Arkansas considering HOV toll lanes near Little Rock

Peterbilt Model 567 Heritage Evokes ‘Large Cars’

Looking like a modern rendition of an old “large car,” the 567 Heritage is adorned with much chrome and polished metal trim.

Hard-nosed fleet execs will say that chrome trim doesn't raise one dollar in revenue, but most drivers disagree. Assuming a truck is decent in the first place, chrome and polished metal make a guy or gal want to drive it, and that can lead to lower turnover costs and greater productivity and profit.

So it is with Peterbilt Motors' Model 567 Heritage, which combines a rugged-looking vocational truck with special exterior and interior trim that harkens back to the company's West Coast origins and days of the “large car.”

“The Model 567 Heritage appeals to owner-operators and premium carriers who want to reward their drivers and add distinction to their fleets,” said Darrin Siver, the builder's general manager and a Paccar VP, on the model's introduction in June. I got to drive a tractor version shortly thereafter, at Paccar's Technical Center near Mount Vernon, Wash.

“Legendary red” paint beautifully contrasted with the bright-metal trim. It struck me that this could well be an alternative to the traditionally styled 389 that, along with its 379 and 359 predecessors, is the most-often seen vehicle at truck beauty shows. The 567 has the looks of a traditionally styled truck, but streamlining smooths air flow to cut drag and save fuel at highway speeds.

Silver explained that the truck is meant to evoke the company's early days when lumberman Al Peterman took over the San Francisco plant of bankrupt Fageol and began assembling trucks to support his logging activities in the Northwest. But those trucks were rather crude-looking compared to the 567 Heritage.

The Heritage's basic specifications include a 121-inch bumper to back of cab measurement and set-forward front axle. It can be spec'd as a day cab or with a 72- or 80-inch sleeper box (this one had the 80-inch version). Thus this could be called a “large car,” a term from the past. Purists insist that large cars also had certain components hung along the frame to fill gaps, such as air tanks located behind the front wheels and fenders. In contrast, today's 567 Heritage has bright-metal panels called quarter-fender closeouts.

An 18-inch-high bumper resembles the flat “Texas tall” type, but this one's curved at the sides to let air ease by. Of course, there are dual chromed exhaust stacks. Other exterior features that are either chromed or polished include three vertical trim bars in the grille, front fender supports, air intake bezel, hood latch hardware, mirror housings, sun visor, steps, battery boxes, fuel tanks, and rear quarter fenders. The plastic tank for diesel exhaust fluid is wrapped in polished aluminum. Heritage badges are placed in the grille and on the sides of sleeper boxes.

Inside, simulated wood trim accents in the dash and door panels continue on the cabinets and storage compartments of sleepers. Seats are upholstered in deep brown leather, while seat backs and the two-tone sleeper back wall are embroidered with the Heritage logo. Finally, the covering atop the dashboard is black, which is both attractive and practical because it reduces sun glare in the windshield.

Visibility through the windshield and along that sloped hood was superb, I found when I got behind the wheel. Side windows were likewise large, and mirrors well positioned with glass that's multi-adjustable. The aluminum cab's width is 2.1 meters or 82.7 inches, which is about 8 inches more than the old cab on the 365/367 and other earlier Petes, including the 389. The wider cab is plenty roomy but not oversized, so seems as appropriate for vocational use as for on the highway.

This tractor had a Paccar MX-13 rated at 500 hp and 1,850 lb-ft, mated to an 18-speed automated Eaton UltraShift Plus. It was as much a pleasure to drive on the tech center's grounds and over nearby highways, with a smooth ride and easy maneuverability, as it is to look it. The 567 Heritage goes into production in September.

Photos: Peterbilt's Heritage 567 Gleams, Evokes Past

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Stemco Stengthens Capabilities of Wheel End Division

Aftermarket parts manufacturer Stemco is strengthening the support, engineering and training capabilities of its Wheel End division through the creation of three new area manager positions, the company has announced.

The new managers will be responsible for bolstering the division with technical training and sales support at the fleet, distributor and OEM levels as well as via marketing and engineering initiatives through field-testing and user interactions.

