Happy Holiday Weekend!

We're coming into a long weekend.  Hopefully a lot of you are able to stay home and BBQ with your families.   The ones of you who are out there, rollin' the Memorial Sales goods down the Highways, bless you for your are another kind of soldier that doesn't get enough appreciation.

Happy Memorial Day.

~Laila

The Hunt for Big Rig Tattoos!

So about 3 weeks ago, I got my second tattoo.  I put a lot of thought (and money) into my tattoos, so they're few and far between but I love them :)  (And yes, there will be photos in this blog, even though they're not big rig related ;-))

Yesterday I was rooting around in my brain for a 18-wheel topic, and I thought I would go out there and look for some cool big rig tattoos! I expected to find some rather rad ones, as I can hardly think of a better model for a bad-ass tattoo than a big rig, but I was disappointed.
I found some neat tattoos that I will post pics of below, but all in all, there was very few pics of big rig tattoos on the net.  I looked up "trucker tattoos" and well, I found a lot of pinups ;-) haha. Some are very cool, but I was actually looking for tattoos of trucks, not girls.  (Well ... at least not girls without a truck in the picture ;-))

If any of you out there have a big rig tattoo to show off, by all means, email me a pic!  We need some big rig tattoos to represent here!! :-)

Ok, so here are some (or ALL) of the tattoo pics I found when searching around for big rig tattoos.

Note: If anybody recognize any of these tattoos as THEIRS, please feel free to email me and let us know the story behind your tattoo.  Tattoos are usually very personal, most of us have a reason for choosing the pictures we place on our bodies, so I'd love to hear the stories behind the trucks below.


Let me start off with a very cool back piece that I found.  It's a tow truck towing a burning dump truck.
No idea if the wearer of this tattoo is the tow truck driver or the guy on fire, either way, it's a cool pic.

 

Below are some more random tat pics I found:

I enjoy good outline type of tattoos, they're often more elegant
than the fully colored ones if done right :)

Now this is a badass truck tattoo! Love the coloring!
Also, I love playing "Mutha Trucka" on my XBox, it's one of my favorite games ;-)

This one's a sweet tribute and a really great way to have his family
with him on the road, even if they're not there in person.

Love this one.... shiny chrome and everything!
(This one had to hurt!!)

I wish this pic was clearer, looks like a lot of detail went into this truck.

Gotta love the Mack bulldog in the driver seat ;-)

Cute!!! :-)

This is actually a tribute to this person's friend, who was on the
road a lot.  Very nicely done, elegant too.

And there you have it.  There were a lot more logos out there than what I pasted in to my post, but I'm really looking for trucks, so unless it's a spectacular logo, I've left most of them off :)

For the ones of you who are curious, here are my tats.  No big rigs .... maybe sometime down the road:

Here is the first one (I really need to take a new one that doesn't have the fresh red skin under it)
It's Thor's hammer (Mjollnir) and the Midgard Serpent.   More info on this tattoo can be found here:

http://forwhomthesunalsorises.blogspot.com/2011/06/tattoo-personal-journey.html

This is my recent tattoo .... most of you should recognize who this is :)
Love it love it love it!

Both of these tattoos were done @ Tattoo Alchemy in Montclair, CA.  I will not go anywhere else! :)

The top one was done by Peachy and the portrait was done by Jason Clay Dunn.

Anyone in California (or anywhere else for that matter) hankering for a tattoo, I highly recommend this studio!:)

Again, if you have tattoos you want to share, feel free.  I'm in particular looking for truck tattoos, but if you have something else you want to share, let us know!

Until next time ............. Stay safe please!

~Laila

Is it a bird? Is it a plane? No.... It's a TrailerTail®!!

So I was driving down the freeway yesterday morning, and I saw a big rig that looked really funky! It had a big white "screen" looking thing attached to the rear of its trailer.  As I passed the truck, I noticed that the label on the side of this "screen"/cone said "TrailerTail®" and so that inspired me to go look into this strange contraption that is on the market, apparently to save fuel cost, but this is the first time I've seen it.

I found that the company that makes this device is called ATDynamics (and the photos posted in this blog are from them by the way).  Apparently, this TrailerTail® will save 6.6% fuel @ 65 mph.   

The design of the TrailerTail® seems very well thought out. Although it's not so attractive to look at, the aerodynamic properties are designed to save fuel, which is a great bonus, and also the tail reduces rear drag, which lowers emission.  From what I read (obviously I haven't deployed such a system myself) the TrailerTail® is made from reinforced thermo plastic and can be deployed in just 4 seconds.

The price is $2000 a pop, but I'm sure there are package deals available.  For owner-operators, it doesn't seem to make sense to spend money on this since they haul trailers that are owned by other companies, and these companies don't generally care about the fuel usage so they wouldn't see a need to invest in it.  And would an owner-operator be interested enough to carry a TrailerTail around in their bag wherever they go to hitch up a trailer?  Probably not!  (Maybe a portable version will be available sometime down the road?) For large companies that own both tractors and trailers however, it make more sense and if it works as promised, it will add up to quite a few dollars saved on fuel.

