Arizona Trip - Part 1

We recently went on a vacation to Arizona (Flagstaff, Grand Canyon), and boy oh boy was there ever eye candy for a truck enthusiast such as myself. I was in danger of contracting a case of whiplash as we passed truck after truck after truck after truck for the 7 hours or so that it took us to get to Flagstaff.


Still not equipped with cameras on my sideview mirrors (That'd be cool, that way I could take pics while I drive!), a lot of nice photo ops passed me by, however I did manage to get quite a few nice photos anyway.


Outside our motel, there were several big rigs parked over night, and also we were lodging right next to the I-40, so I went outside early in the morning & was able to catch quite a few beauties as they whizzed by above me on the freeway.


I wanted to post a few of my photos here. There were a LOT of them and I've split them up to avoid big rig overload ;-) (Is there such a thing?)

Anyway, below are a few shots from AZ and there are more to come in future posts.

Most of the ones below were taken really early in the morning, sun is barely up. It was great!

My favorite line :-) Steven's transport. Finally managed to get some pics of my own :)

More Steven's transport...

... and another one ... or two :)

Beautiful W900, love how the morning sun hits the rooftop.

The reflections in this photos kind of messed it up but it's a W900 so I couldn't help but include it anyway! (Yep, that's right, it's my blog, I'm entitled to play favorites ;-))

Sharing the road with Big Rigs - BLIND SPOTS!

I have posted this one before... but I think this will be one of very few posts that I'll keep reposting and reposting until I stop seeing people driving like idiots around big rigs ... which, let's face it, will probably be never so bottomline, I'll probably be reposting these safety posts until I die.

Take a moment please, and familiarize yourself with the danger of passing or driving too close to big rigs! There are blind spots everywhere, and YOU need to be aware of them even if you are not a truck driver. It could save your life!

75% of all car-big rig accidents are caused by the driver of the car, not the truck driver .

I commute a lot. I drive about 35 miles each way to and from work, 5 days a week, and boy do I see some stupid driving, especially when it comes to small cars vs. semis. (And mind you, ALL cars are small compared to big rigs….)

In this post, I want to write about blind spots.

Blind Spots.

All cars have them. There is nothing as scary as readying yourself to change lanes, you think that the lane next to you is wide open and then all of a sudden you spot a sucker that has been lurking in your blind spot for the past few minutes. It’s enough to give a person a heart attack.
On a regular car, the blind spots are few & they are small. We also have the luxury of being able to turn our heads and look over our shoulder before we merge, to make sure nobody is riding in our blind spot. A truck driver can’t do that. If he turns his head and looks over his shoulder, he’ll see the back of his cab!

A big rig has a lot of blind spots, and some of these blind spots do in fact span across several freeway lanes. Let’s go through them.

1. Front of the Truck: This blind spot ranges out about 20 feet ahead of the semi. The driver won’t see you there. Merging in this close to a big rig can be fatal. Make sure you leave about 4 car lengths between your car and the big rig.

2. Rear of the Truck: About 30 feet directly behind the trailer and you should keep a distance of 25 car lengths. The problem is that when you drive behind a big rig, you can’t see what is going on ahead of you in traffic. You can only trust that the brake lights on the rig in front of you are working properly and that the truck driver is able to hit his brakes in time should something cause a sudden stop. If you are driving too close to the rear end of a big rig and a sudden stop happens, it too could be fatal.I suppose that if you are driving behind a big rig, which sometimes happens, especially on busy freeways, you should drive at a speed that will allow you to stop in time should a sudden stop occur.

3. Left Side of the Truck: a 3-lane span, starting at the end of the truck cab and running down the entire length of the truck. Passing on the left side of a big rig is the correct thing to do, however don’t linger. Make your passing a quick one so that you will be visible again to the driver as fast as possible.

4. Right Side of the Truck: Some trucks have a sticker on the back that says:

<<>>

This sticker isn’t for comedy or posted as a joke. Passing a big rig on the right hand side could very well be the last thing you do in life. I don’t mean to be morbid, but that’s a fact. The blind spot on the right hand side of a big rig also fans out for about 3 lanes and runs the length of the truck, but this blind spot is a lot less forgiving than the one on the left.The truck driver may very well see you when you enter the blind spot, but if you linger there and he no longer sees you, he could forget that you are there. If by any chance he has to make a sudden swerve to avoid a collision or an object in the lane, there is no chance he remember that you are still next to him if he can’t see you.

I bring up the word “fatal” a lot because if you end up in an accident vs a big rig, the chances of you walking away could be minimal.

I read somewhere that 78% of small cars vs big rig accidents end in fatality.

78%!

And these small cars are the ones I constantly see darting in and out of traffic, passing on the right, passing on the left, cutting off big rigs left and right (and everyone else for that matter). Seriously. You may think you’re the best driver in the world but be cautious when passing big trucks. Unpredictable incidents in the roadway happen a lot, and you want to be visible to a truck driver at all times so that if he does have to make a sudden move, he knows you’re there!

So…blind spots. We all hate them. I’m sure truck drivers despise them. But they’re there. Just be aware of them. And don’t pass trucks on the right!

Old & Faithful!

