International Truck & Engine has launched its Certified Pre-Owned Truck program, which includes an 83-point vehicle inspection.
Patriot Lift Co. announced that FedEx is endorsing the company’s On-Lift and On-Load, air-powered, landing-gear lift mechanisms.
Sirius satellite radio is available as a factory-installed option for Class 8 Peterbilt conventionals, with a complimentary one-year subscription for trucks ordered and built this year.
The Volvo Group is showing a truck equipped with a DME engine. DME (dimethylether) is an LPG-like fuel that can be produced from biomass and residual products from paper pulp production.
ConocoPhillips has introduced: Conoco El Mar 3100, a new oil designed for use in naturally aspirated and turbocharged, lean-burn, natural-gas engines requiring low-ash engine oil; and Conoco GLW, a chlorine-free lubricant that offers improved gear protection for mining and construction equipment.
Fontaine International was presented the Masters of Quality award by Freightliner for the third consecutive year.
The Transit Business Unit of Webb Wheel Products has opened a new 32,000-square-foot facility to manufacture and distribute drums for the transit industry.
3M announced its new Top Installer, a Web-based program that rewards installers for their purchases of Scotchgard Paint Protection Film with free merchandise. For information, visit this site.
Denso International America was named a General Motors Supplier of the Year.
Kenworth recently celebrated the production of its 250,000th truck, a new 2006 Model Kenworth T600, at its Chillicothe, Ohio plant.
Petro Stopping Centers is celebrating its 30th anniversary.
This hybrid stuff really is catching on. Chicago-based Commonwealth Edison and another Exelon company, PECO Energy of Philadelphia, are adding first-of-a-kind, hybrid bucket trucks to their fleets. The trucks are Internationals with diesel-electric hybrid powertrains built in cooperation with Eaton Corp.
The vehicles are expected to improve fuel economy up to 60 percent and offer significant emissions reductions. Also, the trucks should be able to help out in power outages, since they can supply 25 kilowatts of electricity – enough power for more than a dozen homes – while crews investigate an outage.
When field personnel operate a diesel-powered bucket truck, the engine must remain running when employees use the bucket. These hybrid vehicles will allow operators to shut off the diesel engine and operate the bucket on an electric motor for up to two hours before the engine has to restart to charge the battery pack.
The hybrid bucket truck program is administered by WestStart, a consortium of truck fleet users, truck makers, technology companies and the military. ComEd and PECO will assist in data collection to be used in future vehicle production.
Beyond the pickup
The Dodge Boys have launched their much-anticipated 2005 Dodge Ram 3500, Box-Off, 4×2, dual-rear-wheeled chassis-cab. Available in regular and Quad Cab models, the trucks offer easy upfit, thanks to frame rail rear spacing of 42 inches. GVWR is 11,000 pounds with a payload of 5,550 pounds and a GCWR of 23,000 pounds.
The new Ram is available with Dodge’s 345-hp, 5.7-liter Hemi V-8; or a 325-hp, 5.9-liter Cummins turbo diesel.
The package rides on 17-inch wheels and tires, and packs a 35-gallon fuel tank.
Michelin sweetens the X One pot
Michelin is offering truck operators a $400 incentive to convert their rigs from dual tires to its X One, wide single tires.
Citing weight, fuel and labor savings, the company – confident that many fleets can benefit from X One technology – offers a risk-free, Total Satisfaction guarantee. The conversion incentive must be applied toward the purchase of four X One tires mounted on Alcoa wheels. It’s intended for first-time X One buyers and is limited to 10 vehicles per fleet.
Interested? Visit your Michelin dealer or Travel plaza.
TMC updates Radial Tire Guide
The Technology & Maintenance Council (TMC) has just released its revised, third edition of its Radial Tire Conditions Analysis Guide. It’s the first comprehensive update of the manual since 1994, and it’s available in print and CD-ROM versions.
Packed with more than 200 color photographs and illustrations, the Guide contains detailed, expert descriptions of every tire failure and service condition, including diagonal wear, irregular wear, sidewall separations, zipper failures, shoulder wear and more. The Guide also shows how to correct problems and what to do with damaged tires.
The price of the Guide is $79 (CD-ROM version: Item No. T0372; Print Version: Item No. T0121) for TMC or ATA members and $95 for nonmembers. Discounts for quantities of 10 or more are available. To order, call 800-ATA-LINE or 703-838-1763.
Mitchell 1 entering TMC’s FleetPortal
Continental DataGraphics (CDG) – the service provider supporting the TMC FleetPortal service offering of the American Trucking Associations – announced it has entered into business alliance discussions with Mitchell Repair Information Company, LLC (Mitchell 1). CDG and Mitchell 1 are discussing strategies to jointly market and sell a cooperative offering between the TMC FleetPortal application and Mitchell 1’s Pickup-N-Van product. This would enable TMC FleetPortal subscribers to access Mitchell 1’s light truck service and repair information via the TMC FleetPortal interface.
Equipment Puzzler
In May, we posed the question: Ethanol and methanol can be used as motor fuels, either by themselves or blended with gasoline. They’re both alcohol, but what’s the difference?
The difference is that ethanol is ethyl alcohol, or C2H5OH, and is the drinking variety. Methanol, CH3OH, often is referred to as wood alcohol, and is extremely poisonous.
At press time, no one had sent in the correct answer. So, if you want a chrome CCJ pen and an Air Brake Book, be the first to send the correct answer to this month’s Puzzler to [email protected] – or send a puzzler of your own. If we use it, you win.
This month’s Puzzler:
In an air brake system, what is the AL factor?
