It seems that a new wave of fuel options is heading our way – and quite fast. In recent months, several companies have announced new dual-fuel systems that run on a combination of propane and diesel. I’m not sure how popular these dual-fuel engines will eventually become, but based on the number of companies investing in the technology, it has a chance.

The latest release comes from Icom North America, which recently showed its JTG-Dynamic System. The system uses a 50/50 mixture of liquid-injected propane and diesel fuel. Vehicles can also run on straight diesel fuel.

“Our innovative JTG-Dynamic System will provide vehicle owners with more power, more torque and improved efficiency along with huge fuel-cost savings and lower emissions,” said Icom’s CEO Ralph Perpetuini.

According to Icom, the system can be installed on diesel injection engines with electronics specifically programmed for each engine platform and does not require any mechanical changes to a traditional diesel engine. Icom is offering systems configured for the International DT466 and Cummins 11.9 engine families, with more platforms under development. more

“Ole Number One,” a 1983 Ford CL 9000 cabover tractor operated by LTL carrier Con-way Freight will have a permanent home in the Iowa 80 Trucking Museum. Con-way donated the classic vehicle, which was the company’s first tractor to go into service with the Con-way name in the Midwest. It officially retired from service in 1992 with over 500,000 mi. on it.

The vehicle, which bore the name Con-way Central Express (CCX), was fully restored in 1992 and on display at the company’s Ann Arbor headquarters until those offices moved in 2009. One of its original drivers, Dick Heyob, attended the formal gifting ceremony. Heyob still drives for Con-way Freight today. more

A bill working its way through the Indiana legislature opens the door to the possibility that truck-only lanes could be created along Interstate 70, potentially creating more efficiency and safety along the highway. That same bill, though, might give the Indiana governor dictator-like authority that could cost the industry billions in the end.

According to the Indiana Business Journal, Senate Bill 473 would grant the governor the sole authority to move quickly when a public infrastructure project presents itself, and that includes public-private partnerships, new road construction, and tolling opportunities.

While this would open the door to creating truck-only lanes that could decrease delivery times, shorten routes, lessen congestion, and improve overall road safety by separating trucks and automobiles along I-70, it also gives the governor, currently Mitch Daniels, the power to identify an opportunity and act upon it. This includes public-private partnerships that essentially amount to selling a section of road –either new or existing - to a private enterprise that would then recoup its investment through tolls.

“This thing has been designed to be under the radar,” Aaron Smith, founder of Watchdog Indiana, told the Business Journal of the bill. “It is not right for a single individual—the governor—to have complete power over toll road decisions. The impact of toll roads on working families is so significant that all 150 of our elected General Assembly public servants should continue to decide the fate of toll road projects.”

According to state Republican Sen. Tom Wyss, truck-only lanes are just one possibility. The governor’s press secretary Jane Jankowski said “there are no specific projects in mind.” In fact, Wyss said the only real purpose of this bill is to speed the decision-making process, and public hearings and a legislative review would still be part of the process. But in the end, the governor would have the final say.

So for any good that truck-only lanes could create, with only one person making the ultimate decision and removing the legislative process, the end result could be more tolls and that means higher costs. And as we’ve all learned through the history of this nation, when one person has the ultimate power, the end result is usually nothing good.

John Irish, a truck driver from West Allis, WI, was chosen the second grand prize winner through a public vote in the Are You Carhartt Tough? contest.

The contest, run by Carhartt and uniform supplier Cintas Corp., required entries to submit an essay explaining why they displayed the qualities of Carhartt Toughness – strength, dependability, resilience, and ruggedness. Entries were accepted from Feb. 1, 2010, through Jan. 31, 2011, and the field was cut to 12 finalists for the public to vote on via the Internet.

“Not many endure this job for many years, because it’s so physically demanding, but I’m ten years into it and going strong,” said Irish. “My Carhartt jeans take a beating just like I do, but they’ve proven to be just as resilient as I am.”

For more on the contest and the two winners, check out this video:

Jonathan Backus, a lineman from Hampton, VA, and a cancer survivor, won the overall grand prize, a Duck Hunt Trip for Two designed by Ducks Unlimited. Irish will receive a trip for two to the STIHL TIMBERSPORTS Series this fall.

Irish delivers shingles to construction sites, carrying 100-lb. bundles up and down ladders all day. According to his essay, Irish estimates he lifts 51,000 lbs. per day.

