Jim Park

Former HDT Equipment Editor

Jim Park served as Heavy Duty Trucking's equipment editor from 2006-2024. Specializing in technical and equipment content, Park is an award-winning journalist who has been covering the trucking industry since 1998.

Before joining HDT, Park was a truck driver and owner-operator for 20 years and served as an editor for HighwayStar magazine, which ceased production in 2011. He maintained his commercial driver’s license to bring a real-world perspective to Test Drives, as well as to features, videos and podcasts about equipment spec’ing and trends, emissions regulations and developments, maintenance and drivers.

He is the recipient of 16 Jesse H. Neal honors (both finalist and Neal awards), including “Best Range of Work by a Single Author” in 2020.

Articles•by Jim Park•June 10, 2013

5 Ways to Succeed or Fail as an Owner-Operator

Sometimes owner-operators are their own worst enemy. They too often do things to undermine their business – like budgeting based on the best of times, not year-long averages. Or they switch carriers to one promising more home time, only to discover they can't make payment with the truck parked in the driveway every night.

Articles•by Jim Park•June 10, 2013

Making the Case for Fuel-Efficient Tires

You get 30% less tread on some fuel-efficient tires, they cost 15% less up front and they run fewer miles to take-off, but does the money saved on fuel because of the lower rolling resistance make up for the shorter overall life? Many fleets are struggling with that question today. The answer is often anything but clear.

Articles•by Jim Park•June 5, 2013

Say Goodbye to Booster Cables

Next to the clang of your cell door slamming shut, there are few sounds more disheartening than the "click, click, click" of a starter that's not getting enough juice. Maxwell Technologies' Engine Start Module is an ultracapacitor starting system that can prevent that.

On the Road•by Jim Park•June 5, 2013

To the Dump, To the Dump, To the Dump, Dump Dump

While you're getting dragged backwards through various knotholes in this year's RoadCheck 2013 event, take heart that a few local cops are patrolling the dumps and the Home Depot and Loews store parking lots looking cars with tons of gravel in their trunks or lifts of plywood on the roof.

On the Road•by Jim Park•May 29, 2013

Wait 'Till the Finger Pointing Starts

Trucks hit bridges every day. Why did the Skagit River Bridge fold up like a house of cards after a minor strike, and who's ultimately to blame? Jim Park wonders about the role of the pilot car driver in his "On the Road" blog.

Articles•by Jim Park•May 22, 2013

What Drivers Should Know About Brake Problems

If you know what to look for, and are sensitive to the symptoms, you can spot many potential brake problems before they become real liabilities. And having concluded there's a problem, you can report it to the shop in a way that might prompt more than a readjustment of the slack adjusters.

Articles•by Jim Park•May 17, 2013

Test Drive: Kenworth's T880 Day-cab Tractor

Equipment Editor Jim Park still recalls his first meeting with a T800. It was in the fall of'86, the year the truck was introduced and a little more than a year after the T600 had made its game-changing debut.

On the Road•by Jim Park•May 17, 2013

Aussies Deploy 'Water Wall' Tunnel Warning Technology

They've tried flashing lights, neon signs, low-impact barriers, but sometimes nothing seem to keep oversize trucks from squeezing into tunnels. Jim Park has more in his latest "On the Road" blog.

Articles•by Jim Park•May 14, 2013

Why Should You Retread Your Tires?

Retreading tires provides the absolute lowest cost per mile of any tire management strategy. When coupled with other enhanced preventive maintenance measures, a retreaded tire can easily go half a million miles or more, all things being equal.

Articles•by Jim Park•May 13, 2013

What You Need to Know About Wide-base Singles & Offset Axles

Everything you need to know about switching from dual wheels to wide-base singles you can learn at a playground. Picture a teeter-totter with a big kid on one end and a little kid on the other. The big kid is on the ground, while the little guy's legs are dangling in the air. The load is unevenly distributed. If you moved the fulcrum closer to the big kid, the beam would eventually balance.

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