U.S. EPA has sole authority to control new farm and construction equipment under 175 horsepower.
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