TODCO Offers WeatherTite Pro Weather-Resistant Roll-Up Door

Transportation Division of Overhead Door Corporation has introduced the WeatherTite Pro, a lightweight, weather-resistant roll-up door for trailer and truck body applications.

The WeatherTite Pro improves upon the previous model by using 100% recyclable co-polymer panels that reduce weight and improve heat tolerance. Compared to wood roll-up doors, the WeatherTite Pro eliminates swelling, warping, finish delamination and rotting.

The WeatherTite Pro panel weighs 25% less than the standard WeatherTite panel and is 37% lighter than ¾-inch wood and ¼'inch plate-style panels. The lighter door weight increases payload potential and allows the option of installing a long-life counterbalance spring that can reduce downtime and maintenance.

Results of ASTM D648 Heat Deflection Testing at 66 psi conducted by TODCO shows WeatherTite Pro has a 23% higher heat tolerance than standard WeatherTite panels, reducing the opportunity for warping in hotter climates.

Additional features of WeatherTite Pro include:

The list of available options includes 1- and 2-inch SupeRollers that have been tested to last up five times longer than standard steel rollers and EZ Seals, dual durometer side seals that reduce seal installation time by 50% compared to rubber seals.

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HDT Emerging Leaders Nominations Extended Through Friday

Heavy Duty Trucking magazine is seeking nominations for the HDT Emerging Leaders honor, a group of young trucking industry leaders already making a difference in his or her fields. The award is being sponsored by Omnitracs, the fleet management and telematics software provider.

The deadline has been extended through Friday, Oct. 28 so nominate someone soon.

We're looking for young professionals who are influential, innovative and successful, who can point to outstanding accomplishments and leadership qualities, and who have a passion for the trucking industry.

Emerging leaders will be under 40 years of age and work for a for-hire, private, government or vocational fleet. The award nomination is open to those employed in any aspect of a fleet's business at any level including management, maintenance sales, marketing, safety, IT, training or elsewhere.

Whether a person is in the top management position of a company, a shop foreman or the IT person who led a key data transition, as long as they are making a difference in the trucking industry they are eligible for nomination.

Leaders honored as an HDT Emerging Leader will be featured in an article in our December print magazine issue. Additionally, three of the Emerging Leaders will be included in a webinar discussion. Details on the webinar are forthcoming.

The nominee must be under 40 years old as of Jan. 3, 2016, self-nominations are also being accepted.

To nominate an Emerging Leader, fill out our online nomination form found here.

Related: Heavy Duty Fleets Honored for Sustainability and Efficiency at FTX

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Where the Rubber Meets the Road

Proper spec'ing will keep tires in service longer. Highway tires are no match for the mean city streets. Photos: Jim Park

Maximizing tread life is all about the contact patch — literally where the rubber meets the road. Pavement is abrasive by design. That's how you get friction between the tire and the road surface — in other words, traction. But excessive friction or uneven contact between the pavement and the tire will cause tread to wear away faster than you should. It's important that you do all you can to keep your tires running straight and true.

Before we get to alignment and pressure management, let's look at the tires themselves. Rib-type treads will generally wear longer than lug-type treads because there's less movement of the tread blocks between the body of the tire and the road. Lug treads can squirm and wiggle under load, and that movement translates into scrubbing, which as the word implies, scrubs away tread rubber.

Deeper treads squirm more than shallow treads, and thus wear away faster. It may seem like tires with deeper tread last longer, but that's only because there's more rubber there to begin with. But if you measure tread loss by miles per 32nd of an inch of rubber, you'll notice that deeper treads wear faster when the tread is new (deep) and the wear begins to abate as the tread becomes shallower.

Tread rubber compounds can affect wear rates, too. Compounds are often tuned for specific applications and wheel positions.

“Tread rubber compounding affects tread life in a variety of ways, and significantly influences tire performance attributes such as tread wear, rolling resistance, resistance to cutting and chipping, and traction — all of which play a role in tire tread life,” says Gary Schroeder, director of commercial vehicle and global OEM sales for Cooper ...Read the rest of this story

CarriersEdge Offering Vehicle Inspection Training Course

Photo via CarriersEdge

CarriersEdge has released a full suite of online vehicle inspection training courses for transportation companies and their drivers.

The new CarriersEdge Vehicle Inspection courses use the company's interactive learning approach and provide a single resource covering how inspections should be conducted, how components should be checked, and how to identify defects.

“Industry statistics continue to show that many top violations related to brakes, lights and tires could have been easily avoided with proper pre-trip, en route and post-trip driver inspections,” said Jane Jazrawy, CEO of CarriersEdge. “Our new vehicle inspection courses, based on information from industry experts as well as the CVSA and FMCSA, help make sure drivers gain a full understanding of the importance of inspections and how to properly complete them.”

The suite of CarriersEdge Vehicle Inspection courses features four modules that can be completed separately or at one time:

Woman Indicted for Impersonating CDL Medical Examiner

A federal grand jury in Harrisburg, Penn., has indicted Joann Wingate for wire fraud, submitting false documents and aggravated identity theft for impersonating a commercial driver's license medical examiner.

Wingate, a 58-year old resident of Carlisle, Penn., allegedly used the identity of a licensed physician to administer physical examinations to CDL holders after her chiropractor's license was suspended in October 2014. Wingate also claimed to be a medical doctor in order to serve as a medical review officer for drug tests for CDL holders.

Wingate advertised her medical services at rest stops and gas stations in the Carlisle area and has a business agreement with a Carlisle-based trucking company to handle driver drug and alcohol program requirements, alleged the indictment. She collected urine samples and turned them into medical laboratories and completed medical examinations and transmitted documentation to the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation.

Wingate is accused of defrauding CDL holders and the Carlisle-based trucking company as well as creating and submitting false documents to the DOT's vehicle safety program.

Related: Two Charged with Impersonating Transportation Agencies

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Cooper Tire adds to Roadmaster line

Cooper Tire & Rubber Company announced that it has added a new size to its Roadmaster RM332 WB commercial tire line, a wide-base steer tire for mixed service applications. The RM332 is now available in size 385/65R22.5 in load range L, in addition to size 425/65R22.5 in load range L introduced in April.

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Is unnecessary administrative work costing trucking big bucks?

Here's an unpleasant thought: all the workplace technology that's been deployed in recent years by the U.S. business community to make administrative work easier and more efficient is doing basically diddly squat.

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