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RDK Truck Sales blog workspace with laptop showing garbage truck listings and commercial trucks blurred behind

RDK Truck Sales · The Blog

Straight Talk on Trucks, From the People Who Sell Them

Meet the Author

Every Post Written by Richard Kemner, Founder of RDK Truck Sales

Richard Kemner started RDK Truck Sales in Tampa back in 1997 with a simple idea: sell good trucks to good people, and stand behind every one.

Nearly three decades later he's still in the day-to-day — spec'ing chassis, talking with manufacturers and fleet operators across Florida, and paying close attention to how trucks actually hold up on real refuse and roll-off routes. This is where he shares that perspective: plain-language takes on emissions rules, pricing, residual value, and fleet planning, written to help you make the call that's right for your operation — not to push whatever a press release says you should want. No hype, no jargon, just the kind of straight talk you'd get standing in the yard on Adamo Drive.

RDK Truck Sales technician inspecting a roll-off truck outside the Tampa dealership during spring hydraulic system maintenance, with melting snow and spring flowers marking the seasonal transition.
Maintenance & Service Tips,  Spring Maintenance,  Garbage Trucks
Richard Kemner

Spring hydraulic system maintenance checklist for refuse trucks — fluid, hoses, cylinders & filters. 40+ years of expertise from RDK Truck Sales.

Worn, neglected roll-off truck outside the RDK Truck Sales bay, illustrating common roll-off truck maintenance mistakes
Maintenance & Service Tips
Richard Kemner

Avoid the 5 costly roll-off truck maintenance mistakes that wreck hydraulics, cables, and PTOs. Get RDK's 40+ years of fleet maintenance tips.

cartoon illustration of a row of white RDK Truck Sales refuse trucks covered in snow and icicles, parked in the dealership yard during a snowstorm with red RDK Truck Sales signage glowing in the background
Maintenance & Service Tips,  Garbage Trucks
Richard Kemner

DEF freezes at 12°F and hydraulic fluid thickens fast. See how extreme cold hits refuse trucks and get a pre-trip checklist to avoid breakdowns.

cartoon illustration of an RDK Truck Sales technician standing at the open hood of a white refuse truck, inspecting a realistic diesel engine with a red tablet in hand, inside the RDK Truck Sales service Bay in Tampa, Florida
Maintenance & Service Tips,  Emissions & Regulations,  Garbage Trucks
Richard Kemner

One misfuelling mistake can destroy a $15,000 system. See the DEF filling, storage, and DPF maintenance procedures that protect from costly repairs.