News and information from inside the trucking industry.
adminOne of the most common issues faced by trailer owners is flickering lights. Whether it’s a sporadic flicker or a persistent problem, it can be frustrating and even dangerous. Over the years, many solutions have been attempted, but none have proven as effective as The Pigtail Wedge. In this blog post, we will delve into … Read more
Trucking in the United States has a very long history. “According to Bob Costello, chief economist for the American Trucking Associations (ATA), trucks move roughly 72.5% of the nation’s freight by weight.” Fleetowner.com Freight moves from distribution centers and retail stores to wholesalers who in turn sell to retailers or directly to consumers. This movement … Read more
How to deal with flickering trailer lights.
If you have driven a big truck for any length of time, you probably know how to fix flickering trailer lights.
There are plenty of articles on how the Bendix® Wingman® Fusion™ is supposed to work. For the most part, the system works as advertised. I want to give a first hand look at how it works in the real world.
The system is advertised to activate automatically once your speed reaches 37 mph, but I have seen the system activate at what seems to be random speeds. I’ve seen the system activate as low as 35 MPH and as high as 50 MPH. Everything from adaptive cruise control to lane departure warning will be watching your every move. The adaptive cruise control will maintain a proper following distance from the vehicle in front of you. What you have to get used to is seeing the slower vehicles you may be coming up on and moving over BEFORE the system “sees” them. If you do not move over first, the system will begin to meet their speed and you will loose all momentum.
Driver retention is probably the number one issue in the trucking industry. There are many debates on how to remedy the problem, but there is one thing we all agree on; Truck drivers do not get paid enough for what they do. Don’t get me wrong, I have made a good living as a truck driver … Read more
Driving a big truck in interstate commerce has many challenges. We have not only to deal with traffic just like everyone else on the highway, we also have all the special regulations that deal with commercial drivers. Most of the things required by each individual driver only affect that driver. We have all been there; … Read more
How much do truck drivers make? Pay in the trucking industry is pretty good. According to Payscale.com, “Tractor-Trailer Drivers do not generally earn higher incomes from more experience in the field. Although individuals who have less than five years’ experience earn $39K on average, people with five to 10 years benefit from a notably larger … Read more
Winter Driving can be done safely. The winter can have a vast swing in temperatures, snowfall, and ice everywhere. I have had my share of driving in bad weather. From Massachusetts to Minnesota, the weather across the northern states has been daunting. Every time the weather comes in to where I was, I had to … Read more