Below are some stats on the TrailerTail ®:
(directly copied from ATDynamics.com):
FEATURES AND BENEFITS:

MATERIALS

- Panels: thermoplastic composite
(similar material used in trailer scuff liners and side skirts)
- Mounting hardware and hinges: galvanized steel

CUSTOM DECALS

Available with GreenGraphics™ , custom decals designed to match the look of your fleet

PERFORMANCE

FUEL EFFICIENCY

- EPA-verified SAE Type II testing: 6.6% fuel savings at 65 mph (standard TrailerTail®)
- AeroTrailer package: up to 12%+ fuel savings with skirts and/or other underbody trailer enhancements
- TrailerTail® fuel savings has been third party tested and confirmed by over two dozen independent on-road, SAE, and wind-tunnel tests.

Simple fuel savings calculation:
(Estimated annual trailer mileage)
X (gallons saved / highway mile) [see chart below]
X (price of fuel)
= Total annual fuel savings

REGULATORY

- EPA SmartWay: Approved as advanced rear fairing
- CARB: Achieves standalone trailer compliance

SAFETY

- Improved vehicle stability from streamlined airflow
- Improved driver visibility due to reduced spray from rear wheels
- Reduced tail-gaiting and fatal rear-end collisions due to 4 ft collapsible extension

OPERATIONS

DURABILITY

- Origami fold: Proprietary origami fold design allows auto-collapse on impact
- Trucker-tough panels: reinforced thermoplastic panels give with impact and bend back to form
- Temperature resistance: highly inert materials maintain their shape in extreme heat and cold
- Weather resistance: with device open, the high-pressure cavity repels precipitation accumulation; panels do not bond with snow and ice and allow water drainage

DRIVER USE

- Proprietary one-touch deployment system or automatic opening
- Closes automatically or manually in less than 4 seconds

I know it says they are working on more advanced version of the TrailerTail®, among features that are in process of being developed and approved is an automatic feature so the driver doesn't have to manually set the TrailerTail® up.

PHOTOS!

AND ... as always .... we can't have this much wording in a blog and no truck pictures now, can we?   So here's a few pictures from ATDynamics.com:

INFORMATIVE LINKS
Here is a link to various videos from ATDynamics about the TrailerTail®:http://www.atdynamics.com/video_trailertail.htm

Here is a link to FAQs:

http://www.atdynamics.com/faq.htm

For more info, details, testimonials and videos, visit:

http://www.atdynamics.com

If any drivers out there have experience with the TrailerTail®, feel free to comment on your experience.  I'm just naturally curious myself, but others in the industry may find it helpful to hear from someone who has actually used it :)

We'll see if they become more common to see on the road.  If they work as promised .... my guess is that with today's gas/diesel prices, most big companies will be utilizing the TrailerTail® eventually.

Until next time ......... 10-4!

Laila

Road Trip Tips!

Ok so this post is a little bit besides the normal ones I usually write, but I found it interesting.

Inbetween the spam and the nice offers of sexual enhancements of various sort that I receive in my email, I actually do get a lot of nice emails and some with suggestions for blog topics. 
I will happily accept blog topic ideas, because although I could post truck pictures every day and most of the ones reading this blog wouldn't get bored with that, it's nice to vary it a little :-)

Now, this one obviously advertises Atlas some, but I found that it was an interesting infograph they had put together. I know I have a lot of truckdriving readers coming through this blog, so hopefully you will find this interesting and hopefully also helpful :-)

Also, here is a link to the complete survey that was given:

http://www.atlasvanlines.com/relocation-surveys/van-operator/

And a link to an article about the survey:

http://www.atlasvanlines.com/news/2012/0008/survey-reveals-favorite-food-coffee-hotel-and-other-highway-essentials/

Very excited to see Kenworth voted best tractor ;-)  And also surprised to see Subway as #1 Fast Food. Nice and health conscious choice :)

Anyway, there are some interesting questions and answers, I hope you'll enjoy it and perhaps benefit from it :)  Thanks to Jill for once again an interesting blog topic idea!


~Laila

340-ton Rock Move!

Ok, so I made it! I was able to go and see, and photograph, the massive transport that is transporting a 340 ton (yes, TON) rock 105 miles, from Riverside to Los Angeles, where it will be displayed at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art as part of Michael Heizer's artwork Levitated Mass. (More on the artwork can be found on the web.... we're a trucking web site after all, not an art blog.... however a brief description of the art work can be found here: http://lacma.wordpress.com/2011/05/17/michael-heizer%e2%80%99s-levitated-mass-is-coming-to-lacma/ )

Anyway. For any truck enthusiast, this was a beautiful site. I snapped pictures like nobody's business. Unfortunately I was racing the sunlight, so I'm sorry about the variety in light on these pictures.  Some are a little dark, but it's what I was able to get :)

Now, I said 105 miles is the traveling distance, but that is if you can take the freeway.  With this load, there is no way to travel freeways with overpasses and weak spots.  After several months of collaboration between several cities, counties and engineering specialists, a route was planned out that is longer, but will be safer to travel.

The rock moves at 5mph and it only moves at night, from around 10pm and night until 5-6am in the morning.  It is said to possibly be the largest megalithic stone moves since ancient times.

The transport measures 260 feet long and 32 feet wide and if everythign goes according to schedule, the rock should be at LACMA on March 10th.

CLICK HERE TO FOLLOW THE ROCK MOVE!

Ok, enough talk! Let's see some PICTURES!!!!  Enjoy!

I'll have the entire picture collection uploaded on Facebook, just join the 18wheeler FB group, although all I can say is that it's pretty much more of the same :)

You can read more detailed information about the rock and the progress of the transportation HERE.