WattsMack

Detroit Diesel has been recognized with a Modern Productivity Award in Warehousing/Manufacturing from Modern Materials Handling magazine.View the full article

Several years ago I was talking to one of P.L.Duncan's drivers in Sparrows Point,Md. I was telling him about my old cement mixer and my love of old trucks, and he told me about all the old trucks Mr. Duncan had, some packed in a building so tight you could hardly walk between them. He said they were all old, and most of them were running. I told myself then, "self, you need to get down there and take a look at those trucks". Well, after about 5 or 6 years, I finally did Friday. It was a great trip. I called Mr. Duncan before I went, and he told me to come on down. He's a very nice man, and when I got there I saw that his driver I talked to was understating if anything- he has all kinds of antique trucks, stuck everywhere! I took some pictures, then stopped to see an old friend of mine before I went to see mom and dad, and he owns the old 860 GMC that was a wrecker at the garage I worked at in Cumberland when I first got out of high school, in 1974. It was great! You can still see "Cumberland Auto Service" on the doors. Always loved that truck- 6-71 Detroit, 5 speed, with 2 speed rear. Just wish I could have driven it again! But, it was a great day! Here's some random pictures... Attached thumbnail(s) // // // // // // // // // // // // View the full blog entry

Date Added: Today, 06:17 PM Vehicle Owner: usmcjimbo View this new addition to the Garage

Well I was lookin and I was almost at the bottom of the blog list. Anyway lets look back into the last 9 months the boys are older, More bills have been paid, I have my CDL now, All this carrying sheetrock, shingles, doors and windows has made me feel a little better strength wise compared to workin security.......Other than that not much has went on. This week I got a noise violation ticket cause of one of the trucks at work. Were stayin busy though, especially with lowes just right up the street from us, we have 5 houses goin up at one time and a couple more just waitin for the rain to stop. Have a good one fellars, I must be off-Otherdog View the full blog entry

The Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance and Advocates for Highway and Auto Safety this week sent a letter to leaders of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee urging them to repeal the driver hours-of-service exemptions for agriculture and utility drivers.View the full article

FTR Associates has released preliminary data showing Class 8 total net orders for all major North American OEM's totaling 7,935 units in April, down 9 percent from March.View the full article

Some small growth in North American road spending is predicted in a new report, but likely not enough to meet demand over the next five years.View the full article

Cummins is temporarily closing the Columbus MidRange Engine Plant in Walesboro, Ind., just outside Columbus, as a result of Chrysler's decision last week to idle its manufacturing operations while it undergoes bankruptcy reorganization.View the full article

Crude oil prices continued to rise Thursday, closing trading at $56.71 on the New York Mercantile Exchange after rising to over $58 a barrel earlier in the day.View the full article

Isuzu Commercial Truck of America celebrated the 25th anniversary of Isuzu trucks in the U.S. market with a ceremony at the American Truck Dealers convention last month.View the full article

Motor vehicle accidents are the leading cause of death for U.S. teens, but UPS and its drivers are going to make an effort with the Boys & Girls Clubs of America to change that.View the full article

Roadranger lubricants have received the "E2T Environmental Excellence in Transportation Award" from the Society of Automotive Engineers for significant innovations in reducing the environmental impact caused by the transportation industry.View the full article

New York Sen. Chuck Schumer has introduced companion legislation in the Senate to a bill in the House that would implement a pilot program to address shortages in safe parking for commercial motor vehicles on the National Highway System.View the full article

Oil prices jumped to their highest level so far this year Wednesday, settling at $56.34 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.View the full article

ZF and Continental have finalized a strategic alliance to develop and produce hybrid drives for commercial vehicles.View the full article

Total Security Services International, Silver Springs, Md., has been selected for a grant for the Transportation Security Administration's 2009 Trucking Security Program Planning Funding Priority.View the full article

Detroit Diesel announced new initiatives to support its commitment to the environment by becoming an Energy Star partner.View the full article

Wallwork Kenworth has opened a state-of-the-art dealership in Bismarck, N.D., expanding its operations with a new facility that offers better accessibility and enhanced support.View the full article

H.R. Ewell Inc., a regional mid-Atlantic-based food grade products carrier, joined the EPA's SmartWay Transport Partnership.View the full article

I have a 2007 CL 700 series with a Cummins 565 engine. I am having problems with the power steering on it. If the water temp and oil temp stay above 200+ degrees, it steers fine. If the temp drops, it is hard to turn while steering. I have tried using ATF and regualr oil in it without any satisfaction. HELP ME PLEASE? View the full blog entry

Well for the time being I have a little money in my pocket. Last week I ran two loads up to the northeast back to back out of Chattanooga Tn. The first load was a two dropper with the first stop going to Jersey City N.J. and the final in North Haven CT. The second load was a straight load and went to North Haven CT. .Both loads consisted of conveyors and hoppers for a scrap yard. If I didn't have to pay those damned tolls life would be good. Paying thirty or fourty bucks to cross a bridge is . Question.. to all you folks who live in the toll ridden parts of the country.. Why don't you guys simply vote the idiots in charge out of office. Or you could always drown them in piss...something. I only go to the Northeast when the loads pay realy good, no cheap freight will ever get moved by my truck to that part of the world. What am I saying NO CHEAP FREIGHT PERIOD. I may never be rich doing it this way but as long as the bills are paid I cann't see why I would want to work more for less. Doesn't make any sense to me. They say (The trucking insiders) that the trucking industry is a penny buisness...I agree to a certain point. I believe a penny saved is a penny earned, so I don't idle the truck, do most of the work to the truck myself and wash it myself. However why would I want to work more for less?????? My Dad told me when I was a kid and was always in a hurry... to slow down and to work smarter not harder. Haste makes waste, grabbing the first load that is offered with out looking around for better paying freight is not working smarter. There may not be anything else to be had, but if there is I want the better paying freight. I can turn plenty of miles but would rather be at home chasing the new girlfriend around or working in the yard or tinkering on the truck. Sometimes I sit at a truckstop for days waiting on a descent load...but do I realy just sit? No I will be cleaning and polishing and greasing and tuning on the truck....always busy. I make down time and lay over time work for me by doing things I would have to do when I got home anyway. So the time is not wasted... in this case Waste can make Haste...If I didn't stay busy on the road I would have to rush when I did get home and that wouldn't leave time to just hang out. Back in 05 and 06 I had a dedicated run where I had nearly 0 deadhead miles and the money was rolling in. I bought the Mack in 06 and decided to pay it off as fast as possible. Thank God I did.. at the end of 06 the bottom fell out and the freight slowed down big time. Even so I was far enough ahead on the truck payments that I still paid the truck off a year early. At 12% interest I probably saved thousands by doing it that way. Like I said before work smarter not harder..I made my money work for me versus blowing it on crap I didn't need anyway. Well that's not totally true...the soon to be X got a pile of it...oh well. May the 12th will be three years to the day that I bought the Bulldog so to my truck I say Happy Anniversary. And to everyone else Keep on Trucking. Matt Attached thumbnail(s) // // // View the full blog entry

President Obama Tuesday announced steps to increase the use of biofuels -- but traditional soy-based diesel would be limited in an EPA proposal.View the full article

Detroit Diesel's first two BlueTec emissions technology customer demo units are being evaluated by Schneider National.View the full article

One of two men being sought by the Virginia State Police for shooting at several tractor-trailers on Interstate 77 in April is now in custody.View the full article

Navistar launched its Custom Engineering group to make modifications and add unique features to many of its heavy and severe service trucks.View the full article