A while back, I put out a request for photos of old trucks! Of course I love the new shiny trucks that roll down the highway, however I feel the old trucks aren't given enough credit! :) The wear and tear speak loudly of their faithful service on the road, the peeling paint a true tale of lots and lots of miles rolling through wind, rain and snow storms ... Grills with holes in them and lights that barely hang on ... It's the sign of a true warrior!

Anyway, I did get a couple of responses! Thanks!! :) (And I'm always looking for more!)

The first one is photo sent to me by a gentleman named Dale, it is of an old Ford truck, which is really cool since I am a Ford girl at heart! :) The photo was taken in 1991, while the truck was fairly new still but the trailer sure has seen its share of roadway! :)

Another one was actually a magazine scan that was sent to me by a friend of mine. This is a 1953 Kenworth, my friend's father inherited it after a family friend passed away, and he is keeping it alive by taking it to truck shows around the midwest.

Kenworth is my favorite big rig, I was very excited to get these magazine pictures!

Gotta love these old trucks... (as long as they don't break down in the lane as you're coming home from work in the afternoon.... lol .... even though, oh well ... sh!t happens, right?? :))

Eye catching trucking companies - Steven's Transport

I just love these trucking companies & logistics companies that spend extra time & money in overhaulting and customizing their fleets, so that when you spot their trucks driving down the freeway, you KNOW which trucking company it is without even having seen the logo. For me, because I'm a bit of a weirdo ;), it goes even further than that. I'll spot some of these trailers and I won't only know which company they belong to, I also pretty much remember what type of trucks are hauling the trailers.
I mean, truly, their trucks are nothing but a huge rolling billboard & advertising for a company, if the company is able to put together a nice look that can be recognized no matter where they drive.

One of my very favorite trucks that I see out on the highways are the ones that come from Steven's Transport. With their big, shiny trailers and their black trucks, not to mention that very stylish & elegant logo they have, it just really makes for a very nice & eyecatching package. I'll be sitting in traffic, and all of a sudden I'll spot the Steven's Transport trailer and at that point I'm just dying to move forward so I can pass the truck and get a good look at it.

Oh yeah ... uh .... forgot to mention one little detail .... these trucks are usually big black (or dark blue) Kenworths ... *blush* Whose to say I'm biased? lol.

It so happens the Steven's Transport has the largest fleet of Kenworth T2000 in the country. (Does that mean that they have the largest fleet of T2000s in the world? I don't know but I'm tempted to assume so...). For a Kenworth fanatic like me, that's pretty cool!! I found an article from 2005, and that point they had 1300 T2000s in their fleet and were about to expand it with another 600. Boy do I ever wanna go on a shopping excursion with Steven's Transport!!! :-)))

Seriously, other than the superduper stunning and fierce-looking Kenworth trucks they have, what caught my eye about Steven's Transport is the really awesome color coordination between trailer, truck and logo. It's just a perfect set, it can't be missed and although I personally get excited when I see Steven's Transport, because most likely it means I'll be able to drool over a nice black Kenworth for a few seconds, other motorists are also bound to recognize Steven's Transport when they see their trucks on the road.

Below are a few photos of Steven's transport trucks ... since I'm not usually in a position to take photos when I pass them, I've borrowed most of these from http://www.stevenstransport.com -- I hope they don't mind :)

4th of July Special - Rolling 9/11 Memorial & Trucks in Red, White & Blue!

In light of the upcoming 4th of July celebration, I decided to find some photos of big rigs with American flags, stripes & colorings on them.

I see a lot of beautiful big rigs with patriotic designs like the Star Spangled Banner or the bald eagle displayed on them, but the problem is that I'm usually on the move myself when I see them and I'm unable to take pictures. I really should mount a camera system on my car so I could snap photos as I roll up and down the freeway. Maybe someday I'll work something out.

Enjoy the following patriotic display of trucks in red, white & blue and have a Happy & Safe 4th of July 2009 celebration! Happy Birthday America!!

A perfect line up of trucks in red, white & blue! (Photo taken by my brother)

ROLLING MEMORIAL -

an amazing tribute to the 9/11 victims!

I want to start with a special treat I found in my search for patriotic trucks. It is an amazing memorial tribute to the victims of the 9/11 tragedy. The tribute is called "Rolling Memorial" and is a big rig that is customized with a mural in honor of the victims of the 9/11 tragedy, along with the names of all the people that died in this attack. The truck is owned by a truck driver named John Holmgren and he was inspired by Darryl Worley's song, "Have You Forgotten". The customization of his truck cost him $40,000 and despite selling t-shirts and various merchandise to cover his expenses, he still ended up deep in the red over this project.

John and his truck have become very popular & are invited to events and concerts all across the country. Inbetween displaying his truck at events, it also is still in service as a regular truck.
The only problem is that John keeps getting pulled over by the highway patrol as they want to check out & take photos with his truck, and frankly, I can't blame them. I hope someday to see this truck for myself, it would be an amazing sight.

For now, I have photos that I want to show you. Here are the photos of this amazing rolling memorial tribute to the 9/11 victims:

The American Spirit - Big Rigs with Patriotic Designs

Below is a collection of big rigs with custom designs in the form of American flags or red,white and blues. I'm not going to put any commentary on these, just sit back, watch & enjoy these trucks, they're quite spectacular.