In his essay, Irish writes:

“I will keep my story short and sweet. You can only be Carhartt tough enough if you have a job only a select few are willing to do. The job I perform on a daily basis involves me walking on roofs from one story up to four stories and of various inclines all the while catching bundles of shingles. The bundles, which are placed on a conveyor and sent to the person on the roof, can weigh upwards of 100 pounds and are placed on the roof in piles along the peak of the roof. I wear Carhartt jeans on a daily basis and they take a beating just like me. Keep this in mind as you choose who is tough enough. On average I take out four jobs per run and take out at least two runs. Each job is 75 bundles @ 85 pounds per bundle = 6375 pounds per job = 25,500 pounds per run = 51,000 pounds per day. THAT’S ALOT OF LIFTING!!! Not many have lasted doing this job and so far I’ve been doing it for over ten years. THAT’S TOUGH!! Then go home to a house full of girls. SUPER TOUGH!!”

To see all the essays submitted for the contest, visit http://www.cintas.com/customer_applications/carharttrental/story.asp.

Congratulations John on excelling in your tough job and making truckers everywhere proud.

According to a story by Reuters, a bill that has been passed in the Texas House of Representatives would allow drivers to cruise along stretches of the state highway system at 85 mph. Really, 85?

In some states, people are complaining that traffic is already too fast at 65, and Texas wants to give everyone a license to travel along some of its roads at nearly breakneck speed. According to the article, 85 would likely be the second-fastest limit in the world, just behind an 86 mph limit in Poland.

The article quotes Gary Biller, executive director of the National Motorists Association as saying that higher speed limits are OK given the quality of modern highway construction. I guess he hasn’t driven much on our highway.

“The two things that contribute most to traffic accidents are speed and alcohol,” Jerry Johns, president of the Southwest Insurance Information Institute, told Reuters. “The higher the speed limit, the more accidents there are, the more injuries, and the more deaths.”

The bill, HBO1201, would require the Texas Dept. of Transportation to conduct engineering studies before raising the limit on any road. There are some roads in Texas that already have an 80 mph limit.

What this legislation apparently doesn’t address is the dangers driving 85 will create. Many people will never drive that fast. Many trucking companies have speed limiters on their trucks capped at 60, 62, or 65 mph. Allowing traffic on the same road with that much disparity in speeds seems like a recipe for death, even if the road is structurally capable of supporting it.

The bill states that the speed limit can only be set on roads whose “construction of that part of the highway system is completed on or after June 1, 2011. The provision was included in a bill that would repeal the plans for the Trans-Texas Corridor, a 4,000-mile highway system across the state.

The California Air Resources Board, or CARB, is offering a special deal of sorts that many fleets operating in the Golden State may want to seriously consider taking advantage of.

CARB is allowing fleets who retrofit a truck with a particulate filter by July 1, 2011 – or make the commitment to retrofit a truck by May 1, 2011 – with the chance to delay retrofitting an additional truck until Jan. 1, 2017. There is no limit on how many trucks in any particular fleet can earn the “early action credit.”

The credit applies to trucks with a gross vehicle weight rating of more than 26,000 lbs.

“California fleets need to act now in order to take advantage of this special offer to clean up their fleets so that they are further along in complying with ARB’s diesel reduction regulations,” said ARB Chairman Mary D. Nichols. “Acting now not only makes good business sense, it also means communities can breathe cleaner air sooner.”

Here’s why you may want to consider making the commitment. According to CARB, under the Truck and Bus Regulation, vehicles with pre-1994 engines must be replaced with 2010 engines by 2015; vehicles with 1994-95 engines replaced by 2016. For carriers operating 1996-1999 engines, they must have a particulate filter installed starting in 2012, and then the vehicle can operate until 2020. more

Tilden Curl, an Olympia, WA, truck driver, was named the 2010 Goodyear North American Highway Hero award winner today at the Mid-America Trucking Show.



Goodyear will donate a $10,000 U.S. Savings Bond to Curl, who saved two lives and narrowly escaped death himself with a heroic deed on the day of Oct. 27, 2010.

According to Goodyear, Curl was traveling on Highway 99 near Tulare, CA, when he watched as a vehicle lost control, crossed traffic, and skidded across the highway until finally coming to rest with its front wheels lodged over the railroad tracks running parallel to the highway. more