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•October 11, 2011

Test Drive: Kenworth's T660 Regional Hauler

The emergence of the regional transportation market is causing many fleets to rethink their equipment demands

Articles•by Jim Park•October 10, 2011

Advances in Tire Pressure Monitoring Systems Make it Easier than Ever to Get the Most Out of Your Tires

Pneumatic or "balloon" tires go back to 1845, when Robert W. Thomson filled a leather-covered rubber tube with air and wrapped it around a wheel

On the Road•by Jim Park•September 22, 2011

A Revolutionary Development in Powertrain Technology

Humped torque curves were the norm in North American heavy-duty on-road diesel engine power maps for decades. Today's torque curves are much flatter, but the height and width of the torque curve remain limited. Volvo Trucks has broken that mold in dramatic fashion with its new XE13 powertrain option

Articles•by Jim Park•September 21, 2011

New Volvo Powertrain Package Promises 3% Better Fuel Economy

Volvo Trucks is taking the concept of "Gear Fast: Run Slow" to new heights with a new powertrain package called XE13 -- Exceptional Efficiency.

Articles•by Jim Park•September 6, 2011

Wide-Base Tires Gaining Popularity: Are You Ready to Make the Switch?

So maybe you're thinking something like this: "The market is improving, getting credit is easier, business is looking up. Maybe it's time to retire a few older rigs and get some new iron into the fleet. Maybe we should go to wide-base single tires while we're at it

Articles•by Jim Park•September 6, 2011

The Art and Science of Spec'ing Tires

Tires are a big part of the fleet maintenance and operations puzzle. They serve an obvious purpose, but how well they perform in the operational theater is key to a successful tire program. What's important in a tire to one fleet may not matter at all to another

Articles•by Jim Park•August 31, 2011

Why Real-World Fuel Efficiency Numbers Don't Match up to Lab Tests

Real-life fuel consumption reduction numbers never live up to the numbers some tire makers tout when promoting fuel efficiency. One reason is that tire makers conduct their testing and evaluation under ideal conditions on test tracks to control as many variables as possible

Articles•by Jim Park•August 31, 2011

Spec'ing Tires With Fuel Efficiency in Mind

Spec'ing tires is a lot like photography. It's a series of trade-offs and compromises. Let's say you're after a night shot of a city skyline. Because it's dark, you have to use a long exposure, which could make the photo blurry

Articles•by Jim Park•August 15, 2011

Utility Bodies: Any Way You Like It

There's no such thing as a cookie-cutter utility body anymore.

Articles•by Jim Park•August 15, 2011

Extend Tire Life: Learn How to Tell When Your Trucks are Killing Your Tires

Thousands of tires are cast prematurely onto scrap piles every month. That's hundreds of thousands of miles of operation fleets give up because their tires die untimely, unnatural and often unnecessary deaths. And the tires themselves are rarely to blame

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