OLD TRUCKS, NEW TRUCKS

February 2, 2011 Vol. 7, No. 3

OK, let's begin the proceedings with a small amusement. First off, have a look at the old sepia-toned picture below. And then help me launch a new game called 'Name That Truck' -- which may never appear again, I must tell you, not least because most of you probably won't have a clue what this is and the more passionate amongst you might get a little feverish with frustration and throw hard objects in my general direction. Or do I sell you short?

I sure didn't know what this truck was. But what the heck, we can trust the driver's word.

That's because the driver seen lounging about here is Ross (Rosario) Meli, father of our senior account manager here at Today's Trucking, Jack Meli, who found this photo in the family archives and brought it into the office to show me, smiling broadly as he did so. I'd guess I smiled pretty broadly in return, loving such photos and the little stories that tag along with them.

The picture was snapped in 1957 or 1958, in Venezuela no less. Rosario was hauling boxes of books and had stopped at a truckstop for a coffee and a smoke break. A stranger offered to take his picture with the truck, and apparently he was given a print immediately after it was shot.

First and only clue, the truck is not a South American brand though it was probably built there.
 
So there we are, my first Name That Truck contest, and likely the last. If you know the make of this old bruiser, ship me an e-mail (rolf@newcom.ca) and win a prize. No idea what your prize might actually be, of course, but I'll think of something.

I'VE GOT A SOFT SPOT for the people of trucking and especially for those with inventiveness in their blood. Over the years I've seen countless examples of drivers and shop foremen and fleet owners with an urge to do the job better in some way by inventing a solution that nobody had thought of before. Lots of trucking people have pretty good, if untrained, engineering minds and some of them aren't bad at the fabricating game too.

I first think of Hubert Kleysen, founder of Kleysen Transport in Winnipeg, when this subject arises. Countless moons ago his son Tom took me out to the back 40 to have a look at what was essentially a graveyard of machinery that his father had devised, built, and ultimately cast aside. It was a massive collection. I have no idea how many of his ideas became useful tools in some way or other, nor an idea of his hit rate. But if one in 10 or even one in 20 panned out, I wouldn't be surprised.

Which brings me to the BrakeBoss that you'll see described in one of the product items below. I've seen this thing, devised by Ontario truck driver Joe Steininger, in action as a demo, and it's pretty slick. Kind of a reverse variation on the "prairie cruise control" theme, a dead-simple gizmo once shown to me by a western owner-operator. Misguided in the extreme, though likely not uncommon at the time, it was a short length of 2x4 lumber artfully notched to be wedged between seat frame and the go-pedal to maintain a certain throttle setting and thus road speed. Like I said, misguided.

Steininger's brake-adjustment check tool is infinitely more sensible, and I should think it could contribute to much lower out-of-service rates during roadside inspection blitzes. It makes one-man brake checks easy.

Not the same sort of thing at all, and not an answer to some mechanical challenge, the Bunk In A Bag described below is still pretty cool. Again, devised by two women from within the industry, it's simply a good idea. And at $65.95, not expensive at all.

SCANIA WANTS CLEANER VEHICLES NOW, to change the subject rather abruptly. As I've said before, I like to follow the Swedish truck-maker's activities and pronouncements even though we don't see their trucks here. That's because they're involved in the broader industry more than most, launching into public policy issues fairly often. Rival Volvo, in its European incarnation, and Daimler, play this game too, much more -- with respect -- than North American OEMs do. I think it's good for the industry as a whole, and there are lessons there that can sometimes be applied here.

Anyway, my unhumble opinions aside, Scania held a sustainable transport conference in Brussels on January 26. Political decision makers, fleet operators, and other stakeholders gathered to discuss how the transport business can meet environmental challenges while maintaining efficiency and high service levels.

Scania’s president and CEO Leif Ostling noted that there's an ageing population of heavy vehicles in Europe. In 1995, he said, 90% of all European commercial vehicles at best conformed to the first Euro emission standard. Now, 15 years later, more than half of all commercial vehicles still only meet the Euro 1 and 2 standards, while the Euro 5 standard is already in force.

“Given the slow pace of progress in renewing the vehicle population, it is more important to make full use of all available means to reduce carbon dioxide emissions. These include longer truck and trailer combinations, better logistics systems, alternative fuels, and driver training with efficient support systems,” Ostling said.

Driver training is the single most, and fastest, way to reduce the carbon footprint of our trucks, he said, and I couldn't possibly agree more. I'm more concerned with the immediate survival of my readers, so it's fuel economy -- as opposed to emissions -- that gets me going. Happily, they can coincide. Not the way the EPA has done it, damaging efficiency in the process, but by simply using less fuel.

“We know that the difference between skilled and less skilled drivers can be up to 20% fuel consumption," Ostling said. "Using driver training and support systems, we can easily reduce consumption by 10%. By means of engine development, it would take us some 6 or 7 years to achieve similar savings.”

