Friday, August 23, 2013

World's biggest driving machines

 Here is an article from MSN from today that really caught my eye:

World's biggest driving machines



To read more about the machines, cool facts like weight and height (very interesting reading!), just click the link above, it will take you to the full MSN article. I wanted to post the truck pics here. 


Caterpillar 797FCaterpillar 797 


Komatsu D575A
Caterpillar Inc. 797BKomatsu D575A 

LeTourneau L-2350 LeTourneau L-2350 


Big Bud 16V-747Big Bud 747 


Hitachi 'Big Bertha' tunnel boring machine

Big Bertha

NASA crawler-transporterNASA Crawler TransporterCrawler Transporter

Bagger 288Bagger 288

Thursday, July 18, 2013

If trucks stopped ....

Here is a great infograph that was posted on Facebook, I'd like to repost here in my blog.

Like I stated somewhere else, I surely hope that desperation would force humans to think of other solutions if this was to happen but it probably wouldn't happen until we were all dead or nearly dead so ... there you go.  We need trucks!

Friday, July 12, 2013

Train on Truck

It was with mixed feelings I witnessed a big rig hauling a train car yesterday as I drove in to work.  It was excited to see it, it was a great sight to see that big ole' train car on top of the Peterbilt truck, which was moving at a snail's pace of course.  I was also frustrated because since I was driving, I was not able to photograph this sight.   It's one of those moments where I wish I had a camera attached to my car and could just push a button when I see stuff like this.

As I pulled in to work, I noticed that the train car had actually come from the business next door to ours, and there was a SECOND train car being loaded on to a truck.  These two train cars have been there forever. I'm trying to find out where they went yesterday, but so far I've been unable to successfully search the web for the removal of these train cars.
Anyway, during my break at work, I walked across the street and watched the event for a few minutes, along with quite a few other spectators.  I was able to shoot a few pics with my phone as they loaded the car on to the truck. 

Enjoy the photos. I will try to see if I can figure out where the cars went (and see if someone else got photos of the transport), but for now, the below is all I have ....

I think this pretty much proves that big rigs ARE the king of transport ..... don't you all agree? Short of blowing these train cars up, how else could they possibly have been moved if it wasn't for the trucks .... :)












Friday, June 21, 2013

TRUCKERS PLEASE READ -- IRS INFO - PSA!

Not the most exciting headline I've ever posted on this blog BUT nonetheless very important.

Someone posted this on the 18wheelbeauties Facebook page, and I want to pass it on to all truckers that happen to swing by this blog. (And if you're *not* a trucker and are reading this, please do feel free to pass it along anyway.)



Don't forget to file your taxes on time.  Keep on trucking! :)

Thursday, May 23, 2013

That feeling of Safety!

I wanted to write a post about safe trucks and trucks/truck companies that I personally trust when I see their logos rolling down the freeway.  Whenever I see these trucks, they have established a certain trust factor with me that makes me believe their drivers are safe, reliable and courteous.

The fact that I notice these companies and their good behavior on the road made me think they deserve some recognition, even if it's only among the readers of this humble truck blog :)

Disclaimer:  Before I start posting pictures in this post, I want to say that this post is based solely on personal experience and observations, it is not based on any surveys or statistics of any kind ... 

First of all, just because a trucking company is not depicted in this post does *not* mean they are not safe and reliable.  There are plenty of other trucks out there that are just that!

Secondly, I know there are plenty of safe independent drivers and unmarked trucks out there whose company names I don't know. Also, I reside in Southern California and there are probably a lot of logistics companies I have never seen that operate in other parts of the country. Again --- they are probably safe and reliable, but if I haven't seen them, I won't know to post about them. 


[End disclaimer]

So .... onward with my post and to my point.

I commute a lot. Every single day I'm out there on the freeway. I see a lot of driver behavior, 18-wheelers included.  I'm very impressed actually.  As much traffic as we have coming through the freeways every day, in general, most drivers are very safe and very good. And thankfully so, otherwise we would spend a lot more time sitting in traffic than we already do.

Truck drivers in general know to drive safely and are very courteous, even in situations where I myself might have blown a fuse. However, I have also seen some very unsafe truck drivers, which scares me, just because of the size and weight of their vehicle.  No matter what, if a person gets in a fender bender with a big rig, just due to the sheer nature of its size, it will most likely end badly and be very costly, so unstable trucks/truck drivers scares the crap out of me. I usually step on the gas and dart past them as fast as I can.
Accidents happen to the best of drivers once in awhile, but I do believe that when you are responsible for a vehicle the size of an 18-wheeler, you are definitely required to be even more careful and levelheaded than most drivers.

As a rule, most trucking companies seem to be conscious about hiring safe drivers.  I've had friends apply to some of these companies and been denied due to some ding in their driving record.  Obviously I sympathize with my friends who didn't get the job, but I applaud the logistics companies for sticking to their safety rules and regulations. Their name and reputation is at stake, they want to ensure that the men and women behind the wheel of their trucks with their logo will do their company justice by representing them well across the country.

So .... below are some companies that I've taken notice of and I feel that their trucks are safe to be around whenever I see them in motion.  Again, this is based only on what I see around here, I *know* there are more safe drivers out there than the handful I will post below.

Thanks to ALL of our safe truck drivers for your effort in keeping the freeways accident free.


Swift Transportation - always reliably safe


Schneider National




C.R.England




Knight Transportation



Mayflower Moving Lines




Stevens Transport


 United Van Lines
 

Walmart Transportation


AND ---- for showing utmost self control, driving around with gigantic burgers and crispy french fries on the side of your truck all day long must make a person constantly hungry ....
McDonalds and Carl's JR trucks especially, as their truck ads are particularly tempting!

So kudos to food truckers for safe delivery!