March 15, 2013
Forget that headline. Comparing a product to a container for an alcoholic beverage isn’t politically correct on a website that’s concerned about trucking safety, as this one is. But I wanted to get your attention because this thing, called the Sixth Wheel Ratchet, seems like a better idea than a pop-top can, whether or not you’re thirsty.
Author: Tom Berg | Posted @ Friday, March 15, 2013 12:00 AM | » Comments(1)
March 11, 2013
Andy Smith is seeing more and more of his TrailerTails moving down American and Canadian highways, and soon he’ll see them in Europe.
The founder and CEO of ATDynamics on Sunday said that to reporters on the eve of the opening of the Technology & Maintenance Council’s annual meeting in Nashville, Tenn. It was his latest briefing since he launched the fuel-saving folding-panel device in 2008.
Tags: TMC, ATDynamics, Aerodynamics, Trailer Tails
Author: Tom Berg | Posted @ Monday, March 11, 2013 12:00 AM | » Comments(4)
March 1, 2013
Is your insurance company out to save you money? It is if it’s Progressive Commercial Auto Insurance, which has a special offer on trailer skirts.
Tags: Trailer Skirts
Author: Tom Berg | Posted @ Friday, March 1, 2013 12:00 AM | » Comments(4)
February 21, 2013
A unique bottom-dump design widely used in the West and elsewhere is the Beall Bullet, fashioned of aluminum sheeting and interior bracing that is attractive in appearance and aerodynamic in performance.
Tags: Beall, Trailers, Dump
Author: Tom Berg | Posted @ Thursday, February 21, 2013 12:00 AM | » Comments(0)
February 5, 2013
Kirk Altrichter, vice president of maintenance for Gordon Trucking Inc., can tell you more than a few things about trailer skirts and how to choose the right ones. Senior Editor Tom Berg has the story in the Trailer Talk blog.
Tags: Aerodynamics
Author: Tom Berg | Posted @ Tuesday, February 5, 2013 12:00 AM | » Comments(0)
January 28, 2013
Last month I spent some time in Michigan, the land of highway “trains.” And I was reminded that in spite of what safety extremists claim in Washington, D.C., high-capacity long combination vehicles, or LCVs, can be operated safely.
Author: By Tom Berg, Senior Editor | Posted @ Monday, January 28, 2013 12:00 AM | » Comments(0)
January 17, 2013
Phillips Industries, maker of wiring harnesses, control boxes and other electrical apparatus for trailers, posts a monthly Quik Tech Tips featur
Tags: maintenance
Author: Tom Berg | Posted @ Thursday, January 17, 2013 8:22 PM | » Comments(0)
December 27, 2012
Walmart Canada's long tractor-trailer combination should soon begin in-service testing following the issuing of revised permit conditions by the Ontario Ministry of Transportation, the province's trucking association says
Tags: Dry Vans, Walmart, Canada, Trailers
Author: Tom Berg | Posted @ Thursday, December 27, 2012 5:19 PM | » Comments(0)
November 27, 2012
When a badly corroded upper coupler assembly on a tank trailer caused a roll-over several years ago, Elvin Knollman began thinking of ways to prevent that insidious and almost invisible damage
Author: Tom Berg | Posted @ Tuesday, November 27, 2012 6:47 PM | » Comments(0)
November 19, 2012
Many thoughts went through my head when I first heard about the tragic train-truck collision in Midland, Texas, on Nov. 15: Oh, those poor military guys and their families! How could this happen? How could the truck driver mess up like this?
