Can't he see that smoke? Can't he feel the trailer dragging against his tractor? Apparently not.
January 14, 2015
Senior Editor Tom Berg tries to warn a driver of a burning brake, but without success. Moral: Check the equipment you're driving. READ MORE
Tags: Brakes, Truck Drivers, Vehicle Inspection
Author: Tom Berg | Posted @ Wednesday, January 14, 2015 4:23 PM | » Comments(0)
They'd be safer to reach for repairs, but they're up there for some good reasons.
January 8, 2015
The three identification lights at the top-rear of the trailer, mounted around the center line of the vehicle, are to alert following drivers that the vehicle equipped with these lights is wider than 80 inches. READ MORE
Tags: Regulations, Safety, Trailers, Lighting
Author: Tom Berg | Posted @ Thursday, January 8, 2015 1:15 PM | » Comments(0)
Since 1964 the gas stations have sold Hess Toy Trucks in the weeks leading up to Christmas, so this year is the 50th anniversary of the tradition.
December 23, 2014
Since 1964 Hess has sold Toy Trucks in the weeks leading up to Christmas, so this year is the 50th anniversary of the tradition. Since Hess is closing its filling stations in a few months the 2014 truck will be the last that can be bought in person. READ MORE
Tags: Trailers, Tankers, Toy Trucks
Author: Tom Berg | Posted @ Tuesday, December 23, 2014 1:00 AM | » Comments(0)
Pyle has added 80 of the special trailers, augmenting its existing pool of more than 400 such units. Most are 48-by-102s for road and city service.
December 10, 2014
Some carriers turn away temperature-sensitive freight during cold snaps. But Pyle has equipment and facilities to handle it, and the business has grown. READ MORE
Tags: Great Dane, Wabash National, Heaters, Insulated van, Vans, Trailers
Author: Tom Berg | Posted @ Wednesday, December 10, 2014 5:00 PM | » Comments(0)
Senior Editor Tom Berg watches the drama and has his imagination provoked, too!
October 31, 2014
The family comes upon a big rig transporting what looks like a tug or fishing boat, strapped to a special trailer. The little boy looks up at the boat and sees a three-masted schooner, foundering and in peril! READ MORE
Tags: Trailers, In the Media
Author: Tom Berg | Posted @ Friday, October 31, 2014 12:00 AM | » Comments(0)
Low floor adds 600 cubic feet to a van's usual capacity.
October 16, 2014
It's "back to the future" in van trailers for one carrier, explains Tom Berg in his "Trailer Talk" blog. The freight is big, bulky and light, with gross combination weights typically at 45,000 pounds, so the ZCube trailers are pulled by single-rear-axle tractors. READ MORE
Tags: Trailers, Special Specs, Logistics
Author: Tom Berg | Posted @ Thursday, October 16, 2014 12:00 AM | » Comments(0)
Reefer operators can track load temperatures through telematics, but that eats up electricity from a parked trailer's battery.
October 7, 2014
Recent announcements by Carrier Transicold and Thermo King, that they’re offering solar panels as options on many reefer units, jibed nicely with discussions during TMC's Fall Meeting near Orlando, notes Senior Editor Tom Berg in his Trailer Talk blog. READ MORE
Tags: TMC, Thermo King, Carrier Transicold, Solar Charging, Solar Panel, Trailers
Author: Tom Berg | Posted @ Tuesday, October 7, 2014 10:00 AM | » Comments(0)
September 29, 2014
What does rotten chicken have to do with missing household goods? Abandoned trailers, says Senior Editor Tom Berg in his latest installment of the Trailer Talk blog. READ MORE
Tags: Trailer Tracking, Trailers
Author: Tom Berg | Posted @ Monday, September 29, 2014 5:00 PM | » Comments(1)
Multiplying the tractor's pulling force could reduce required input and save 80% in fuel, this concept's inventor believes.
September 19, 2014
Archimedes, the scholar and mathematician of antiquity, was quoted as saying, “Give me a place to stand and a large enough lever, and I will move the earth.” That’s debatable, but some pretty big and heavy things can be nudged into motion with a lever – and trailers are among them, says an inventor in Ohio. Tom Berg has the story in his Trailer Talk blog. READ MORE
Tags: Trailers, Fuel Economy, Inventions
Author: Tom Berg | Posted @ Friday, September 19, 2014 5:30 PM | » Comments(0)
Moving large, heavy machines in one piece avoids the time and work otherwise spent in teardown and reassembly, saving big money.
September 5, 2014
Bill Miller Equipment needed a trailer of higher capacity, with axle configurations and versatility to haul it through numerous states. Talbert built one. Tom Berg has the story in his "Trailer Talk" blog. READ MORE
Tags: Lowbed, Talbert Trailers, Trailers, Heavy Haul
Author: Tom Berg | Posted @ Friday, September 5, 2014 2:00 PM | » Comments(0)
Senior Editor Tom Berg's day is brightened by this clean and colorful van. But what's inside?
August 20, 2014
“Now why would a trucking company that hauls booze advertise it?” I mumbled. “That’s asking for a hijacking.” Senior Editor Tom Berg investigates in his "Trailer Talk" blog. READ MORE
Tags: Image, Trailers, Specialty Trailers
Author: Tom Berg | Posted @ Wednesday, August 20, 2014 12:00 AM | » Comments(0)
Guest post: Toss the diesel and pump in some liquid nitrogen for super-cold cooling.
August 8, 2014
Reflect Scientific says a Cryometrix CB-40 transport refrigeration unit made history by delivering its first commercial load of frozen foods using a new pollution-free refrigeration technology. READ MORE
Tags: Cryogenics, Reefers, Transportation Refrigeration Units, Trailers
Author: Rolf Lockwood, Executive Contributing Editor | Posted @ Friday, August 8, 2014 12:00 AM | » Comments(0)
Who's really 'best in class,' and do customers really care?
