Changing tires the old-fashioned way: ‘A Trucker’s Tale,’ part 3
Follow this link for the previous Part 2 in this three-part feature, excerpted from “A Trucker’s Tale,” a memoir by Maryland-based former trucker Ed Miller. It is a wonder my brothers and I didn’t...
View ArticleKenworth TruckTech+ enters production
Kenworth Trucks’ TruckTech+ real-time diagnostics system is now in production on new Kenworth Class 8 trucks spec’d with the Paccar MX-13 engine, the company says. The system enhances vehicle...
View ArticleHelp me find the love today
Today I learned that our inverter is extremely important. I also discovered that owning a truck requires approximately the same financial commitment as supporting Keith Richard’s heroin habit from...
View ArticleStaying ahead of the inspectors
Maintenance violations are by far the biggest single contributor to the Motor Carrier Management Information System database that underpins CSA, accounting for on the order of 70-plus percent of the...
View ArticleEmissions system: Newer trucks’ potential handicap
If you missed it early in the week, access part 1 of this report via this link. Percentages indicate the “emissions system” choice’s share among all reports as owners’ biggest maintenance issue from...
View ArticleShout to a shipper
The picture in some respects says it all. That’s not Holly Knoll Services independent dump owner-operator Dave Palmer’s company hat, after all. Rather, it’s from a shipper based in Columbia, S.C., he...
View ArticleRedux: The cost of emissions-system maintenance
Overdrive‘s 2015 Truck Purchase and Lease Survey, conducted a couple months back and published in part in the July issue of the magazine, showed clearly how big of a problem emissions systems have been...
View ArticleBroken thermostats and filthy lies
I had someone come up to me at the Rantoul show and say, “I love your filthy lies. They crack me up.” A normal person would probably be incensed by this, but I was tickled to hear it, mostly because I...
View ArticleElectrical system tech tip: Choosing a trailer nosebox
The Philips company produces a monthly series (five years runnings) of tech tips related to truck and trailer lighting and electrical systems. Access the full archive of “Qwik Tech Tips” via this link....
View ArticleHolding on: Independent Zach Beadle and the ’76 Peterbilt cabover he won’t...
The rig shown above loaded with round bales in some kind of setting, I’ll say, came in from Texas-based independent Zach Beadle, whom longtime readers may remember from Overdrive issues of days and...
View ArticleNo breaks for brakes: Virginia State Police lead the nation in brake...
Compared to its neighboring state to the north, Virginia might seem like an inspection slouch. Maryland, No. 1 in Overdrive’s inspection-intensity rankings of inspection volume per mile of roadway,...
View ArticleI-65 / I-465 night and weekend closures
The Indiana Department of Transportation and its highway-maintenance contractors have nightly closures planned for the I-465 / I-65 intersection on the south side of Indianapolis this week. Work on...
View ArticleTwo views from the independent road
Some kind of Kenworth, isn’t it? And a great scene, one of two that came in this morning from operators around the nation that, well, express something we no doubt don’t hear enough amid the shouting...
View ArticleELD mandate represents a ‘piece of freedom’ under threat, say readers
In the mailbag podcast above, three views of the ELD mandate show the strong opposition felt among many in Overdrive‘s audience, with more than one of the callers noting the sense of freedom that...
View ArticleWhen new is already broken
Hey guess what? We looked at a new truck. Yep, we sure did. It was brand-spanking new, super shiny, with all the geegaws and electronic things. We looked at it and both shook our heads and said, “Some...
View ArticlePOLL: Biggest issue you’ve seen lately with road conditions/maintenance?
Given falling federal infrastructure investment and lack of funding in some states for adequate highway expansion and repair, this poll looks at the issue where the rubber meets the road -- what have...
View ArticleBad roads hasten one owner-operator’s retirement — and more infrastructure...
What stretch of North American highway in your experience would warrant the nomination for the No. 1 'Worst Road' all around?
View ArticleTA/Petro launches new TA Truck Service brand, expansion of maintenance offerings
TravelCenters of America, parent company of TA and Petro truck stops, announced March 31 at the Mid-America Trucking Show in Louisville it is combining all of its mobile truck maintenance services...
View ArticleMack Leasing full-service demand on upswing
Mack Leasing System is today seeing greater demand for leasing services, having added 19 member dealer locations to its network in 2015.
View ArticleELD Mandate, with equipment headaches, presents ‘tough call’ for one...
Weighing the costs of maintenance, truck purchase and operation in the face of the ELD mandate with one owner-operator.
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