Jim Park was a CDL driver and owner-operator from 1978 until 1998, when he began his second career as a trucking journalist. During that career transition, he hosted an overnight radio show on a Hamilton, Ontario radio station and later went on to anchor the trucking news in SiriusXM's Road Dog Trucking channel. Jim is a regular contributor to Today's Trucking and Trucknews.com, and produces Focus On and On the Spot test drive videos.
New to You: Minimize challenges with used trucks
The days of walking around a truck and kicking the tires to see if it's a worthy investment are over. Much of what could cause problems with a used truck is no longer visible to the naked eye. Frankly, if a vehicle has obvious -problems, it's probably wise to avoid it. In the hunt for a reliable machine today, a used truck buyer's best asset is research skills.
IN PRINT — Tools that Work: Productive options for the shop
Most shop supervisors or maintenance managers have at least one secret -weapon in their tool crib. It could be a proven time or labor saver, or maybe a tool designed for lifting heavy stuff like tires and wheels. Tools that aid in -precision work, such as installing wheel bearings, can prove their worth many times over by reducing irregular tire wear and minimizing the possibility of a wheel-off.
IN PRINT — Work Horses: Advances for severe service
Drivers of severe-service vocational trucks will likely look back on 2016 as a year that made their jobs much easier. It wasn't a banner year for growth in many industry segments, but truck makers still managed to produce some attention-grabbing upgrades to existing product lines. This year saw the introduction of a new -lightweight 11-liter engine for the -vocational side that offers a very nice power-to-weight ratio with ratings ideal for the market. And we even got a couple of brand new models to cheer about: the MBT 40 off-road severe-service chassis from Western Star and Navistar's HX line.
Continental Tire breaks ground for Mississippi plant
Output from the Clinton, Mississippi plant will eventually supplement existing truck tire production from Continental's Mt. Vernon, Illinois facility, which is now at capacity of 3.2 million tires per year. Construction will formally begin in 2018, with the first tires coming off the line in late 2019.
Wheels for Your Wagon: The choices in trailer axles
It's probably good that buyers are not usually directly involved in spec'ing trailer axles and suspensions. They make recommendations and requests, sure, but the heavy lifting usually goes on between the trailer manufacturer and supplier of axles and suspensions. Calculating ride height, ensuring frame clearance for all the bits that attach to the axle, and in some cases working out steering geometry is not for the technically challenged.
Athens Antique Truck Show Photo Gallery
ATHENS, ON -- The Upper Canada Chapter of the Antique Truck Club of America shifted the location of this year's show from upstate New York to the hamlet of Athens, Ontario. Athens is about 40 miles north of the Canada/U.S. border at Prescott, Ontario, and it's home to the Tackaberry Collection, one of North America's largest private collections of antique and vintage trucks. Collection owner and vintage truck aficionado, Charlie Tackaberry hosted the show at the Athens Fairgrounds.
Athens show offers a glimpse into the past
ATHENS, ON -- The Upper Canada Chapter of the Antique Truck Club of America shifted the location of this year's show from upstate New York to the hamlet of Athens, Ontario. Athens is about 40 miles north of the Canada/U.S. border at Prescott, Ontario, and it's home to the Tackaberry Collection, one of North America's largest private collections of antique and vintage trucks. Collection owner and vintage truck aficionado, Charlie Tackaberry hosted the show at the Athens Fairgrounds.
IN PRINT — ELDs Part 3: Inside the Black Boxes
If you're prone to anxiety when facing a wide variety of choice, such as when you're buying a pair of shoes or a candy bar, consider asking someone else in the fleet to spec' an Electronic Logging Device (ELD). There are more than 25 suppliers in the space now; by this time next year that number is expected to swell fourfold.
IN PRINT: Tick, Tock. Are you ready for ELDs?
TORONTO, ON -- The problem with implementing Electronic Logging Devices (ELDs) is confronting the sins of your past. Electronic logs don't allow the flexibility of paper logs. That may mean some routes will have to be changed; some customers may receive freight a day later than they have become used to; and some salespeople, trip planners, and dispatchers will have to rethink what they promise. And some drivers may see three-day trips turn into four-day trips, or find themselves stranded by the clock just an hour from home.
IN PRINT — ELDs Part 2: The Learning Curve
TORONTO, ON -- When I replaced my typewriter with a laptop some years ago, everyone told me it would be an easy transition. It's the same thing, they told me. The keyboard, at least, was more or less the same. I soon discovered I'd have a few other things to deal with, like software and operating systems and crashes and batteries and floppy disks and updates and the dreaded Blue Screen of Death - moments before a deadline. The move to electronic logs from paper won't be any different.
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