Every Day Trucks!

I went to Las Vegas last week. The 15 freeway has a lot of eye candy for a truck enthusiast, so I thought I'd snap a few pictures and share!

Now ... these are the average transport trucks. Not show trucks, just regular work horses. Personally, these are the trucks that keep me entertained every day as I commute to and from work, they give me something to look at besides the bumper of the car in front of me.

So here it is, a small tribute to the every day non-fancy trucks that so faithfully roll up and down the freeway, day out, day in ..... :)  

Blue skies, open highways ... here we go.

I was excited to see the TrailerTail implemented on a couple of trucks we passed along the way!
I had expected to see more of them by now, but I guess everyone is waiting around for
true statistics to see if it's worth the purchase or not.  

Unfortunately, I did also see a few of these ....
No fun being stranded in the desert! (Or anywhere really ....)

Oversize Load!

Oversize load, probably a PITA for the truck driver but it's quite fascinating to me what can actually be stacked and transported by big rigs.  It beats me how trucks can even move under the weight of some of this cargo, and even more so, how the heck can a driver maneuver their vehicle with these kind of loads!

Anyway .... I thought I'd scout the web for some interesting oversized cargo, so here we go .... Enjoy!

Let me start with one I witnessed first hand.  The below photos were taken during a 340 ton rock move.
You can read about it and see more photos here:
http://18wheelbeauties.blogspot.com/2012/03/340-ton-rock-move.html

Another traveler came across another heavy transport of an unknown type in Wisconsin.  He counted a total of 92 tires - 32 on the bogey, 14 on the tractor and 48 in the rear.

Below are some random Oversize photos from the giant pool of pictures that is called the internet!
The first one must be one of my favorite ones, very cool black and white heavy haul!
From the original page it says:

"This is a 1955 Scammell Contractor of Wynns pulling an oversize load a generator transformer on its way to CEGB High Marnham Power Station in North Notts in 1959."

Enjoy these pics! 

Feature Big Rig: Kenworth C500

I like to blog about specific trucks because I learn a lot about these trucks I write about, which was the initial reason for me starting this blog in the first place ... to learn about big rigs! (And boy have I ever!!  Just by writing this particular article, I've learned what FEPTO is ;-)) hehe

So, for a first featured truck today, I figured that since I made this bad boy the star of my new heading on my blog,  I owe it some time in the spotlight!
This Kenworth C500 caught my attention, it looks nice and solid with it's big, clunky tires and smart design.
As red and shiny as this one is, it would almost be a shame to put it to work, but that's what this truck was born to do so no doubt, it'll enjoy it! :)
The C500 is not a new model from Kenworth, however it has received a little makeover.

The following information comes pretty much directly from the Kenworth C500 brochure. I tend to like to write things myself in this blog, but in this case, why reinvent the wheel (or regurgitate a perfectly good brochure).

TRUCK CAB
Remains the same:  Standard day cab, 42" flat top sleeper cab
New: Extended day cab and 38" AeroCab flat top sleeper cab

Extended Day Cab
-Additional cab length and enhanced driver comfort.
-6" increased belly room and 5" increased head room.
-Seat reclines up to 21 degrees; 17 degrees at max rear slide position.
-Over 2 cubic feet additional in-cab storage .
-Easily accessed from driver or passenger side.
-Increased space for outerwear, safety equipment, and record keeping materials.

38” AeroCab FlatTop Sleeper
-More versatile then the day cab
-Structure: aluminum and fiberglass construction.
-Compact with plenty of headroom
-Liftable bunk with a 24in x 78in tilt up mattress, over-and-under bunk storage, a full headliner, insulated
rubber floor mats, vented access doors, swivel reading light, lockable luggage compartments and a separate sleeper control console.
-available with either Diamond or Splendor interior.

NEW FEATURES
Larger Cooling Module
-Reduces weight and allows for increased air-flow.
-Module fins are now made of aluminum rather than copper-brass.
-Used across the board in all C500 applications with either new wide fiberglass or sheet metal hoods, or optional FEPTO.
-With FEPTO the parent frame rail has a small cutout to allow for the
cooling module installation.







2 New Hoods- fiberglass and sheet metal
-accommodate the 1780 square inch cooling module that allows for increased cooling capacity.
-Increased cooling capacity improves stationary horsepower capability to 600 hp and Gross Combination Weights without application approval to 200,000 lbs.


-Twin Steer axle configurations available, shown here:

Again, I'm not affiliated with Kenworth in any way, I just like their trucks a lot, so I put them in my blog a lot :)  I promise to vary it, I'll feature someone else's truck next time!

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