In fact, the figure representing the difference between the best and worst drivers in terms of fuel economy is at least 30%, I believe, and I've seen 35% quoted by outfits that have done testing to prove the point.

One other point made at the conference is an important one, I think. Martin Lundstedt, Scania’s executive vice president and head of factory and franchise sales, called for a more stable policy framework that can help customers decide which technology and fuels to invest in.

“We need better guidance and sustainable policies that can enable customers to make investment decisions with a 6-to-9 year perspective,” he said.

Yup, we sure do, here in North America as well.

Learn more from the conference here.

AN INTERESTING TIDBIT ABOUT NATURAL GAS... You'll all be aware of the huge push to use natural gas in the trucks that haul containers in and out of California ports. Concerns about global warming and public health are at the core here, and the authorities are demanding that some 8000 diesel trucks be converted to cleaner-burning natural gas. Clean Energy is building the fueling stations to serve these trucks.

What I didn't know about this until recently is that in southern California, about 25% of all diesel pollution comes from goods movement activity at just the two mammoth ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach. And projections call for container traffic to more than double by 2020.

Those ports already handle 40% of all U.S. container traffic. Wow.

SPEAKING OF NATURAL GAS, a Canadian fleet out of B.C. has just ordered 50 Peterbilt Model 386 liquefied natural gas (LNG) trucks like the one shown here. Vedder Transport of Abbotsford specializes in the transportation of food-grade products in a bulk liquid or dry state throughout Canada and into the U.S.

The Vedder Petes will be powered by the Westport HD system, which consists of the GX 15-litre engine, proprietary Westport fuel injectors, LNG fuel tanks with integrated cryogenic fuel pumps, and associated electronic components to facilitate robust performance and reliable operation. The Westport HD GX engine is certified and compliant to 2010 EPA and CARB emission limits.
 
VERY BIG NEWS IS COMING FROM ARVINMERITOR, specifically a name change -- back to simply Meritor.

ArvinMeritor shareowners approved the name change from ArvinMeritor, Inc. to Meritor, Inc. at the company’s 2011 annual meeting on Jan. 20.

“The company is taking this action because the Meritor name is recognized by our commercial vehicle and industrial customers around the world,” said CEO Chip McClure. “With our recent sale of the body systems business, this change makes sense. We are now organized to focus entirely on innovative products and technologies that offer superior performance, energy efficiency and reliability.”

The company will define itself, McClure continued, by creating drivetrain, mobility, braking and aftermarket solutions in commercial vehicle and industrial markets.

Over the last decade, the company has continued to market and sell its commercial vehicle and industrial products under the Meritor brand. In late March 2011, the company is planning to launch its name officially which will include a change to its ticker symbol.

AND THERE'S SOME WESTERN STAR NEWS to come as well. The company says it will expand its current product line with the launch of a new class 8 vocational truck at The Work Truck Show coming up in Indianapolis in early March. 

They won't say much about it now, except that it's designed specifically for the construction, crane, dump, mixer, roll-off and municipal segments.

They'll beat Caterpillar to the vocational punch by a couple of weeks. Cat intends to unveil its very first truck in Las Vegas on March 20.

Yours truly will be at both events, of course, but before that you'll find me -- next week in fact -- at the annual TMC gathering in Tampa. It'll be tough to leave the snow behind, I can tell you. Look for a report from that always interesting show and conference in my next newsletter.

See you then.

THIS NEWSLETTER IS PUBLISHED every two weeks. It's a heads-up notice about what's going on with trucking technology as well as what you can see at  www.todaystrucking.com where you'll find in-detail coverage of nearly everything   that's new. Plus interesting products that may not have had the 'air play' they deserved within the last few months. Why not subscribe today?

I should remind you that I don’t endorse any of the products I write about in this e-newsletter, nor do I have the resources to test them. What you’re getting is reasonably well educated opinion based on three decades in trucking. And in the case of the individual product items, I’m just presenting simple news from the manufacturer or service provider, with the hyperbole mostly removed and   clarification applied.

If you have comments of whatever sort about Product Watch, or maybe you've tried a gizmo I should know about, please contact me at rolf@newcom.ca.

 

TMC WHEEL/RIM GUIDE

(February 02, 2011) -- Third edition of TMC User’s Guide to Wheels and Rims released

AFTERMARKET DRIVELINE

(February 02, 2011) -- ArvinMeritor announces availability of the MXL driveline for aftermarket customers

AFTERMARKET CLUTCH

(February 02, 2011) -- Eaton expands aftermarket portfolio with new EverTough brand

LIGHTING CATALOGUE

(February 02, 2011) -- Truck-Lite’s 2011 catalogue features nearly 1000 lighting products

AFTERMARKET EXHAUST

(February 02, 2011) -- TRP introduces exhaust program with mufflers, clamps, tubes, Y-pipes and bushings