Smallest fault-code scanner in the world? Diesel Laptops founder honored in Howes Hall of Fame

“Owner-operators want tools, small fleets want tools, to be able to do these things. And it’s not that they’re necessarily trying to save money, usually, but they want to save time.” –Tyler Robertson, founder of Diesel Laptops, on the success of his business providing software/hardware to truckers for self-help in the diagnosis-and-repair process
Irmo, South Carolina-headquartered Tyler Robertson, head of the Diesel Laptops diagnostic hardware and software provider has striven for an all-makes focus since its early days, in use by untold numbers of owners as well as maintenance pros around the nation since he founded the company in 2015.
In this week's podcast, walk through Robertson’s history and just what Diesel Laptops offers to truckers and shops to analyze fault codes, providing a diagnostic assist, even getting you to potential parts you might need to fix the problem. As Robertson suggests in the quote off the top -- tools to help service shops help you, as it were, with timely repairs.
Robertson and Diesel Laptops make what might be the smallest fault-code scanner in the world, pairing via Bluetooth to a smartphone app that fills out information around diagnostic clues when the dash lights up. That Diesel Laptops "Diesel Decoder" has been around for a couple of years, but recent updates allow for new functionality Roberston details in this episode, including the ability to force regens if needed, likewise to one-tap from a fault code all the way to a part number.
At the Mid-America Trucking Show last month, Diesel Laptops was lauded as the latest inductees in the Howes Hall of Fame, where the Howes Products company pays tribute to individuals and organizations truly making a difference in the trucking and farming businesses it serves, the wider industries , too.
Even before official founding, Robertson was on something of a mission to democratize truck and equipment diagnosis and repair. It started as a side hustle the engineer built himself, selling tools online and elsewhere. As so many boostrapped companies’ stories do, Robertson's starts in the trunk of his car. "I used to go to truck stops and sling tools out of the back of my car," he said. "You've got to go where the customers are."
Hear much more about Howes' reasons for honoring Diesel Laptops, and more of Robertson's story, in the episode.
More about Diesel Laptops and past Howes Hall of Fame inductees: https://www.overdriveonline.com/15820626
The Howes Hall of Fame official site, where you can browse the virtual gallery of past honorees and suggest a future member yourself: https://howesproducts.com/hof
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