Steve Robinson, Randy Puls, and Mike Codling were named to these new roles and bring with them a combined 85 years of experience in wheel-end product development and sales.

Robinson will be supporting Eastern Canada, the Northeast and part of the Southeast region. He spent the past five years as a suspension area manager and 10 years as a district sales manager. Robinson was also with SKF as a territory manager for 15 years.

Puls is supporting the central part of the Southeastern region after spending the last 26 years as a district sales manager. While with Stemco, he has trained other district sales managers on best practices for selling, maintaining, diagnosing, and servicing wheel ends.

Codling will be supporting the Western Region and Western Canada. He has spent the last 15 years as the district sales manager for territory 240, which include the states of Oregon and Washington. Prior to coming to Stemco, Codling spent almost 20 years in various sales and management roles at an International dealer in Portland, Ore.

For more information on Stemco, click here.

Related: New Initiatives to Improve Parts and Service Offerings

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Truck Tonnage Hits Lowest Level in 9 Months

Source: ATA

Truck tonnage in July hit its lowest level since October 2015, according to the most recent American Trucking Associations' advanced seasonally adjusted For-Hire Truck Tonnage Index.

Falling 2.1% for the month, July's performance marks the second straight month of truck tonnage declines and the fourth decline in the past five months. The index equaled 134.3, down from 137.1 in June and from the all-time high of 144 recorded in February.

“On a monthly basis, tonnage has decreased in four of the last five months and stood at the lowest level since October during July,” said Bob Costello, ATA chief economist. “This prolonged softness is consistent with a supply chain that is clearing out elevated inventories.”

The not-seasonally adjusted index, which represents the change in tonnage actually hauled by fleets before seasonal adjustment, came in at 138.2, down 2.7% from June's reading of 142.

“Looking ahead, expect a softer and uneven truck freight environment until the inventory correction is complete,” said Costello. “With moderate economic growth expected, truck freight will improve the further along the inventory cycle we progress.”

Related: Truckload Linehaul, Intermodal Rates Continue Falling

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UPS speeds up delivery for Maritimes, Quebec

Total wheel-end package from Bendix now available on International trucks

Crane LET2 Crew Cab Seats 4

The cab sits low and well forward of the steer axle. One step and the driver and his helpers are inside and ready to go after trash – after a packer body's installed, of course.

Photo: Tom Berg

Not all trash trucks are born alike. The one you see here is from Crane Carrier Co., better known as Crane and badged “CCC.” It was built in New Philadelphia, in eastern Ohio, and is a model LET2 CC, meaning low-entry tilt, second generation, crew cab. It's rather roomy in a world where most refuse trucks seat two, or three in a pinch.

Crane now belongs to Hines Corp., a holding company that also owns Kimble Mixer, which serves the concrete industry. Following Hines' acquisition of Crane a couple of years ago, Kimble's plant in New Philly made room for CCC production formerly done in Tulsa, Okla. In a way, this grass-green truck is returning to its ancestral roots, for the buyer is the sanitation department in Ponca City, Okla.

The cab is exceptionally roomy because about half of it sits ahead of the engine. This leaves room for a full-width floor and two-man seat in the center, plus individual seats for the driver and a third helper. This is the configuration for operators that employ manpower to “tip” customers' trash cans into the body's bin, eliminating complex automated loading apparatus. While on the way to a route or the landfill, the entire crew can be safely seated.

I sampled this vehicle during a visit to the plant where staffers briefed me on it. Soon I fired up its Cummins ISL9 diesel, punched the Allison automatic into D and headed out to the gate and onto nearby streets. The truck was easy to drive, though without a body it accelerated quicker than normal and its ride was a little stiff.

I did some Y-turns and complete circles and found the turning radius was short enough for easy maneuvering on tight city streets, where the truck will spend much of its life. Turning was smooth, too, because the chassis had a single drive axle with a lifted tag axle. Visibility in all directions was excellent. It was a kick to drive, and all I needed were some companions in the cab and a packer body behind, and I'd have gone to work.

Related: Kenworth T680 Shows off Lightweight Specs

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