With the large number of reality-based TV programs out there, it seems trucking is getting a lot of exposure.

"Ice Road Truckers" has been a big hit, with truck-show attendees lining up for autographs from show stars like Lisa Kelly and Alex Debogorski Recently, I wrote about a new program on the Travel Channel devoted to a truckstop in Missouri. But wait, there's more!

Take the Speed channel original series, "American Trucker." Hosted by executive producer and self-styled trucking enthusiast Robb Mariani, American Trucker "focuses on the trucks, lifestyle and people that make up this vital, yet somewhat underappreciated profession," according to the show's website. Last season, the show offered an inside look at the trucking team readying space shuttle missions for takeoff, and visited the "World's Largest Truckstop," the Iowa 80 in Walcott, Iowa.

This season opened as Mariani joined volunteers trucking in supplies to tornado-ravaged Joplin, Mo. Gully Transportation, Quincy, Ill, was recently featured on the series. The program showed the production of one of the regional fleet's newest trucks - a 2011 Cascadia - in Freightliner's Cleveland, N.C., manufacturing facility.

Various aspects of trucking also get showcased in single-shot episodes of various programs. A sampling of recent examples:

Werner Enterprises will be featured in an episode of "World's Greatest!...", a fast paced television program featuring behind-the-scene footage and interviews of the greatest destinations, properties, companies and products around the world. The program will air on the ION Network July 27, Aug. 3 and Aug. 10. The show will look at the company's portfolio of intermodal, air, ocean, domestic expedited, regional freight truckload, warehousing and logistics services; its automated paperless logs system; its efforts to invest in sustainability and reduce emissions; and safety.

Hendrickson's new TireMaax Pro automatic tire inflation system, is scheduled to make its television debut on Fox Sports Network's "Motorhead Garage" series on Sunday, July 31, at 11:30 a.m. EST. It's part of a series of Big Rig episodes focusing on tractor-trailer safety and fuel savings technologies.

Earlier this year, Speed's "Speedmakers" series aired a one-hour program filmed at the Kenworth plant in Chillicothe, Ohio, following the step-by-step assembly process of a Kenworth T700 down the production line.

And Mack CEO Denny Slagle was on "Undercover Boss" earlier this year, which you can read about here and here.

A bit different from the days of "BJ and the Bear."