Tags: Safety
Author: Tom Berg | Posted @ Monday, November 19, 2012 1:55 PM | » Comments(0)
November 11, 2012
What's this? A modern reiteration of a 1930s truck-and-trailer combination? Sort of. It's a high-capacity tractor-trailer combination recently assembled in Ontario for possible use by Walmart Canada, which calls it a "super cube" truck. And it's generating a bit of controversy
Tags: Dry Vans
Author: Tom Berg | Posted @ Sunday, November 11, 2012 10:44 PM | » Comments(3)
October 30, 2012
"Just in time for Hurricane Sandy," said a message Monday from Wabash National spokeswoman Celeste Stanley
Tags: Specialty
Author: Tom Berg | Posted @ Tuesday, October 30, 2012 6:16 PM | » Comments(0)
October 22, 2012
There's much work ahead if the idea of automating pre-trip inspections of trailers is to become reality. That was the feeling during a session on the subject at the fall meeting of the Technology & Maintenance Council of ATA
Tags: maintenance
Author: Tom Berg | Posted @ Monday, October 22, 2012 1:58 PM | » Comments(0)
October 12, 2012
Brian Layfield, president of Laydon Composites Ltd. in Ontario, Canada, read our recent Trailer Talk about the MAN-Krone aero tractor-trailer shown at the IAA show in Germany
Tags: Fuel Economy
Author: Tom Berg | Posted @ Friday, October 12, 2012 7:00 AM | » Comments(0)
October 5, 2012
The huge IAA commercial truck show in Hanover, Germany, late last month included this eye magnet, the "aerodynamically optimized road train" from MAN and Krone, both prominent vehicle builders in Europe
Tags: Trends
Author: Tom Berg | Posted @ Friday, October 5, 2012 7:21 AM | » Comments(0)
September 28, 2012
In August I wrote about Peckham Materials and its use of extra-heavy rigs to gain productivity
Tags: Specialty
Author: Tom Berg | Posted @ Friday, September 28, 2012 7:32 AM | » Comments(0)
September 19, 2012
HANOVER, GERMANY - Thirty years of aerodynamic research is behind a streamlined semitrailer displayed this week at the huge Hanover truck show in Germany, says a Daimler Trucks executive who briefed a crowd of journalists on the efforts behind the vehicle
Tags: Fuel Economy
Author: Tom Berg | Posted @ Wednesday, September 19, 2012 2:22 PM | » Comments(0)
September 10, 2012
In July's "Trailer Trends" article, we mentioned Hendrickson's new TireMaax Pro automatic tire inflation system, but did not do a good job of explaining it.
Tags: Trends
Author: Tom Berg | Posted @ Monday, September 10, 2012 8:17 AM | » Comments(0)
September 6, 2012
The handsome tractor and shiny tank trailer in this photo are more than they seem. Instead of the typical 75,000- to 80,000-pound, five-axle rig you'd find in many areas of the country, this one weighs 102,000 pounds.
Tags: Tankers, Trailers
Author: Tom Berg | Posted @ Thursday, September 6, 2012 12:00 AM | » Comments(1)
August 22, 2012
Clean air is neither cheap nor simple
Tags: Reefers
Author: Tom Berg | Posted @ Wednesday, August 22, 2012 11:10 AM | » Comments(0)
August 1, 2012
Plugging motorized pallet jacks into warehouse power supplies is so old. There's a new solution to the battery charging chore. Leave it in the trailer and charge it right there
Tags: maintenance
Author: Tom Berg | Posted @ Wednesday, August 1, 2012 9:24 PM | » Comments(0)
July 25, 2012
About twelve years ago, while on a real-life run with a produce-hauler, I watched as he drove 19 miles off route to weigh his load -- at the consignee's request. While he backtracked, I thought that this was a great argument for on-board scales
Author: Tom Berg | Posted @ Wednesday, July 25, 2012 4:41 PM | » Comments(1)
July 11, 2012
German graphic artists are at it again, vinyl-wrapping semitrailers with eye-boggling images of products on their way to market. But wait..
Tags: Specialty
Author: Tom Berg | Posted @ Wednesday, July 11, 2012 8:18 AM | » Comments(0)
July 3, 2012
ATDynamics in South San Francisco, Calif., is among the most active makers of trailer aerodynamic improvers, both in designing and selling its products and in promoting them via the media. Its website, www.atdynamics.com, now includes testimonials from happy customers, including a Canadian featured below.
Tags: Trends
Author: Tom Berg | Posted @ Tuesday, July 3, 2012 11:57 AM | » Comments(2)
June 27, 2012
Did you know that Mack Truck at one time built trailers? I didn't until last week when, along with other truck writers, I toured the Mack Museum in its recently established Customer Center in Allentown, Pa
Tags: Flat Beds
Author: Tom Berg | Posted @ Wednesday, June 27, 2012 6:43 PM | » Comments(0)