Prepare your equipment long before the snow flies

The realities of winter driving conditions can appear quicker than some fleet managers might expect. The same driver who enjoys a warm fall day when picking up a load in Southern Ontario could face ice and blowing snow by the time the truck...

A/C service? In November?

If there's one thing you can do to get rolling faster on a cold morning, it's to have your air conditioner inspected at the start of the heating season. Your truck's defroster uses the air conditioner to pull excess moisture out of the cab. A...

Don’t let the bed bugs bite

Bed bugs are a small, parasitic insect that feeds on the blood of warm-blooded animals such as humans. The name bed bug was derived from the fact that they like to live in areas where people sleep. Generally, bed bugs are reddish brown, oval...

Keeping connected

As you bounce down the road, connectors are holding your truck together: bolts, screws, springs and welds. If one of these connectors breaks unnoticed, over time you may find yourself with a serious safety issue. Like your rig, your body is...

This is one test you just may want to fail

As tests go, this is one you might prefer to fail. Having read many articles and sat through a number of presentations on a pervasive health issue that affects commercial drivers as well as the general public, I thought it was time for me to...

The battle against cargo crime

We have a problem. On top of all the other challenges our industry faces, we're getting ripped off every day - quite literally, in fact. I'm referring to truck cargo crime, a problem that costs $5 billion in this country and half-a-million...

Retirement plans may have to wait

As I write this column, the stock markets are taking yet another beating. The average Joe (or Joanne) who has been investing in the stock market has seen their retirement nest eggs become just a tad scrambled. It looks like Greece is going to...

Show them the money

Check any list of trucking issues going back several decades and "driver shortage" will be there. What you won't find though, is a shortage of opinions about how to define it, what's causing it, and how to fix it. There's even debate about...

Make strategic use of your CCA

My column last month about how to tax-plan when you buy or lease a truck triggered some great phone calls from owner/operators. A few had to do with Capital Cost Allowance, or CCA. That's where you're allowed to deduct a calculated portion of...

Volvo introduces ‘downspeeding’

GREENSBORO, N.C. - Volvo Trucks has introduced a new concept called 'downspeeding,' which takes the industry-wide shift towards lower engine speeds to a new, well, low. Introduced as the XE13 (exceptional energy) powertrain package, Volvo's...

Rebirth of a star

PORTLAND, Ore. - In 2008, as the US and global economies plunged into recession, Daimler Trucks North America (DTNA) made the decision to eliminate the Sterling truck brand. We now know that Western Star was also scrutinized by its discerning...

First impressions behind the wheel of the Cat CT660

PEORIA, Ill. - Before the smoke had cleared from the unveiling of Caterpillar's CT660 at its Conexpo-Con/Agg launch, trade press editors - including yours truly - were clamoring for an opportunity to put the new truck through its paces.That...

OK Tire opens new shop offering more than just tires

ETOBICOKE, Ont. - Toronto-area customers of OK Tire are lauding the grand opening of the chain's newly revamped Etobicoke location, a one-of-a-kind facility that boasts quick lube, alignment, in-house parts, and a spring shop in addition to...

The Good Shepherd

The story so far...Mark is at a truck stop near Winnipeg and sees a woman talking to drivers, asking them for a ride. She's attractive, and when Mark learns she's heading to Vancouver, he offers her a ride hoping them might get intimate along...

TSQ: Why is it so difficult to attract younger drivers to trucking?

MILTON, Ont. - When posed with the question, "What do you want to be when you grow up?" most young children tend to stick to a fairly conventional list of occupations. Doctors, astronauts, fire fighters and athletes tend to dominate, but...