July 31, 2014
Senior Editor Tom Berg branches out a bit in his Trailer Talk blog this week to talk about how much trailer load heavy pickups can haul. In a demonstration a couple of weeks ago, Ford pitted a pair of Power Stroke-powered F-450 pickups against a Ram 3500 dually pickup with a Cummins Turbo Diesel to demonstrate towing capacity. READ MORE
Tags: Ford Super Duty, Ram Heavy Duty, Pickup Trucks, Trailers, Ford
Author: Tom Berg | Posted @ Thursday, July 31, 2014 12:00 AM | » Comments(0)
A demonstration by ZF engineers a couple of weeks ago in Germany was impressive because it wasn’t being done by a driver, but a guy with a tablet computer.
July 22, 2014
The point is productivity: A vehicle longer and more complex than the single semis normally used in most of Europe could be employed to haul more cargo in one trip. And with little training, its driver could back it into position for loading or unloading.
READ MORE
Tags: Productivity, long combination vehicles, Remote Controls, ZF Friedrichshafen AG
Author: Tom Berg | Posted @ Tuesday, July 22, 2014 12:00 AM | » Comments(0)
The idea came from truck bodies, but Darry Stuart put it to use on trailers.
July 8, 2014
Tree branches batter top nose rails and corner caps of trailers because they snag on the sharp channels. Tom Berg talks to one fleet manager who found curved surfaces up there let the branches slide past harmlessly. READ MORE
Tags: Vehicle Damage, Hyundai Translead, Trailers, Dry Vans
Author: Tom Berg | Posted @ Tuesday, July 8, 2014 12:00 AM | » Comments(0)
July 2, 2014
Tom Berg spots an unusual trailer lighting system on the road. Grote LED light bars need only three pigtails to connect to the sealed wiring harness, reducing the chances for corrosion and electrical failures, he explains in his Trailer Talk blog. READ MORE
Tags: Trailers, Fontaine, Grote, Lighting, LEDs, Flatbed Trailers
Author: Tom Berg | Posted @ Wednesday, July 2, 2014 12:00 AM | » Comments(0)
There are various remedies for weak batteries, but Darry Stuart, a contract fleet manager, looked to the sun for a solution.
June 23, 2014
A single 100-watt solar panel keeps the trailer's four Group 31 batteries charged and the liftgate operating reliably. READ MORE
Tags: Trailers, Idle Reduction, Reefers, eNow, Solar Charging
Author: Tom Berg | Posted @ Monday, June 23, 2014 12:00 AM | » Comments(0)
In heavy street traffic, a flashing light cues motorists to react early by slowing down or moving over to avoid being delayed -- but they also can cause confusion.
June 16, 2014
The Transportation Safety Equipment Institute reports that its member companies are seeing an increase in requests to add innovative lighting devices, and questions arise about their legality. Senior Editor Tom Berg takes a closer look in his Trailer Talk blog. READ MORE
Tags: Lighting, Auxiliary Lighting, Transportation Safety Equipment Institute, Truck-Lite, Peterson Manufacturing, Trailers, Safety, Regulations
Author: Tom Berg | Posted @ Monday, June 16, 2014 12:00 AM | » Comments(0)
Several manufacturers use it to assemble van trailers and truck bodies, and it claims strength and vibration resistance.
June 6, 2014
The compact Hucktainer has a head, sleeve and pintail, and is installed quickly with a special tool, clamping together the wall and sill materials and crimping off the excess length of the sleeve in a spiral-locking process. READ MORE
Tags: Trailers, Truck Bodies, Hucktainer, Alcoa Fastening Systems, Huck
Author: Tom Berg | Posted @ Friday, June 6, 2014 12:00 AM | » Comments(0)
Switch to 33-foot pups could cause new business, ACT's Frank Maly thinks.
May 27, 2014
Freight growth gives fleets confidence to buy, while low cancellations push backlogs to six months. Tankers are also up strongly, but lack of a highway bill could upset dump-trailer business. READ MORE
Tags: Trailers, Fleets, Freight, Tankers, Trailer Sales, ACT Research
Author: Tom Berg | Posted @ Tuesday, May 27, 2014 12:00 AM | » Comments(0)
Redesign of an engineless Vector system saves more energy and money than one from 2010, Carrier Transicold says.
May 16, 2014
We think of trailers as cargo conveyances, carrying their payloads from shipper to receiver. But some never move because they’re meant to store products on-site.
READ MORE
Tags: Carrier Transicold, Reefer, Electric Reefer
Author: Tom Berg | Posted @ Friday, May 16, 2014 12:00 AM | » Comments(0)
Here's an atta-boy to the driver who slapped this lock in place.
May 6, 2014
This intelligently locked reefer trailer was parked in a small truckstop in western North Carolina. Three slots away was a loaded flatbed with its kingpin bare, just waiting to be swiped. READ MORE
Tags: Fleet Management, Vehicle Theft, Cargo Theft, Security, Trailers
Author: Tom Berg | Posted @ Tuesday, May 6, 2014 12:00 AM | » Comments(0)
A 33-foot trailer's 5-foot-longer wheelbase would make it more stable when part of a doubles combination.
April 23, 2014
Double-trailer rigs with a pair of 33-foot trailers would be “inherently more stable” and therefore safer than the twin 28s now running throughout the United States, according to John Woodrooffe, director of commercial vehicle research at the University of Michigan’s Transportation Research Institute. READ MORE
Tags: Vehicle Safety, Safety, Doubles, Trailers
Author: Tom Berg | Posted @ Wednesday, April 23, 2014 12:00 AM | » Comments(1)