Best In Class: 2014 Classy Truck Of The Year

A big tank, chrome galore and a cab fit for a king is the winning combination for our 2014 Classy Truck of the Year.
Best In Class: 2014 Classy Truck Of The Year
Sloppy winter weather doesn’t stop Bryce Harding from keeping his Harding Septic & Portables rigs looking good at all times. The Wisconsin pumper is proud of his spotless fleet, including this 2013 International WorkStar, built out by Imperial Industries and named our 2014 Classy Truck of the Year. Bryce and wife Heidi are shown with their children, Brody, 4, and Brecklyn, 2, with the winning truck parked near Porterfield, Wis.

Lee Bruso would be proud of his great-grandson Bryce Harding if he could see Harding’s chromed-out International septic service truck on the cover of this month’s Pumper magazine.

It was Bruso who let Harding tinker with his construction equipment as a young boy. It was also Bruso who lit an entrepreneurial fire in Harding, which led the young man to start his own pumping business at 18 and now – at 31 – keep almost a dozen work trucks on the road in Wisconsin.

“He had an excavating business, and since I was 5 years old he would let me tear apart his equipment, and he taught me to weld when I was very young. I could do no wrong in his eyes,’’ Harding recalls. And before Bruso died at 91, he told the teenaged Harding that failing to expand his two-man business was his only regret. It was a life lesson Harding never forgot.

“That stuck in my head,’’ says Harding, owner of Harding Septic & Portables, Porterfield, Wis. “So I always look at any opportunity and think it over. I don’t ever just say ‘no.’ I’m not afraid to jump in and try things. We’ve never had anything that’s failed yet.’’

GOING FOR THE GOLD

Harding rolled the dice with his latest septic service truck, ordering the 2013 International WorkStar 7400 rig with a big aluminum tank, lots of chrome and a top-grade interior full of comfort features and helpful electronics. He works the truck hard in an unforgiving northern climate and is meticulous with his maintenance and detailing.

One payoff is the many customers who are wowed when they see him pull up to their homes to pump a tank. Another payoff is seeing his rig win the 2014 Classy Truck of the Year Award in Pumper.

Competition for the Classy Truck prize was fierce. So many photos of great rigs passed my desk for 2014, and every one that was published in the monthly feature was a worthy candidate for top prize in our annual contest that has been running since 2006.

Several contenders for this month’s cover shot combined large-capacity tanks, slick color combinations and memorable graphics. Classic good looks, loads of chrome and great working components put Harding’s truck (first appearing in the August 2014 issue) over the top among judges at COLE Publishing and with many readers who voted in the Classy Truck online contest last December.

BIG AND BRAWNY

The red and white rig was built out by Imperial Industries with a 5,000-gallon aluminum tank and NVE Challenger 500 cfm vacuum pump. It’s powered by a 475 hp MaxxForce engine combined with an Eaton Fuller 8LL 8-speed transmission. Features include a Garnet SeeLevel gauge, a single rear sight glass, dual topside and rear manways, dual toolboxes, aluminum wheels and a chrome package including visor, horns, grab bars and mirrors. The cab is set up with the premium Eagle package, including wood-grain accents, leather seats, wrap-around dash, CD, Bluetooth, and power locks and windows. It also has a Garmin GPS and air-ride seat. The graphics were provided by D & L Signs.

The truck is currently Harding’s daily driver, used mainly for residential septic and some municipal sludge hauling. The big tank helps him make more money on every load and comes in especially helpful for the municipal sludge accounts. The Eagle package makes it a comfortable rolling office for those long days on the road. The chrome accents add the bling that makes customers sit up and take notice.

“I get tons of compliments from customers on how nice it looks. They appreciate it when it’s sitting in their front yards,’’ Harding says. “It’s the way the world is going these days. Everything has got to be perfect. They call the guy with the shiny truck.’’

This is a phenomenon Harding has noticed coming on in service businesses. He says to 80 percent of his customers, appearance is paramount. They equate clean, well-cared-for equipment with contractors who know what they’re doing. For that reason, Harding is converting his fleet of 11 septic portable sanitation vacuum trucks, dump trucks and service vans to match the red and chrome color scheme. Along with new paint, Harding is working toward an equipment replacement program that will keep all of his work trucks maintained under a manufacturer’s warranty.

UPGRADE PLAN

The moves are designed to promote a quality image for his business, but also to keep his technicians in the cab and running down the road rather than stalled at the repair shop.

“In the next five years I want everything to be up to date and under warranty. I’m trying to get out of wrenching on them in my shop,’’ he says. “I used to wrench all night long. But it means a lot to me to be in the house with my family at a reasonable hour.’’

Harding once considered hiring a full-time mechanic for his shop, a newer 50- by 80-foot garage where the crew still performs routine maintenance including oil changes, rotating tires and maintaining vacuum pumps. But he decided it would be wiser to hire out major mechanical work. If trucks are under warranty, they go to the 24-hour manufacturer shops. If not, he works with competent local mechanics.

“If I’m going to pay [a full-time mechanic] that kind of money, I’d rather have them in a septic truck making money,’’ he says. “I realized I can’t afford to do it myself anymore. Even ordering a part sometimes takes 20 minutes, and I often don’t have 20 minutes.’’

KEEPIN’ IT CLEAN

Winter maintenance is a constant with the International and the rest of the fleet. For the newest truck, Harding’s crew polishes all the chrome bits each winter, pulling the wheels off and hitting them with a buffing wheel. He replaces the chrome wheel caps every year because they tend to tarnish. Daily washing is common when running in salty slush.

“If it’s sloppy they get washed right away. I don’t want them looking so dirty that you can’t see the name on the side,’’ he says. Trucks are pressure washed and then waxed, and then put up for the night in the heated shop.

The trucks are spec’ed for winter as well, employing stainless steel heated collars. Tires carry an aggressive tread and it’s not unusual to chain up to reach tough spots in the ice and snow.

ON WITH THE SHOW

Many of Harding’s ideas for new equipment are born at the Water & Wastewater Equipment, Treatment & Transport (WWETT) Show, which he’s attended for the past 10 years. He meets with vendors like his favored truckbuilder, Imperial, and looks over all of the latest designs for trucks and pumping accessories. He also gleans a lot of small-business advice from more experienced pumpers he meets at the show.

“The [WWETT] Show gives me a huge boost of energy. When I get back home, I want to buy everything I’ve seen at the show and grow 10 times the size I was before. After the show, I’m excited to go out and give ‘er for the year,” he says. “I wouldn’t miss the [WWETT] Show for anything. It’s a blast.’’

It’ll be even more special this year, as Harding basks in the afterglow of winning the Classy Truck contest and gets to see his truck on the cover of the Pumper issue circulating the show floor. If you’re lucky enough to meet Harding during WWETT, extend your congratulations and talk trucks with him. He has a lot of good things to say.

SEE YOU AT THE WWETT SHOW

I’m looking forward to meeting with many of you during the WWETT Show Feb. 23-26 in Indianapolis. On Education Day, Feb. 23, and during exhibit days, the WWETT Show provides my best opportunity to talk to pumpers about the industry issues that interest them most.

It’s also my best chance to seek out pumpers for our contractor profile stories in the magazine. Whether your family’s been running a pumping business for 50 years or you’ve just bought your first vacuum truck, I look forward to learning about your business and considering you for one of our future feature stories. To reach me at the WWETT Show, call my mobile phone number, 920/328-8692, send me an email at editor@pumper.com, or ask anyone wearing a COLE Publishing shirt to track me down. See you in Indy.



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