Holes on the Road
Talk about hot freight: Krispy Kreme Doughnuts Inc. has put a mobile store on the road to promote its wildly popular confections. The custom-designed, 18-wheel rig serves as both carrier and production line for the mobile store, which can produce up to 100 dozen Krispy Kreme original gazed doughnuts per hour. First stop for the rig was Norfolk, Va., where it treated some 20,000 service men and women and their families to hot doughnuts as they returned from overseas aboard the USS Theodore Roosevelt.
Rand McNally Products Use New HHG Standards
Rand McNally has enhanced and updated its industry-standard MileMaker database to include distances generated by the new Household Goods Carriers' Bureau Committee's Mileage Guide 18 (HHG Guide 18). HHG Guide 18 distances replace HHG Mileage Guide 17 distances that have been in effect since 1997. Available in all Rand McNally product lines, the new database shows roads with 80,000-pound limits, 10-foot lane widths, and bridge heights of more than 13 feet 6 inches. It includes updates for more than 726,000 miles of truck-usable highways in the United States, Canada and Mexico.
For more information, call (800) 234-4069 or visit www.trucking.randmcnally.com.
Rolling Massage
Schukra (800-663-7248, www.schukra.net) has modified one of it adjustable lumbar supports with rollers and a motor, to provide a healthy back massage to be used while driving. The lumbar massage is available from some seat makers or it can be retrofitted to almost any existing truck seat. The vertical motion flexes the spine to help circulation and reduce back injuries.
Economical Tracking
The Greylink System 2000 from the Greystone Group (800-786-2553, www.greystoneconsultants.com) offers owner-operators and small fleets vehicle tracking and anti-theft security devices similar to those provided by higher cost satellite systems. Using GPS and cellular phones, Greylink System 2000 can locate a vehicle within 100 feet.
Mighty Thor Lift
One problem with high-cube (low-floor, dropframe) trailers is unloading at a dock. The Thor Lift for drop frame trailers uses pneumatic cylinders to extend auxiliary landing gear and raise the trailer floor to dock height. Thor Lift is from Metal Fabko (905-560-4964, www.thorlift.com).
Trucker Grants Friend's Wish for a Special 'Last Ride'
This past summer, many truckers across the U.S. saw an unusual placard in the window of a white Volvo owned by Don Vigeant & Son Inc. of Rochester, Mass. Printed on the yellow card was the word "Funeral"; the tractor also wore black ribbons and funeral flags.
When truckers asked on the CB, they learned that it was indeed a kind of funeral procession. Truck driver Red Elk, of Whitefield, N.H., was honoring a last request by his long-time friend, Joyce Hathaway, who died May 30, 2002, to carry her ashes on a last run over the road.
He says he and Joyce had known each other since 1968, and his wife and Joyce were good friends. Joyce was diagnosed with terminal cancer in February and they cared for her as her health deteriorated. She had ridden with Red Elk a few times, and asked him to have her remains cremated and take the ashes with him on the road. His boss, Don Vigeant, gave the OK and helped arrange loads so it would be a good, long run. Starting June 10, they covered 40,000 miles. Everywhere he went, people asked about the unusual signs and ribbons. "These small meaningful extensions of friendship really helped keep me glued together," he says.
KW Offers New Colors for Cab Interior Packages
Kenworth has new color options for its Diamond, Splendor and Gallery interiors on W900, T800, T600 and C500 models. Primary and secondary color combos for Diamond and Splendor interiors include slate gray and dark slate gray (below); desert tan and dark desert tan; steel blue and dark steel blue; jet black and jet black; and Bordeaux red and dark Bordeaux red. Each has a coordinating trim color.The Gallery interior offers three primary and trim color combinations, respectively, including dark desert tan and dark desert tan; slate gray and dark slate gray; and jet black and dark slate gray. A black dash is also an option on the W900, T800, T600 and C500 models.
Cab Cleaning Kit from Trucker Buddy, Penray
Trucker Buddy International and The Penray Companies Inc. have created a "Trucker Buddy Cab Cleaning Kit." Packed in a soft-sided cooler, the kit contains cleaners for each area of your cab and stop squeak. Look for it soon at truckstops.
Sitting Pretty
Roho (800-851-3449, www.therohogroup.com) seat cushions were introduced to trucking in 1998. Their Dry Flotation air cell technology has been improved using Isoflo Control to allow drivers to make adjustments on-the-fly for optimum comfort and support. New cell design provides more comfort and improves seat contour. Drivers can now adjust each of four air sections individually. A newly redesigned cover with side ventilation keeps cells temperate and allows the seat to be secured with Bungee-type tie-downs.
Alcoa Double Gauges
Alcoa Wheel Products (800-242-9898, www.alcoawheels. com) now offers a pair of two-headed, aluminum truck tire gauges with foam-covered handles to prevent slipping and insulate hands against heat and cold. One model has its heads parallel to, but slightly offset from, the handle. The other has an angled upper head.
Truck Rollover Alarm
The LG Alert from Stability Dynamics (707-653-0775, www.lg-alert.com) measures lateral (cornering) forces and warns when trucks are approaching rollover limits. The device can be programmed for any specific type of vehicle. New to trucking, thousands are currently used in fire service, emergency and military vehicles.
