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•February 13, 2012

Cargo Securement: What You Don't Know Can Hurt You Under CSA

You can hide a multitude of sins inside a van trailer, but with an open deck trailer, any indiscretions are out in the open for all to see - including DOT roadside inspector

Articles•by Jim Park•February 13, 2012

Cargo Securement: What You Don't Know Can Hurt You Under CSA

You can hide a multitude of sins inside a van trailer, but with an open deck trailer, any indiscretions are out in the open for all to see – including DOT roadside inspectors

Articles•by Jim Park•February 13, 2012

Top 5 Cargo Securement Violations

In 2011, Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance inspectors conducted about 2 million vehicle inspections. In the cargo securement sphere, the most common violations found during roadside inspections were "failure to prevent shifting cargo" (16,345) and "leaking/spilling/blowing/falling cargo" (10,872)

Articles•by Jim Park•January 17, 2012

Outsourcing Your Tire Program

The service truck arrives at 8:30 Sunday morning, as usual. The two tire techs unload 16 freshly mounted and balanced, retreaded drive tires, eight new steer tires on reconditioned wheels, and a take-off drive tir

Articles•by Jim Park•January 17, 2012

A Peek at How Engine Makers Might Hit New Fuel Efficiency and Greenhouse Gas Reduction Targets

Barely had the trucking industry heaved a collective sigh of relief at putting EPA 2010 behind us when in May of 2010, from the Rose Garden at the White House, came a Presidential Memorandum targeting greenhouse gas emission

Articles•by Jim Park•January 17, 2012

Dispense With the Grief of Managing Tires: Let a Service Partner Do It for You

Articles•by Jim Park•December 19, 2011

Are Your Wheel Bearings Adjusted Properly?

Good and bad in the wheel-bearing world is divided by a very fine line - about the width of two human hairs, in fact. That's not much of a margin considering the potential consequences of improper adjustment

Articles•by Jim Park•December 19, 2011

Tire Report: Factory Settings vs. 'As-Driven'

If something is set to factory specs it must be just right, right? In the alignment world, "factory specs" really means it's close enough. Close enough, however, might not be good enough when your tires are being chewed right off the wheels

Articles•by Jim Park•December 19, 2011

Tire Report: The Art & Science of Alignment

Vehicle alignment is a great example of why they teach geometry in high school. How many times did you wonder when you would ever use Euclidean geometry or the Pythagorean theorem?

Articles•by Jim Park•November 4, 2011

Test Drive: Volvo's Torque Magic

What a difference a little extra torque makes. Jim Park had the privilege of being one of the first drivers outside of test fleets to put a new fuel economy and performance concept from Volvo through its paces.

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