Here at Rhino we have a strong legacy with the transport industry. We’ve spent decades designing and producing mudguards that are high performing, visually stunning and safe. More recently, we’ve added a recycling focus with the launch of our recycled plastic guards range, which now means all Rhino mudguards are recyclable with aluminium and stainless easily recyclable through metal recyclers.
Financial cost of inferior products
We have always had feedback that Rhino mudguards stand the test of time. For fleet owners and drivers this leads to a lower total cost of ownership as Rhino mudguards don’t have to be replaced as regularly as other inferior mudguards. This means that trucks and trailers can do what they are designed for – be on the road rather than in the repair shop.
Paying a few dollars less for a “cheap” (inferior) mudguard can result in hundreds or thousands of dollars in costs when the mudguards need to be replaced. These costs are four-fold:
- sunk-cost from the initial outlay on the cheap guard plus installation.
- costs of repair work including replacing products and the labour.
- downtime for drivers, reducing productivity.
- lost revenue while trucks or trailers are off the road.
Testing mudguards
In 2020 we set out to test just how strong our mudguards are. We invest heavily in research, development and innovation with the support of the New Zealand government via Callaghan Innovation.
We are a member of the The Association of Rotational Moulders Australasia (ARMA). They have a standard method for testing the strength of plastic. This involves dropping a standardised metal dart from various heights on to plastic so see how much force the plastic can tolerate. We undertook this test with hundreds of samples with temperature controls to ensure reliable results.
The results?
Rhino mudguards are up to 218% stronger than Injection Moulded guards at Ambient temperatures (20 degrees).
Rhino mudguards are up to 360% stronger than Injection Moulded guards at Freezing temperatures (0 degrees).
No Rhino mudguards cracked, compared to 81% of Injection Moulded mudguards.
The photos below illustrate some examples of what happened during the testing.
Testing in the real world
We didn’t want to limit our tests to the labaratory as we know that mudguards are exposed to every situation imaginable in the real world. To undertake this test we used a forklift and lowered 1 tonne (2,200 lbs) of weight on a pallet onto a Rhino guard and a popular injection moulded guard. We did this at the same time to ensure both guards experienced the same conditions (see photo below). This would be equivalent to some common occurrences like a pallet being dropped during loading/unloading or a log coming loose from a loader.
Results
The injection moulded guards didn’t perform well – they cracked on both sides. This would mean the mudguard would be not be road-worthy and the truck or trailer would be off to the repair shop.
Rhino mudguards showed no signs of cracking at all, meaning that the truck and trailer can stay on the road.
What does this all mean?
You can save a few dollars buying cheaper and inferior mudguards but this will cost you hundreds or thousands of dollars in the future. Not all mudguards are created equal – experience the Rhino difference!