Spread tandems sometimes generate extreme lateral forces, and drop-decks use smaller sizes that are especially vulnerable to damage.
Dropdeck trailers with spread-axle tandems are torture on tires. Tom Berg explores one tire maker's quest to design a product to stand up to the beating in his Trailer Talk blog. READ MORE
Tags: Cooper Tire & Rubber Co., Dropdeck Trailers, Trailers, Tires
Author: Tom Berg | Posted @ Thursday, July 2, 2015 1:00 PM | » Comments(0)
Ever get stuck behind a semi you want to pass? You'd appreciate the large-screen TV on its rear doors.
Many traffic accidents in Argentina happen when motorists try to pass slower vehicles on two-lane roads.Here's a fix. READ MORE
Tags: Samsung, Driver Safety, Passenger Cars, Technology
Author: Tom Berg | Posted @ Monday, June 22, 2015 3:00 PM | » Comments(0)
At 20 feet in diameter and weighing 28,000 pounds, the load was big, heavy and priceless.
What transpired was a meticulously planned two-day journey involving Belyea Truck Co. and Pacific Crane & Rigging, plus support vehicles, California Highway Patrol motorcycle escorts, and cars bearing press reporters and photographers. READ MORE
Tags: Heavy Haul, History, Trailers
Author: Tom Berg | Posted @ Wednesday, June 17, 2015 6:00 AM | » Comments(0)
New composite leaf springs should last longer than steel and ride almost as well as air-ride, SAF-Holland says.
Air-ride's more complex and requires more maintenance, so some fleets that watch costs very closely never got on the air-ride band wagon. READ MORE
Tags: Suspensions, SAF-Holland, Lightweighting, Trailer Suspensions
Author: Tom Berg | Posted @ Friday, June 5, 2015 10:40 AM | » Comments(0)
Trucks, on the road or on flatcars, are often part of model railroads, as Senior Editor Tom Berg found at the Toy Train Museum.
There was a time when railroads were in the motor transport business, as their parent companies recognized that freight was being grabbed by fast, flexible long-haul trucks and they might as well grab some of the revenue. READ MORE
Tags: Piggybacking, Trailers, Museums
Author: Tom Berg | Posted @ Thursday, May 7, 2015 8:29 AM | » Comments(0)
An arrow-shaped aero device diverts wind away from the tandem, while a covering of the frame rails and crossmembers reduces turbulence there.
Unlike most skirts that are stationary, the stinger moves with the tandem as it’s slid fore and aft, so it smooths air flow no matter where the tandem is set, said the system’s inventor. READ MORE
Tags: Trailers, Aerodynamics, Fuel Efficiency
Author: Tom Berg | Posted @ Tuesday, April 28, 2015 11:53 AM | » Comments(1)
Sometimes intermodal shipping works and sometimes it doesn’t.
Senior Editor Tom Berg explores why one intermodal refrigerated operation is expanding, in contrast to another that is suing railroads in blame for its demise, in his Trailer Talk blog. READ MORE
Tags: Railroads, Intermodal, Drayage, Tiger Cool Express
Author: Tom Berg | Posted @ Monday, April 20, 2015 12:00 AM | » Comments(0)
Claims made by Cold Train founders in their $41 million suit, announced on Tuesday, illustrate how the railroads, like truckers, can’t handle all the business being thrown at them. READ MORE
Tags: Trailers, Lawsuits, Intermodal, Reefers, BNSF
Author: Tom Berg | Posted @ Tuesday, April 7, 2015 4:46 PM | » Comments(0)
Manac offered a quick look at the three trailer types in its booth at MATS.
Different buyers have different considerations, which is why trailer manufacturers offer the three different types. Manac offered a quick look at the three trailer types in its booth at MATS. READ MORE
Tags: Manac Inc., Trailers, Aluminum
Author: Tom Berg | Posted @ Tuesday, March 31, 2015 11:09 AM | » Comments(0)
Refiners are buying trucks to fetch more desirable crude oil than what they’re getting through pipelines. READ MORE
Tags: Oil, Trailers, FTR, Tankers
Author: Tom Berg | Posted @ Tuesday, March 24, 2015 11:48 AM | » Comments(0)
Four people died when their car ran into a semitrailer sitting on a busy highway. How'd it happen?
It could've been driver error, mechanical failure or both, and we won't know for a while. But it sure matters. READ MORE
Tags: Trailers, Fatal Accidents, Driver Safety Tips
Author: Tom Berg | Posted @ Tuesday, March 17, 2015 12:51 PM | » Comments(2)
Better aero fairings must save at least 9% in fuel to get the new designation
What does the new "Elite" level of fuel-saving devices offered by the EPA SmartWay program mean? Senior Editor Tom Berg explores the topic in his Trailer Talk blog. READ MORE
Tags: SmartWay, EPA, Aerodynamics, Fuel Efficiency, Trailers
Author: Tom Berg | Posted @ Thursday, March 12, 2015 1:20 PM | » Comments(0)
Elite means a set of equipment will save at least 9% in fuel at highway speeds – nothing to blow off with a shrug.
The Tail resembles the Trailer Tail from ATDynamics, but seems unique in that its panels automatically deploy when the rig reaches about 45 mph, then fold up as it slows down. READ MORE
Tags: EPA SmartWay, Trailers, Fuel Economy, Aerodynamics, Transtex Edge
Author: Tom Berg | Posted @ Tuesday, March 3, 2015 8:00 AM | » Comments(0)
A trucker unwittingly takes a minivan for the ride of its life.
A minivan plowed into the rear of a semi on I-75 in northern Michigan, and got dragged along for miles by the rig because its driver was totally unaware that he had something hanging on. READ MORE
Tags: Winter Driving, Trailers, Rear-End Collisions
Author: Tom Berg | Posted @ Thursday, February 19, 2015 5:00 PM | » Comments(0)
Follow the Truck Route or you'll be in trouble.
Sometimes, following the truck route is the only way to stay safe, as Senior Editor Tom Berg finds when he travels through a small town in Ohio. READ MORE
Author: Tom Berg | Posted @ Tuesday, February 10, 2015 6:00 PM | » Comments(0)
On black ice, all the anti-lock braking systems in the western world can't do much to control a multi-trailer combination.
This video is so graphic that parts of it, shot by a motorist along the New Jersey Turnpike, were picked up by ABC and CBS in their evening newscasts one day last week. Thankfully, no one was hurt. READ MORE
Tags: Fleet Safety, Double-trailers, Black Ice
Author: Tom Berg | Posted @ Monday, January 26, 2015 1:47 PM | » Comments(2)
Can't he see that smoke? Can't he feel the trailer dragging against his tractor? Apparently not.
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, Inspections
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.
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, 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.
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.
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!
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)