Ryco expands truck filter range, because one size definitely doesn’t fit all

Running a modern truck fleet can be a bit like organising a family reunion. There are Japanese, Europeans, Americans and now the Chinese turning up, all with different requirements. Fortunately, Ryco has been busy expanding its commercial vehicle filter range, giving workshops one less reason to reach for the headache tablets.

Ryco R2955P fuel/water separator filter installed in a truck engine compartment.

Keeping unwanted water and contaminants out of a truck’s fuel system is serious business. Ryco’s R2955P fuel/water separator is part of its expanding commercial vehicle filtration range.

Key Points

Expanded range: Ryco now offers more than 800 commercial vehicle filtration products.
Extensive coverage: Around 98% coverage for oil and fuel filters, over 93% for air filters and almost 87% for cabin filters.
Major truck brands: Filters available for Isuzu, Hino, Fuso, Kenworth, Mack, Scania, Volvo, Mercedes-Benz and more.
Mixed fleet advantage: A broader range helps workshops simplify parts ordering and reduce servicing delays.
Australian tested: Ryco filters are engineered and tested to meet or exceed original equipment specifications.
Greater availability: An expanding Australian and New Zealand distribution network makes sourcing replacement filters easier.

There was a time when running a fleet of trucks from the same manufacturer made a certain amount of sense. The drivers knew what they were getting, the mechanics knew where everything lived, and the bloke in the spare parts department didn’t need the organisational skills of an international airport baggage handler.

These days, things are a little different.

Walk into a typical Australian transport yard and you might find an Isuzu doing the local deliveries, a Scania hauling freight interstate, a Kenworth dragging a couple of trailers across the Nullarbor and an IVECO or two quietly getting on with the job.

Throw in a Chinese truck for good measure and suddenly your workshop’s spare parts inventory starts looking like the United Nations, only with more grease and considerably less diplomatic immunity.

And that’s where Ryco reckons it can make life a little easier.

The Australian filtration specialist has been steadily expanding its commercial vehicle range, which now boasts more than 800 filtration products covering Japanese, North American and European trucks, along with some of the newer Chinese brands entering the Australian market.

According to Ryco, its range now provides approximately 98 per cent coverage for oil and fuel filters, more than 93 per cent for air filters and almost 87 per cent for cabin filters. Service kit coverage is also approaching 80 per cent.

That’s a fair few filters, particularly when you consider there’s considerably more to filtration than the humble oil filter that most people associate with a routine service.

The range includes fuel pre-filters, fuel/water separators, transmission filters, air/oil separators, power steering filters, air dryer filters and crankcase ventilation filters.

In other words, just about everything designed to stop the expensive bits of your truck from ingesting something they shouldn’t.

Isuzu, Volvo and American-style trucks in a commercial vehicle workshop undergoing servicing.

From Japanese delivery trucks to European and American heavyweights, Ryco’s expanding commercial vehicle filtration range is designed to make servicing mixed fleets a little less complicated.

Too many trucks, not enough shelf space

Nathan Grant, Ryco’s Head of Commercial Vehicles, reckons the increasingly diverse nature of Australian and New Zealand truck fleets is changing the way workshops need to operate.

“The diversity of Australian and New Zealand road transport requirements means more operators are running mixed fleets, selecting trucks from different manufacturers based on what works best for the application, rather than sticking with just one or two brands,” Nathan explains.

And he’s got a point.

There’s not much sense sending a big bonneted Kenworth to deliver a dozen cartons of frozen peas around suburban Melbourne, any more than you’d send a little Japanese delivery truck across the Nullarbor with three trailers hanging off the back.

Different jobs demand different equipment, and that means different servicing requirements.

Unfortunately, the spare parts department doesn’t always share the fleet manager’s enthusiasm for variety.

Nathan says this creates additional pressure for workshops, whether they’re operating in-house or independently.

“They either need to carry more fast-moving consumables or have reliable access to those parts when servicing time comes around,” he says.

Which is fine in theory, until a truck rolls into the workshop on Friday afternoon and somebody discovers the required filter is sitting on a shelf 600 kilometres away.

Suddenly, a routine service becomes a logistical exercise worthy of a military campaign.

Old trucks never die, they just keep hauling. Classic Australian highway haulers like these Mack and Kenworth trucks highlight the importance of continued access to quality replacement filters. Ryco's expanding commercial vehicle range aims to make maintenance easier for operators running older and newer trucks alike.

Classic Mack and Kenworth trucks parked beside an Australian highway at sunset, illustrating filtration requirements for older heavy vehicles.

From Japanese workhorses to American muscle

Ryco’s expanded range now caters for more than 20 commercial vehicle brands, including Japanese favourites Isuzu, Hino, Fuso and UD.

European manufacturers are also well represented, with DAF, IVECO, MAN, Scania, Mercedes-Benz and Volvo among the supported brands.

Then there’s the American contingent, including Kenworth, Mack, Freightliner and Western Star.

Ryco hasn’t forgotten the growing number of Chinese trucks appearing on Australian roads either, with filtration products available for Sinotruk applications.

And while the collection of badges might be enough to start an argument at a truck stop about which country builds the best truck, one thing they all have in common is a need for clean oil, fuel and air.

Ryco says its commercial vehicle filters are engineered and tested to meet, and in most cases exceed, original equipment specifications.

The company backs that claim with Australian laboratory testing and real-world evaluation, particularly for the demanding operating conditions encountered by commercial vehicles.

That’s important because an oil filter doesn’t know whether it’s fitted to a million-dollar road train or a delivery truck dropping off toilet paper to the local supermarket.

It simply has a job to do.

And when it doesn’t do that job properly, the resulting mechanical excitement can become rather expensive.

A filter is only useful if you can actually buy one

Of course, having more than 800 filters in a catalogue is wonderful, but it doesn’t help much if the one you need is unavailable when the truck is sitting on the workshop floor.

Ryco has also been expanding its distribution network, making commercial vehicle filters available through more outlets across Australia and New Zealand.

For operators running mixed fleets, Nathan believes this combination of broader product coverage and easier access is where the real benefits lie.

“With the broader Ryco filtration range and increased retail availability, there’s now a much greater likelihood of finding a Ryco filter to suit the truck without delay, whether it’s Japanese, North American or European,” Nathan says.

And that, ultimately, is what matters.

Because nobody running a transport business particularly enjoys spending money on filters. They’re hardly the sort of thing you proudly show your mates over a beer on Friday afternoon.

But keeping clean oil in an engine, clean fuel through the injection system and clean air going where it belongs is considerably cheaper than explaining to the boss why his pride and joy has become a very expensive roadside ornament.

If Ryco’s expanding range saves a workshop from spending half the morning chasing parts, that’s a win.

After all, trucks only make money when they’re working.

And the last thing anybody needs is a hundred-thousand-dollar machine parked up because of a filter that costs less than the driver’s weekly coffee bill.